In the great pantheon of wellness trends, the home is strangely neglected Yet creating a happy home and a healthy home is incredibly important to our own health and mental wellbeing. There are diet crazes and fitness hacks aplenty – but outside the occasional tidying fad, the home is merely a vessel, a framework in which other lifestyle regimes take centre stage.
Given that we often spend more time at home than anywhere else, this might be a little unfair. Home is where the heart is, and a happy, healthy home is a vital parting of wise living.
Wellness, like most things, begins at home, after all. Here’s how to make sure that’s a good thing…
How to create a healthy, happy home
1. House plants
You don’t need actual woodland for forest bathing, not when there are snake plants, peace lilies and aloe veras to turn your home into a mini-greenhouse. Study after study has shown that exposure to greenery reduces stress, helps lower blood pressure and stimulates the senses.
So shrub up to calm down – from a simple cactus on the window sill, to a miniature jungle of domestic palms and pines.
Read the Wise Living guide to houseplants that like shade and the best houseplant to grow in a shady spot.
2. Maximise natural light
Like plants, natural light is inherently invigorating and reinforces the circadian rhythms that impact our mood and sleep cycles. Just think of the hefty price hike tagged to south-facing homes, the all-glass exteriors of modern office blocks – or the sinister, claustrophobic feel of a dimly-lit basement.
Aside from the obvious (open your curtains), make sure there’s no furniture blocking your windows’ line of sight, using off-white or cream colour schemes to cultivate a lighter feel, and putting up strategically placed mirrors to send light bouncing round the room.
3. Declutter for a happy home
They say cleanliness is next to godliness, and, though we’re not suggesting a full-scale Kondo-esque purge, a clear environment can be an aid to a clear mind. A happy home is supposed to be where you recharge, and if you’re never able to find things, pressured by a pile of unopened mail, or in fear of accidentally standing on your laptop, it may be a source of stress in itself.
Time to put your ‘floor-drobe’ back into the wardrobe, and we don’t mean by just shoving it all under the bed.
4. Address your sleep
Poor sleep pas been linked with everything from low mood and fatigue, to shortened life expectancy in the longer term, so creating a conducive sleep environment is an essential step for a healthy home.
Make sure summer nights aren’t cut short by leaky curtains (invest in blackout linings if required), use ear plugs to cut out street noise, and dust the area around your bed. If you always sleep better in hotels, there may be a problem with your bedding, and low-quality mattresses can cause stiffness and back pain as well as disturbed sleep. It’s easy to undervalue sleep but the more priority you give to time spent in slumber, the more productive and energised you’ll be during the day.
Read the Wise Living guide on how to overcome insomnia.
5. Invest in an air purifier
Once derided as noisy and unsightly, thanks mostly to a particularly pointed episode of Friends, demand for purifiers is now rising steadily year on year and modern models are sleek, stylish and near-silent.
Exhaust fumes, chimney smoke and particulate emissions are just another part of urban life, and purifiers are here to help you have a healthy home.
Read the Wise Living guide to air pollution at home and how to improve air quality in your home.
6. Create a designated work space
Some 1.54 million Brits now work from home in their primary occupation (millions more do so intermittently), and it’s wise to resist the temptation to work at the kitchen table in your pyjamas.
It’s hard to maintain a work-life balance when they operate in the same space, so dedicate a work area that allows you to ‘go to work’ in the morning and leave at the end of the day. Posture is paramount, so invest in an ergonomic chair as a minimum for a healthy home. You might even consider the benefits of a standing desk.
7. Get a pet
You don’t need an emotional support dog or other pet to get emotional support from an animal – and this is another lifestyle choice with the weight of science behind it. Among a whole raft of benefits, pets have been shown to increase life expectancy, substantially slash stress, and even decrease physical pain.
We hope it goes without saying that you should only opt for an animal if you’re fully willing and able to shoulder the responsibility and costs of care. But pets really can make for a happy home.
8. Don’t worry, be happy
It’s easy to obsess over the ‘shoulds’ and ‘shouldn’ts’ of your home, and end up neglecting what you actually want. Adding value to your home, tapping into fashionable aesthetics – it’s all well and good if it aligns with your tastes, but most homes must be residences first and investments second. A healthy, happy home is about living in the here and now, and not worrying about property values or keeping up with the neighbours.
Home is where the heart is, and there’s no point crafting a masterpiece of modern minimalism if what you’d really like is a large, squashy sofa. A healthy home is good for the body, a happy home is good for the soul – so make your home your own, and a happy place to be.
Best-selling home organisation
Stuck for inspiration? Check out our list of best-selling Amazon products!
- ♣【Unique Design & High Quality】The L-shaped under sink organizer is designed with a narrow top and wide bottom, which can leave space for the pipes under the sink and make full use of the space...
- ♣【Durable& Sturdy】The kitchen sink organizer is ABS plastic, the double tier level is held up by metal rods which with painted thickened forged steel body, rust-proof. The baskets with hollow...
- ♣【Fast Installation】Installation in 2 minutes, no tools are required. It will not break the furniture or wall without hole punching installation. Insert the four metal tubes into the holes of...
- 【Sliding Storage Drawer】The bottom slide-out drawer design is great for bathroom and kitchen, which makes picking and taking easier in limited space.
- 【Extensive Use & Multi-purpose】This organizer is suitable for the kitchen cabinet, bathroom, closets, laundry room, pantry and wherever else applicable.
- 【More Accessories】 The 2 tier bathroom organizer comes with 4 hanging cups and 8 hooks. hooks for hanging small things, hanging cups for holding brushes or little things.
- SMART DESIGN: Compact holder with ample storage for all your washing up accessories. Ideal solution to keep your sink and countertops neat and tidy.
- SPACE SAVING: Divided into two compartments, perfect for a bottle of detergent and your dish brushes, a handy rail to neatly hang dish cloths plus an area for sponges, soaps and scourers.
- STRONG AND DURABLE: Crafted from anthracite grey and white ABS plastic with anti-slip pads to protect your surfaces and keep the sink-tidy in place.
- Characteristic - The under cabinet kitchen roll holder is made of high quality stainless steel, strong & durable, not easily deformed. It's waterproof and anti-rust. The modern and fashion design can...
- Size - 12.2 inches. The length is suitable for any standard size paper towel rolls;
- Multi-functional Paper Towel Holder - This kitchen roll holder can be used to hang paper towel rolls, plastic wrap, wash cloth, hand towels, etc. You can place it in kitchen, pantry or bathroom;
- 👍【Large Capacity】Each storage bag measures 23 x 16 x 13in (60 x 45 x 35 cm). The clothes organizer capacity is 90L which is designed for house essentials. It is spacious for your bed sheets,...
- 👍【Soft Material and Reinforced Handle】The storage bag fabric is soft and strong. The handle is sewn with two layers of thick fabric, and the load-bearing capacity is doubled. Reinforced seams...
- 👍【Portable & Zipper Closure】 2 Strong zippers closure, and allow collapsible clothes packing bags to easily slide along the closure when in use. And two-way zippers allow it to easily slide...
Last update on 2024-04-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
You may be interested in…
This article may include affiliate links to products and services where we may receive a small fee to support the running of this site if you make a purchase or is a sponsored article from one of our select editorial partners providing valuable advice and information to our readers.
