Spending time outdoors with the fresh air is amazing for our mental health and boosts our mood. Unfortunately, it’s currently winter and going outside isn’t always the best option. Plants have these amazing health benefits and also make great decor. Americans actually spend most of their time indoors so air quality is super important. Plants can also help improve the quality of air by removing toxins like formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethylene and carbon monoxide.

What Are VOCs?

VOCs are volatile organic compounds. This can be a scent from a rose, fresh paint, air fresheners, cleaning products, etc. They can be either synthetic or natural. Not all VOCs are harmful but inhaling the harmful ones can be dangerous to our health. Some harmful ones include.

• Formaldehyde
• Benzene
• Xylene
• Ammonia
• Trichloroethylene (TCE)

How Plants Can Clean The Air

There is a NASA study that shows indoor plants can filter up to 90% of VOCs out of the air and help with other indoor pollutants like excess carbon dioxide. Here are a list of air filtering plants.

• English Ivy
• Bamboo Palm*
• Chinese Evergreen
• Gerbera Daisy*
• Dragon Tree
• Mother In Law’s Tongue**
• Pot Mum
• Peace Lily
• Spider Plant
• Cornstalk ***
• Rubber Tree
• Lemon Button Fern*
• Pothos
• Philodendron**
• Parlor Palm*
• Aloe Vera**
• Broad Lady Palm*
• Fittonia*
• Ficus
• Flamingo Lily
• Weeping Fig
• Acrea Palm*

*Indicate pet safe

**Indicates mildly toxic to pets (upset stomach)

***Moderately toxic to pet(upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea)

Decorating Your Home

To get all of the benefits of your indoor plants, 2 plants per 100 square feet is suggested. Adding a touch of greenery can liven up any room and improve your living space.

Bedroom

Succulents, like aloe vera, are a great plant to add to your bedroom, especially if it’s on the smaller side. They can easily fit on shelves or windowsills while also filtering the air. You can even hang the plants from cute little macrame  plant holders.

Bathroom

When adding plants to the bathroom, you need to take into consideration the humidity. Succulents again are good because they are small. Snake plants are also good because they are very hard to kill. Peace lily’s are also good if there are no windows. They are also the best plant to filter the air according to NASA. However, if you have pets, please keep in mind that both snake plants and peace lilies are toxic to pets. My cat, Charlie, likes to eat plants so I always have to keep that in mind when I get new ones.

Living Room

The living room is usually the biggest room in the house so this is where you can add the biggest plants and be more creative. Fig or dragon trees can fill an empty corner. You can also play around with different size plants and pots to add elements and texture.

Office

Since plants can help reduce stress and boosts our moods, they make a great addition to a home office. Acrea palm and a spider plant are both great since they don’t require a lot of attention.

Kitchen

The air in our kitchens are usually the dirtiest in our homes because of the smoke and grease that are emitted while cooking. Adding plants and regularly opening windows can help. English Ivy and Chinese Evergreen are amazing at filtering the air. In the NASA study, english ivy removed up to 90% of benzene. Both of these plants are toxic to pets.

As you can see, plants are an important addition to our homes. Not only to they clean the air but can also help with our moods. And there is a plant for everyone’s needs!

BTW, A Beginner’s Guide To Zero Waste

With the pandemic still going and the constant state of the news, it can be hard to get our 8 hours of sleep at night. The stress of the world can have us tossing and turning and making us insomniac. When we’re stressed, it can be hard for us to fall asleep. And the quality of sleep we get is super important as it can effect our mental and physical health and immune system.

It’s also important that we stop looking at our phones before bed. As I’ve discussed before, going on social media and reading the news can create a downward spiral causing anxiety. And this is not good when we are trying to fall asleep. I am now going to share with you some tips for falling asleep when stressed.

Tips For Falling Asleep When Stressed

Create A Calming Space

Environment plays a significant role in finding a restful sleep. Creating an ideal sleep space, make sure you have a comfortable mattress and a clutter free bedroom. A bad mattress can cause awkward sleep positions which leads to waking up more frequently. Clutter in the bedroom can induce feelings of stress and can make it difficult to relax.

Stop Your Mind From Wondering

This is something that I struggle with. It’s super important to avoid thinking of things that cause you stress. In order to stop thinking about those stressful thoughts, write down happy thoughts. Keep a journal by your bed and write down 5-10 things you are grateful for before going to bed. It’s actually been scientifically proven that acknowledging happy thoughts can rewire your brain to be happier, calmer, and more hopeful.

Reduce Stress During The Day

Sleep habits are dependable on our daily rituals. Reducing our anxiety during the day can have a positive impact on our sleep. Maintaining relationships, even virtually, with friends and family can create a positive connection and reduce loneliness and anxiety.

Create A Sleep Schedule Habit

Creating a consistent sleep schedule can be super tricky while being stuck at home all day. But having one can make falling asleep easier because of our natural circadian rhythms. Going to bed around the same time every night, the natural desire to sleep at this time increases.

Practice Breathing and Meditation

Breathing exercises and meditation can help you relax and breathe out any stress or tension in your body. Even counting backwards by 3’s can help provide enough cognitive distraction to help calm your mind. Also, progressive muscle techniques where you clench and unclench your muscles can be effective for some.

Wind Down Time

One of the most important things you can do before going to bed is giving yourself enough time to wind down to go to sleep. The goal is to disconnect from anything that can cause a distraction. How much time do you need? It can vary by person. Some people need only 15 minutes while others need an hour or more. Figure out an amount that works for you and budget it into your nighttime routine.

Try Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Sometimes when you’re laying in bed for a long time, trying to fall asleep, it’s best to do something else. One cognitive behavioural therapy strategy is to limit the amount of time we are awake in bed. If you’re still awake after 20-30 minutes, get out of bed and do something else that will make you tired. If I’m having a hard time falling asleep, I’ll get out of bed, go to the bathroom and then go get myself a drink of water. By the time I come back to bed, I usually end up falling asleep fairly quickly. Repeat doing this if necessary. This will help us associate our bed with sleep instead of anxiety and frustration.

What are some tips you have?

I don’t know about you but my anxiety has been through the roof with what’s going on in the world. We all have anxiety but this is something I have dealt with on this level before. I’ve been anxious before but never like this. And I’m sure I am not the only one that’s going through this. Lucky for us, there are so many ways for us to deal with our anxious thoughts. We may not be able to control what is going on around us, but we can at least learn how to reframe our anxious thoughts

Write Down Your Thoughts

The first step in reframing your thoughts is to figure out what you’re even thinking about to begin with. When you feel anxious thoughts coming, ask yourself “why am I thinking about right now?” and then write it down. This will give you a starting point. It also gives you a log of your thinking patterns. Avoiding the thought instead of facing it can actually make you more anxious. And acknowledging it by writing it down can actually help with the anxiousness.

Fact Check Yourself

Many cognitive distortions come from us thinking about things that aren’t always true. Get into the habit of asking yourself “what proof do I have for this thought?” This will help your ability to identify and shut down the lies your anxiety tells you.

What Would You Say To A Friend

Most of us are usually a lot kinder than we are to ourselves. If you ask yourself how you would respond to a friend in a similar situation. This is an effective way to extend yourself the same compassion. Imagine this advice is coming from a friend.

Change It To Realistic

When most people tell you to reframe your thoughts, they try to tell you to put a positive spin on it. But the opposite isn’t a positive thought, it’s a realistic one.

Find Meaning

With the pandemic going on, it might be hard to find the bright side. Instead try to find meaning. What can you get from these situations. If you were laid off, use this time as a reset period. We may not have chosen this experience but we might be able to get something of value from it.

Stop Invalidating Your Feelings

Right now, it can be hard to not compare ourselves to others and feeling bad for our feelings about ourselves when others have it worse. This can only make our anxiety worse. Your feelings are valid,

When Not To Reframe

Reframing is usually the best tool for anxious thoughts, but it’s not the best to do when your anxiety is physical, like laboured breathing, sweating and your heart racing. When this happens, it’s best to use grounding exercises, like deep breaths, drinking water, doing visualizations, and muscle relaxation.

Remember that is is all personalized to you. If reframing doesn’t work for you, find something that does. Experiment to find the right mental health techniques that work for you. What are some of your techniques that help with your anxious thoughts?

BTW, How to Pause and Rewind

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw my post about the Climate Clock that’s currently in Union Square. This clock says we have a little over 7 years to stop climate change before it’s too late. The average American makes 4.4 pounds of trash each day. I want all of you to be conscious of what you’re buying and look at the waste you accumulate. I urge you to try to become as low/zero waste as possible. Start out small and work your way up. I’m nowhere near perfect but I do my best and make conscious buying decisions. If you’re not sure where to start, I have 4 tips on how to become zero waste.

A Beginner’s Guide To Zero Waste

Assess Your Waste

Take a look at all of your waste/packaging and figure out one easy way to start and find your alternative. Implement it into your routine and the move on to the next! Some easy first steps are bringing your own grocery bags to the store, same with produce bags. Use a reusable water bottle, buy things that don’t come in packaging. Some of my favourite sites are Package Free Shop, The Wally Shop, Sun and Swell Foods, Loop Store.

Prioritize and Plan

Make your coffee and home and use a travel mug. Pack your lunch in reusable packaging. I use reusable sandwich and storage bags all the time! Some of my favourite brands are Stasher, Zip Top, and ReZip. Try out shampoo bars or even shave bars. This right here is my favourite shave bar. You all know how I love my Plaine Products too! Their products come in aluminum containers that you return to them for you to reuse. These simple have a great positive environmental impact and helps you save money!

Research

Research is key. Everyone’s solution do reduce their own waste is unique to you. Research the services in your local area such as composting, recycling and buying local food, lets you learn how to best reduce your waste where you live.

Celebrate Your Success

No matter how big or small the changes you make, just remember every step counts. Just saying you don’t need a straw because you have your own is big! Speaking of straws, my favourite reusable strays are Simply Straws. Made in LA! You can get 10% off with code JENNIFER. No matter where you are on this journey, remember every step creates a positive impact.

I really hope you found this beginners guide to zero waste helpful! What are some things that you do?