My bedroom is my sanctuary, in addition to being a place where I go to escape for peace, stimulation and rest. It’s the only place which allows me to revitalize my body and cleanse my thoughts.
For me, having a place to focus on my creativity was the ultimate motivation in detoxing my room, but in case you need better reasons , cleaning a messy bedroom can reduce your stress, improve sleep quality and eliminate the chances of developing a mental disorder.
Unfortunately a clean room is not enough, areas such as the quality of our floor, bedding, air, and walls are breeding grounds for dust mites and allergens. Disruptions like these make it difficult to sleep due to allergic reactions, nasal congestion or coughing, which end up making you feel groggy, or giving us a tiresome look the next day.
That’s why it’s best to deep clean your room at least once a month. Get rid of any clutter and sanitize it with essential oils to remove dangerous toxins that can lead to poor health. You will spend seven to eight hours a night sleeping in your bedroom, so it’s important to have your air and space as clean as possible.
⊗Phthalates – found in plastics and solvents
⊗Fire retardant chemicals – found on fabrics
⊗Volatile organic compounds – gases emitted from liquids or solids
⊗Bisphenol A – a chemical used in plastic
To achieve a peace of mind, here are some simple tips to detoxify your bedroom.
Tip 1: Detox Your Mattress
We spend about one third of our lives in bed. It’s a time when our body regenerates itself. We release about 3 liters of water while we sleep, so keeping one’s bed toxin-free is optimal.I recommend two options here:
Option 1: DIY: Deep Clean A Mattress With Natural Ingredients
For those on a budget, I would recommend to do a deep clean on your linens, pillows and mattress.
All you need is a box of baking soda for this cleaner. The addition of essential oil gently scents your bed, helping to soothe and lull you to sleep.
What You’ll Need:
♥16-ounce box baking soda
♥Essential oils ( my favorites eucalyptus, peppermint, or lavender safely and ♥Effectively remove dust mites. All essential oils are anti bacterial so choose any of your liking.
♥Vacuum cleaner
Directions:
1. Before beginning, flip or rotate the bed, which is smart to do every six months to extend mattress life and prevent sagging
2. Open the box of baking soda and add 10 to 20 drops of your favorite essential oil. Close the box and give it a good shake to distribute the essential oil.
3.Rub the mixture
4.Let it settle on the bed for at least an hour.
5. Take the time to wipe off the backboards and any neighboring furniture.
Option 2: Buy an organic cotton mattress or Organic Mattress Topper
A regular mattress contains chemicals such as:
⊗Fire-retardant (PBDE)
⊗Formaldehyde
⊗Boric acid
⊗Toxic dyes
⊗Bleaches
⊗Pesticides & herbicides
All of which are unsafe to the environment and are proven hormone disrupters.
Organic Cotton mattresses are made without the use of synthetic chemicals including chemical flame retardants, heavy metals, and vinyl. If you can’t afford to buy a new mattress, using a mattress topper made from organic cotton and wool will help too 🙂
Tip 2: Detox Your Linens & Pillows
Again I have two options here for to detox your linens:.
Option 1: Deep clean your existing linens & pillows & curtains.
Your linens should be cleaned twice a month, and this should include blankets, duvets, and mattress covers, and pillow cases. The most effecting cleaning solution is to get them in hot water with few drops of essential oil or you can opt to launder them in hot water and use an organic laundry detergent and skip on the dryer sheets.
The same goes for pillows. Pillows should be washed at least twice a year. Dead skin cells, dust mites and all kinds of allergens collect on pillows and pillow cases. My recommendation is to launder the pillows the same way as the sheets and dry on low heat.
Option 2: Treat yourself to a new set of 100% organic non-toxic sheets
It’s particularly important to find non-toxic sheets since they are in direct contact with your skin while you sleep. Optimal materials here are: organic cotton, organic flannel or organic linen and hemp. To really minimize chemical exposure, you can opt for undyed sheets, because the “low-impact” dyes commonly used on organic sheets involve some kind of chemical processing.
Tip #3 Purify Your Air
Option 1: Use houseplants
I love plants so much and I try to incorporate their beauty in any space I can find.
Not only do they add a beautiful pop of color, they naturally filter our any indoor air pollutants. NASA’s Clean Air Study in 1989 proved that efficient air cleaning is possible through the use on 1 plant per 100 square feet. It was a study originally done find solutions that could efficiently clean space stations.Many indoor air pollutants are combustion by-products (things like fireplaces, smoking, furnaces), solvents (like perfumes, scented products, paint, glue, carpeting, cleaning products), dust and particles (pet dander, molds, pesticides and building chemicals).
The list compiled by NASA proved the ability plants to eliminate significant amounts of benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene through their natural process
Best Indoor Plants for Air Detoxification:
♥Snake Plant
♥Aloe Vera Plant
♥English Ivy
♥Bamboo Palm
♥Spider Palm
♥Mass Cane
♥Weeping Fig
Option 2: Get rid of carpet in your home (it’s a holding tank for home toxins!)
Plain hardwood floors are the most healthful choice for the bedroom because they’re easy to clean and don’t harbor dust. You can add small, natural fiber area rugs, if you like.
Option 3: Choose no or low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints
Option 4: Make your home shoe-free by taking off your shoes as soon as you get home
Option 5: Eliminate synthetic oils and fresheners and use a natural air fresheners
♥1 tablespoon vodka
♥6 tablespoons filtered water
♥10-40 drops of essential oils (peppermint, jasmine, citrus, lavender, etc)
Option 6: Get an air filter
HEPA filters do an awesome job of removing dust, pollen, pet dander. I use a Honeywell filter, which captures 99% of airborne allergens. It’s definitely an investment i but you can also vacuum weekly with a HEPA filter to eliminate fine dust particles.
Option 7: Get A Himalayan Salt Lamp
I absolutely love these. It’s like having an open window – a softly glowing natural source of fresh, clean air wherever you put it.It has an incredible power to remove dust, pollen, cigarette smoke, and other contaminants from the air.
Himalayan pink salt lamps naturally purify air through the power of hygroscopy, meaning they attract water molecules from the surrounding environment then absorb those molecules – as well as any foreign particles they may be carrying into the salt crystal. As the HPS lamp warms up from the heat produced by the light bulb inside, that same water then evaporates back into the air and the trapped particles of dust, pollen, smoke, etc remain locked in the salt. If you’ve had one long enough you’ll see actually dust, hair, and other allergens accumulate to the lamp. I would recommend to wipe it down with a damp cloth infused with an essential oil every month.
They are a perfect arrangement to add anywhere in your house; because of the powerful cleaning effect, you’ll see a huge difference in your allergy & asthma symptoms, and there is no maintenance cost 🙂 I would suggest buying 2 per room.
Tip 4: Remove Negative Energy
Option 1: Keep bills and arguments away from the bedroom
Option 2: Room should only be used for sleeping and having sex
Option 3: Burn incense or dried sage to disintegrate the negative energy in each room.
Wave it counterclockwise in each corner, closet, and cabinet. You may also let one stick burn in each room.
Option 4: Wake Up With Gratitude
When you wake up in the morning, let your first thoughts go towards what you are thankful for: a warm bed, safe home, good night’s sleep, healthy body, the people you love, the opportunity to do what you love, the freedom to do what you choose…. The list goes on and on with all the blessings that you enjoy.
Option 5: Circulate some fresh air into your room by keeping some windows open and letting the sunshine in.
Both of these elements have incredible cleansing powers. Feel the cleansing air enter your lungs as you breathe in, then exhale the negative energy and repeat. Also adding fresh air does improve air quality( so the result is two-fold) The EPA estimates that indoor pollution level are 2 to 5 times – and occasionally more than 100 times – higher than outdoors so get the the air moving, especially if your windows are open, is a great way to remove indoor toxins.
Option 6: Remove all electronics and tv from bedroom.
I personally don’t have any of these devices in my bedroom, but if you do I would try to eliminate them an hour before you hit the hay, they may be disrupting your natural sleep habits. Exposure to the artificial light from digital screens stimulates brain activity, making it harder for you to fall asleep. Consider keeping the TV out of your bedroom and limiting your computer
Tip 5: Wash Off Before Bed
Before bedtime shower off the day’s dirt and chemicals from personal care products and those that we pick up throughout the day. Also, keep pets out of the bedroom at all times.
Tip 6: Unrefine Your Cleaning Solution
More than likely we are cleaning our our rooms and bathrooms with commercial products. Start by using unrefined alternatives for these solutions.
Wash windows with homemade glass cleaner:
4 Tablespoons rubbing alcohol
♥4 tablespoons white vinegar
♥ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
♥3 cups water
Mix it together in an empty spray bottle and shake well.
For an all purpose natural solution I would either opt to buy the Seven Generation Brand, which I usually find at Target or LifeTree Household Cleaning solution, smells great and comparably cheaper!
Hope this inspires you to detox your room! Let me know of any changes you make.
