It’s easy to get swept up in a new workout routine, fitness regimen, or that personalized diet designed just for your body type. But no matter how exciting those initial feelings are each time you launch into a new health initiative, sooner or later you’re going to lose some of your motivation. 

That’s why it’s important to keep up that momentum by aligning not just your schedule, habits, and thoughts with your efforts, but your living space, too. After all, your home environment is one of the keys to keeping a healthy mindset for the long term. 

Home Improvement Projects For Your Health

A cluttered, dirty, and unkempt home can lead to laziness, apathy, and a lack of self-care. All of these are toxic to your mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. With that in mind, here are some quick and simple ways you can improve your living space specifically with your long-term health in mind.

Organize and Minimize

First and foremost, take the time to go through your existing space with an eye towards organization. A cluttered and unfocused space can lead to a similar mental state, and the added stress of living in a messy home isn’t healthy either. Try to minimize your belongings by getting rid of unnecessary items and make sure that everything has its own proper place.

Create a Cleaning Schedule

Next up, try to create a cleaning schedule that you can keep up. Don’t get too ambitious, or you’ll fall off the bandwagon in a week or two. Consider your responsibilities, work schedule, and personal routines, and then find ways to fit a decent amount of housework into the mix. Not only does this keep your space neat and tidy, but things like sweeping, mopping, dusting, and even simply washing the bedding on a regular basis all help reduce the amount of dust and allergens in the air. As an added bonus, cleaning typically gets you up and moving around, which is important for both your physical and your mental health.

Paint Those Walls

Painting is a classic “quick and easy” home improvement project. Not only that, but it can have a huge impact on your overall health. Color schemes are a critical part of the tone of your living space. Naturally, a carefully thought out color choice for each and every wall can make a huge difference in how you feel in your home. For instance, warm reds, browns, and oranges are great for setting a relaxing tone for your living spaces, while cooler blues and greens are better for sleeping. 

Light Things Up

It’s easy to overlook little things like lighting. The truth is, though, properly lighting your spaces can have a huge impact in multiple areas. Changing your light bulbs for energy-efficient LED alternatives, for instance, can save you some cash over the long term thanks to their lower operating cost. Along with that, LED bulbs are good for the environment and, by extension, your physical health. They’re also good for your mental health and mood, especially compared to fluorescent light bulbs, which can lead to things like migraines, sleep issues, and depression. Just make sure you look for LED lights that are tuned to nice, warm color temperatures in order to help keep the tone warm and comfortable. 

In addition to tending to your lightbulbs, look for ways to maximize exposure to natural light within your living spaces as much as possible. Some quick and easy suggestions include opening up curtains more often, painting with lighter colors, and adding a mirror or two to the walls. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can also replace windows with larger options that can let in more natural light.

Keep That Water Flowing

One of the less obvious concerns you’re going to want to look out for is leaky or clogged pipes. It’s easy to ignore slow drains and even slower leaks, but the truth is, allowing water to sit in your plumbing for extended periods of time can actually be quite detrimental to both your home and yourself. 

A clogged drain can lead to stagnant, dirty water that can send musty odors back into the house. In addition, it can lead to leaks, which can cause damage to the structure itself as well as attract mosquitoes, mold, mildew, and bacteria. If you have clogged drains, get a plumbing snake or plunge the drain in order to clear the debris blocking the pipes. 

Conclusion

As a final exhortation, remember that you’re doing this for your health. Don’t put off the simple changes that can really make a difference! The World Health Organization, for example, has confirmed that housing improvements really can make a difference in one’s personal health. However, this is only possible if you actually make the change and then live in an improved environment long enough to benefit from it.

Take the time to make a home improvement strategy and then budget things out. If doing everything is too expensive, spread out the projects over a chunk of time or consider getting a small home improvement loan to help you gain access to the health improvements sooner. Either way, start making the changes to your home environment as soon as possible, and you’ll begin benefitting from your healthier living spaces before you know it.