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Green in 365: The Living Room – Houseplants

January 28, 2013 By Emily McClements
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Green in 365 series

This is Day 28 of the Green in 365 series!

Did you know that the air inside your home can be more polluted than the outside air? Especially in the winter time when our homes are shut up and don’t get much, if any, outside air circulation.

Household cleaners (although you should be using homemade and green cleaners), paint, furniture and more all release toxins and chemicals into the air in our homes where they get trapped and we breathe them in every day. But, there is a simple and easy solution to help to purify and remove toxins from the air inside your home.

Growing Houseplants

Houseplants

Bringing houseplants into your home can make a big impact on the quality of the air. A study done by NASA awhile ago showed that many common houseplants are very effective at removing toxins from the air and leaving us with cleaner air in our homes.

These 12 plants are recommended for growing indoor to improve air quality:

  • Bamboo palm
  • Chinese evergreen
  • English ivy
  • Ficus
  • Gerbera daisy
  • Janet Craig
  • Marginata
  • Mother-in-law’s tongue
  • Peace lily
  • Pot mum
  • Spider Plant
  • Warneckei

Plants also add a touch of green and living energy to a room, which is especially nice during these cold, dark winter months!

But I have a black thumb!

You may think that you don’t have the ability to grow plants indoors. I thought this for a long time too. But, I’ve found over the past few years of having plants in my home that if you choose the right types of plants, they are actually very hard to kill.

I currently have four plants in my home, two of which I’ve had for almost 2 years, and the other two I’ve had for almost a year, and I’m hoping to add more soon. Really all they need is to be watered every few days, I’ve never added fertilizer or anything else to mine. Even if you forget to water them for a while, they will start to droop and show you that they need to be watered, and then once you do, they will spark back to life.

I’d encourage you to go ahead and get a few small plants, make a habit to water them a couple times a week, and see how it goes. Plants are pretty inexpensive, and even if they don’t make it, you’re not out much more than the cost of a couple of lattes. So you don’t really have anything to lose!

Do you have houseplants? What are your favorite plants to grow indoors?

Find all the Green in 365 posts.

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5 CommentsFiled Under: Green in 365 Tagged With: green in 365, green living, home, living room

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Comments

  1. Krissa says

    January 28, 2013 at 12:51 pm

    I have a couple houseplants (a spider plant and a pothos) that have been going strong for a few years. But I’m on my second peace lily and can’t seem to keep them alive! What plants do you have in your house? This reminds me to pick up some more. I like the mother in law’s tongue and want to find one of those.

    Reply
  2. Kelly H. says

    January 28, 2013 at 1:01 pm

    I love houseplants, but most of the ones on your list are poisonous to cats and we have 3 cats. Not sure about spider plants, but the last one we had met a slow death because the cats couldn’t resist playing with the babies and the poor plant couldn’t take it… My mom loves Gerbera daisies, but we never seem to be able to keep them alive, or at least the flowers on them. How do you take care of Gerbera daisies? Obviously we’ve been doing something wrong, lol! : )

    Reply
  3. Rita says

    January 28, 2013 at 1:29 pm

    I’m with you–it doesn’t take much to keep plants alive. I never fertilize mine. I do think you have to pay attention to what kind you get though, and to what kind of conditions they like. A friend gave me a gorgeous ficus, but I almost killed it with overwatering. I had a jade plant I really liked, but it almost died because I had it in a spot that was too dark. Now when I shop for plants, I read the labels to see how much watering and light they need. My mortality rates are going down! 🙂

    Reply
  4. [email protected] joyful mom says

    January 28, 2013 at 11:28 pm

    Home Depot had a bunch of orchids that looked dead–but I brought them home–the kids repotted them and they are thriving! I also have bamboo–part of a science project and Pandas . . . I always have something growing in the kitchen–herbs, beet greens, celery–we have pet turtles and I like to grow their food–they like it too!

    Be blessed.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 3 Simple, Last-Minute Gift Ideas - Keeper of the Home says:
    December 23, 2013 at 6:01 am

    […] Because the air inside our homes can be two to five times more polluted than the outside air, houseplants can help to keep to keep us healthy by reducing toxins and purifying the air. […]

    Reply

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