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A Dream Green Bedroom
By Tracy Weaver Published: 05/25/2009
A bedroom is a great place to start greening your home. Well that is right after switching to all natural house cleaners and organic or all natural body and skincare products. Our bedroom is a place that we think of as a getaway, relaxing, peaceful, restful, serene and a romantic area of our home. When in fact our bedrooms have many silent, invisible dangers that are quite harmful to our health. We should try to spend eight hours a night sleeping; this is a great portion of our lives to spend in one room breathing the several toxins given off by a traditional bedroom. You could be breathing the fumes of solvents, glue, fire retardants and many other heavy toxins for your entire sleep. If you go around your bedroom and look at all the dangers in your bedroom, I am sure you will be shocked and shake your head in dismay.
Just as we detoxify and cleanse our bodies, we need to do the same to our bedrooms. Remember to make these same changes in your children's bedrooms also. They spend even more time sleeping in their bedrooms.
Your mattress should be the first thing you look at in your bedroom to change. Mattresses have many serious toxins lurking in them. That soft pad you sleep on for comfort is also harming you in many ways over years of exposure. Lingering between the coils of that all exciting new mattress are PBDE's and styrene which is another powerful carcinogen. Carcinogens are the many cancer causing chemicals we are exposed over time. If you purchase an organic mattress with a core made of all natural latex and/or wool, you will have a chemical free mattress. One that is naturally anti fungal, antibacterial, fire retardant and long lasting. The mattress needs to be a 100% natural mattress. Mattresses could be labeled as natural but still have a combination of both natural latex and synthetic material. The synthetic latex in the mattress still has a chemical derivative. The best mattress to look for is an organic wool one. They are expensive and somewhat hard to find but their pure organic qualities are well worth their search.
The wood frame that supports your mattress is also a culprit contributing toxins to your bedroom. Most wood bed frames are made with treated wood that most likely contain polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE's) a group of chemicals used as flame retardants in items like carpets, curtains, bedding and furniture. PBDE's are an environmental nightmare as well as build up in living organisms, including humans. A smart choice for a bed frame is one made of unfinished wood and only treated with natural or organic waxes and oils to protect it.
It is time to worry about safety and not the thread count in our bed sheets as well. Fancy wrinkle free sheets are wonderful but covered in a formaldehyde finish that never washes out. Formaldehyde is reported to cause headaches, respiratory problems and even rashes due to the continuous exposure to chemically treated bed sheets. Great alternatives for traditional bed sheets are bamboo, which is a very strong, fast growing grass in nature. It is also very, very soft to crawl between for a great nights sleep. Organic cotton bed sheets are also extremely soft and durable to lie against. Another great choice for a blanket to put on your bed is organic wool. Organic wool blankets will regulate your body temperature, insulate you, are non-allergenic, naturally fire retardant and of course soft to cuddle. There is nothing like hopping into a bed made of 100% certified organic bed sheets after a long stressful, busy day. On top of them being the softest thing you have ever put against your body, the peace of mind from knowing they are chemical and pesticide free is priceless. Organic cotton, bamboo or wool bed sheets against you feels like you are sleeping naked on a cloud.
Pillows are another important thing to green since your head lays on them and you breathe it directly all night. There are a few options in safe pillows to choose from. You can choose an organic fair trade cotton if you like a dense, firm pillow. This pillow compresses and retains its shape. Organic buckwheat pillows are filled with loose hull which allows it to change shape easily for great comfort and support. This keeps mildew to a minimum and air circulates through it more easily. Hemp pillows keep their shape and volume for a continuous high loft. Kapok from the tropical tree has seed pods filled with fine, fibrous, cotton-like substance that can be used as an antibacterial filling and as a replacement for down. This pillow is great for a person who sweats a great deal while they sleep. The last wonderful choice is an all natural rubber pillow. The pillow is filled with small pieces of natural rubber and contours your head.
Other things in your bedroom to be aware of as hazards are the paint on your walls, dressers, curtains, fake flowers and plastic containers around the room. Choose a low or no VOC paint and you have solved the toxic paint issue. Low VOC paint can be bought at your local building centre and comes in several colours now. A typical dresser is put together with lots of toxic glue and varnished with harsh solvents. Pick a dresser that is constructed of all natural unfinished wood that is protected by organic or natural waxes and oils. You can really find some beautiful pieces of furniture out there and not jeopardize style in any way. Curtains and fake plants are dust collectors which accumulate and make it hard to breathe. You want good clean fresh air in your bedroom to breathe. Lots of times they are also filled with vinyl or plastics. Switch to hemp or organic cotton curtains that have no chemicals at all in them and can be easily washed when needed. You should also replace the plastic storage bins around your bedroom with stunning organic cotton bins, natural bamboo or wood bins without heavy metal paints or varnishes on them. Protecting them or giving the wood bins a slight sheen is as easy as covering them with natural linseed, flax seed oil or 100% pure beeswax.
Once you have made these changes, you just need to add a couple 100% pure beeswax candles to set the mood. These candles have many great qualities such as purifying the air in your bedroom, relax and calm you, are good for allergy or asthma suffers and smell absolutely scrumptious. Now your bedroom is a safe, chemical free retreat for your again. Doing all of the above changes will truly create a green bedroom oasis.
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