How Clean is Your Home Really?: It's more than focusing on just dirt, declares Dr. Kimberly Landino

We all want a clean, environmentally friendly home, and that ideal is achievable. As you approach your own home, how do you feel about it? Is the front of the home clear of debris? Are you using fertilizers or pesticides on the yard? If so, then get inspired to change to green and environmentally friendly products around and in your home. Just ponder growing your own food in a garden. If you have too much stuff, sell, donate or recycle it.

Upon entering the home, the shoes are removed and placed by the door. This helps keep the home free from anything that shoe may have come in contact with throughout the day. In the kitchen, no high-fructose corn syrup, packaged foods, fast-food or nutrient-void ingredients are found, and no microwave. There are cupboards filled with dried whole grains, beans, seeds and nuts. The refrigerator is stocked with healthy organic veggies, fruits and lean meats. A compost bucket transports food scraps out to the compost pile in the back yard where they will eventually become soil for the garden. A recycling bin is under the sink, along with a water filtration system. Cloth napkins are used instead of paper, and ceramic, glass and stainless steel have replaced plastic drinking cups, plates and food storage containers.

In the laundry room is dye- and fragrance-free laundry soap. Vinegar and water in a spray bottle (equal amounts of each) is used to wash the windows of the house, as well as the cars. In the bathroom, the tub is used for Epsom salt bath soaks to help relieve sore muscles and detox the body. Organic shampoos, soaps and beauty products sit on the shelf and only environmentally friendly cleaning products and organic feminine hygiene products are used. There is a simple, do-it-yourself filter on the showerhead.

In the bedroom, cotton sheets cover a mattress that is less than seven years old, along with a pillow three years old or less. The room is de-cluttered and relaxing, with no electronic screens.

Our home is our palace, our sanctuary and our retreat; keeping it clean and flowing with good energy is a choice.

Dr. Kimberly Landino is a naturopathic physician in private practice in Tempe. For more information, call 480-921-9530 or visit DrKimberlyLandino.com.