You might not think environmental wellness is important compared to, say, fitness or good nutrition, but all of these elements are equally essential to your overall wellbeing. Environmental wellness, when you think about it, has far more of an impact on your health than you initially realise, because you rarely stop to consider how you feel in your environment, and how these environments may be affecting your emotional, mental and physical health.
According to Jessica Rhodes, of health and wellness website 123FeelBetter, ‘Environmental wellness does involve our connection to nature and our concern about the health of our planet, but there is much more to it than that. All the people, places and things around us make up our environment, and these things can have both direct and indirect effects on how we feel. Taking care of our home, car and work environments helps us to feel as though we are taking care of ourselves, creating spaces that we want to be in and in which we can thrive. Environmental wellness involves surrounding ourselves with supportive atmospheres which will help us feel nurtured and accomplish our goals. Appreciating nature, spending time outdoors and taking steps to care for our natural environment are also behaviours that help to build feelings of love and nurturance, and are an integral part of our overall environmental wellness.’
However, you don’t need to make big changes to make a big difference to your wellbeing; the following small steps will go a long way in enhancing your environmental wellness:
1. Spend five minutes a day cleaning: ‘In just five minutes a day, you can affect a simple but substantial change in your environment, and the way you feel about your surroundings,’ says Rhodes. ‘Wash the dishes. Do one load of laundry. Clean the toilet, but don’t worry about the rest of the bathroom. If you spend just five minutes each and every day de-cluttering or cleaning your home environment, you’ll see big changes with minimal effort, and you’ll enjoy your time at home so much more.’
2. Bring the great outdoors indoors: Rhodes explains, ‘Placing a few potted plants in your home will create a feeling of freshness and life. Surrounding yourself with living things like plants and animals helps you feel more connected to the energy of life, and caring for plants and animals helps you feel loved and nurtured as well. If you don’t think you have a green thumb, there are plenty of plants out there that require very little care.’
3. Clear your desk: Yes, environmental wellness doesn’t only apply to your home, but your workplace too. Rhodes advises, ‘Whenever you sit down at your desk to study for school or begin a work project, clear up the clutter. A few minutes spent de-cluttering and organizing your desk each time you sit down to work will help you focus on your work, find what you need and avoid frustration. This small investment of time and effort is well worth the reward of not having a big mess on your hands later.’
4. Keep some small plastic bags in your car: Rhodes instructs, ‘Each time you get out of your car at the end of the day, pick up any trash that has accumulated and throw it in the sack. Then simply take the sack in and throw it away. This is a really simple way to keep your car from getting cluttered, and it’s easy to make it part of your daily or weekly routine.’
5. Get rid of useless clutter: ‘If you haven’t used it, worn it or even touched it in a year, it’s time to get rid of it,’ Rhodes asserts. ‘Donate clothes, furniture and other durable goods to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, recycle anything else that you can and throw the rest away. If you’re not using it, it’s simply taking up space and cluttering your house.’
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