We spend a lot of time indoors, but don’t often think about the healthiness of indoor spaces. Synthetic materials, poor air quality, and artificial lighting can affect everything from our mood to our sleeping habits. Yet, creating a healthier home doesn’t have to mean a complete overhaul of comfortable and familiar living spaces. 

Instead, you can take big steps toward improving your indoor environment with small changes. The guide below features several natural ways to enhance your indoor environment and improve your quality of life. With Drift’s naturally scented and sustainably sourced home products, your options are practically limitless. 

Why Your Indoor Environment Matters

The environment you create within the four walls you call home affects how you feel on a daily basis. After all, home is where you breathe, rest, recharge, and reconnect. Everything that surrounds us indoors plays a role in our energy, mood, and overall well-being. 

Establishing a clean, calm, and naturally enhanced space supports better focus during the day and deeper rest at night. Instead of filling your home with high-tech gadgets or a strict minimalistic design, it’s better to take an intentional approach. That involves thinking about crafting a space that supports your health in multiple facets. 

7 Natural Ways to Improve Your Indoor Environment

Fresh air, natural scents, sunlight, and designs inspired by nature can contribute to your overall health and well-being. Explore these and other ways to improve your indoor environment below. 

1. Natural Ventilation: Let Fresh Air In

Maintaining a comfortable temperature in your home sets the tone for a pleasant indoor environment, but a breath of fresh air truly helps sustain your health. Open the windows to let outside air in for natural ventilation. Better yet, allow more air in through a screen door, especially on beautiful days. 

2. Add Soothing Scents with Essential Oils

Few things are more natural than essential oils when it comes to improving your indoor environment. Many products made for your home incorporate synthetic elements, but that’s not the case with Drift’s scented home products. Natural ingredients are featured throughout the entire product line. 

For instance, the Home Scent Diffuser features clean ingredients safe for pets and children. The built-in wall plug rotates to fit any outlet, and the magnetic cover makes it easy to change out scents at will. This stylish diffuser also includes three customizable scent levels to alternate intensities. 

If you’re looking for something more decorative, the Reed Diffuser and Scented Candle both diffuse scent passively for up to 60 days. The Scented Candle features a cotton-core wick and a blend of soy and coconut fragrance oils, offering a 45-hour burn time. For something more low-maintenance, choose the Reed Diffuser. 

Finally, Drift also offers its alcohol-free Room Spray. This water-based mist can be used as a room deodorizer, linen spray, or for a quick refreshing spritz of fragrance in your indoor environment. The natural formula is also safe for use around pets. 

3. Purify the Air with Houseplants

Many different types of houseplants are known for improving indoor air quality, including snake plants, peace lilies, spider plants, and aloe vera. Incorporating these plants into your home’s decor can boost the amount of oxygen within your living space, filter out harmful toxins, and add a colorful element to your surroundings. If you have pets, be sure to research houseplants before introducing them, as some—such as peace lilies—can be toxic to them.

4. Harness the Power of Natural Light

Our circadian rhythms help us stay awake when it’s light out and fall asleep when the sun sets. Allowing light into your home can help calibrate your inner clock so you can continue to operate on a regular schedule. Natural light also helps regulate temperature, nourish houseplants, and make our surroundings feel more uplifting. 

5. Use Natural Materials and Textiles

Integrating natural materials and textiles into multiple aspects of your living space promotes a stress-free and emotionally neutral indoor environment. Everything from your home’s flooring and furniture to the walls, bedding, storage, and textiles can contribute to a stronger connection with nature, depending on which materials you choose. For example, woven wall hangings, organic cotton sheets, wool throw blankets, bamboo baskets, and wicker furniture help you bond with your surroundings on a deeper level. 

6. Reduce Noise and Improve Calm with Nature-Inspired Design

Besides the materials and textiles you choose, the approach you take in decorating your home can significantly improve your indoor environment. Design elements like organic shapes, visual rhythm, and natural flow all work together to promote calmness. Symmetry and balance also lend themselves to a natural environment that’s as soothing as it is visually pleasing. 

Some of the natural design elements necessary for a restful indoor environment can be challenging to incorporate without experience. For example, creating quiet zones in your home can prove difficult if you’re unsure what that space should look like. Consulting with experts can be helpful, especially if you’re trying to simplify sightlines, design for stillness, or draw attention to a calming focal point. 

7. Embrace Minimalism and Decluttering

Clutter poses several hazards to our health, ranging from safety concerns to its impact on our mental well-being. A severely minimalist approach is no more the answer than a living space stuffed full of possessions; instead, a middle-of-the-road approach is sufficient. When you’re intentional about the objects you place in your home and how they contribute to your health, you actively craft a better indoor environment. 

Creating a Healthier, More Harmonious Home

The ambiance you create in your home can support a naturally nourishing indoor environment, especially if you use Drift scented home products. With several to choose from, there are countless ways to mix and match scents to infuse your home with custom fragrances. A subscription to the Home Scent of the Month Club can also unlock more potential with exclusive scents delivered to your door every month.