Q: I’ve spent a lot of time at home since the pandemic started. Lately, my smallish house feels cluttered and claustrophobic, and it’s affecting my mood and energy level. What can I do to feel better?

A: Your home can profoundly affect your health and well-being, and we’re spending more time in our homes than ever before.

Over the past few decades, science has revealed a strong link between our surroundings and our overall health. It’s become clear that we need to give our home environment a serious health check to ensure our own long-term wellness. Here are a few tips to transform your home into a more positive space.

Let nature in

Despite how we live today, we’re still children of nature. The health benefits of acting on this knowledge are well-studied and undeniable. When we’re close to nature, everything works better. It calms us and reduces stress. In natural settings, we concentrate better and heal faster. When we remove nature from our surroundings, things fall apart.

Bring in nature by minimizing the barriers that separate exterior from interior. If you can increase the size of your windows, or add more, do so. Replace heavy drapery with solar shades that open up the view and admit more natural light. Invite nature in by adding landscaping just outside your windows and bringing plants, herbs and living walls into your home.

Invest in your outdoor space if you’re able. Make your patio or deck more inviting with comfortable furniture, outdoor heaters, rugs and soft fabrics. Replace a solid door with glass, or add a sliding door to improve access to garden paths and outdoor spaces.

Shed stuff

We often have too much stuff. The psychological burden of clutter and chaos is greater than you might think. It might seem counterintuitive, but having too much stuff can result in depression, a sense of isolation and an inability to focus.

Reducing and decluttering are not easy but can be achieved if you tackle rooms and tasks systematically. The hard part is the mental shift required to commit to keeping only things that give us joy or that we truly need.

In terms of decluttering, drawers and containers are the most efficient form of storage. The secret of effective storage is keeping containers visible and “filing” them vertically, as you would with paperwork, to ensure that you can easily see and access what you need. Not knowing where things are is its own source of unhealthy frustration and stress.

Of course, decluttering is of no use if you continue accumulating more stuff. Stores encourage you to buy more, but you can decide what you actually bring into your home.

Light appropriately

Our ancestors’ only source of light was the sun. As a result, natural light is the heart of our circadian rhythms and essential for our overall health. It regulates our metabolism, immune system, blood pressure and cognition. It is easy for artificial lighting to work against our natural cycles.

While we can’t control sunlight, we can control the type of lighting in our homes and the tone and color of the light we are exposed to. Every room should have different types of light — general lighting, task lighting and accent lighting — preferably controlled separately and dimmable. This allows flexibility for different activities at different times of the day and night. Most importantly, it allows you to simulate natural sunlight.

Pay specific attention to the color (also known as temperature) of light bulbs. To increase productivity during the day, set overhead lighting to a bright, blue-white light. In the evening, when you want to relax, you can switch to lamps with soft, warm light placed at eye level.

Improve air quality

We breathe in air continuously, but unless our sense of smell tells us that something is wrong, we hardly ever think about the quality of the air. Many irritants and harmful gases are odorless and can cause serious health problems without our realizing it.

To improve air quality, become mindful of what you bring into your home. Many household products like air fresheners, disinfectants, aerosol sprays, and art materials (paints, solvents) contain harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Choose paint, flooring products and building and furniture materials that are formaldehyde free. Read product labels, ask questions and choose reliable manufacturers for everything you bring into your home.

While we cannot control everything, there is still a lot we can do to ensure that our homes improve the overall health and well-being of ourselves and our loved ones.

Mia Hannom is the owner of In Form Design, a member of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS). If you have a home improvement, remodeling, or residential homebuilding question you’d like answered by one of the MBAKS’s more than 2,600 members, write to homework@mbaks.com

By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

The latest Builders Bulletin shows year-to-date permit activity through April fell 18% for single-family homes and 37% for multifamily homes in King County compared to the same period last year. Single-family permits were up 6% and multifamily permits up 60% in Snohomish County. Pierce County saw a 5% drop in multifamily permits and a 21% increase in single-family permits. Meanwhile, the May jobs report shows construction employment increased by 30,000 between April and May, reflecting a gain from the previous month’s significant job losses due to the construction shutdown.

The Builder's Bulletin is intended to provide a convenient way to track housing in our market and includes information from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, State of the Cities Data Systems, Office of Financial Management, and the Washington State Employment Security Department.

Download this month's report:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Sharon Couts
Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties
425.499.1723

37 Ramps to Be Built in One Day in the Largest Rampathon Ever

Seattle—May 21, 2016—On May 21, the lives of 37 families will change just a little bit, thanks to local builders volunteering their time to build ramps for Rampathon in King and Snohomish counties. Many families with disabilities have difficulties getting in and out of their homes. The Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, along with its members, want to make the lives of families facing disabilities a little easier.

Recipients of a few of those ramps include 6-year-old Colby, a tiny house village serving homeless individuals and families, and a WWII veteran. This year, 37 ramps will be built during Rampathon. In the 23 years of the event, this is the largest Rampathon ever. Since its inception in 1993, more than 370 ramps have been built with $1.7 million in in-kind donations.

Colby

Colby was a typical nine-month-old when his mother received a phone call that changed their lives. Colby is a victim of abusive head trauma. He was assaulted by his babysitter, who couldn't deal with his crying. The result was a traumatic brain injury that left him in a lifelong non-ambulatory state. He is now a permanent wheelchair user. His family is devoting themselves to educating care givers and new parents on the effects of frustrated behaviors and development of understanding that babies cry for many reasons and sometimes for no reason we can understand or fix.

Colby is now 6 years old; Rampathon happens the day after the sixth anniversary of this tragedy. Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau will be building Colby's ramp.

Nickelsville Tiny Home Village

Sawhorse Revolution worked with a coalition of organizations to create Seattle's first tiny house village. It' is designed to provide a safe space and transitional services to those experiencing homelessness. Opened in January 2016, it featured plumbed bathroom facilities. Now, they're building a ramp to provide access to bathroom and shower facilities for those individuals who struggle with homelessness and disabilities.

Sawhorse Revolution works with high school students of diverse backgrounds from Seattle and surrounding areas. Under the tutelage of mentors, professional builders, architects, and cross-disciplinary educators, they offer students a widely applicable skill set, opportunities for character development, and confidence in their abilities to engage and improve their communities.

WWII Veteran Hideyoshi Horikawa

95-year-old Hideyoshi has been in a care facility four times due to complications from falls. He has hemiparesis (weakness or inability to move) in his upper and lower extremities. His left calf muscle is weak due to a WWII gunshot wound from his time in the U.S. Army during the European campaign. He has reduced sensation in his feet due to frostbite he received during the war. He currently has to use Tri-Med services to enter and exit his home. His wife is his primary care giver.

Carlisle Classic Homes will be building Hideyoshi's ramp.

About the MBA

Founded in 1909, the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBA) has grown to become the largest residential homebuilders association in the United States. With 2,800 member companies, the association is dedicated to membership value, government advocacy, financial stewardship, and promoting the residential building industry in the Puget Sound region. The association and its members address many of the concerns and issues affecting the residential housing industry. If you are looking to buy, build, remodel or maintain your home, trust MBA for industry professional referrals and practical information to get the job done. mbaks.com

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