Kid-Safe Indoor Plants that Detox the Home
I’ve often admired all the fig leaf plants on Instagram and wondered if I could manage one … then remind myself that my toddler would destroy it in just minutes. This, lack of plant knowledge and the fact that my plants usually die has kept me from joining the many indoor plant owners of the world who have anything but succulents. But I recently found a way to bring new indoor plants into my home in a way that I can manage and that’s safe for the kids. The best part? These plants clean the air!
Finding the right plants
I’m a semi-crunchy mom. This means I do a lot of conventional things but really try to be natural and “crunchy” or green when I can be. I’m not farming my own food just yet, but if I can add some plants to my home to cut out some off-gassing from products we use then I’m all for it. In my search for greens that benefit the health of our family, I wanted to find options that provide different benefits and that someone who forgets to water plants all the time could manage. Another must for my plant search was availability. It wouldn’t make sense for me to be set on a plant that isn’t in season or available in stores or online right now.
Clean air house plants
My research brought me to three lovely plants:
1. The Snake Plant
Snake plants are beautiful plants most often seen in large pots as indoor decorations because they can detox the home from off-gassing and formaldehyde.
2. The Aloe Vera plant
Aloe is great for cuts, burns, and scrapes but can also detox the air, making it extremely helpful in the family home.
3. The English Ivy
English Ivy is most often found in restrooms because it rids the air of fecal matter. Each of these plants have different needs, but they all basically just need moist soil, a little bit of indirect sunlight and to not be watered too often (perfect for me). I wasn’t about to cart the kids to several stores to find the plants I wanted to pick up so I ordered them on Etsy!
Making indoor plants kid-safe
Kids shouldn’t eat any of these plants and the Aloe plant might be spiky, so I made mine kid-safe by ordering small 4-inch versions and hanging them on the wall out of reach. Now my plants are functional, kid-safe, and look great. By keeping the plants off the ground, I have one less spill or breakage to worry about and it keeps the plants manageable since they’re smaller. As the kids get older I just might get my potted fig leaf plant, but for now, I’m enjoying the benefits of my mini indoor plants.
What’s your favorite indoor plant?
Those look great! We just got an aloe plant for outside. I feel like even with protection, sunburns are inevitable in our family, so I like knowing that we can get immediate relief. I haven’t quite decided which plants to get for inside though…. my track record isn’t too good as a plant mom