10 Smart Buys for a Healthier Home

If you want to really gross yourself out, search "cutting board bacteria." We can promise you won't like what you see. Even after carefully washing a cutting board, it can easily harbor hidden bacteria that continue to flourish long after you've used it. These cutting boards are made from an organic composite surface used in skate parks. They're incredibly durable, dishwasher safe and best of all, non-porous (which means no bacteria!).

If you want to kick your soda habit, a great way to do it is by replacing sugary, chemical-filled sodas with something healthier like bubbly water. The SodaStream allows you to make your own soda or seltzer whenever you want. This machine uses eco-friendly glass bottles, and if you buy a couple of extras, you can make sure you always have plenty of bubbly water on deck in your fridge when your cravings hit.

Disposable zippered storage bags are easy to use and relatively cheap, but they're not so great for our environment. If you're a plastic bag addict, we have a much more eco-friendly solution for you: reusable food pouches. Use these pouches the same way you do plastic baggies — for veggies, snacks and sandwiches — but instead of tossing them in the trash when you're done, just clean the pouches in the dishwasher and use them again and again.

An easy change to make that will immediately boost your home's health is to switch out your current cleaning products with natural and organic versions. Aunt Fannie's cleaning products use plant-derived ingredients, are kid- and pet-friendly, and are made without phthalates, sulfates and parabens. They also come in beautifully fragranced scents from essential oils such as eucalyptus, sweet mandarin, fresh lime mint, lavender and lemon.

We all know we need to wash our linens, but it's easy to forget that you should also clean your mattress regularly. This cordless, handheld vacuum makes cleaning your mattress a breeze. It quickly picks up dust mites, dead skin cells and other allergens, and it has a dust sensor that turns green to let you know when the mattress's surface is clean. The vacuum also works great on other furniture, stairs and kids' car seats.

Using your phone, you can control your home's lights, music, locks and now smoke detectors, too. The Nest Smoke and Carbon Dioxide Detector can send alerts to your phone, letting you know when either smoke or carbon dioxide is present in your space. This means you can monitor your home from anywhere in the world and always make sure your family and pets are safe. Instead of a piercing siren, the unit uses light and talks to you to give you updates such as "Heads up! There's smoke in the living room." The Nest unit is available in both wired and wireless versions.

If you don't have a water filter on your sink faucet or in your fridge, you should try a SOMA pitcher. The filters for these pitchers are made from 60-percent plant-based, renewable materials and effectively remove chlorine, mercury, zinc, cadmium, copper and odors from tap water. Plus, it's made from BPA-free plastic.

After you give up disposable plastic bags, ditch all of your plastic containers and replace them with glass. These glass food storage containers are completely versatile — they can go in the oven or the freezer and are also dishwasher safe. The lids feature locking tabs, so you can be sure your leftovers won't leak.

Tons of bacteria and gunk build up on phones, remotes and tablets, and it's easy to forget that they need to be cleaned regularly, too. HomeSoap uses a UV sanitizer to disinfect everything from game controllers to baby bottles, killing 99.99-percent of germs. Set a recurring alarm on your phone once a week to remind yourself to keep up your new cleaning routine.

Shower curtains and shower curtain liners are another household item we might neglect to clean as often as we should. Part of the problem is that they are usually a pain to get off the rod. Here's the solution: This hookless shower curtain with a snap-on liner could not be easier to put up or remove. This means that you can grab it whenever you need to throw either the curtain or the liner into your washing machine to clean. You can even buy a couple of extra liners to keep on hand so you have a spare one ready to go anytime you're in a pinch.