Something I've come to learn about my new place is it is stuffy. I don't mean "gee, it's a little stuffy in here." I mean that upon opening the front door to fresh air, you wonder if the house has been making you ill, the air seems so unhealthy. The fix for this is easy with opening 2-3 windows and blasting fans full bore, but this will not work out well in the wintertime, and I'm assuming turning on electric heat will exacerbate this situation.
A friend suggested getting an air purifier and has one that works for him that's only $40. I think it's a great idea (it smells kinda funny in here due to the carpet and my friend had an asthma attack after visiting). But I think that's only one step.
Something else I've had suggested is plants. Let me make this clear, I am a brown thumb. I have on occasion had a garden because something grown will keep longer in the ground than if I buy it and don't get to it for a week. I'd plant, then promptly not maintain. If I couldn't eat them, I did not plant them. When I was a child, I killed desert plants through not watering them.
But the air in here is awful! I am willing to give plants a go, but I need something pretty maintenance free and easy. Bonus of course if it's a cooking herb. :) I do have a ceiling hook installed over a lamp with a CFL installed (I don't turn it on as much these days). Not sure how sturdy it is, but it's there. I have room on the kitchen counters for some small pots. And I could probably put one medium sized one on my desk (although the problem with plants is they grow... so maybe a small one). Given that I prefer a lack of maintenance, I'd prefer to get pots that are way too big for these plants so they have tons of growing room so they don't have to be transplanted until maybe next year, or however that works. :)
I know there are plant people here, so I am betting I will hear some good things. Just remember, please assume NO knowledge. I know plants are green. They need water. They need some kind of pebbles or whatever at the bottom of the pot for drainage and sometimes they need transplanting. You buy them at a store. They breathe in CO2 and breathe out O2, unless they die and then they release the C. That is what I know.
Actually, I did do a google about stuffiness and came across the houseplants and read that "pothos" an spiderplants are very easy, but don't know much more than that. I figured that getting info from my friends here would be more useful. I kinda don't want to end up with some really huge monstrosity that becomes unweildy to find a place for, not to mention moving it around.
Any other tips about getting this place less stuffy, I am all ears. I wondered about negative ions, but generally considered it a rather dubious gimmick kind of thing. Space here is at a premium and I'm not rich, so I'm not gonna collect all manner of "just in case it works." One of those desk waterfalls falls into this category unless you can state a truly compelling reason (it would probably just make me even more thirsty all the time! :).
