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" Home is where your heart is, but it can also be where your health is. With these nine little changes you can transform your house into a healthier place for yourself and the people you love.   1. Grow Herbs in Your Kitchen You may have a well-stocked spice cabinet, but how often do you cook with fresh herbs? They&amp;#039;re a potent source of disease-fighting antioxidants that you may not be getting enough of. Fresh oregano, for instance, contains 42 times the antioxidant capacity of apples, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Instead of spending a lot of money on store-bought herbs, grow your own on a sunny kitchen windowsill. &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ll have fresh herbs available for your healthful cuisine at all times, helping to tastily increase your antioxidant intake,&amp;quot; says Jackie Newgent, RD, author of Big Green Cookbook. &amp;quot;Plus, by using fresh herbs, you can reduce your salt intake without reducing enjoyment.&amp;quot;    2. Upgrade Your Lightbulbs According to recent data, as much as 6 percent of the U.S. population is believed to suffer from seasonal affective disorder, which is often exacerbated by gray winter days and dimly lit homes. &amp;quot;A recent Harvard Medical School study shows that symptoms of &amp;#039;winter blues&amp;#039; such as mood swings, low energy, fatigue, increased appetite and weight gain as well as difficulties concentrating and focusing can all be effectively addressed by changing the lights in our immediate environment to ones that emit a higher intensity and bring back brightness in our lives,&amp;quot; says Ellen Whitehurst, a health writer and the author of Make This Your Lucky Day. Look for lightbulbs with multiple settings, suggests Whitehurst. &amp;quot;Switching out dim bulbs for multiple-setting ones can switch on health, happiness and a good mood by allowing each individual to determine his or her specific needs,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;The low setting can be used when a warm, quiet atmosphere is called for while the medium most closely mimics natural light. The higher setting offsets irritability and mood swings caused by prolonged periods of darkness.&amp;quot;    3. Create an At-Home Fitness Kit If you don&amp;#039;t have enough time to exercise outside of the home or just can&amp;#039;t afford a gym membership, you can still reach your fitness goals. &amp;quot;You can create a really simple and effective home gym for less than $100,&amp;quot; says Vik Khanna, an ACSM-certified clinical exercise specialist and chief exercise officer with Galileo Health Partners in Howard County, Maryland. Here&amp;#039;s what you need, he says: an exercise ball, two resistance bands (one light resistance and one moderate resistance), a yoga mat, and 5- and 10-pound dumbbells. &amp;quot;Combine your equipment with a couple of exercise DVDs, and you can create a handy and effective fitness studio,&amp;quot; he says.    4. Clean Out Your Fridge It&amp;#039;s known to be one of the germiest places in the home, but that&amp;#039;s not the only reason you should pay attention to your refrigerator. Health experts have long warned that one of the secrets to a healthy diet is a clean, organized and well-stocked fridge. Here&amp;#039;s a fun suggestion, from Heather K. Jones, RD, author of What&amp;#039;s Your Diet Type? &amp;quot;Throw a &amp;#039;take or toss&amp;#039; party,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;Invite neighbors and friends to take the foods you no longer want. Whatever they don&amp;#039;t take, you&amp;#039;ll toss. Replenish your refrigerator and kitchen with healthy basics and calorie-controlled packs of your favorite not-so-healthy snacks.&amp;quot;    5. Keep a Houseplant in Every Room According to research, the air in your home may be 12 times more polluted than outdoor air, thanks to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from paint, furniture, plastics and cleaning products. But you can fight back with the help of houseplants. Scientists at the University of Georgia say that certain indoor plants have the ability to actually remove harmful VOCs from the air. Of the 28 plant species they tested, the following plants were most effective at cleaning the air: Hemigraphis alternata (purple waffle plant), Hedera helix (English ivy), Hoya carnosa (variegated wax plant), Asparagus densiflorus (Asparagus fern) and Tradescantia pallida (purple heart plant).    6. Open Your Windows for at Least 30 Minutes a Day You don&amp;#039;t think twice about opening your windows in the summer months, but you should consider throwing on a sweater and airing out your house every day\u2014even when the temperature drops. Here&amp;#039;s why: According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the air quality in many American homes is poor. If you can&amp;#039;t afford an expensive air purifier, consider opening several windows in your home for at least 30 minutes a day for a natural (and free!) air exchange: old, polluted air out, clean air in.    7. Switch to Soy or Beeswax Candles Burning candles in your home is romantic and calming\u2014but it also might be polluting the air you breathe, warn health experts. According to recent research presented at a National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, candles made from paraffin wax, the most common type, are significant sources of carcinogens and other air pollutants, which may contribute to respiratory and other health problems. While burning an occasional candle isn&amp;#039;t dangerous, if you light candles frequently, consider switching to those made from soy or beeswax, both of which burn cleaner and are less of an indoor-air health hazard.    8. Leave Your Shoes at the Door According to recent research, the bottom of your shoes may carry as many as 66 million organisms, some of which can cause infections in your stomach, lungs and eyes. &amp;quot;Studies indicate that you can bring pathogenic bacteria and mold spores into the home on the soles of shoes,&amp;quot; says Elizabeth Scott, a germ expert and codirector of the Simmons College Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community Settings. &amp;quot;Mold spores can get into the carpeting and cause allergy problems, while bacteria, such as salmonella, on the floor can be a problem if there are young children at the crawling stage. It&amp;#039;s smart to leave outdoor shoes at the door.&amp;quot;    9. Clear Your Clutter Those stacks of old magazines and boxes of old clothes that you will never wear again could be dragging you down, says Debbie Mandel, MA, a stress-management expert and the author of Addicted to Stress. &amp;quot;Clutter is unhealthy on two levels, physical and mental,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a breeding ground for mold and bacteria, and people tend to be more accident prone around it. Also, it can be symptomatic of a whole range of emotional issues and disorders like ADD, stress, depression, grief.&amp;quot; The best way to declutter? Set small goals, like focusing on one room per week. If that seems overwhelming, call a friend to help. &amp;quot;Just doing a little bit at a time will give you a great emotional boost\u2014the way you feel when you clean out your purse,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;When you see how good you feel, you can do more.&amp;quot;  Sarah Jio is the health and fitness blogger for Glamour.com. Visit her blog, Vitamin G.  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<http://www.womansday.com/home/advice/a1085/give-your-home-a-healthy-makeover-100242/>