Brought to you by
October 2026
Tori McGee, Holistic REALTOR®
How to Hire a Contractor Who Cares About Toxins
Healthy Home Products That Aren’t Always What They Seem
Make Your Porch Halloween-Ready
Simple design tricks that feel intentional, inviting, and just a little spooky.
Compliments of
Tori McGee, Holistic REALTOR®
Tori McGee
Holistic Realtor®
The Good Neighbor Podcast
This month, we’re embracing the transition into fall and looking at the ways our homes, routines, and everyday choices can support a healthier season. From preparing your home for cooler weather to creating a morning routine that sets the tone for the day, October is a good time to make a few thoughtful changes that can improve how your home works for you.
In this issue, we’re also getting into the fun of the season with Halloween-ready porch ideas and creative ways to use leftover candy, what to look for when hiring a contractor, and why some products marketed as healthy may not be as beneficial as they seem.
Whether you’re getting your home ready for the season, making a few changes to your daily routine, or simply looking for healthier ways to enjoy fall, I hope this issue gives you practical ideas to take with you into October and beyond.
Recipe of the Month
Curried Pumpkin, Chicken and Rice Soup
Heather Christo, Deliciously Allergen Free Recipes
Whatever the case- this soup is awesome, (and I have others to back that up!) and makes for a really healthy and filling dinner perfect for blustery winter nights. Hope you love it!
Photo Credit: Heather Christo
Organization
Fall Into a More Efficient Home
Keep your home comfortable, clean, and energy-conscious.
By Jolene Nannette
Cleaning out and organizing your pantry and kitchen for fall is not just about tidying up; it's an opportunity to get ready for the changing season, explore new recipes, and prepare for cozy evenings ahead. Here are some tips to get your fall off to a great (and organized) start!
Feng Shui Essentials
What Cozy Actually Means
Designing for Autumn and the Nervous System
By Dee Oujiri
Cozy has become an industry. It shows up in candle names and the particular filter applied to photographs of fireplaces. It appears in the marketing of blankets, and the interior design vocabulary of social media, where it has come to mean something specific and producible: warm tones, textured textiles, a beverage held in both hands, the suggestion of weather outside, and comfort within.
Featured Article
Healthy Home Realty with Tori
Staff Writer
Check out my interview on The Good Neighbor Podcast! 🏡
Here are the details:
Starting out as a nutrition specialist in 2008, I never intended to become a real estate agent. But in 2003, I made a conscious decision to remove all chemicals from my family’s life after my young daughter was diagnosed with ADHD.
From that point, my mission was to do whatever I could to help my daughter.
When I began to look for a home to buy in 2013, I quickly realized there was a need for holistic real estate agents.
“No one really cared,” she says. Most traditional real estate agents acted like mold and other toxins were no big deal…
In 2015, I received my Realtor’s license and felt the need to create wellness for homes.
I am a certified Building Biology Advocate & am very excited to use the knowledge and skills I’ve learned to educate others in this increasingly vital area of public health and well-being.
I believe real estate is the next frontier that will be radically transformed by the wellness movement. Our homes, communities and surrounding environment directly affect our daily behaviors and lifestyles, and together these determine up to 80–90 percent of our health outcomes. Since our homes are typically our most important personal investment and expenditure, it is only logical that they should also be an investment in our health and well-being.
Wellness Design
The New Aging
How Wellness Real Estate Is Redefining Longevity at Home
By Cassy West
The Global Wellness Institute named “Longevity Residences” the top 2026 category at their spring summit: homes and communities are being reframed as active participants in extending health-spans, integrating preventive medicine, advanced diagnostics, AI-driven personalization, and health-optimized design directly into daily life. The framing is notable as the home and community are becoming points of care, structurally integrated with healthcare rather than adjacent to it, with health-spans becoming infrastructure rather than an amenity.
Wellness Real Estate
Creating a Balanced Morning Routine for Health and Wellness
By Cassy West
For homebuyers and homeowners trying to build a wellness-focused life, mornings can feel like the one part of the day the house doesn’t support. Between rushed decisions, cluttered spaces, and competing priorities, common morning routine challenges make it hard to stay consistent, even with the best intentions. A balanced morning routine creates a calmer start that reduces daily friction at home and strengthens healthy lifestyle habits over time. The payoff is simple: better rhythm, better choices, and a clearer health and well-being impact.
Halloween / Fall
Make Your Porch Halloween-Ready
Simple design tricks that feel intentional, inviting, and just a little spooky.
By Sabrina Aguilar
A Halloween porch doesn't need to be packed with decorations to make an impression. In fact, the most put-together displays often rely on a few simple design tricks: varying height, repeating colors, layering textures, and using light to draw attention to specific areas.
Halloween / Fall
What to Do With Leftover Halloween Candy
By Lucy Chatman
Halloween is fun, but let’s be honest: sometimes it leaves us with way too much candy. Between the trick-or-treat haul, the leftovers from the candy bowl, and the pieces nobody actually wants, it doesn't take long to end up with a kitchen full of sweets.
Why Schools Are Bringing Back Shop Class
How hands-on learning benefits today's students.
By Lucy Chatman
Growing up, I remember hearing stories about the classes my parents took in school. My mom learned to cook and sew. My dad spent time in the woodshop, building projects with his own hands and learning how to use tools that would stay with him long after graduation.
Back-to-School
Healthy Home
How to Hire a Contractor Who Cares About Toxins
If you have spent any time in the healthy living world, you know that what we put in our bodies matters. But when it comes to the four walls around us, things get complicated. You decide to renovate a bathroom or finish a basement, and suddenly you are faced with a dizzying array of adhesives, paints, and industry standards that do not actually align with health. You want to hire a contractor who understands that a home should be a sanctuary, not a source of chemical off-gassing.
Architecture
Healthy Home Products That Aren’t Always What They Seem
By Kate Hamblet
Walk into almost any home improvement store and you’ll see plenty of products promising to be better for you and the planet. Paint is labeled “low-VOC.” Flooring is advertised as “natural.” Insulation is “eco-friendly.” Cabinets are “green.” Even cleaners, adhesives, sealants, and finishes come covered in leaves, earth tones, and reassuring words about health and sustainability.
Aromatherapy
How five essential oils can soften the passage into fall
By Kate Hamblet
As the seasons change, the way we use our homes changes too. We open the windows less often, spend more time indoors, and start looking for simple ways to make our spaces feel fresh, comfortable, and inviting.
