Growing indoor plants can be healthy, easy and just as fun as having an outdoor garden. In fact, indoor plants not only help clean the environment around them, but they act as a quick decorating tool. Here are five of my favorite house plants that anyone can keep alive and thriving.

Orchids

This is an ideal plant for a busy family because it requires minimum care.  Aside from being easy to take care of, orchids rid the air of xylene a pollutant found in many glues and paints so they make wonderful housewarming gifts for anyone who recently moved into or renovated a new space. Unlike some other plants, orchids also respire and give off oxygen at night, so they’re great for the bedroom.

Peace Lilies

The peace lily, a.k.a. spathiphyllum, is an ideal plant to have in your home if you love flowers but don’t want to buy bouquets that die after a few days. Spathiphyllum thrives in the shade in temperatures below 55 degrees F, and removes harmful toxins like acetone, ammonia, benzene, ethyl acetate, formaldehyde, methyl alcohol, trichloroethylene, and xylene.

Aloe

This succulent with long pointed leaves has medicinal properties you probably well know from product labels. It can grow three feet high for big impact indoors. Smaller varieties like the popular aloe vera, work great in small, sunny indoor spaces. Aloe likes room temperatures around 70 degrees and a lot of sunlight. As you might expect for a succulent, this indoor house plant prefers dry soil, so avoid frequent watering for the best result.

Spider Plant

These unusual-looking indoor plants work well as hanging plants. Spider plants do well with evenly moist soil and bright or medium lighting conditions. Room temperatures of 60 to 75 degrees keep them thriving.

Song of India

As versatile as its name is poetic, Dracaena reflexa or “Song of India” is easy to identify because of its telltale green, lime, and yellow leaves. These plants are easy to grow in both high and low light and absorb undesirables like formaldehyde, toluene, and xylene.