This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UW Lax chapter.

Having indoor plants in any state is great for a variety of reasons, but it’s especially great for us Northern states because we’re often trapped indoors during long winters.

First of all, as many of you would guess, they suck up some of your carbon dioxide and provide oxygen in an otherwise stale environment. It’s a little bit of fresh air when we can’t go outside.

They also remove nasty chemicals (like formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, benzene, ammonia, and xylene) that are factors in getting/retaining colds and otherwise just not feeling your best

Here are the plants my roommates and I have, which include aloe vera, snake plants, cacti, succulents, and air plants:

Here’s my boi, Sergei. He’s a Ladyfinger (Mammillaria Elongate) cactus.

Here’s him during the summer,

We also put one of our many salt lamps among them. It helps provide sunlight for them and increases the level of negative ions in the air around them so they grow faster and healthier.

I recommend succulents and cacti for easy care while you’re in all your classes and out and about for your activities, but other great choices for plants include: