My home detoxing journey started years ago with one small change because I have an extremely sensitive nose. I remember being in the bathtub and smelling the residual of the chemicals I used to clean the tub earlier that day. The thought that I might literally be taking a bath in chemical soup disturbed me greatly. I immediately got out of the tub and got online to purchase an all natural cleaner. For a long time, that was the only effort I made, until last year. Last year a friend showed me a documentary about all the chemicals in our home and some issues they cause and it lit a fire! I wanted to pass along 3 tips to detox your home that I’ve been using, to help you get started if this is something you’ve been thinking about. Be warned though: if you decide to take a step on this journey, the more you know, the more you’ll notice.
Before I really started digging in to what this all meant, I did the trending thing and got sucked into one of those websites that carry products that say “natural” on the label. I was so excited when they arrived at my door! I unpacked the natural hand soaps that smelled like flowers and diluted the new cleaners in glass bottles with pride. I was almost skipping around my house, replacing things and feeling good Until I learned that when you see natural on a product label, that’s not exactly what it means.
Since then, I’ve taken a closer look at the products I was using in my home. We have an overwhelming amount of choices at the store. Aisles and aisles of beautifully packaged products with intoxicating smells to draw us in and beckon us to purchase. I’ve listed below 3 tactics I’ve adopted to help detox my home and narrow things down:
- Read the label. Flip that beautiful container over and ask yourself… what happens if I this product is ingested? If it says anything other than flush with water, I’m out. If it passes this test, I move on to one of the options below. (If it says, call poison control, throw the bottle and run for the hills.)
- The website ewg.org lets you put in the name of a product and it gives you the toxicity rating. There is also an app called Think Dirty. I like this option because it’s nice to have at hand when you’re out and about.
- Replace one thing at a time. As you start to run out of a product, do your research to find a better replacement. This will help you skip the overwhelm.
Keep in mind that with everything in life, pick your battles. Seriously. I like to live by the 80/20 rule with most things because it saves my sanity. I’ve chosen mine, my skincare isn’t going anywhere and I don’t see myself letting go of the wrinkle spray for my clothes. This process can feel overwhelming. Honestly, the more you dig, the more you’ll find you want to change what you wear, what you eat. So I encourage you to start with baby steps here, friends. One thing at a time or maybe just one thing. You can be sure I’ll be over here applauding your efforts. You’ll notice that I’ve made a big effort here on not mentioning any product names, but if you’re looking for suggestions, please feel free to reach out, I’m happy to make a recommendation.
We can’t fix everything but we can choose one or two things to start and gradually make more changes. I feel much better making these efforts and it has been worth it. And by worth it, I mean my budget has thanked me, this cuts down my cleaning expenses, A LOT! My mind doesn’t even have to be bothered with the overwhelming choices and the marketing of the next new best thing. It’s a relief to skip those aisles of overwhelming choices and my mind can shut out the marketing noise of the next new best thing. I’m very much a work in progress here but I’m marking items off the list. I still need to find something to clean my wood floors if you have any suggestions.
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