Our world is becoming increasingly toxic. It is more important than ever to limit our exposure from these harmful chemicals. The one place you can control your exposure is in your home…
We are exposed to many different toxins on a daily basis:
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fuels
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styrene (rubbers and plastics)
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flame retardants
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pesticides (glyphosate)
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dioxin
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xenoestrogens (pesticides, nail polish, make up, plastic water bottles, cosmetics)
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bisphenol A
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hormones in livestock
Below are some ways I decrease mine and my families toxic burden and help the environment! …
HOUSEHOLD CLEANING:
Many household cleaners contain varying levels of toxins listed above plus more! Read this article published in the national library medicine to learn more. I keep in stock at my house the basics like Dr. Bronners pure castille soap, distilled white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and essential oils. These four ingredients do almost all of my household cleaning.
My favorite homemade, whole house cleaner
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Glass spray bottle (16 ounce)
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Filtered water
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Small amount hydrogen peroxide (around 0.5-1 ounce)
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Dash white vinegar
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1 squirt dish soap. Dr. Bronners pure castille soap diluted
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Essential oils of your choice. I frequently choose lemon. My favorite essential oil company is Eden’s Garden. They offer quality oils at a fair price 🙂
This works great on counters, sinks, cabinets and even windows! This is literally the only thing I use around my home for everyday cleaning.
My favorite homemade floor cleaner:
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Bucket
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Hot water – 1 gallon
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white, distilled vinegar
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Dash of Dr. Bronners soap
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A dash (you don’t need much) Orange oil (never use undiluted as it may cause skin irritation)
** This smells so good, like fresh squeezed oranges :). Also works as a natural ant repellent.
Laundry detergent:
Laundry sheets by Eco Roots are non toxic and better for the environment! No more big plastic jug being thrown in the trash!
Toilet bowl/shower cleaner:
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White vinegar
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Baking soda
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Poor a little of each in the toilet bowl (at separate times or you’ll have a huge mess) and scrub!
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You can also throw some essential oils in for a refreshing scent! Some oils that work well for mold are: clove, lavendar, citrus, eucalyptus and tea tree. Being in Florida we get moldy showers pretty easily!
PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS:
Finding good personal care products can be rather difficult. Dr. Bronner’s soaps can be used as body soap and hand soap and are very clean and eco-friendly. I love the shampoo and conditioner bars from Nourish Natural Bath Products. They have bars specific to any hair issue you are having from dry to oily, graying, thinning etc. These bars smell wonderful, are toxin free and eco friendly! No more big plastic shampoo bottle! They say they last about 60 washes which should last a good long time if you are not washing your hair daily which is not recommended. Nourish also has wonderfully smelling bar soaps that are toxin free as well as lotions :).
For my facial skincare routine I use RP complex products. This is a professional line that is very clean and effective for anti-aging. This line uses peptides, enzymes and naturally occurring antioxidants, lipids and vitamins to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. I use the RP complex cleanser, peptide gel, and copper repair cream daily. You can purchase these anti-aging products at Wave on Wave Health.
Sun Care: for daily sunscreen I use MyChelle Dermaceuticals. This product is reef friendly and toxin free. It is a tinted sunscreen so it doubles as a foundation! This product can be purchased through my online supplement dispensary and found under favorites.
Lip care: I like Dr. Bronners organic chap sticks as well as Carlson labs E-Gem lip balm. Both can be purchased through my online supplement dispensary and found under favorites.
Perfume: I also make this homemade! I use Eden’s garden essential oils, a very small amount of rubbing alcohol, and filtered or distilled water. In this blog post they describe how to combine the oils to get an aromatic symphony! Or you can just use your favorite oil. Mine is French Lavendar. They
also have a blog post on how to make a roll on perfume or you can purchase them pre-made.
Oral Care: This can also be homemade 🙂 I follow this recipe by Wellness Mama when I have time to make my own which is not always the case. I also like Dentalcidin Broad-Spectrum Toothpaste with Biocidin which is a botanical formula that can demolish biofilms for more effective removal of plaque. This product can be found at my online supplement dispensary under favorites. I also like Tom’s of Maine fluoride free products which can be found at stores like walmart. Fluoride has been found to be a potent neurotoxin. Read more about fluoride here and here.
Body lotion: I like to keep this simple as well. I keep a jar of shea butter, coconut oil and essential oils in stock at my house. You can mix these products together to make a body butter. A 16 ounce jar of shea butter costs around $18 and cold pressed, organic coconut oil costs around $6. You can get more fancy and follow this recipe below courtesy of the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM). Either way you are likely saving money and reduce your toxic burden.
OUTDOOR WEED CONTROL:
Pesticides, like glyphosate, are of increasing concern due to the neuroendocrine disrupting effects of this potent chemical. Read more about the toxic effects of pesticides like glyphosate here, here, and here.
To control my weeds I use a natural, homemade mix courtesy of Go Native Landscaping:
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white vinegar
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1-2 tablespoons dish soap
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1-2 tablespoons orange oil
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put into a hand held lawn sprayer (usually gallon or half gallon size).
Not only does this smell fantastic as you are spraying it on, it feels good to know I am not damaging myself or my environment. Too note, this does not work on taller weeds so you may have to do some weed pulling first! Getting your hands in the dirt is a good stress reliever and good exercise 🙂
I hope this article has eased your anxiety about cleaning up your home and personal care routine and made you realize a toxin free life can actually save you money! My everyday household cleaner, floor cleaner and toilet bowl/shower cleaner only use 5-6 everyday ingredients: water, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, liquid soap, baking soda, and essential oils of your choice. Purchase a good, dark amber glass spray bottle , and your ingredients in bulk, and you can have enough to last a year or more!
