Non-toxic living and easy swaps you can make in your home today

Intentional living means being conscious about how the products we use daily affect our overall wellness.

DID YOU KNOW that the average woman uses 12 different products with 168 ingredients every single day (read the research here: https://www.ewg.org/news/testimony-official-correspondence/statement-jane-houlihan-cosmetics-safety).

We are becoming more educated on the negative effects of certain ingredients found in our cosmetics and body care products. But, did you know that one of the biggest offenders of using harmful ingredients is… cleaning products.

Have you ever walked down the cleaning aisle at your favorite supermarket and smell the cleaning products (even though the bottles are tightly sealed)? What you are smelling are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that these cleaning products release in very small amounts.

Now imagine opening bottles of these products while deep-cleaning your home… It is no wonder that the air quality in our homes is much lower than we thought. While our bodies are highly capable of detoxification, constant exposure to these VOCs and everyday chemicals can be harmful in the long-term, especially for your little ones.

Why non-toxic living?

Our bodies are amazing and can often handle occasional toxins. BUT when we are exposed to it constantly (and scarily in the comfort of our homes), health conditions are more likely to develop.

Therefore, a safe, non-toxic home is important as we pursue a healthy lifestyle. AND it’s a change you can easily make by getting rid of harmful toxins in your home and replacing them with safer alternatives.

Check out our free resource on how you can start detoxifying your home.

Toxic load: why you might feel OK now, but develop health conditions in the long-term

Now you might say- I have been using these products every day and I am still feeling healthy and well.

While that might be true, the long-term effects of the build-up have shown to negatively affect our health & wellness.

Toxins in cleaning products can be absorbed through our skin and respiratory system. The chemicals from these products linger in the air, dust and on surfaces for a long time unless they are removed immediately.

According to a study conducted by the Natural Resource Defense Council, dust samples from an average American home contain over 45 chemicals and toxins.

Yes, this increases the toxic load on your liver and immune system over time. This can be explained by the concept of TOXIC LOAD.

What exactly is toxic load?

Dr. Mark Hyman explains it best:

“To understand toxicity, you must understand the concept of total load, or a total amount of stressors on your system at any one time. Think of total load like a glass filling over with water. It takes a certain amount to fill the glass and then, after a certain point, you put more in and it overflows. When our detoxification system becomes overwhelmed and overloaded, we start developing symptoms and get sick, but it may take years of accumulated stress and toxins to get to that point.”

Like we said earlier, our bodies are amazing and can often handle occasional toxins. But the long-term build-up overwhelms the detoxification system and creates stress. This is when symptoms may start to show.

Consistency over perfection- take baby steps

When you start researching the negative effects of ingredients found in products we use daily, you will be tempted to immediately switch out all the products you are using. This can get very expensive and intimidating if you do it all at once.

We are a big believer in consistency over perfection. Therefore, taking it step by step, without feeling overwhelmed, will bring about more long-term, sustainable change.

Here are some of the DIY recipes that worked well for us! Using basic, old-school ingredients that can be easily purchased at an affordable price, you can create very simple yet effective cleaning products.

Have fun playing around with these basic recipes and find the version that works best for you and your family!