4 Simple Ways to Detox Your Home
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We are often told that being healthy is just about eating right and exercising but there’s actually a lot more that goes into achieving your best health. While eating right and taking care of what goes in your body is definitely important, a lot of common health issues can be exacerbated by toxins and chemicals hiding in our homes.
Hormonal imbalances, weight gain, anxiety, and sleep disorders, are just a few of the many issues that can stem from being exposed to too many toxins and chemicals in the home.
If you’re looking to learn more about how to remove toxins from your home and ensure that you are fostering the cleanest and healthiest environment for you and your family, keep reading! I am going to share some tips on how to remove toxins from your home and why it’s so important to do so.
In this post I will cover:
- Why you should detox your home
- Four simple ways to detox your home
Why you should detox your home
The average person is exposed to thousands of toxic chemicals per day. If we could actually see how many harmful chemicals and substances we come into contact with on a daily basis, we would be running for the hills or trying to build plastic bubbles. And even then, the plastic bubble itself would be harmful to our health. It can be overwhelming when trying to figure out practical and convenient ways to detox your environment. The best place to start swapping is with the worst offenders, the items that are the heaviest chemical contributors and have the most negative impact on our health.
Items that come into direct contact with your skin, food, and surfaces are some of the most important to pay attention to. This means anything from cookware, hand and dish soap, food/drink storage containers and cleaning products.
The skin is the largest organ of the body and acts like a sponge, absorbing literally everything that is applied to it. So, if you’re Swiffer-ing or mopping your floors with those smelly, chemical-soaked pads or harsh soaps and then walking on those floors in your bare feet all of those ingredients are getting absorbed into your skin. It’s the same thing when you’re washing dishes. If you’re using hand and dish soap that contains ingredients like artificial fragrance, phthalates, parabens, and even formaldehyde, your hands are absorbing those chemicals and it is wreaking havoc on your body and your hormones.
When you come into contact with these harmful products, they become xenoestrogens which act as estrogen in the body. It’s not the kind of estrogen we want in the body, it’s the bad estrogen. It’s the kind that causes headaches, weight gain, fatigue, irritability, mood swings, irregular periods, bloating, sleep irregularities and more.
This is why it is vital to start cutting down on the number of toxic products in your home. You don’t have to change everything overnight either, it can be a slow process where you replace items over time. Keep reading to find out the best place to start with your home detox project.
Four simple ways to detox your home
If you’re anything like me when I started to learn about how harmful some of my favorite home goods were, you are panicking at the thought of having to replace all of your home staples that you know and love. But I bring you good news! The market for non-toxic home goods is BOOMING and there are so many cleaner options to choose from you will have no problem ditching the old and bringing in the new. To make it easier for you, I have compiled a list of four simple steps you can take right now in order to move towards a cleaner and safer home for you and your family.
#1- Break up with your Teflon pans
Did you know that your favorite Teflon frying pan is emitting toxins into the air and your food? I recently found this out and was not a happy camper when I discovered my mini egg frying pan (the perfect size for one fried egg) was actually harming my health and prohibiting me from reaching my hormone health and weight loss goals. The second I realized this, that little pan got tossed in the trash and I began hunting for something safer. One of the best things you can do to detox your home is to replace those Teflon pans and opt for ceramic. Most ceramic pans are really easy to clean and non-toxic. I recommend Caraway Cookware. It’s what I use and I absolutely love it! The food residue slides right off in the sink without any aggressive scrubbing or tough sponges. It’s easier cleanup and healthier for you. Plus they come in the cutest colors! Can’t beat that.
#2- Replace your dish soap
This is one if the simplest and cheapest swaps you can make. A lot of commercial brands contain artificial colors, fragrances, parabens, and other harmful ingredients. These can leave residue on your dishes and also absorb into your hands. I recommend Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap. It is a multi-purpose liquid soap and can be used for laundry and home cleaning as well! It’s also tough on grease so those oily salad dressings and sauces are no match.
#3- Say goodbye to all the plastic
This is a big one. Plastic water bottles, food storage containers/Tupperware, utensils, and even straws can deliver toxins to your body through your food. BPA free is helpful to some extent but to really detox your home, all plastic should be replaced with glass if possible. Some good glass food storage containers are linked HERE for you. A good water bottle option is the Simple Modern stainless steel water bottle. These keep your drinks cold for a VERY long time and don’t contain any harmful chemicals.
#4- Swap your cleaning supplies
The synthetic fragrances and chemicals in commercial cleaning products can be inhaled into your lungs and again, absorbed into your skin when cleaning your home. Toilet bowl cleaners, shower and bathroom cleaners, glass cleaner, and disinfectant wipes can all contain harmful chemicals that are not doing your hormones any favors. Molly’s is a good, clean brand. You can find them HERE. Another option is creating your own solution containing white vinegar and water. You can use a 1:1 ratio and use it for counter tops, bathrooms, and more. I also use it to clean my laminate floors. To dilute the vinegar smell, mix the vinegar with soapy water.
It’s no small task, detoxing your home and ensuring a safe environment for yourself and your family, but its’ an important one. Start with one small change, like your dish soap, and work your way up to swapping out your cookware and food storage containers. Every little change counts!
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