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There is a rapid increase in toxicity in our world today that touches every aspect of our life. From our air, water, soil and even our food, it can become overwhelming and confusing as to what we can do to protect ourselves and stay healthy. Many of us think that we have to do a complete overhaul of our life and home, but this is not the case. Below we have compiled a list of 5 easy steps to toxic-free living and how to realign your life with clean natural living. Please note that this is by no means an exhaustive list. Do understand that every step you do take is a step closer to cleaning out your life and helping you stay healthy.

We have provided you with 5 steps we implemented at the beginning of our journey and continue to use to this day to make sure that our home remains toxic-free. This list has changed and grown quite a bit, but we had to start somewhere. This is the goal we intend to achieve by sharing this list with you and helping you implement this process. Many think that it takes energy and time to implement these things, but the truth is it takes more energy and time to make yourself sick. We have also taken into consideration, time, simplicity and budget. Please feel free to follow these steps at a pace you, your family, budget, and schedule allow. All we ask is that you do start to implement them, one step at a time!

One Step At A Time…

Before we start, we want to make it clear that this is a process and does take some time. Take one step at a time, we do not want you to feel overwhelmed. Research shows that it takes 21 days to change a habit, which is not that bad! We started this with the same opinions, thinking how hard it would be and that being creatures of habit it would be impossible. Well, here we are three years later and not only are we still doing it but we have added to the list and have cleaned up our life and home.

Do not look at the big picture, but aim for little goals. Think of a movie. To make a motion picture, you need several still images to make it work. Well, this should be the same approach when giving your lifestyle makeover. Remember, each change is a win! We cannot stress this enough! Even switching out one product or using a few reusable items is a huge win!

In full disclosure, some of these steps are related to companies we are affiliated with. We only affiliate ourselves with products we have personally tested and approved. We will not promote anything that is made with even the slightest toxic ingredient – that is our commitment to you!

5 easy steps to toxic-free living

Switch Your Daily Cleaning Products

Start with the products in your home, which products do you use daily? Take a look at your hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, and other cleaning products you and your family use every day. Take a look at a few of our favourite fragrance free soaps that we enjoy using in our home.

You do not need separate cleaning products for every surface in your home. We use white vinegar to disinfect and an all-purpose orange cleaner that we purchased locally.

We may not be able to control what is outside of our home, but we DO have the choice to live in a non-toxic environment at home. Free of chemicals and items that will affect our health in the long run.

Embrace a Natural Laundry Routine

Let’s start with laundry detergent, dryer sheets, and fabric softeners, they are not only toxic for you, but they are also toxic to the environment. You wear clothing, use towels, and blankets 24/7 these come into contact with your body. This means that the chemicals in your products are always in contact with your skin.

Why do you think that your first step to treating unknown allergic reactions, rashes, and eczema is to change laundry detergents? This is among many other things, they are irritating and carcinogenic. There are many different options, do your research to find a natural laundry detergent that you like, then research the ingredients. Instead of using fabric softeners and dryer sheets, you can use aluminum free baking soda, white vinegar, and wool dryer balls as softeners.

Get Rid of ALL Artificial Fragrances

This is a MUST! Artificial fragrances are loaded with toxic chemicals and release fumes into your home. Say goodbye to air refreshers, sprays, plug-ins, scented candles, perfumes, body mists, everything and anything scented is full of toxic chemicals! What are the replacements?

If you would like your home to smell nice, you can use essential oil diffusers. You can research and learn about organic essential oils. Do you love lighting candles? You can use beeswax candles or the non-scented candles at Ikea. We are not advertising Ikea. However, they are an international brand that almost everyone has access to purchasing from. We contact companies before buying products to make sure that we are not bringing toxic things into our home.

Invest in an essential oil diffuser, we love this and have one in almost every room. You can stalk up on your favourite organic essential oils and play around with the scents that make you happy. If you are on a budget, we recommend peppermint, lavender, lemon, rosemary, cedarwood, cinnamon leaf, and sweet orange* for air refreshing purposes.

Do not take a chance with the quality of your essential oils. They are not all created equally; please make sure to research brands and to educate yourself. Email/Call companies to ask questions, distillation processes, reports, organic practices, and other data. Essential oils are potent and must be treated as such. Make sure to research ways to use them safely. Take a look at the top essential oils you should have on hand and their benefits. Essential oils are versatile and a gift from Mother Nature. All essential oils can be diffused, used in a spray bottle or applied to your skin. Make sure to dilute with a carrier oil. Warning: keep them away from children.

Ditch Plastic

Where do we start with this one! It’s just not necessary! Unfortunately, governments have failed us by allowing manufacturers to pollute countries internationally. With so many toxic and dangerous products, it makes many feel like it is impossible to get away from it. Well, you have a choice! You can opt out of using plastic bags, bottles and containers, and replace these with reusable bags, glass or stainless steel.

Did you know that plastic can contain endocrine disrupting and carcinogenic chemicals? These include polyvinyl chloride, phthalates, and BPA.

Please keep in mind that there is no need to spend money to replace everything at home just yet. The number one rule of zero waste is to make do with what you have. This means that you can keep certain things that you have until they break: plastic mop bucket, brushes and combs, brooms, dust pans.

How To Replace Plastic at Home

Give up bottled water. Get a reusable stainless steel or glass bottle.

Cut out sodas, juices, and other plastic-bottled beverages. You don’t need sodas, you can make fresh juice at home.

Glass jars for storage
Glass or stainless-steel cups for drinking
Ceramic or bamboo plates
Stainless steel or wooden cooking utensils
Say no to plastic bags and use Reusable storage bags
Get yourself reusable grocery totes
Bamboo brushes and toothbrushes 

Get Rid Of Non-Toxic Cookware

Say Good-Bye to Non-stick! This one should not be put off any longer, get rid of your non-stick cookware. People around the world use non-stick pots and pans for their everyday cooking. This cookware has been coated with a material called polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), also known as Teflon.
Teflon is a synthetic chemical and contains toxic chemicals called PFCs.

When non-stick cookware gets scratched, chemicals are released into the air and our food. It is essential that we bake with oven-safe stainless steel, glass, and ceramic. Cook with stainless steel, cast iron, or ceramic coated pots and pans.

Well, there you have it, 5 easy steps to toxic-free living! We look forward to sharing more with you about this topic.

Please feel free to share your experience with us below in the comment section, we’d love to hear from you.

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