5 Most Effective Changes to Create a Non-Toxic Home
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How much time do you spend in your home? 12 hours a day? 20 hours a day? With more mamas changing to stay-at-home mom status, your home may have even become your sanctuary this past year, where you may even go days without leaving home.
I’m so glad to be a stay-at-home mom, but I know we also gotta get our booties out the door more often to change up the scenery.
But my point is, we spend a significant amount of time in our homes. Let’s make sure your home is non-toxic as much as possible for you and your little ones.
Environmental toxic exposures can contribute to so many common health problems in mamas, like severe PMS, anxiety, debilitating period cramps, brain fog, and chronic diseases! And sadly toxins affect little ones even more. As a copywriter for functional medicine docs, I’ve done so much research on these topics and so a toxic free home was non-negotiable with my hubby.
Though you don’t have to make these investments and nontoxic lifestyle changes overnight (but bonus points if you do), these tips can help you create your non-toxic home in the long run.
Non-Toxic Home Swaps
Toxins are hiding in your everyday products like your hand soaps, laundry detergent, even your shampoo, and make-up!
You’d think everything on the grocery store shelves is safe...but unfortunately, they’re not.
Keep an eye out for greenwashing too (aka marketing tricks, making you believe their product is “all-natural” when really, they still have harmful ingredients). My husband is a sucker for these…even when I tell him specifically what to look out for. Gotta love him for trying though.
Do yourself a favor and check the ingredients yourself. There are even apps available that allow you to see if the product is safe or not- Think Dirty app, EWG Healthy Living app, and EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database which I love. Sometimes I play around with it so I have an idea of which products are non-toxic so I can look for them when I’m at the store.
My favorite non-toxic home products/brands I personally use
Osea Skincare- I love every product I’ve tried so far. My daily ritual involves the Hyaluronic Sea Serum and Advanced Protection Cream.
Then I’ll do a Salts of the Earth Body Scrub and Red Algae Mask during my mama self-care night once a week while soaking in some Dr. Teals Rose Epsom bath. I promise you’ll feel like a new mama (and your skin will be sooooo soft).
Do yourself a favor, Mama and gift yourself a bunch of these non-toxic skincare products or put them on your Mother’s Day list every year.
Everyone Hand Soap - I saw this in our local grocery store and saw it was EWG certified. Some products you don’t want to order online and want to be able to pick up while you’re out and about, right? But you can also find these cheaper on Thrive Market which I LOVE and always order from (about once or twice a month).
Earth Mama Organics- The boxes are great non-toxic baby shower gifts as well.
Well People Mascara- I typically don’t wear much make-up, if any. But I’ll put some mascara and eye brow filler in once or twice a week. I’m no make-up guru but I do like having the basics, so I opt for non-toxic makeup brands.
Branch Basics- The starter kit is great!
2. Invest in an Air Purifier- Molekule
Let’s be honest here, how many times have you changed your air filter in the past year? I see you cringing. Write on your to-do list this week to change those babies!
And better yet, look into investing in a high-quality air purifier like the Molekule. These guys can destroy pollutants like viruses, bacteria, mold, allergens & chemicals in the air of your home and can even help get rid of dirty diaper smell and dirty basement playroom smell.
This is a must in your home if you have pets because it even cleans out pet dander.
We actually just bought a new home and we have 3 air purifiers that I am absolutely in love it. We have 2 Air Minis for the bedrooms, and a bigger, Air Pro for the main floor that I sometimes take downstairs in our finished basement/playroom area.
This investment was probably the best non-toxic home purchase we made (in a tie for our Berkey water filter) and I would do it over again in a heartbeat. I actually may purchase one more mini.
3. Set up a High-Quality Water Filter/System- Berkey Filters
Did you know that you could be consuming a credit card’s worth of plastic a WEEK! This is mainly from drinking contaminated water is infused with microplastics. And microplastics are just one of our worries.
Your water source could contain heavy metals and even prescription medication residues in them, which all wreck havoc on your body in some way. There’s no way I could let my kids drink unfiltered water after knowing that! No wonder kids’ health is getting worse each year in the U.S.
One way to find out your local water quality is by checking out the EWG’s tap water checker. You can enter in your zip code, and you can see what you’re exposed to every time you drink water.
A high-quality water filter or water system can easily filter out all these nasty chemicals. There are tabletop filters like the Berkey water filters (I have one and LOVE it!) and even water filters that get installed under your sink, like the Aquasana, so you don’t even have to think about it.
The Berkey was less expensive at the moment, and we were moving houses so the countertop choice was the best option for our family.
4. Choose an Essential Oil Diffuser Over Candles
I know, I know, we all love the cozy ambiance of a candle burning and cozying up on the couch. But here’s the thing. Burning candles in your home can increase the amount of indoor air pollutants and even cause damaging effects to you and your family’s health. Bummer, right?
If you still have a clean-smelling home, swap out your candles for a cozy essential oil diffuser.
These essential oils can also give you an added health benefits like promoting relaxation and even boosting sex drive if you’re in the baby-making season! Who says you need candles to get in the mood? Plant Therapy has high-quality essential oils that are safe for kids too.
5. Dust and Vaccum Regularly & Open Your Windows Daily
Of of the easiest and cheapest ways to make your flat a healthier haven is by getting that settling dust and floating toxins out of the house. You should be dusting and vacuuming weekly to help encourage a non-toxic home.
In our home, we vacuum every day on the main floor because, well…kids. And I try to dust our kitchen as I clean up for the night so it’s never really a chore that builds up. I dust the rest of the house every week or every other week while the kids are sleeping over at their grandparents.
When you do this, you pick up all those dead skin cells and toxins that have been let off and are now sitting on your tv stand and side tables. yuck.
You can also open your windows or doors for 10-15 minutes each day. Turn on the fan to get air movement going. This is a great way to get stagnant air out and fresh, clean air in. Plus, your house will literally just smell so fresh.
My husband actually opened the windows upstairs today without me knowing because we had a weird warm winter day, and as soon as I walked upstairs I could instantly tell fresh air was circulating through our home. What a sense of happiness right there, let me tell you!
The Takeaway for Creating a Non-Toxic Home
We are all exposed to environmental toxins on a daily basis, whether we know it or not. But as mamas, we want to make our home as healthy and safe as possible, especially for our little ones.
While we can’t control what happens outside of the house, we can control what happens inside. Making your home as healthy and a toxic free home as possible will allow your entire family to stay healthy.
