In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it's easy to overlook the hidden toxins lurking in our homes. Ensuring a safe and healthy environment for our families is a top priority for many. In this guide, I'll share some practical and budget-friendly ways to reduce toxins in your home, focusing on five key areas: air, water, cleaning products, personal care products, and fragrances.
The unfortunate truth is that toxins are an inevitable part of our daily lives, permeating the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the products we use. There are lots of variables when it comes to environmental toxins, most of which are completely out of our control, and we sure as hell can’t stop them from intentionally poisoning us via chemtrails and industrial chemicals used in agriculture... but that’s a post for another time! Bottom line is from industrial emissions to common household items, our exposure to harmful substances is widespread. While complete avoidance may be challenging, acknowledging the presence of toxins emphasizes the crucial need to be proactive in minimizing our toxin burden, particularly within the sanctuary of our homes. Through small yet impactful changes in our daily habits, we can significantly reduce our exposure, creating a healthier environment for ourselves and our loved ones. It is not about complete elimination but rather a mindful effort to mitigate the impact of unavoidable toxins, fostering a safer haven within the walls of our homes. With that in mind, let's dive right in!
A quick stat for you—Each year, 3.2 million people die prematurely from illnesses attributable to the household air pollution caused by the incomplete combustion of solid fuels and kerosene used for cooking (see household air pollution data for details). Particulate matter and other pollutants in household air pollution inflame the airways and lungs, impair immune response and reduce the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood (WHO). With that, one of the first things I purchased for my health was an air purifier for my home. With a baby on the way, I knew that I wanted to make sure the air in our home was clean, especially because we have two dogs. While buying a quality air purifier is an investment, for me it’s a nonnegotiable.
AirDoctor Air Purifier—I chose to purchase the AirDoctor 3000 after doing some research on different air purifiers. It was just the right size for the downstairs space in the home we were living in at the time and it was within our budget. It also met the quality standards I was looking for utilizing both a carbon and UltraHEPA filter which can capture viruses, bacteria, mold, smoke, pollen, and pet dander. There are others on the market, so make sure to do your research and find one that fits your needs. My affiliate link can save you up to $300!
FREE TIP: If an air purifier is not in your budget right now, open your windows! Even if just for five minutes a day, this can be helpful in pushing out pollutants, especially gases and other smells (ie. fragrances). As we start to have warmer weather where I live, I love leaving the windows open for a significant portion of the day. There's truly nothing better than the smell of fresh air in your home... unless you live by a cow feed lot like me, than the fresh air doesn't smell so fresh. Lol.
Next up-- water! The sad truth is that our water is filled with all sorts of toxins from arsenic and lead to PFAS to pharmaceuticals and so much more. At this point, you couldn’t pay me to drink tap water, which is why you’ll always find me with my own reusable water bottle everywhere I go... yes, I have the ridiculously large Stanley—judge me, I'm staying hydrated with CLEAN water! A quality water filter is so important in reducing our toxic load, and no, unfortunately a Brita filter or conventional refrigerator filter is not enough. When I started looking for water filters, I felt very overwhelmed because there are so many out there, all boasting why their filter was the best on the market. These filters can also get pricey and range from pitchers to countertop units to under sink systems and even whole home filters. At the time a whole home filter was not in our budget, so I settled for a reverse osmosis countertop purifier that perfectly fit our needs.
AquaTru Reverse Osmosis Water Purifier— I chose this water filtration system because it utilizes a 4-stage filtration process that removes the most harmful of contaminants. The method of filtration is reverse osmosis which means that everything, including the beneficial minerals, are removed. So, I make sure to add minerals back to my water. They also have a system that does this for you! This is a great option for water filtration that is effective and economical. They also have several other models to choose from, including an under sink purifier.
On to cleaning products... these are arguably some of the most toxic things we use in our home. If you are still using conventional cleaning products like Clorox and Lysol, it’s really time to throw them out! Lots of these products include harmful chemicals that can have detrimental effects on our health. For one, many use endocrine disrupting fragrance that can mess with our hormones potentially leading to a whole host of issues. For these reasons, swapping cleaning products was one of the first things I did for my health. There are lots of nontoxic cleaning products on the market, but be on the lookout for greenwashing! Lots of companies will use terms like nontoxic, natural, and plant based, but the reality is that regulations on these products are super lenient and many companies can get away with false advertising like this. The great thing about cleaning products is you can also make them yourself from common household items like vinegar and baking soda. Below are products I personally use and love!
doTERRA OnGuard Line—I started using doTERRA 7 years ago and have continued to use their products ever since. I personally love their OnGuard line for all things immune support and cleaning. Their Cleaner Concentrate is amazing for making your own all purpose spray and for dish soap. I also love their Foaming Hand Wash and add the OnGuard oil to my steam mop too. They also have a laundry detergent! Check out these products by clicking the link above. When you create an account for free, you get access to all doTERRA products for 25% off-- it's a pretty sweet deal!
FREE TIP: Well, this one isn't exactly "free," but it's pretty close. If you can't replace all of your cleaning products right now, start by making your own all purpose spray using vinegar, filtered water, & essential oils. I also make my own dish soap using water and castile soap. A simple Google search can lead you to lots of recipes!
Finally, many personal care products contain harmful ingredients like fragrance, PFAS, formaldehyde… the list goes on. What we put on our body is just as important as what we put in our body. Our skin absorbs any products we use and that can effect our health, for better or for worse. The good thing about this is that there are lots of cleaner options out there that are affordable and can be found at places like Target or natural grocery stores. Because there are so many options out there, I’d recommend using the EWG Skin Deep database to determine the toxicity of products you personally use and when looking to swap. Now, this database is not perfect, but it’s a good starting point. I’ll share some of the brands that I’ve personally used and loved. I’m not a big makeup girl, so unfortunately I don’t have lots to recommend there but definitely know there are several cleaner makeup lines out there and am currently exploring them myself. I will be sure to report back!
Beautycounter Makeup & Skincare— Although I’m no longer a Beautycounter consultant, I’ve used it for years and do still love some of their products. I personally still use their makeup-- their tinted moisturizer, eyebrow gel, cream shadows, and mascara are some of my favorites.
Aleavia— I use and love their body cleanse. It’s microbiome friendly and not even really considered a soap. Fun fact, we really don't need to be using soap to be "clean," in fact, overuse of soap can mess with our skin's microbiome which can lead to issues. The bottom line is like our gut microbiome, our skin microbiome is filled with good bacteria that can help fight pathogens and keep our skin healthy. Using traditional soap, and too often can disrupt this beautifully designed ecosystem.
Boise Tonic Co skincare—This is a local gal to me. She makes the most beautiful and luxurious organic skincare for a fraction of the cost of others on the market. Bonus, she also ships! Some products I’m currently using and loving are the Dew Skin moisturizer, Rose + Bakuchiol moisturizer, Gel to Milk cleanser, Rose Fine Mist, and Tallow Eye Cream. I could not recommend her products more, especially when looking for a more affordable option to clean skincare!
Innersense Shampoo + Conditioner—I’ve tried many cleaner haircare products and so far, I’ve loved this one the best. Some cleaner haircare lines leave my hair feeling greasy, but this one has been great for my thick hair and dry scalp!
SMEAR Tallow—This has replaced my body lotion. I love how smooth and silky it makes my skin feel and it’s super clean—just grass-fed beef tallow + olive oil. They also have some with essential oils that add a nice scent without being overwhelming.
Holly’s Keeping it Real Deodorant—I love Holly’s deodorant because it only contains four ingredients and one container lasts forever (okay, maybe not forever, but probably 4-6 months)! She offers lots of different scents using doTERRA essential oils. My personal fave is the vetiver, cedarwood, and tangerine scent.
Ok, I also said I would talk about fragrance in this post... well, all I really have to say about fragrance is DITCH IT. Ditch the perfumes, the soaps, the makeup, the plug ins, the air fresheners... ALL OF IT. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this stuff is SO toxic. People are referring to fragrance as the new second-hand smoke and I believe it. Once I ditched fragrances years ago, I never looked back. Now when I'm around it, whether it be in someone's home or in their car or even on their body, I am unable to stomach it for very long. It is SO potent to me and I could not imagine inhaling it in my day-to-day life. There's so much research out there now pointing to fragrance as an endocrine disruptor as well as causing asthma, skin rashes, and migraines, among other adverse effects.
If you are someone who loves a good scent, I would highly recommend looking into essential oils. Like I mentioned before, I personally use and love doTERRA because of their quality. Be careful buying essential oils from Amazon or any old store because the quality could be compromised. Some of the oils I love to use on my body for both their scents and their therapeutic benefits are below!
Phew! If you are feeling overwhelmed, pause and tune into your body and mind. Remind yourself that you are working toward living a healthier lifestyle and taking the first steps in doing so—you should be proud of yourself! Then, take another deep breath and think about which of these feels most important to you right now and start there. Not all of this needs to be done overnight. Making small intentional changes where you think it is most needed in your life will make a huge difference! Seriously.
Remember, , this post is not exhaustive. Again, these are things I personally have prioritized and have done myself. If anything, I hope you leave here feeling inspired to do more research of your own and to figure out what is most important to you and your family on this journey to a low tox lifestyle. Finally, I'd love to hear from you! Please reach out with questions, if you need further clarification, or if you are looking for a link. I'm always eager to chat about low tox living-- it's a journey for sure, and one I'm always grateful to be on! Happy swapping!
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