Want to overhaul your toxic products? Start HERE!

Its 2023 and the consciousness of harmful ingredients in the products we use is old news, right? Are you fed up with yucky cleaners that can potentially harm your health? Disgusted by big brands trying to greenwash themselves into your good graces? Me too.

Over the past five years I've been systematically reducing our exposure to toxic products from our  personal care and home cleaning products. We have always used safer laundry products; sensitive skin and a strong sense of smell really drove that journey. Living in California and the close proximity to the ocean with street runoff made it a necessity. But since moving to Arkansas my efforts have really intensified. And I realize that it can be super overwhelming on where to begin. So if you're wanting to overhaul your 'old me' and streamline your care and cleaning products, I've gotcha. Here are my easy to implement lifestyle switches to a safer home. (There's also a free worksheet to help you organize your action plan!)

What is your WHY. Identify exactly what it is you want to accomplish with bringing in cleaner products. Health and wellness is always worth prioritizing!

Start by taking inventory. What products have you identified as toxic? Personal care products, the ones that go directly in or on your body would be a great place to begin. This is where reading labels comes into play. Flip those bottles over and see exactly whats inside, anything that has an ingredient you disagree with, gots to go!

If you need help figuring out what those labels mean, I'm working on a blog post!

Pick a starting point. Its super tempting to want to get rid of EVERYTHING and start fresh but that can be super expensive. Of course if you're able, by all means go for it, just know you can set your pace. Pick 1-3 areas as a starting point and laser focus. For example, I started with deodorant and switching to safer beauty products like mascara and eye cream. Once those items were replaced I was able to move on to my next set of items (shampoo/conditioner, body wash, pressed powder, etc) Rinse and repeat!

Go room by room. If you start with personal care items, the bathroom is most likely your first room. The kitchen would be another great room to focus on after that. Cleaning products, food prep items, even food and eating habits can be addressed here. Mapping out how you use your rooms and what you use in them is really helpful. As an example, our laundry is in the kitchen so I would group kitchen & laundry care together. In my bathrooms, I also store my cleaning supplies, so along with personal care items I also needed to swap out cleaners. Do what makes sense to you and your living arrangements.

By breaking down a huge concept of 'reducing toxin buildup' to identifying your why and action plan and a further breakdown into manageable baby steps, you remove all the noise and overwhelm. Your journey to a safer home is well on its way! You can do this!

I've included a handy dandy worksheet to help you organize, process and implement your path to 'new me'. Don't forget to print it out!