Talk Clean to Me: 7 ways to create a less toxic home
If the past few years have taught us anything, it should be that we want our homes to be beautiful (especially if we’re “stuck” in them for months and months) and that health is of the utmost importance. Enter: non-toxic living.
Here are 7 ways that you can make 2023 the hear you make your home and health your #1 priorities:
First up - work on creating a safer and cleaner environment at home. See below for some of my suggestions for going green and bettering both the environment and your health. Bonus: many of the brands I've included below are female-owned!
Did you know: The average household contains about 62 toxic chemicals, say environmental experts. From synthetic fragrances and cleaning products to skincare/haircare products and coatings and finishes on clothing and furniture, we are exposed to them daily. Ingredients in common household products have been linked to asthma, cancer, reproductive disorders, hormone disruption and neuro-toxicity. Whaatt?! How are these products legal?? As it turns out, according to Environmental Working Group (EWG) there is no federal regulation or testing on chemicals used in household cleaning products or other products used in the home. How scary is that?!
Another fun fact: The terms "natural," "eco friendly," and "non-toxic" are not regulated terms, so any can slap them on a product and trick you into purchasing an unsafe product… We call this greenwashing. That's pretty shady and makes it even harder to find the safest products out there! Have no fear - we've done the research for you.
1. Care for Your Air / Did you know that many of the air fresheners, plug-ins, and candles sold today contain carcinogens and toxins? If you want to learn more about what is in your prized Yankee Candles or Glad plug-ins, check out this post. Instead, opt for safer candles like Basic Bee Candle Co., Wellness by Ari, and Welch Candle Co.
You can also add an air purifier to get rid of the nasty toxins that are saturating the air you breath. Molekule and AirDoctor are my favorites to recommend. An even better choice is employing Mother Nature as your air purifier. Check out this blog post about the best plants you can use to purify your air (and which aren't safe for pets or kids).
2. Tangled in the (Organic) Sheets / Imagine the fabric that touches your skin everyday for eight hours a day is non-breathable and potentially coated with chemicals? Although it isn't always the case, your sheets could be coated with formaldehyde resin. Even if they weren't treated with chemicals, they could have been created with fibers grown in a non-sustainable way. Check out Plover. Founded by two sisters-in-law, their products are free of pesticides and other chemicals and toxins and 100% organic. Boll and Branch is another good option. They don't use any toxins, chlorine or formaldehyde and instead of pesticides for cotton, their farmers plant marigolds. Isn't that awesome? Looking for more linens? Boll and Branch also has green bath towels, pajamas, and robes.
3. Sleep Tight / What good are safe and healthy sheets if you are putting them on a chemically-treated mattress, you ask? Useless, actually. We spend roughly eight hours a day inches away from our mattresses so shouldn't we be sure they aren't filled with VOCs and aldehydes? I think so. There are a few companies out there that are adamant about having high safety and purity standards. One such company is Naturepedic has just about every organic certification out there and has been dominating the organic mattress industry for over a decade. They have removed all polyurethane foam, flame retardant chemicals, formaldehyde, pesticides, GMOs, glues/adhesives, vinyl and phthalates from their products some of which are known to be carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. If that doesn't convince you to get an organic mattress I don't know what will. Another good option is Avocado. According to their website, they use only 100% organic materials for their mattresses and are handcrafted in California. They also source from the best domestic and international sources, including their own farms in India and Guatemala. They are also Fair Trade certified and are working to become the first zero-waste certified mattress factory. Pretty cool, huh?
4. Furniture Frenzy / Finding commercially-sold furniture that isn't treated with any chemicals is quite difficult which is why I was impressed when I came across Medley. They don't use any fire retardants or harsh chemicals. Their upholstery frames are made with kiln dried hardwood from certified locally sourced forests, and FSC certified and they use only hardwood so they avoid the chemicals typically used in plywood frames. None of their fabrics have fire retardants or stain finishes, and they use 100% natural like cotton, hemp and wool. Their foam cushions are made of natural latex. Never heard of it? Natural latex is 100% natural, made from the sap of rubber trees, very durable, with no chemicals. it's also bacteria, mildew, and mold resistant. Sounds awesome, right? You can also check out InMod who use everything from sustainable, FSC certified wood and bamboo to VOC-free glues and stains. Another alternative is to have your furniture made by local fabricators where you can monitor the materials used a bit more closely.
5. Painted Ladies / Paints are typically filled with Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) which can include Xylene, Ethyl acetate, Methylene chloride, Glycol, Formaldehyde, Benzene, Phenol, Quaternary ammonium compounds, Carbamates, Methylisothiazolinone, and Methylchloroisothiazolinone. These are all just fancy scientific ways to say that they can cause headaches, nausea, coughing, skin irritations, breathing issues, and more. Yikes! Luckily there are some great safe VOC-free paint options out there. Check out Clare Paint who touts zero VOC products and are GREENGUARD Gold Certified for low chemical emissions. The Real Milk Paint Co is also a no-VOC company, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly. All of their products are made from 100% organic material and safe for kids and pets. ECOS also sells non-toxic, odor-free, zero-VOC paints and stains with options for atmosphere purifying paint, glues/sealers, and "pet paints."
6. Squeaky Clean / You know that overwhelming smell when you walk through the cleaning aisle at the store? Yeah, that’s not a good thing. Nearly all of those cleaning products are filled with toxic chemicals like phthalates, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and fragrance among other things, all of which are known to cause respiratory distress, cancer, and many other ailments. Yikes! My favorite safer alternatives are Mama Suds for all purpose cleaner, Dr. Bronner’s for hand and dish soap, and Molly Suds for laundry soap. You can also clean with white vinegar and baking soda to get stains out of your shower, sink, or toilet bowl. Who doesn’t love a cheap option, right?
7. Beauty is Only Skin-Deep / A huge change to your health and wellness would be to clean up your skincare, makeup, hair care, and hygiene routine. So many of the products that we slather on our body are full of chemicals, toxins, and other terrible ingredients. I will be devoting entire blog posts to each of these categories in the coming months, but for starters, try to avoid anything with fragrance, Phenoxyethanol, Ethoxylated Compounds (Polysorbate, PEGs, anything ending in -eth).
I hope you are inspired to make some changes to your home to improve both your health and the environment. Something to note, just because something is considered eco-friendly doesn’t mean it is good for you. Some eco-friendly items are made of things like recycled plastic which is good for Mother Earth but not for you.
Here's to a cleaner home for you and your family!