7 Steps To A Toxin-Free Home
When we’re looking to detox or get healthier, we typically turn to food first, but it’s also important to go beyond the kale, so to speak! Think about it this way…we can live about 3 weeks without food, only 3 days without water, and maybe only 3 minutes without AIR! That being said, let’s start by taking a look at how we can clean up the very air we breathe within our homes.
1) Air
Whether you live in an older home or a newer home, in the country, or in a city, there are always pollutants, toxins, bacteria, viruses, and allergens floating through the air. Older homes are subject to mold and mildew, while newer homes may be rife with VOCs (volatile organic compounds) off-gassing from new furniture, paint, carpet, and so on. Pet dander, dust, cleaning products, and even cooking food can also leave our air less than desirable to breathe at home.
I’ve always been prone to waking up congested or experiencing post-nasal drip, and I can personally attest that after getting our Molekule home air purifiers (use EATMOVEREST for 10% off), I’ve been loving how clean and crisp the air feels! We placed an Air Mini+ upstairs in our bedroom, and it’s nice that it’s portable and can be moved around to whichever room I’m in, whether it be working in my office room or playing in the kids’ room. It also doubles as a white noise machine, which is perfect for nap time!
We also placed the Air Pro (made for larger spaces) in our kitchen and living area, which has helped cut down on smells from cooking, as well as pet dander, and dust, since we love to have our doors and windows open!
Watch our latest YouTube video to learn more about living a toxin-free lifestyle!
* Thank you to Molekule for improving our air quality at home, and for sponsoring this blog post!
Another simple way you can purify and improve your indoor air quality is to bring the outdoors in! House plants do wonders for our health. We have found that “snake plants,” fiddle leaf figs, succulents, and some varieties of palms do really well indoors.
2) Water
Once you’ve got your most basic need, air, dialed in, then you can step up to the next level—water. Unless you’re drinking untouched natural spring water direct from the source, nature, you’re going to need to filter your water somehow. Water can really suck you down a rabbit hole, though! It can be confusing to decide between alkaline, RO (reverse osmosis), distilled, and the list goes on…
Most city water contains fluoride, chlorine, and other chemicals that allows us to have “cleaner” drinking water, but also comes with a whole lot of negative side effects like cancer and toxic heavy metal buildup. Water is affected by everything it touches, and that includes the pipes that it runs through (that could be old and corroded), or worse, chemical runoff from pesticides (Glyphosate/roundup), and factories may be leaching into our groundwater. Go to Environmental Working Group (EWG) to check your local tap water.
We tested our basic water filter and it didn’t filter virtually anything at all. After some careful consideration and a lot of research, we decided on a countertop reverse osmosis system by AquaTru ($150 off with this link), as a starting point. It’s affordable, and RO literally filters nearly 100% of all toxins from water. The only caveat to that, is that it filters both the bad AND the good. There are always going to be naturally occurring minerals in water that our bodies NEED in order to maintain a proper balance and function optimally.
We recommend if you do try the AquaTru, to also add trace minerals (which they and many others sell), to your water. These minerals allow the water to actually penetrate into your body’s cells and truly hydrate you.
The other thing you’ll want to be aware of with RO is that it will also need to be re-structured to mimic natural spring water, that nature intended us to drink. We recommend coupling the AquaTru with the Mayu Swirl, (use EATMOVEREST for $15 off), which is a beautiful glass carafe that will structure and “energize” your water, which makes it the most bioavailable to the body, and better tasting, too!
While this RO + minerals + structuring device is a great setup, it might sound like a lot. We felt the same. Eventually, we invested in a Kangen water machine, which is actually FDA-cleared as a medical device. Kangen water is used all over in Japanese hospitals and actually means “return to origin.” The Kangen essentially structures your water and allows you to select between several different pH levels to use for alkaline, hydrolyzed drinking water, but also acidic for cleaning (it’s as effective as bleach but safer), neutral pH for toning the skin, and hundreds of other uses, as well. We love it because it also tastes far better than RO, its very portable, and it also comes paired with a pre-filter that is specific to your area. It filters chlorine, fluoride, and other harmful toxins, but does not eliminate beneficial minerals that the body needs.
While it was a hefty investment, we truly believe it to be the most optimal. In the long run, we’re saving money by not needing to buy bottled water, and if you’re a coffee drinker, just imagine replacing your daily Starbucks with this device that will last a lifetime—it’s a no brainer and definitely pays off. To learn more, go here!
Last but not least, the best vessels to drink out of are glass or stainless steel. I prefer glass. Even plastics that say “BPA-free” don’t necessarily promise to be free of other Bisphenols like BPS and BPF, but they don’t tell you that! I recommend Blue Bottle Love—their blue water bottles, when left in the sun, will help to energize your water!
3) Food
First and foremost, if you can’t read it, don’t eat it!
If you’ve been following us for a while, then it goes without saying, animal products (meat, dairy, and eggs) are immediately off the table when it comes to avoiding toxins. Animal agriculture also contributes to the very chemical runoff that I discussed above in regards to contaminated drinking water.
We’re all about the plants! Not just any plants, though— organic, non-GMO, local, seasonal, unprocessed, and as close to their natural state as possible. While checking all of these boxes isn’t always possible, it’s best to at least opt for organic, when possible!
We suggest going by the Dirty Dozen Clean Fifteen, which is a list that the EWG puts out every year, of the 12 most pesticide/chemical laden fruits and veggies, and the cleanest/safest. When your options are limited to conventional, at least try to opt for foods on the Clean Fifteen side of the equation!
A few months back, we created a YouTube video showcasing what a plant-based food pyramid looks like. It’s not only important to avoid toxins in food, but to also incorporate the right foods to help your body detox and function optimally.
We recommend building your foundation on an abundance of fruits and vegetables, followed by whole grains, then beans and legumes, after that herbs, spices & superfoods, then healthy fats, and finally at the top, as little processed and refined foods as possible!
It’s best to avoid canned foods, or at least buy BPA-free, but understand that this does not guarantee the can does not contain other Bisphenols. As far as cookware goes, we also recommend steering clear of non-stick coatings, and opt for stainless steel instead. Ceramic is a close second. Non-stick materials can contain cancer-causing PFAS, PFOS and PFOA.
If you’re looking for the cleanest and highest quality supplements and superfoods, we recommend SunWarrior for protein, vitamins, minerals, omega-3s, and more (use EATMOVEREST for 20% off) and Your Super for the best superfood blends that each serve a different purpose from hormone balance to energy to digestion (use EATMOVEREST for 15% off).
4) Household & Cleaning Products
I always like to say “the nose knows!” Cleaning products are some of the biggest offenders when it comes to toxic fumes and fragrances. Most household cleaning products contain harmful ingredients that can be endocrine disruptors, which equates to hormone imbalances and infertility, among other adverse reactions.
We’ve been using vinegar and/or baking soda for as many household cleaning purposes (YouTube vid) as we possibly can! I mop the floors with a mixture of vinegar, water and essential oils like lemon and lemongrass, and also throw a splash of vinegar OR a handful of baking soda into the laundry. Baking soda is my favorite, because it does a great job at whitening your whites and making your clothes softer without having to use fabric softener.
On that note, it’s best to avoid dryer sheets—at the very least, get unscented or ‘free & clear.' A great alternative is to drop several drops of your favorite essential oil on a tennis ball and tie it inside an old sock. Homemade dryer balls also help to dry your clothes more quickly!
Other products to steer clear of that contain fragrance would be scented candles, plug-in air fresheners, aerosols, and detergents. Diffuse and apply essential oils instead—I’ve been using doTerra for years and love their products because they are the cleanest, purest, and best quality! Some laundry detergents to look into would be Molly’s Suds or Dr. Bronner’s castile soap. Branch Basics also has a great line of clean and safe products for household cleaning.
As I mentioned in the Water section up above, we use our Kangen 2.5 pH (acidic) water to spray and wipe down surfaces, as it is just as effective as bleach, but obviously much safer, for disinfecting and cleaning.
Another area to steer clear of toxins is carpet, rugs, mattresses, even clothing, made from synthetic fibers. Opt instead, for natural fibers when possible, like cotton, linen, and hemp. Our favorite mattress brand, that also happens to be vegan, is Avocado Mattress! Furniture and paint can also off-gas toxic fumes, so check for ones that don’t contain VOCs.
EMFs and WiFi also fall into this category. It’s best to switch your router off at night. You spend 1/3 of your life asleep, so you might as well be avoiding WiFi signals during that time! We also love DefenderShield products, because they help block radiation from laptops, smartphones, and more. Another fantastic product that’s a bit more pricey is the Somavedic (use EATMOVEREST for 10% off), which is an EMF-harmonizing device.
5) Personal Care & Cosmetics
The best place to go to find out if your products are safe is the Think Dirty App.
Whenever women reach out to me with fertility issues, they are usually wanting to know which superfoods to include, supplements to take, and harmful ingredients to avoid. While food can play a part, I think it’s equally, if not more important to look at all of the products we’re slathering, spraying, and rubbing into our skin. Our skin is our body’s largest organ, so I like to say, don’t put it ON your body if you wouldn’t put it IN your body.
This list is not exhaustive, but, some of the main harmful ingredients to avoid are: parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, propylene glycol, triclosan, fluoride, formaldehyde, mineral oil, and aluminum.
My absolute favorite for makeup, skincare, and haircare is 100% Pure (use EATMOVEREST for 25% off your first order). They are a vegan and cruelty-free company and their makeup is fruit-pigmented! I use their shampoos & conditioners, and almost every single cosmetic, lotion, serum, and scrub I own is 100% Pure.
Another clean, vegan skincare brand I love is Valentia Skincare (use EATMOVEREST for 15% off).
For children and babies, as well as mamas, Earth Mama Organics (use EATMOVEREST for 15% off) has amazing organic herbal teas, balms butters, soaps, and more that are super gentle and safe.
It’s best to use fluoride-free toothpaste, and we love Risewell or Terra & Co. (EATMOVEREST for 15% off) or our homemade 3-ingredient whitening toothpaste. A great floss brand is The Humble Co.
Bamboo toilet paper is cleaner and safer for your bum and the environment. We have found several great brands on Amazon.
As far as perfume or fragrance, we only use essential oils. Again, we prefer doTerra, because they are the highest grade, cleanest essential oils.
In our opinion, the cleanest and most effective sunscreen for babies and adults is Badger. That being said, we do advocate for a healthy dose of sun exposure. It’s better to get moderate sun exposure to improve vitamin D levels, immunity, and mood, rather than slathering on sunscreen and blocking it out completely.
6) Lawn & Garden
Especially since having kids, it became extra important that we avoid using any harmful chemicals on our lawn or garden. We are barefoot people, so what we did this year, was hired a local organic lawn care company. They use a compost-based “fertilizer” that has done wonders for our lawn, and we don’t have to worry about walking barefoot or laying in the grass.
It might also be a good idea to steer clear of running around barefoot at public parks, as many times these areas can be sprayed with chemicals like Roundup.
A few years back, we also began composting. Not only is it important to avoid putting chemicals into the earth, it’s also important to give back! Our soils are more depleted than ever, which means that our produce may not be as nutrient-rich as it once was. We built a home compost bin out of wood (YouTube vid), and we keep a bucket under the sink for food scraps that we empty daily. This organic compost is the perfect way to take your gardening to the next level, and create superfoods out of your fruits and veggies!
If you’re dealing with pests in your garden, BT is safe to use on organic crops, and you can also try planting specific herbs that deter bugs, next to your veggies. There are also several recipes you can find online to create essential oil blends that might help, as well!
Lastly, getting out in nature, tending to your lawn and garden is one of the best things to “detox” the body. Going barefoot, or grounding, sun-gazing, and forest-bathing, can help to combat the negative effects of wifi and overuse of devices, and can also help to destress mind and body alike.
7) Mind
Keeping a toxin-free mind is equally as important as all of the above, but it seems to get less attention because it’s less tangible. I’ve found that a morning routine (YouTube vid) is the perfect way to build momentum around keeping a positive mindset throughout the rest of the day. We’ve also shared our evening routine on YouTube, as well.
I love using my 5-Minute Journal to list things that I’m grateful for, what I’d like to do for the day to make it great, recording a mantra, and then coming back at the end of the day to recap how things went, and where I could have improved.
Meditation is another great way to rewire the brain. I love Headspace and Abide.
Incorporating some form of spirituality and/or faith practice is crucial to managing fear, worry, and anxiety, and can help keep you hopeful. I love reading my Jesus Calling devotional and using the YouVersion Bible app. If you’re looking for something for your kiddos, the Minno TV app has amazing Christian children’s shows!
Do Your Best & Forget The Rest!
It’s virtually impossible to avoid all toxins. Smoke, smog, viruses, bacteria, mold, dust, and allergens are out of our control, but do what you can to keep your environment clean and pure at home, where you spend most of your time.
It may seem daunting to upgrade all of your products in your household at once. I recommend looking at each category and just upgrading 1 item per month, or per week, depending on how ambitious you’re feeling.
Enjoy the process, and don’t be too hard on yourself!
EatMoveRest Your Best,
Erin
