Shift Into Cleaner Living

Grab a cup of hot tea - let’s chat! Ready to make a change? It’s going to be a lifelong process, but I’m here to help. Let’s start your wellness journey with a shift into cleaner living. Don’t panic, we’re in this together! We’ll take it nice and slow, and I won’t make you throw out everything you own! Baby steps are key, with a bit of exposure to knowledge so that you can know better to do better. Imagine we’re sitting down together just having a conversation about things you might want to change, with a goal to impact the health of your family in a positive way. Remember it’s a journey, not a race - we have our whole lives ahead of us, so let’s get started.

Educate and Advocate

Did you know - Europe has banned over 1,000 toxic ingredients in cosmetics suspected to cause cancer, genetic mutation, reproductive harm, or birth defects but the US has only banned 11. ELEVEN. I’ll try not to get too passionate here (and I’ll sit back down) but how does that make you feel? It tells me that you can’t put your health into the hands of anyone else. First educate yourself on the ingredients you are allowing in your home. Are they chemical ingredients with side effects? Then I want you to become your own wellness advocate - whatever that means to you. Personally, I want to set a new norm for myself and the people that look to me for advice by establishing a routine to preserve my wellness - not wait to treat sickness.

Greenwashing

Photos by Corinne and Company

Companies know what’s trending and use that to their advantage. Ever notice when you walk down the cleaning aisle at Target and there are labels that grab your attention and make you think they’re the “healthier” option? That’s not by chance! Companies are so smart, and they use a term called greenwashing - which is a form of marketing that convinces you that a product is eco friendly or a healthier alternative. They make you think that the product is better for you, but in reality it’s just a bottle with a green label filled with questionable ingredients.

Beware of “fragrance”

Let’s talk fragrance. Maybe you received a candle or fancy aromatherapy bath salts for Christmas. How about that air freshener sitting on the back of your toilet, or even the counter spray you use to clean with? We all want our house to smell amazing, but not at the expense of our health, right? Take a look at the ingredients list and see if you can spot the word fragrance. This word alone can include a combination of over 3,000 ingredients. These ingredients are not disclosed to you, and many are linked to very serious health concerns. Immediate side effects may include headaches, nausea, and skin reactions, but extended exposure to fragrance may lead to cancer, reproductive health, tumor growth, endocrine disruption, organ damage, migraines, and asthma, to name a few. Currently the FDA does not require manufacturers to disclose fragrance ingredients to preserve a company's trade secrets. Even products labeled “unscented” or “fragrance free” can contain fragrance ingredients. Maybe you’re thinking, if I’m just wiping down my counters, or spraying the stinky bathroom air - is it really going into my body?. Yes it is! Harmful chemicals that are airborne enter into our systems through our airways and then absorb into our bloodstream through our lungs. Chemicals that come in contact with our skin pass through this barrier and then enter into the bloodstream, and it all happens within seconds of exposure!

EWG and Think Dirty

When you aren't sure of a product or ingredient, there are tools you can use. The Environmental Working Group (EWG.org) and the Think Dirty App are valuable resources you can use when looking at the toxicity of a product. EWG.org is better to use on a desktop, but has two different guides I like to use to look up products and ingredients. You can search for a product and they will give you a letter rating on how toxic the ingredients are. It then breaks down each ingredient with an individual rating and describes the health concerns. EWG’s Skin Deep Guide is the place to go when you want to look up cosmetics, and EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning is for household items such as laundry soap.

Think Dirty is an app with the same concept. It allows you to type in a product name or scan a barcode to look up a product’s level of toxicity. This app gives you a number rating, and then lists the ingredients with health concerns. I love these resources as a place to start when researching a product, but beware that some ingredients may be left off the list, making the product seem better than it actually is. Compare the ingredients list on the back of the bottle with the resource you are using - if something is missing, use EWG to search that specific ingredient.

Start Small

Let’s take a look through your home. We’re ready to take the training wheels off and use this knowledge! Remember it's a journey. You don’t have to go around your home with a trash bag and throw everything away. In fact, please don’t! That wouldn’t be very cost efficient or eco friendly. Just start with the idea that you’ll know better so you can do better. It can be a lot all at once, so think of it as a transition. As you start to run low on products in your home - use your tools to make the best decision for what to replace it with. Ready to make a swap? What areas are filled with synthetic chemicals and fragrance that we can tackle first? I like to start with laundry soap and cleaners. There is no escaping the ingredients of your laundry soap - you literally wear them around all day long. But the soap gets washed off - what’s the big deal? Many chemicals are actually designed to remain on your clothing, to keep them smelling fresh. Those toxic chemicals are rubbed into your skin and then enter into your bloodstream. We use Young Living Thieves laundry soap, but another great option is Molly Sud’s Laundry Powder or baking soda with added pure essential oils for scent.

Let’s take a look at your cleaner next. Cleaners are sprayed on every surface in your house. Both the molecules that have gone airborne and the spray on the surfaces are chemicals that are going into your body! How about those little feet and paws that absorb the cleaner when they walk on your freshly mopped floors? There is no escaping your family’s exposure to these two items, so how are they affecting your health? In a positive way, or a negative one? We clean our entire home with just one bottle - Young Living Thieves household cleaner, but another highly effective all natural option is white vinegar. You can even soak herbs or citrus peels in the cleaning vinegar {or add essential oils} to infuse the cleaning spray with a scent. This also helps cut the vinegar smell and adds cleaning power.

DIY

Replace chemical-based products and make your own! With a few basic ingredients, you can transform your home. Castile soap, white vinegar and baking soda are so versatile. Choose an unscented organic castile soap and the possibilities with this bottle are truly endless. We love Dr. Bronner’s baby castile soap and there are 18 different ways to use it here - we use this one bottle for our hand soap, body wash, shaving cream, and hand purifier. White vinegar will clean and disinfect any surface in your home, and if you need a scrub for your sinks, tubs, and toilets you can combine it with baking soda to make a bubbling paste! Baking soda is a great addition to your laundry room and absorbs foul smelling odors. Add a few drops of essential oil to baking soda to act as an air freshener/purifier inside trash cans, refrigerators, or bathrooms. There is no limit on what you can do with these few ingredients!

As small as the first step may be, it’s one step in the right direction and a shift into cleaner living.

Disclaimer: Lemon Tree Essentials is not affiliated with any of the organizations or companies referenced in this article.