Healthy Home Swaps (non-toxic living!)

Our home environment has an immense impact on our overall being. Keep reading to learn more about healthy home swaps.

From the air we breathe, to the water we drink, to the products we use, to the food we eat and so forth. In this modern world, we are inundated with toxins every single day through our internal and external environment.

Some we have control over, others we do not. The truth is, some of our “everyday” home items could be causing harm or putting strain on our health. Thankfully there are measures we can take to improve the health of our home and ourselves.

Meet Non-Toxic Expert: Bethany Holmes

Today’s guest post is written by Bethany Holmes. Bethany is a Conscious Lifestyle Stylist, Certified Holistic Health Coach, and Wellness Blogger. Bethany’s interest in wellness and conscious living sparked in 2015 after she underwent emergency brain surgery to save her life from a hemorrhage.

From that experience, Bethany started on a healing journey, gained a lot of knowledge and was inspired to put her focus into helping others find health and happiness within themselves. Bethany has coached hundreds of people guiding them to release their fears, heal their traumas, practice mindfulness, and become the best vibrant versions of themselves. Bethany has a passion for creating conscious spaces and timeless fashion for others that offers healing and inspires them to live more beautifully.

Below are some simple home item swaps that are safe and beneficial for your health.

Swap out your cleaning products for safe alternatives (Bethany’s favorite products)!

Traditional cleaning products are full of toxic chemicals that are known to cause health issues such as asthma, cancer, reproductive disorders, hormone disruption and neurotoxicity. There are so many affordable cleaner, safer options out there that are just as effective.

https://norwex.biz/– Hands down, my favorite concept and also the most sustainable, non-toxic cleaning option I have found. You just have to add water to any Norwex® Microfiber and it removes up to 99% of bacteria throughout your home. I have them all around my house. No need to add anything to the cloth – just WATER. It’s fascinating. You can learn more about the technology and their mission here.
Branch Basics – This women owned business was created after their own health journeys had them needing a non-toxic cleaning option to support their health and health of their loved ones. They created a versatile, all purpose non-toxic cleaning solution to use on all surfaces. Their laundry detergent is great too!

Ditch the artificial fragrances

Swap for natural fragrances derived from the earth.

Common household items such as candles, air fresheners, body and hand lotions and soaps, cleansers etc. most likely contain synthetic/artificial fragrances.

It is important to note and understand that when a company puts “fragrance” on the label, this is an umbrella term that can stand for thousands of different ingredients. So we really have NO idea what is in the product and the effects it may have on our health.

With what we do know, it has been discovered that “fragrance” has been linked to many health issues such as cancer, asthma and kidney damage. Thankfully there are alternatives.

Ditch anything that includes “fragrance” and choose products that have essential oils for scents instead. Essential oils are compounds extracted from plants. Naturally occurring and can contain healing properties as well.

doTEERA essential oils – my go to for scents around my home, also for cleaning and beauty products

Bye bye fake plants

Bye bye fake plants and dried flowers, hello life force energy.

Although they can be aesthetically pleasing, and a low maintenance option for decor, fake plants and dried flowers are dead and can carry negative, low vibration energy into your space. You want to fill your space with life force energy! High vibrational energy that radiates good vibes! It is best to get low maintenance plants such as snake plants or bamboo and add in fresh flowers when possible!

Read here to find out what plants are best to have in your home.

Throw away those dryer sheets

Dryer sheets are loved because of their nostalgic scents, but those “fragrances” you are smelling are toxic to your health. In a study, researchers find dryer sheets emitted 15 endocrine disrupting compounds and chemicals associated with asthma. Evidence from the study suggests that the endocrine disturbing compounds can affect developing nervous and reproductive systems, cancer and metabolism.

Try dryer balls. You can get them off Amazon and if you want that fresh scent still, try putting a few drops of lavender essential oils on them.

Discard single use plastic

Plastic is not only harmful to our health, but also our planet. The less plastic we can use, the better for all. If you take note of how much plastic you use in your household, you may be shocked!

This can have devastating effects on our health. We now know that tiny plastic particles can be found in our water, soil, air and recent studies have shown it in human organs! It is everywhere so we have to make the unconscious more conscious and swap out where we can to reduce the burden on our health and environment. Here are some simple swaps.