4 Ways to Start Your Non-Toxic Journey

Getting started reducing toxins in your life can be overwhelming. Once you've heard about all the horrors hiding in food, clothes, phones, drinks, cleaning supplies, food storage, etc., it's hard to not want to make a change, but ACTUALLY making a change is difficult. After all, when you start to see that there's so many toxins around us, you start to see how many changes you ought to make. I'm here to assure you that starting small is the key to long term success of reducing toxins in your life. For me, clean eating is almost a decade long process that's gotten me to where I am now. When it comes to home textiles, I began changing things out a few years ago, and I'm still not done changing things out. Clothes, I'm not sure I'll get to 100% natural fibers any time soon, but I've made significant strides in switching to natural fibers over the last couple of years. The point: it takes time to live as non-toxic as possible. Yes, some people have the means and mindset to make all the changes at once, but for many of us, the mindset alone is a significant barrier to making changes. Here's 4 suggestions for getting started on your non-toxic journey:

1. Start with dish soap. I'm suggesting this because odds are you use this every day, which means more exposure to your skin and lungs on a regular basis. The ultimate beginner step is to switch to a free and clear option, but be aware, many of the free and clear options still have hormone disruptors in them. This means you'll need to look for the options that are truly gentle and non-toxic for humans. Less ingredients is often a good sign, but not a guarantee. A couple of brands that I like are Branch Basics Concentrate and Dr. Bronner's Castile Concentrate.

2. When clothing wears out, replace it with a natural fiber. Don't break the bank trying to change everything at once. For a lot of us, our clothes don't all wear out at the same time, which means we're replacing clothes on a rolling basis. The best part about that? It means it's easier on the wallet to make changes to the type of clothes we wear! A t-shirt is pilling? Replace it with a 100% cotton t-shirt. There's a hole in your shorts? Replace them with 80% linen/20% cotton shorts. Spilled oil on your blouse? Replace it with a 100% silk one. Before you know it 1/4 of your closet is natural fibers, then 1/2, 3/4, etc. The slow and steady replacement is easier on the wallet and will add up over time. 

   
   

3. When skin care runs out, purchase non-toxic options instead. I'll be honest with you. This is a hard one for me and it's one where I'm new to the best options. I've reduced toxins in a few ways, for instance, I use Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap bar as shampoo and body wash, 100% pure lanolin for my lips (because anything with beeswax doesn't work for me, but for many others it's good), and I've recently started making my own tallow balm for my skin. Trust and believe though, there's good options out there already made with clean ingredients, I just choose to do a DIY option for fun (and for a bit of cost savings). My hair conditioner is running low, so I am looking into a non-toxic option to replace it with. That's the beauty of this, you'll have time to research what works for your personal bio-individuality as you run low on a product.

   
   

4. Replace plastic food storage with glass food storage. This might be one where you do have to bite the bullet and make a change before something wears out or runs out. The good news, glass food storage will last a long time, so it's a one time expense that you won't have to make again anytime soon. Yes, many of the glass options will come with plastic lids, but a couple keys with that is to not heat up your food with the lid on and try to keep your food from touching the plastic while stored. Of course you'll still be touching the plastic with your hands, but you've reduced the overall plastic exposure drastically, especially when it comes to heating up your food. Sure, there are options with glass or wood lids, but it drives up expenses and may not be leak proof. Find what's best for you and your life right now!

   
   

These are 4 easy suggestions for where to start! If you implement even one of these, you will definitely be able to improve healing and reduce your toxins as you go along. Go easy on yourself and be realistic with your budget. There's absolutely no shame in starting small. Starting is the first step into creating a new way of living which in turn, will turn into a new way of healing. You got this.