10 Ways To Reduce Toxins In Your Home

Did you know there are hidden toxins hiding in your home? They lurk in all kinds of places like dust, cleaners, and even cosmetics. Here are my top 10 ways to reduce toxins in your home.

In our insanely busy lives, we all need a healthy nest where we can unwind and recharge. Creating an environment that nurtures and supports us is the key to feeling rooted and happy in our space.

How To Reduce Toxins in your home?

Let's take a look at the ways to reduce toxins in your home.

1. Get rid of the clutter

Clutter takes up so much of our time and energy and if we want peace of mind we need to get rid of the clutter.

This starts with an electromagnetic frequency (EMF) free zone. These vibrations affect our sympathetic nervous systems and create stress in the body. Did you know that your smartphone actually warns us about this in terms and conditions (which no one ever read right?)

EMF-free zones start in the bedroom!. Use a digital alarm clock instead of your phone and keep your phone. This is much harder than it sounds, but I promise you, you will feel the difference if you do this. Try it!

You can also:

• Install a breaker switch that allows you to turn off the electric currents in a given room
• Unplug electronics that are not in use, like your cell phone charger (which costs you about $60 a year simply by being plugged in)
• Hide plugs and other digital stuff from sight by using smart storage ideas

2. Know where your food comes from

Pin

Reducing your exposure to herbicides and pesticides is so important. Follow this easy guide:

Buy Organic

Buy Conventional

Buy foods that are natural and unprocessed and avoid processed foods at all costs.

3. Focus on your furnace

Indoor air pollution is a major issue in many homes thanks to VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a large group of chemicals that are found in many products we use to build and maintain our homes. From the furniture, we sit on to the carpets and cleaning products.

Obviously, we can’t throw away ALL these items, but we can make a difference by using a Micro Allergen Reduction Filter and changing it at least every three months. These filters do a really good job at preventing a buildup of dust, mold, pollen, and VOCs. There’s an added benefit, a clean filter with also improve the function of your furnace, reducing your heating bill and saving you money!

Sources of VOCs

• Paint, varnishes, caulks, adhesives
• Carpet, vinyl flooring
• Composite wood products
• Upholstery and foam
• Air fresheners, cleaning products
• Cosmetics
• Fuel oil, gasoline
• Smoking
• Dry cleaning, photocopiers
• Cooking, hobbies

4. Reduce plastic use

Honestly, just avoid it where you can! I have very little plastic in my home. I use glass jars and mason jars for all my food storage. A lot of plastic contains Bisphenol A (BPA) which is highly toxic and been linked to endocrine and developmental problems. If you have plastic containers at home, find out if you can recycle them (every municipality is different) and get rid of them.

Pin

If you can’t part with them, never heat them in the microwave ever! Stay away from plastic containers marked with a "3", these contain PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Exposure to PVC often includes exposure to phthalates, which are used to soften PVC and may have adverse health effects; your shower curtain is a good example. Buy PEVA or Hemp.

5. Stay away from Stain Guard

You love your new couch and don’t want the kid or cat to dirty it up, but that stain-resistant guard is made up of  Perfluorochemicals (PFCs), a group of chemicals used to keep food from sticking to cookware, to make sofas and carpets resistant to stains, to make clothes and mattresses more waterproof, and may also be used in some food packaging.

There is concern over how these chemicals affect our health and there is a ton of evidence that shows that they build up in the environment. Wildlife has been found in many rivers and lakes too and both PFOA and PFOS are byproducts of other commercial products, meaning they are released into the environment when other products are made, used, or discarded.

• Avoid flame-retardant children’s clothing and sleepwear
• When purchasing new furnishings and bedding, choose wool or cotton fill over polyester and foam products, they are much more durable and easier to clean
• Reduce dust levels by using damp cleaning methods
• Reduce dust levels by using damp cleaning methods

6. Say YES to Huck Cleaning Cloths

Pin

I’m obsessed with these and have been using them for longer than I can remember! I have one dedicated to each room in the house (so I don’t cross-contaminate). There’s actual science to these cloths, the weave grabs dirt and holds onto it instead of moving it around, so surfaces stay cleaner longer and you also don’t need to use as much cleaning product.

They were originally used to clean surgical tools, they are so versatile, leave no lint, and are perfect for any eco-home.

7. Reduce exposure to toxic cleaners and personal care products

So many of the toxins chemicals in your home come from harsh chemicals used in both cleaning products and skincare products. You need to make sure you know how to read labels and if you are not sure about certain ingredients it's okay to reach out to the brand directly.

Studies have shown that babies can be exposed to toxins in the home, which can lead to a whole lot of nasty health issues.

Switching from conventional skincare can be a challenge, this handy guide might help make the transition a little easier

8. Leave your shoes at the door

Leave shoes at the door and keep out 80 percent of the nastiness they track in, like road sealant, pesticides, lead, and dust. A study done by the University of Arizona found an average of 421,000 different bacteria on shoes. Coliforms, a bacterial indicator of the level of sanitation of foods and water (and universally present in feces), were detected on the bottoms of 96% of shoes.

In addition, E. coli was detected on 27% of the shoes, along with seven other kinds of bacteria, including Klebsiella pneumonia, which can cause urinary tract infection, and Serratia ficaria, which can cause respiratory infections.

Pin

A University of Houston study found that 39% of shoes contained bacteria C. diff (Clostridium difficile), which is a public health threat resistant to a number of antibiotics. This bacteria can cause multiple health conditions, including diarrhea.

9. Ditch the dryer sheets

These un-handy little suckers are coated with chemicals like quaternary ammonium compounds, which cause major health issues and affect the environment. They don’t break down in landfill and in fact, lead to soil and water pollution. Try using wool dryer balls.

10. Plant good seeds

Keep indoor plants in every room in your home, they help reduce indoor air pollution by pulling VOCs from the air!

The bottom line when it comes to How To Reduce Toxins in your home

We are exposed to so many toxins on a regular basis, so much so that it can seem pretty impossible to avoid them. The good news is there are small, effective hacks you make each day to reduce your exposure and at the least be aware of the environment around you.

Pin