We moved to the country and are actively pursuing a simple life. But our interest in living the simple life started some years ago, even before the pandemic!!
About 4 years ago I was introduced to Essential Oils and became interested in their many benefits and uses. As part of my research into the use of Essential Oils I discovered a whole movement with a focus on detoxing ‘life’ – from a personal and a household perspective. I realised that I needed to everything I could to maintain good health as I get older and so decided that I needed to detox my house.
I started to research the dangers of synthetic fragrances and the ways to overcome their use in the home. Until this time I hadn’t consciously realized how much we are bombarded with dangerous chemicals. We put them on our skin, into our bodies and we use them all around our homes. Every product we buy to clean our homes is full of fragrances and colours and an ever ‘improving’ range of cleaning compounds that will make our houses cleaner and germ free – or so they tell you. We are constantly breathing in these compounds or they are being absorbed through our skin. There is lots of research out there to say that this is not good for us. Just search for the dangers of synthetic fragrances and you will find loads of information.
But despite the dangers to our health we listen to the marketing messages. We keep buying the products because it is easier not to think about danger and because these products are there in the supermarket and chemist in enticing packaging that calls us to buy them!
But you can change the habits of a lifetime – yes, and move towards living a simple, clean but healthier household!!
I make all my home cleaning products now from simple ingredients and minimise the use of artificial compounds for personal cleaning and beauty routines.
Why do I say that this is part of living a simple life? I no longer pay attention to marketing information about cleaning products, I use simple ingredients and have taken control of the chemical compounds brought into my home.
How about you- do you think it is time to detox your house? Are you doing everything you can to improve your health and the health of your household? Keep reading to find out what I did to detox and live a simpler life.
Stop and think about it now:
- Are your cleaning products really getting better with every new promotion or is that all part of the psychology of sales and marketing?
- Have you tried a range of products to do the price check – is the most expensive and the strongest smelling cleaner doing a better job than a cheaper one?
- How do you feel when you walk down the cleaning aisle in the supermarket or the perfume counter in a department store? Do you feel overwhelmed by the fragrances – I certainly do. I have to hold my nose and run!
- Do you ever feel sick after you have cleaned the house or has anyone in your household ever had an unexplained skin problem? It quite possibly could be caused by your washing powder or body wash etc.
If you answered yes to any of these questions then perhaps its time to think about the chemicals you are buying and using around the home. Read the labels and look up the chemical compounds to find out if they are toxic to you. If you want to make a change, research some natural cleaning products – there are quite a few companies out there now that are making safer products. But don’t forget to check out the chemical list – you may still be buying synthetic fragrances.
Once you decide to make a change, try planning out the change in stages. Detoxing your entire house can be overwhelming and you may be put off before you even start if you don’t have a plan.
Here is one way to get started:
- List the different rooms in your household.
- Do a stocktake of all of the cleaning and personal hygiene and beauty products you have in each room.
- Check out the chemical list on each product and do some research on how harmful these chemicals may be.
- If you find some nasty chemicals in one particular room (e.g. the kitchen) and want to eliminate them from the home then start looking for alternative products for this room. This process has become much easier over the past few years as more and more people ditch the chemicals.
- If you are willing to make your own products then start gathering the ingredients you need and have a go!!!
- Once you have replaced all the products in one part of the house you will find it easier to keep going because you will have gathered some of the simple ingredients already and you will feel empowered to keep going!!
We can help you make this change and make your own household cleaners etc. We have lots of recipes on our blog and we also have some posts about where to source your ingredients. Here are just a few posts to get you started on your journey to a healthier and simpler life!!
House Cleaning the Safer Way: Get that kitchen sparkling!
House Cleaning the Safer Way: Doing the Laundry!
Personal Health and Beauty the Safer Way: Care for that body!
Or you might like to join our Facebook group and gain access to a series of videos that will help you navigate the way to a safer low tox life!!!
Invitation to Our ‘Doing it Safer Series’ – cleaning the safer, low tox way!
You might also like to look out for our blogs about living the simple life.
We hope you will join us at Helpful by Nature by following us on social media and reading our posts. We would love to hear from you, take your questions and provide answers if we are able.
Until next time,
Gillian (and Andrew)
