Keeping a Healthy and Toxin Free Home

As we live each day, we strive for health and happiness. Sometimes that means we need to take a look at our current ways of living and make some adjustments where necessary. For many of us, a detox is a wonderful solution. And, no, I am not talking about a physical body detox, I’m talking about a home detox! There’s no better time than now.

Our worlds have changed and working at home has become the norm for many. Living and working in a healthy environment is so important for our own physical health which leads to greater productivity and overall happiness. Naturally, we feel better.

I bet you haven’t given this idea too much thought, have you?

Living in a healthy and toxin free environment means making some changes that for you could be small or rather significant.

Hmmm, sounds great, but how do I go about this?

I’m so glad you asked! I want to provide you with some practical, easy and simple ways to create a healthy home by focusing on a few areas including cleaning products, air and water quality and healthy eating.

Go Green with Cleaning Products

Many households have cleaning products populated with toxins, some could have up to 400 chemicals! Yikes! While short term contact with these “cleaners” won’t necessarily hurt us, the long-term usage and having them around the home could lead to harmful exposure. In order to limit the exposure, get rid of all harmful cleaners. All of them. Turn this into a weekend project and get the kids involved. There are many natural and easy ways to clean the home that involve no toxin exposure at all! After detoxing the current cleaning supply, the next step is to build up a natural one. For example, I clean my wood floors with water and a splash of white vinegar. To make it smell nice I add a few drops of citrus (lemon, grapefruit, orange or all three) or lavender essential oils. I have found this actually cleans my floors even better than the conventional products that I used to use. This works for other household cleaners as well. Natural and effective? Sounds good to me!

Air Quality

I’m sure many of us don’t think about every breathe we take. The average person takes about 20,000 breathes a day, hence the reasoning why air quality is so critical. We have become so accustom to our own air that we don’t give our home air much thought. You’d be surprised at the little particles floating around!

After researching air quality a bit further, I have found the perfect solution. An air purifier provides world-leading air purification for any home in which it captures allergens such as dust, pollen, smoke, mold spores, odors etc. The purifier I use moves through various stages to eliminate the toxins and is very user friendly with four fan speeds and sleep modes. Did you know there are ones on the market that are fitted with Hospital Grade True HEPA filtration for entire rooms? This makes is a great entire home solution to enhance, clean and detox the air in your own home.

In addition to adding a purifier, adding some indoor plants in a few areas of the home is another natural solution. Plants are awesome air purifiers. It’s suggested to have one plant per 100 square feet of house. Depending on the climate you live in, you’ll want to choose ones that can have moderate sunlight and grow well inside year-round. I’ve also started an indoor herb garden that supplies me with fresh herbs throughout the winter! Some years I transport the plants outside during the summers and bring back in the winter if the plants are hearty enough.

Water

Along with needing to breathe, we need to drink water, too! Our bodies crave clean, unpolluted water. While the water coming out of your tap may appear clean and taste fine to you, I bet there are some unhealthy particles and ions that your body isn’t too happy consuming. Getting your water tested would be a great idea and a wonderful start to purifying your home water supply. As the world we live in changes with more industrialization, naturally our waters have become more polluted. Using a water filter is the solution! These sit nicely on the counter, not taking a whole lot of space and are made for the whole family to use! The technologies give the best all-around quality drinking water. Look for ones that re-mineralize, alkalize and ionize through multi- stage filtration. This method ensures the purest water with a fabulous clean taste.

Home Juicers and Blenders

In addition to talking about kitchen products, adding a smoothie blender or juicer will help you and your kitchen in the home detox process! These products can assist us in living healthier lives by fueling up with real, whole foods.

Our bodies are made to consume real, whole, natural foods. Over the last few decades there has been an ever-increasing change to the way our foods are being grown, produced and served. By changing the way foods are made, additives and chemicals are introduced, recognized by the body as foreign matters, causing our bodies to react negatively. Our bodies scramble to figure out how to properly process the chemicals. It requires more work for our systems, taking away from its ability to perform normal activities such as protecting us from disease or pathogens in our everyday environments. While you may not experience immediate uncomfortable feelings when eating synthetic foods, our bodies overtime will start to give warning signs. This can appear through suppressed immune systems causing sickness, impaired metabolisms, food sensitivities and intolerances or other physical conditions. So, what’s the solution?

Eat natural, whole foods and the best way to do that you ask? Juicing and smoothie making! No, I’m not talking about your grocery store fruit juices, I’m talking your homemade juices and smoothies. Let’s think about it this way, if you’re seeking an overall wellbeing, you’ll want to seek out the best fuel for your body, right? The absolute grade A fuel is going to be your juices and smoothies. By consuming fruits and veggies in liquid form, you’re giving your body an easier opportunity to digest the foods, making your gut and tummy super happy!

There are some wonderful brands making cold press juicers and blenders. I have been using my Vitamix for 7+ years and it’s still going strong. My favorite kitchen item in addition to my Vitamix is my favorite blender. I walk into my kitchen feeling healthy and walk out even healthier! Both of these products are worth the investment and will pay off in the end. A home juice cleanse may be just what your body needs to reset and stay strong going forward!

While there are many ways to detox the home, these are some ways I feel that are most important, simple and fun to incorporate. You can get the whole family involved and feeling good together! Make it a family activity, but don’t wait. Keeping any potential toxins in the home just prolongs the amount of time you could be exposing yourself and loved ones. You will be glad you did it now. So, cheers to a happier and healthier home as we welcome this new year together!