cultivate wellness: products in our home
Last week, I threw away the last bottle of Windex that was sitting in the back corner of the shelf above our washing machine. Riveting, I know, but please keep reading :).I don't remember exactly when I started thinking about the products I used to clean our home or my bath and beauty products but it was a little less than four years ago. I talked a little about it here, but while I was pregnant and after my darlin one was born my eyes were opened to so many things, one being the synthetic and toxic chemicals that were in all the products in our home.I've always been sensitive to cleaners and synthetic dyes and smells (hello, detergent aisle at the store?!) and I chalked it up to my personal respiratory issues, but really, who needs to be breathing that? When I started to think about bringing this little person into our home, and what I wanted to put on her skin, I started looking for every natural product I could find.
But it was frustrating, annoying, and often times expensive. I would spend hours looking into products and reviews, go to multiple stores, and would buy products labeled as "natural" only to come to find that that actually weren't. I was on a mission and at first I was in the replace mode, whenever I ran out of something, I'd replace it with a natural alternative. Then I discovered The Honest Co. and it felt a little easier, but there were still pieces missing and products that I still wanted more effective versions of.I read something today that in the European Union there are 1,400 ingredients banned in cosmetic products compared to 11 in the United States. E-L-E-V-E-N. More and more research is coming out about the long term side effects of these ingredients, and whether the evidence is conclusive, I don't think it should be ignored.One thing that was extremely helpful to me was the Think Dirty App. It gives each product a score from 0-10 and breaks down the ingredients and how they can be harmful. This was eye opening for me in terms of products that I thought were natural, that weren't at all. Rude!
Last summer days before darlin two was born, call it procrastination nesting, I cleaned out almost every product that I didn't want to be in my linen closet, medicine cabinet, and makeup bag. I was done with replacing and wanted everything out. It felt good for a fresh start and around the same time I found Young Living and that changed how I supported my own health and the products I brought into our home. I have fallen in love with the Essential Rewards program and their household products. There are still a few things I buy at the store, but I greatly appreciate that I can have products delivered to my door, I don't have to go to multiple stores, and I don't have to wonder if they are safe. Ain't nobody got time for that.Something clicked too after my second darlin girl was born, that as a mama of two little girls, I want to protect them from these harmful chemicals even more because of all the research on their impact on the reproductive system. I don't usually suggest googling as a research method, but look up some of the ingredients in antibacterial soap, or dryer sheets. Ewww.
So that last bottle of Windex, I know you're dying to know. I had it sitting there because it felt wasteful, it felt like something I should have on my shelf because when people come to our house and don't believe that our natural cleaners work (they do!). In the trash it went, and it felt like a victory (against toxins and clutter but that's another post!). It's a process and I still have more to learn, more things to change, and more things to throw out but every step I take to cultivate wellness in our home for my darlins is a victory to me.
P.S. I'm going to teach a fun intro to essential oils class May 16-20 online, cost is $10 and you get oils! I'll send you three rollers to use along with the class and it's packed with content, more than any other class I've done. If you've ever wanted to learn more about these mysterious gems and how you can use them to replace beauty, cleaning, and other household products email me to sign-up!
