In the pursuit of creating a non toxic lifestyle, I encourage you to shift that line of thinking to creating a less toxic home and a healthier lifestyle. Fully non toxic living isn’t a reality in today’s toxic world, and when we strive for constant perfection, oftentimes we become overwhelmed. This post should help you see there are MANY ways to create a less toxic household for free or equal cost. While also learning that free healthier lifestyle habits, are often, the most impactful on our overall wellness. Whether it’s opting for equally priced and less toxic alternatives, making gradual lifestyle changes, or focusing on mindset; a journey to a healthier lifestyle is accessible to all.
This post is not all of the swap options out there, or even the “best” options, but instead a post to help those wanting an equal or lower cost way to reduce their home’s toxins.
Less Toxic + Equal Cost Household Swaps:
Making a non toxic, or less toxic, product often costs the company more. Which is why many of the conventional brands are full of toxins, they are cheaper + work well. However, at what cost to our overall health and wellness? Above are some less toxic equal cost pre-made or simple DIY household product swaps.
Castile soap can be a staple in a less toxic home. You can use castile soap as an all purpose cleaner, hand soap, dish soap, laundry soap, and more. I personally don’t recommend it for a body wash, it strips our skin’s natural microbiome.
Branch Basics (Discount Code: LESSTOXIC) is one of our all time favorite less toxic all purpose cleaner concentrates. Non toxic ingredients, works well, and cost effective if used properly. You do need their bottles to mix the ratios well. As a floor cleaner we add a few big squirts to our mop bucket, or bona spray mop, and it works well.
Bon Ami is a must have in a non toxic / less toxic household. It’s a scrubbing powder great for pots and pans, bath tubs, showers, toilets, grout, and more. Good ole olive oil is fabulous for polishing wood.
We love our Truly Free Dish Detergent: (Discount Code: LESSTOXIC30). Over the years we have tried several different non or less toxic, or even slightly next better, dish detergents … with no luck. Truly free gets our dishes crystal clear, even with our hard water. Another great dish detergent can also DIY with citric acid, baking soda, and vinegar.
Less Toxic Fragranced Product Swaps:
Anytime I am asked my opinion on what swap to start with, my answer is usually: Laundry Detergent. Why? We wear clothes 24/7ish, sleep on bedding, dry off with towels, wash our face with rags, clean with rags, dry our dishes, et. All with textiles that have gone through our washing machine with laundry detergent. Conventional detergents are designed to remain on your clothing. Although, some of the harsher toxic chemicals wash off, not all of them do. The optic brighteners and synthetic fragrances (containing ingredients that disrupt our endocrine system, are known allergens + skin irritants, and even ingredients that are known carcinogens) are designed to stay on our clothing.
Truly Free laundry detergent has been our favorite non toxic laundry detergent, for several years now. We love and use the unscented, but the scented is made with plant compounds. If you prefer a scent in your laundry, you will love their scented. **Yes their affiliate discount deals website is 90’s style marketing, while annoying (insert eye roll here), it is a real site + real laundry detergent that works well!!!
Simmer pots are a great way to make your home smell amazing without all the toxins. Simmering in a crockpot is an excellent swap vs running your gas stove for extended periods. Try this recipe this summer: pineapple chunks, coconut slices or shredded coconut, vanilla extract, and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon. You can even eat after … bonus!! Creating your own room spray is another great option.
Less Toxic + Equal Cost Kitchenware Swaps:
Teflon (aka non stick pans), also known as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), should be avoided due to several toxicity concerns. These non-stick pans can emit toxic fumes containing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other harmful chemicals. Non Stick toxic chemicals can also leach into the foods while cooking. A great equal cost non toxic (or less toxic) swap can be cast iron or 18/8 stainless steel. If you want the non stick benefit you get with coated pans: Heat your cast iron, or stainless steel over low medium heat for a few minutes, before adding your fat (butter, ghee, tallow) to cook on. This closes the pores and creates more of a non stick style pan.
We personally limit cooking liquids or acidic foods (tomato sauce) in our cast iron. It can leach higher levels of iron into the foods. We do not stress over this, just something we are aware of.
If you are storing food in plastic, try to avoid heating that plastic. Examples: remove the left overs and heat on the stovetop in a pan, thaw the meat in cool water or in the fridge (not with warm or hot water). Heating plastic is one way to leach endocrine disruptors and other toxins from the plastic into the food.
Less Toxic + Equal Cost Bathroom Swaps:
Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals has been linked to a wide range of health issues, including reproductive disorders, developmental effects, immune dysfunction, and metabolic disorders. A good way to swap these items without getting overwhelmed is to simply buy your next better, less toxic ingredient, options when you run out of product.
Above are several brands to swap to, for equal cost less toxic options. You can use my posts, other peoples posts, and the Switch Natural app (one time $20 fee and well worth it, reads ingredients, flags potential toxins, and shares the studies) to help you find your next better swap.
Healthier Lifestyle Bedroom Swaps:
There are often free ways to reduce toxins in your home. Simply keeping a decluttered and clean home is one way to help reduce the toxin exposures in your household and the improve your home’s air quality.
Working on light hygiene is another excellent way to help create a healthier lifestyle and improve overall wellness. Here is a post that goes more into depth on that area, and 7 other lifestyle habit swaps: 8 Healthy Lifestyle Foundations That Can Impact Your Overall Health.
Simple & Affordable Less Toxic Baby Swaps:
Sometimes we think we need “all the things” for our sweet little ones. I encourage you to lean into the “less is more” mindset when it comes to babies and toddlers. The more we leave their skin’s microbiome alone, the better.
There are several great pre-made babyfood options out there (white leaf provisions, my serenity kids, once upon a farm). Feeding what you are already eating (if making home cooked meals), is a simple way to save money and still feed higher quality foods.
Non Toxic DIY Recipes:
I have shared a lot about the ingredient ‘fragrance’ that you find in so many products. That term on an ingredients list can represent a cocktail of hundreds of different toxic, and potentially toxic, ingredients. Because of “trade secret” laws, manufacturers do not have to disclose what ingredients make up that word for their product. When creating a less toxic and healthier lifestyle; avoiding the word ‘Fragrance’ on an ingredients list can go a long way. Fragrances are linked to a staggering number of health risks. Chemicals used to make fragrances are classified as allergens, endocrine disruptors, asthma triggers, neurotoxins, & even carcinogens (potential to cause cancer).
50 things you can do for free, or equal cost, to create a less toxic home and healthier lifestyle in 2024:
1-10:
1. Buy more whole real foods (in your budget) and less processed boxed foods. Think: Single Ingredients.
2. Cook at home as often as possible.
3. When eating out, cafeteria, gas station, etc. make the slightly healthier choices available to you (meats, fruits, veggies, water, sparkling water).
4. Aim for high protein meals (roughly 30-40g of protein each meal for adults). Can add in more colorful vegetables and fruits.
5. Aim for balanced meals & balanced blood sugar: Protein, Fats, Carbs, & eat in that order.
6. Walk daily (if your physical abilities allow). Increase as possible.
7. Walk after every meal (or aim for at least one).
8. Work toward waking up and going to bed at the same time most days.
9. Get outside as soon as you wake and get sunshine on your face (10ish minutes).
10. Get afternoon sunlight on your body (safe sun exposure, not burning).
11-20:
11. Aim for 7+ hours of sleep every night.
12. Get out in nature more, walk barefoot, lay eyes on bodies of water.
13. Drink filtered water. Even zero pitcher ($30 at Walmart) to start with.
14. Open two windows for 10 minutes per day (if not raining or high humidity).
15. Open or crack car windows daily.
16. Clean with vinegar, water, and lemon juice. Cut the other cleaners out.
17. Use Bon Ami as a multi purpose cleaning scrub.
18. Swap to an affordable DIY laundry detergent.
19. Use citric acid and vinegar as dishwasher detergent.
20. Use Castile soap as dish soap.
21-30:
21. Use an organic oil like Argan for makeup remover & lotion (apply when damp).
22. Turn lights off at night once sun goes down & a lamp on.
23. Try to avoid or limit phones & TV once the sun sets.
24. Take regular social media breaks. Delete the apps fully during these breaks.
25. Get in community with others who lift you up.
26. Prayer / quiet time daily.
27. Breathing practices and techniques.
28. At home workouts 2-5 days per week (if physically capable). Lift weights.
29. Rebounding on a trampoline or jumping rope to help move the lymph.
30. Get plenty of minerals daily. Unrefined salts added in.
31-40:
31. Take cool or cold showers a few days per week.
32. Set aside time to just be alone and feel comfortable doing nothing.
33. Stop sanitizing everything.
34. Skip the full body wash more often. Just wash areas needed and leave the skin’s microbiome alone.
35. Ditch the added fragrance products (candles, plug ins, wax burners, room sprays, body spray, etc.).
36. Reduce clutter in the home, wet dust often, vacuum regularly, & remove shoes in the home.
37. Go barefoot more often for foot function, strength, and grounding.
38. Look into nervous system work. Slow down and notice your surroundings, let your nervous system relax. Notice things you see, hear, feel, smell, taste.
39. Take time to eat your meals at a table and focus on chewing fully.
40. Focus on keeping mouth closed and nose breathing. Tongue on roof of mouth.
41-50:
41. Don’t heat food in plastic.
42. Swap your nonstick cookware for cast iron or stainless steel.
43. Work toward at least 1-2 hours outside per day, or more when the weather is great.
44. Swap your personal care and beauty products for less toxic ingredients as you can. TIP: Swap one at a time as you run out.
45. As you buy / need new clothing look for the cotton or linen options. Walmart has many 90-100% cotton options, especially in their kids section.
46. Laugh often.
47. Gargle or hum for a few minutes per day. Stimulates vagus nerve.
48. Take a hot bath to the point of sweating.
49. Potentially look into addressing mold, heavy metals, or other environmental toxins in your home, if there is an issue, and get a plan together.
50. Ask questions when presented with how you should approach your health, even if it’s things in this post, something a doctor tells you, or other advice: dig more. See what’s best for you.
