Cleaning products, beauty products, laundry detergent, toothpaste, kitchen utensils—there are so many different things that we all have in our homes that contain toxic chemicals and fragrances. Of course, we need these things to run a household; however, we should be able to do it without putting our families in danger. Unfortunately, large corporations try to market all of these products as safe and effective, when in reality, they’re causing illness, disrupting our hormones, and slowly poisoning us. If you’re interested in transitioning to a low-tox household, you might be led to believe that it’s too difficult or too expensive and be discouraged. It’s a process! I’ve been on this journey for about a year, and I can personally attest to the benefits. It can be overwhelming to make this transition, but just take it one step at a time—follow along to learn how to start eliminating toxins from your home!

Toss Your Dryer Sheets

Believe it or not, dryer sheets are one of the most harmful, toxic household items. Although they might seem harmless, they’re known to contain dangerous chemicals and fragrances that adhere to your clothes, exude into the air, and absorb into your skin. Unfortunately, the toxins in most dryer sheets can trigger respiratory issues, cause cancer, and contribute to reproductive issues.

Most people wouldn’t think this common staple is that bad, but anyone on the low-tox journey will tell you to toss them. This is one of the first actions I took on my personal journey—I decided to replace my toxic dryer sheets with reusable wool dryer balls! They cycle through your laundry to help them dry faster, you can reuse them for thousands of loads to save money, and you can even add a few drops of essential oils to them for additional scent. Also, as a golden retriever owner, I appreciate their ability to help reduce the amount of dog hair that sticks to our laundry.

Swap Out Your Hand Soap

Your hand soap is another relatively easy thing to swap out. Many people love to go to Bath and Body Works during their semi-annual sale to stock up on their foaming soaps. Little do they know that they’re slowly poisoning their families. Most products marketed as hand soaps contain incredibly harmful chemicals and fragrances.

I get it—I also love foaming hand soap. So, I learned how to make my own for SUPER cheap! Don’t worry; I’m not going to leave you hanging! You can learn how to make the best non-toxic hand soap right here on my site.

Ditch Plastic

If you’re familiar with the low-tox lifestyle, you may already know that plastic is a no-go. Plastic has become such a significant amount of our lives, but it can also be very harmful. This one is arguably the most difficult to stay away from; believe me, I’ve tried!

First of all, please don’t stress yourself out trying to never use anything plastic ever again. You’ll find that it’s quite literally impossible. With that being said, you can definitely limit the amount of plastic you use in your household.

Here are the plastic rules I try to live by:

1. Glass or stainless steel before plastic for food storage
2. Never reheat food in plastic
3. Don’t drink out of plastic if you have a choice
4. Only use plastic zip bags if it’s really necessary
5. Remove as much of your store-bought food as possible from plastic containers and wrappers as soon as you get them home and transfer to glass

Ditching plastic isn’t entirely easy, but I decided it was worth it to get rid of all plastic food storage containers, serving bowls, plates, bowls, and cups and replace them with glass or stainless steel.

Find DIY Formulas

Many people have a preconceived notion that going low-tox is so much more expensive than sticking with the toxic products. However, this is a total myth. We’ve saved SO much money this year by making our own household products, and you can too!

Finding the best DIY formulas might entail a lot of research, but you’ll most likely come to the conclusion that many low-tox household cleaners contain similar ingredients.

For my home, I make the following products myself:

• Laundry detergent
• Laundry stain remover
• Fabric softener
• All-purpose spray cleaner
• Room refresher spray
• Dishwasher soap
• Dish soap
• Hand soap
• Disinfectant wipes
• Soy wax candles

When I say that most of these products consist of different combinations of the same 4 or 5 ingredients, I’m not kidding! They’re super easy to make. You may have to purchase glass spray bottles and dispensers to start this process, but that’s a one-time purchase—once you have them, they’re reusable for a long time.

When it comes to beauty and personal care, I make the following products myself:

• Perfume
• Body scrub
• Hair mask
• Dry shampoo
• Facial mist
• Magnesium spray (doubles as deodorant!)
• Facial exfoliant
• Foot soak
• Acne spot treatment

I still buy most of my beauty products, but I’m careful about what brands I use—I absolutely love Honest Beauty. Additionally, reading the ingredient labels is crucial when it comes to deciding on your go-to products.

Replace Products with Clean Alternatives as You Run Out

After learning about the excessive toxins in most household and beauty products, it’s tempting to go absolutely crazy, throw out everything you own, and replace it all immediately. If you have the means to do so, by all means, do it! If not, then don’t worry.

Think about it this way: up until learning this, you’ve been using toxic products your entire life. Using them until they’re gone isn’t going to do much more harm than they already have.

Here’s my advice: use what you have until it’s gone and then replace it with a clean alternative. Whether you make it yourself or buy a cleaner product, transitioning one step at a time is much less stressful.

Making the switch to a low or non-toxic household can be a challenge, but I can personally attest to how much learning how to start eliminating toxins from your home helps the process go smoothly. I’ve gotten to the point where my body has detoxed all the garbage! Now when I use something that isn’t clean or come in contact with laundry washed with toxins, my body will tell me about it with a rash or breakout. Improving your health will always be worth it; not to mention, going low-tox is a huge money saver.

Many of the products I make myself are also in my online shop if you’re interested in trying some for yourself. If you want to make a change but don’t know where to start, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me—I’m more than happy to help you on this journey, and I’m more than willing to share my DIY recipes and the store-bought products I use.