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create a chemical-free home

Tips for Creating a Chemical-Free Home Environment

The global pandemic has highlighted the importance of using toxin-free materials at home. With traditional cleaners shifting toward safer alternatives, it’s important to examine other stress-causing chemicals in our daily environment. Read on to learn about the impact of chemicals on our bodies and how you can take steps to create a chemical-free home and live a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

Natural Air and Plants

Aerosol air fresheners, plug-ins, and scented candles have long been popular choices for cleansing the air in our homes. However, they contain chemicals that negatively impact our health, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Exposure to these compounds can cause shortness of breath, headaches, dizziness, skin problems, nausea, irritation in the eyes, nose, and throat, and fatigue. Choosing natural air freshening methods such as opening windows and keeping houseplants around can help reduce your exposure to these harmful compounds. Some plants, like Barberton Daisy, English Ivy, Snake Plant, Chrysanthemum, Spider Plant, Aloe Vera, Broad Lady Palm, Red-Edged Dracaena/Dragon Tree, Weeping Fig, and Chinese Evergreen, are better at natural air freshening than others and require little effort to care for.

Toxin-Free Bedroom

Your bedroom should be a place of refuge, but your furnishings can cause an allergic reaction. It’s important to control the number of toxins in your bedroom. For instance, it’s best to consider buying a mattress made of dense or natural materials since traditional mattresses are a hotspot for bacteria. By switching to natural latex, bamboo, coconut coir, or another natural material, you’ll significantly reduce the risk of an allergic reaction. Additionally, using a mite-proof mattress and pillow covers and washing your bedding regularly can help curb dust mites. For hygienic bedding, choose natural fibers like cotton, bamboo, linen, silk, and wool, which offer superior breathability without uncomfortable static electricity or skin sensitivity. Furnishing your bedroom with materials like glass, ceramic, metal, natural wood, or bamboo, and avoiding plastics and foam-stuffed furniture, will help minimize chemical toxins.

Toxin-Free Kitchen

Maintaining a chemical-free home environment also involves being mindful of how you eat and cook. Highly processed foods contain added sugars, preservatives, stabilizers, artificial flavoring, dyes, and other harmful chemicals. The basic ingredients we cook with, like fruits, vegetables, nuts, meats, and dairy, can contain mercury, fertilizer, growth hormones, insecticides, and antibiotics. Organic eating is one way to improve the overall quality of basic ingredients. By choosing organically grown or raised foods, you can rule out synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. While it may not be possible to eliminate all chemical toxins from your diet, making small changes like choosing organic and avoiding farmed fish can make a significant difference.