Spring Cleaning with Nature

Why toxin free? Why Nature? Gosh, where do we start. 

Look at our health today. We all know someone who suffers or has suffered from cancer, infertility, anxiety, unexplained weight gain, hormonal issues, allergies and/or asthma. In fact, that list may unfortunately describe many Americans in one way or another. 

Recent university research is showing that the lungs of a woman who cleans regularly is similar to that of someone who smokes around 20 cigarettes a day, thanks to her cleaning products and chemicals she is exposed to. Source.

It is crazy to think that our cleaning products could be to blame for this (along with personal care products and diets, etc…). Who would think that what we clean our homes with daily, wash our hands with daily and brush our teeth with could be so harmful for us? Isn’t there people out there looking out for us to make sure we don’t have harmful ingredients coming into our homes? Unfortunately NO, at least not like you’d think. 

Our chemical laws are old, weak and need massive help. 

In so many ways, other countries have it better than we do. Boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese contain better ingredients in other countries simply because those countries ban those toxins. Here in America, we have nothing really banned too often, so Kraft makes their mac + cheese just the way they like it, full of the bad ingredients. This is not the only company to do this or the only brand of food. Unfortunately this is a huge issue. 

In the European Union over 1100 cosmetic ingredients are banned! In America LESS than 10 of those same ingredients are banned. You mean to tell me that out of a thousand ingredients, our people in control only thought 10 were bad? What the what? Crazy, right? 

We need change. We need to change our lifestyles to ensure that we are doing our best to live long and healthy. We need to give our children fresh air to breathe. 

Did you know that the air within your home is much more polluted than the air outside? Open the windows and air out your home a little this spring! 

But why? Why stress about it all when it’s just a little bit of toxins? Because that little bit turns into a LOT over time. The average woman comes into contact with around 300 chemicals a day and 80 of those are often before breakfast time. Seems like a lot right? But think of how many times you wash your hands, wipe down the counter tops, wash your face, apply your makeup, brush your teeth, breathe in your candles and plug ins and spray your perfume. It’s a never ending pattern of chemicals and toxins all coming to you!

It takes around a mere 26 seconds for the products that you apply or that come into contact with your skin to reach your blood stream. 

Common toxins found in products that I avoid. These are just some of the biggies, but there are many more: 

• Parabens are in so many skin care products; they preserve other ingredients and extend a product’s shelf life. There are many types of parabens: methylparaben, butylparaben, propylparaben, etc. They are also dangerous and something I avoid completely because Parabens disrupt hormones. Parabens have been found in many breast tumors, which is no surprise since parabens actually mimic the estrogen hormone. 
• Fragrances is an ingredient that I stay far away from. The term fragrance is considered a company’s trade secret and therefore thousands (literally) of ingredients are housed under that term. Here is where phthalates usually lurk and these are hormone disruptors as well and can even be cancerous.  It’s where big companies can hide lots of ingredients. 
• Triclosan is actually considered a pesticide by the EPA yet it is in most of our soaps, hand sanitizers and even our tooth paste. It has the ability to stay on the skin for many hours after use and damages human cells. It can cause birth defects, decreased fertility and organ damage. 
• The Material Safety Data Sheets for propylene glycol warns that the chemical can be rapidly absorbed through the skin, with prolonged contact leading to brain, liver and kidney abnormalities. This is a common ingredients found in toothpaste! 
• Around 90% of liquid soaps, shampoos, etc… contain SLS. SLS is the same active ingredients in garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers and more. Why would you want the same thing you degrease an engine with on your skin? It can cause cell damage, hair loss and has been linked to eye and skin irritations, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity and quite a few other things. 
• Ammonia and Chlorine are both capable of irritating our respiratory health and contributing to respiratory issues. 
• 2-Butoxyethanol is commonly found in multipurpose cleaners and is actually the law does not require company's to list this ingredient. However in addition to causing sore throats when inhaled, it can also contribute to narcosis, pulmonary edema, and severe liver and kidney damage if it reaches high enough levels in a room that is not ventilated very well.

Did you know that burning a candle for one hour is considered to be just as harmful as smoking a cigarette?

The toxins you breathe in are just as dirty thanks to all of the synthetic fragrances and more in there! If you don’t smoke because you want to be healthy, then why breathe those toxins in another way? #justsayinggirl #diffuseoilsinstead

When our bodies take in too many toxins, we experience toxin overload. Basically our body can no longer break the toxins down properly and this becomes damaging to our health. Toxin overload is not something you are going to be diagnosed with at the doctor’s office. This is something that people discover after plenty of research and after changing their lifestyle. Toxin overload can be disguised as any of the following: anxiety, weight gain, hormonal disruption, poor sleep, fatigue, reproductive complications, cancer, allergies, asthma and more. 

Also, think of how many products and cleaners you have stored under that kitchen sink or in the laundry room cabinet? Can you imagine getting rid of all of those, taking them off of your shopping list and never having to buy them EVER again! ONE bottle of cleaner can safely clean and disinfect it all!

So what can YOU do differently? It's easy really. Below are some great steps for small changes that have a BIG impact on your health! 

• Scan your products! Download the Think Dirty App (free) onto your phone and scan all of the products around your home. The results will SHOCK you! This is usually the push many people need when they see their shampoo rates a 10/10 for cancer. Yikes!
• Toss the cleaners! Yes, ALL of them. You can do this if you use the Thieves Household Cleaner. It is safe for all surfaces and it disinfects naturally. 
• Invest in baking soda and vinegar. Use the two together to make a scrubbing paste that is the bomb!
• Get rid of fake smells. Sorry guys, but candles, plug ins and air fresheners are the worst! Replace them with essential oils or soy/beeswax candles scented with pure essential oils. 
• Toss the dryer sheets! These are a huge pollutant. Invest in wool dryer balls instead and add essential oils to them and then toss into the dryer!
• Ditch the tupperware. Plastic tupperware contains many chemicals that leach into your food. Slowly switch over to glass dishes (we like Anchor and Pyrex brand). 
• Consider switching your personal care products. The first step is cleaning up your home products and your children's skin care. When you're truly ready, invest in yourself! 
• Join our community! This is a fun step if you want support along the way. We make this transition to healthier products easy and we help guide you on healthier living! 

Thieves household cleaner is a super concentrated formula. One capful in a spray bottle of water is all it takes to clean EVERYTHING. One bottle of Thieves cleaner makes around 30 spray bottles of cleaner. It is also effective at stain removal and for mopping. To learn more about Thieves and the home cleaning kit, message me or visit this link for more info! 

Happy Spring Cleaning! Share your cleaning types and schedules with us below! How do you spring clean?