If you have been following me for a bit, you know that I am a holistic health nut and that I am passionate about supporting you in living your best and healthiest life (and that I do what I preach!).

The thing that you might not know – but that is somehow connected to all of this – is that I have always been working on living a sustainable and non-toxic lifestyle. I want to protect the earth and reduce mine and my family’s impact as much as I can. And I want to protect our health and well-being with everything in my power.
Sometimes I do better and sometimes not so well – but I do my best. This is not about being perfect. It is simply about looking at what we do and doing better step by step.

I am trying to avoid a second car, even though it would be convenient. I always, always use re-usable bags and cups and all and try to avoid single use plastics where-ever I can. And – I think through things like water filtration, air-quality and non-toxic paint and materials in our house. I unplug the Wifi at night and make sure all cell phones are on air-plane mode, to ensure truly good sleep for all of us. I take electronics and lights out of our bedrooms. Our mattresses and bedding are without fire-retardants and other unhelpful stuff… I can keep going and going and going… it is a science all in itself and it SUCH AN IMPORTANT part of long-term health. Did you know how many of those chemicals we have around the house and in our backyards disrupt your hormone health? That those chemicals and EMF’s mess with you and your family? Invisibly and slowly – but they do.

I am not going to lecture about it and I am not judging what everybody chooses to do – I simply want to share the simple things that you can look at and do to protect yourself, your family – and the earth. So, let’s get started today with toxins in our houses.

5 simple steps to reduce toxin exposure:

1. Open the windows and dust regularly

If you ever lived with a German – you know that we open the windows all the time and that “lüften” (= letting lots of air in) is something that needs to happen frequently. Turns out – it is a really great habit because indoor air quality in general has been proven to be quite shockingly poor in normal households. Tons of toxins around from all the stuff in your house (all furniture is treated, products you clean with and use around the house, stuff you drag in, everything the heating system blows around…). And that all collects mainly in dust. So – open the windows and let some air through from time to time. And make sure dust doesn’t stick around.

2. Take off your shoes

Some people think it is annoying, some people swear by it – but taking off your shoes when you enter a living space is not just polite and nice for ‘clean feet’ reasons – it also actually makes a difference with regards to toxins in your house.
The stuff you can bring in from the street, fertilized lawns and treated public spaces you walk across – you don’t want to have to worry about… so leave it at the door!

3. Toxins in Cosmetics

This topic is big enough for its own blog post, but let me just start with this: your skin is your biggest organ. It that takes everything that you apply to it and that you expose it to and takes it into your body. When it is good stuff – that is good. When you expose it to things that are not so great – they will still end up in your bloodstream.

4. Toxins in Cleaning Product

It is amazing how much you can clean with simple vinegar solutions – and how much better vinegar, for example, works in keeping away ants… anyway – my point here is: simply take a look at your cleaning product and see if you need it to be the harshest, if you need it to be heavily scented etc etc – all these things have been shown to have side effects and impact your health. And your kids. Or your cat. My daughter has always been sensitive to these things and I, luckily, always had to look at the fine-print and the details. Even if things don’t make you break out right away – they still often don’t exactly support your health.
Just a little side note: heavy scents are not good in general. Air fresheners and fabric fresheners… please stay away!

5. Toxic Yard Product

It is utterly shocking to me what is allowed in North America that is banned in Europe. And yes, I know I might be overusing the german thing today…:). But if products and chemicals are banned in Europe – but not even tested for safety in North America – is that not scary? And even the stuff you can buy in Germany – I often go with the more natural versions (or ask my cousin, who is an organic farmer). There are so many alternatives that work just fine – please look at what you put on your plants.

Simple thoughts starters for you to evaluate what you are doing. You would be surprised how often I work with clients and reductions of those exposures truly support the healing and betterment of chronic issues – like hormone health, chronic inflammation, skin issues… there are so many things we can’t avoid easily in our toxic world – these 5 simple things we can. So let’s get started!

Be well,

Barbara