Cleansing Your Home in Non-Toxic Ways!

When people want to start making changes that better their health & wellness, they tend to ask the question, "Where do I start?!"

Easiest way to begin is to start changing what comes into your home - this includes everything from the food brought in to household cleaners.

We've been making household cleaner swaps for years, below are a few of our favorites that have stuck around for a decade or more:

1. Homemade Laundry Powder that works GREAT & is great for septic. We mix: ½ box of Borax, ½ box of Washing Soda, a grated Fels Napa bar, and a bag of Enzyme Powder (which helps to break down stains). You can also add in 30-50 drops of your favorite essential oil. I love using Citrus Bliss! Stir all of this together to mix well. Use 1tbls per large load of laundry. This large jar lasts my large family of 10 about 6 months to use. It smells wonderful, works great, and leaves our clothes clean & fresh….and non toxic!

Using this Homemade Laundry Powder is a perfect swap to start with because our skin is our largest organ - it absorbs whatever we put on it.

When tackling cleaning jobs, my two favorite go-tos are from Norwex and DōTERRA!

Norwex uses Silver (a natural antibacterial!) in their cloths - this simple, yet effective!, use of silver makes using just their cloths with water, and that's it!!!, works at killing germs and bacteria! For more info watch this short 1 minute video. It's incredible!!

2. Swap out the toxic window cleaners and lint causing paper towels for Norwex's Envirocloth & Window Cloth! These two cloths + water leave your glass shining and streak free….and Non-Toxic! This means kids can help and your family can breathe fresh in a clean home!

3. I love DōTERRA for so many reasons! But when it comes to Non-Toxic household swaps, DōTERRA makes it easy! In the fall and winter months, our family uses their OnGuard foaming handsoap to help ensure all sick germs are scrubbed off...plus it leaves the home smelling perfect during these holiday months! Browse all of DōTERRA’s OnGuard items- so many great items to help boost your immune system during these sick months as well! We also keep their OnGuard Wipes in each of our bathrooms - these are used to wipe down sinks, counters, & toilets! Works great and leaves the bathroom smelling so so good! Added bonus is that it's easy, and safe!, for my kids to use!

4. The bathroom also needs a good toilet bowl cleaner and shower cleaner! We are on septic so for us, choosing a good cleaner that is Non-Toxic and also uses enzymes is important because the enzymes help to break down organic matter (imperative when on septic). We love this toilet brush with this bathroom cleaner. When cleaning the showers, I want something that not only is Non-Toxic, but that also works! I bet most of you would raise your hands if I asked for a show of hands from everyone who has used, or currently uses, a lot of different cleaners for the shower - finding something that works well is hard! Now add that it is Non-Toxic and it's even more difficult to find, right? This is where Norwex comes in! We love their descaler! While on Norwex's site, browse all of their other bathroom items that help you make these Non-Toxic swaps!

5. DōTERRA also has a fabulous Abode line, helping you to swap out the toxic dish soaps and candles! Yes - stop using candles!!! Most of these contain super harmful, even cancer causing fragrances! If you still want the joyful scents, try diffusing instead!

6. For mopping we love using this mop, both the dry and the wet, with this attachment. We use the dry mop for grabbing and picking up everything a broom leaves behind, even the germs you can't see! When wet mopping we love adding a few drops of OnGuard to the water- this leaves the floor germ-free and the home smelling great! In the summer we like to add Lemon essential oil to the water. This mop is an absolute favorite of mine! We've had ours for 9 years and it still works great! The pads are washable which males clean up easy vs traditional mops that harbor bacteria when stored wet!

7. Does your home need a carpet refresh? Try mixing equal parts baking soda & borax in a bowl. Add 15-20 drops of your favorite essential oil (again I like to use OnGuard or Lemon here for their cleaning & disinfecting properties). Mix well and then sprinkle on carpets. Leave for 15-30 minutes and then vacuum as usual. This is also great for freshening up furniture!

8. Mattress cleaning, Pillow freshening, & Stuffed Animal Refresh! I bet these 3 things tend to slip your mind regarding needing some cleaning love, am I right? And yet they harbor germs, too! Watch this short 2 minute video to see how this awesome cleaner works by using enzymes to kill all the organic build up from skin cells, dust mites and their poop-didn't know that, did you? In fact, if you tend to wake stuffy, congested, irritated, etc, then this mattress cleaner may be what you need!

I hope this gives you an idea of ways you can start helping your family by making Non-Toxic swaps!

Be Healthy,

Kristy E.