Going Toxin-LESS With Your Home Cleaning Supplies
“Home is where one starts from.”
Happy June, all! I know it’s been a while since I shared some new Everyday Eco-Habits. I went back to my environmental law and consulting practice a few years ago, which has kept me quite busy as you can imagine. But I was having lunch with some friends last week who were asking all about how to get toxins out of their homes - as I shared my tips, that led to them asking if I would consider starting my blog again. As serendipity would have it, one of my former interns, Hannah, reached out at the same time also interested in helping me get the blog going again. With so much going on right now in the environmental space, all of this inspired me to go back to building this wonderful community – and make it stronger…. Sooooooo,
Everyday Eco-Habits for Everyday People is ba-ack
with more goodness to share on simple, everyday actions ANY of us can take,
no matter where we live, what we do, how old we are, or how much spare time we have on our hands.
our first month back, we’re Going Toxin-LESS with our Home Cleaning Supplies
…delving into how to detoxify the cleaning supplies in our homes, dedicated to the inspo from those same friends, Alison, Jen and Nancy, everyday people, just like you, who were looking for easy fixes to switch to green home cleaning supplies and asking for my recommendations of which ones I liked best. While I’ve generally posted on Going Toxin-LESS before, this time around I’m going to be narrowing down how to reduce toxins in the home to more bite-size pieces, starting with cleaning supplies. Stay tuned in the future as we also look at ways to reduce toxins in your beauty products, laundry routine, kitchen, and more.
You may be asking why you should even care about switching to green cleaning supplies?
Well, here’s just one of many studies that opened my eyes to why this matters – Chemosphere’s 2023 study found nearly two hundred hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were released from thirty different household cleaning products, even some that were marked “green.” Hazardous VOCs have been shown to cause increased risk of cancer, respiratory illnesses, and damage to reproductive health in humans and other animals – no bueno.
Not only do many household cleaning products harm our health, but they damage environmental health after we use them. Products that contain phosphates, chlorine and bleach, surfactants, and/or ammonia contaminate the water supply, often causing issues like eutrophication–excessive richness of nutrients in a waterbody that kills animal life.
Beyond water pollution, harmful cleaning products also pollute the air. The same VOCs that disrupt our health indoors threaten outdoor air quality. Through chemical reactions with other compounds in the air, VOCs contribute to the formation of smog, further exacerbating the greenhouse effect which causes climate change.
After we wash cleaning products down the drain and they begin to pollute surrounding water and air, a process called bioaccumulation occurs. When a larger animal consumes a smaller one, it is consuming whatever chemical compounds were present in their prey’s food. These harmful toxins accumulate in larger predators over time.
Plants are also impacted by these toxic chemicals since soil chemistry changes when they leach into the ground. Products containing endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that disrupt our health also damage the hormonal health of animals, threatening their ability to produce healthy offspring and ultimately survive as a species.
Lastly, most of these cleaning products come in plastic containers that can break down into microplastics. Microplastics harm our health as well as that of ecosystems around us.
But don’t despair!!
While I want you to have the facts, this blog is all about showing you easy,
Everyday Eco-Habits
Everyday People - like you and me - can adopt to green our lives.
There are SO many things we can do to avoid all the toxins hiding in many household cleaning products. I’m happy to share that there are quite literally hundreds of brands that offer non-toxic cleaners - at lots of the stores you already frequent, and at accessible price points - and the field of such products just keeps getting larger and better.
How to find one you like and that works? Lucky for us, organizations like the Environmental Working Group and the Environmental Protection Agency have compiled a long list of green cleaning supply products we can use without harming ourselves or nature. These organizations rate cleaning products for their environmental and health effects. To find a green cleaning supply product, simply check out one of their third party stamps of approval: EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning and app, as well as EPA’s Safer Choice, Made Safe- check out their lists for great alternatives that will not negatively impact your health or the environment. Other great resources I like are Mammavation and A Little Less Toxic – I know their founders, Leah Segedie and Shawna Holman, and both provide legit resources on their social, websites, and books. Another resource Hannah likes is the book Just Green It! Check out these resources, let me know whatcha think, and share your favorites!
Or…Make your own cleaners! Homemade cleaners are easy (and fun!) to make, are so much better for the environment and your health, and are much cheaper! Opt to make a few, inexpensive, and healthy homemade products instead of your traditional cleaners with potential toxins. Did you know that white vinegar is a great disinfectant and kills many bacteria and viruses!? It’s so much safer for your family as well, and since it’s biodegradable, it is safe for the environment too. A simple solution of white vinegar, water, and lemon essential oil is a great all-purpose cleaner. Need something stronger? Hydrogen peroxide also makes a great, non-toxic cleaner! I confess I have been intimidated to make my own cleaners, so I am pledging to give it a try in my effort to Go Toxin-LESS this month!
Nothing beats a fresh, clean, healthy home,
so let’s all make the Pledge to Go Toxin-LESS in cleaning our homes!
I promise it will be an easy Everyday Eco-Habit to adopt, and by doing so, YOU will be making such an impact for your home and our earth’s home. Whether you join me in making your own cleaning supplies, or invest in some toxin-free products, remember, just this one simple act can make a huge positive impact on your health and the health of the environment. You’ve got this! And don’t forget to share your tips and your Pledge to Go Toxin-LESS on my Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook.