I was recently out to dinner and a friend remarked about how she has been meaning to clean up various areas of her family’s life, but needed a push on how and where to start. So, if you’re in the same boat and want to go clean in 2019, read on for my top 10 tips to get you living cleaner, easier and safer.
- Adopt a No Shoe Rule at Home – It’s not only super easy and safer but taking shoes off helps keep you healthier by reducing additional exposure to potential bacteria, pesticides, dirt, germs, you name it, and tracking that all over your house. Designate a spot or mat/basket/ anything and this will become second nature quickly and easily!
- Ditch Plastic – Commit to banning as much plastic as you can from your house. Even though most say they are BPA-free, eliminate the risk of any potential chemical leeching by replacing plastic plates/bowls/cups and stop buying plastic water bottles. Instead, invest in safer options,* like these stainless steel cups, plates, bowls and reusable water bottles (two favorites: Klean Kanteen and Life Factory).
- Invest in Glass Containers – Not only are they safer, more durable and higher quality, you can easily reheat leftovers directly in glass containers – win win! Here are two affordable sets from Pyrex and Anchor Hocking to get you started!
- Shop Better with Reusable Bags – You probably already have a handful of reusable bags, so take four and leave them in your car. Now, they’re always nearby for shopping trips (where you may save extra $$ for BYO) and I esp. love these foldable Baggu bags to keep in my purse. Bonus points for also investing in reusable produce bags!
- BYO Coffee/Tea Cups – Whether you make your own coffee/tea or buy it out, there’s no better time than now to invest in your own reusable cup. It’s less waste, will likely save you $$ and now you have a perfect to-go cup for day or night 😉 Here are two great SS and glass options!
- Clean Up What’s Going Into Your Body – If you aren’t familiar, the EWG researches pesticides in produce and one simple way to reduce exposure to these toxins is to keep their Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists handy – easy way to prioritize what organic produce to buy!
- Switch to Safer Personal Care Products – Since the beauty industry is practically unregulated, take matters into your own hands to understand what potentially harmful ingredients may or may not be in your products. If you can’t pronounce it, research it and EWG’s Skin Deep database is awesome to help you shop smarter. My favorite for safer and high performing products? Beautycounter 🙂
- Safer Straws – One simple way to help clean up the oceans is by refusing to use/buy plastic straws (as most aren’t recyclable) and using safer options. Glass and stainless steel are two better options to use at home and easy to bring if you need straws while you’re out!
- Sleep Safer and More Comfortably – When it comes to pajamas, opt for tighter fitting cotton pjs. Not only are they super comfortable but they’re also not treated with chemical flame retardants like most loose fitting kids pajamas are today. Hanna Andersson pjs are family favorites here – fun patterns, amazing quality and long lasting, plus organic cotton and lots of matching options, too!!
- Replace Nonstick Pans – If you have any nonstick pans lying around your house, say goodbye immediately! Not only can nonstick cook/ bake ware leach toxic chemicals into food, it can possibly disrupt you/your family’s hormones and can even impact air quality in your kitchen due to its unhealthy fumes. Luckily, there are many safer options, like stainless steel (my go-to would be an investment like All Clad), glass (like Visions) or cast iron (like Le Creuset or Lodge).
*Note many Amazon Affiliate links included above and if you purchase any, I will receive a tiny percentage of sales to help support my research (with no cost to you)
Living Cleaner, Easier & Safer 