Why should you use organic products for the family & home?

Are you concerned about chemicals and toxins in your home? Do you want to live a more natural non-toxic lifestyle? But just don’t know where to start!  You are not alone…

Making small changes can have a big impact on your family’s health and happiness. An average family home in the UK has almost 1,000 chemicals lurking inside. Knowing a child’s developing immune system is more susceptible to damage is why we are all looking at ways to detox our homes and bodies.

By reducing chemicals in your family home, it can improve your energy, reduce your stress, reduce inflammation in your body and it is also believed to decrease your risk of developing cancer.

Most of all Giving you a Happy, Healthy Family environment to live in……

I am a mother to 4 grown up girls, I now have 4 grandchildren and another grandchild due next year.

When I was growing up no one spoke of organic products or additives, I think the reason for this was a lot of our food then was in fact organic, just not with a label saying so, the food industry had yet to develop NON-organic practices.

Organic food and crops for our natural materials are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides and insecticides, growth hormones or antibiotics.

This is how our food and lifestyle products used to be. No GMO crops, no glyphosate, no artificial dyes, no artificial flavouring, no artificial sweeteners or man-made chemicals.

This is how the food industry feeds us all with mass produced processed foods, they may be convenient and quick, but feeding your family this way is detrimental to their health and well-being.

This applies not only to food, but everything we buy to use in our family homes.

How do I start to make my house chemical free?

The biggest challenge is getting started….

we all think of the ideal scenario …. a perfect non-toxic lifestyle and feeding your family fresh organic home cooked meals every day.

This is achievable because we all have choices nowadays, it is usually the mother who chooses the products to buy in the home and the food that goes on the table.

Yes, these products now cost more, this is because the mass-produced products full of chemicals are cheaper to make!

But isn’t it better to spend £10 on fresh organic fruit and vegetables for your children or £10 on boxes of crisps, snacks full of artificial additives and fruit full of pesticides that will affect their daily mood and can make them ill in the long term.

We as mothers and grandmothers are learning every day the health benefits of making the right choices for our families and loved ones.

You cannot change this overnight, every small change you make will add up to a huge impact on your families lives.

If you have ever run a marathon (personally I never have, running is not my forte) I admire anyone who has, having so much stamina and control to do so. You will know that you don’t run the race thinking of all the miles ahead of you. You focus on each mile right there and then.

Thinking far ahead can lead you to negative thoughts and defeat. Small steps, or miles run just one at a time will add up.

So, take it slow…. Plan 1 change every week or month, whatever you feel comfortable with.

Simple Changes to detox your family’s home

REDUCE PLASTIC USE

You can slowly introduce non-plastic items in your home and replace them with stainless steel, silicone, glass, bamboo fibre, wood or ceramic.

Coconut bowls, cups and plates are great, the kids love them – be sure to buy natural or organic, beware of cheaper chemically varnished bamboo.

Reusable glass water bottles and reusable coffee cups.

Reusable organic cotton sandwich bags for lunch time snacks at school and work, this replaces cling film wrap, reusable kitchen towels and wipes – these come in so many different patterns

Reusable sanitary pads and pantie liners – In my own opinion this is one change every woman should make immediately.

The average UK women uses 16,800 tampons in her lifetime, along with other feminine hygiene products such as panty liners. These are full of harmful chemicals and toxins, these are absorbed straight into your bloodstream, going directly to your delicate organs.

Once you start using these you will be shocked and delighted to feel the difference in your mood and blood flow……. I will be writing a blog on this topic very soon !

There are many more, but this will be a great start!

Organic Bedding

When you make the switch to organic bedding, this is a positive leap to a healthier home and environment.

Organic cotton sheets and organic linen sheets provide several benefits to both the consumer and the environment. They are pesticide-free, pigment-free and hypoallergenic.

Organic cotton is extremely comfortable due to its ability to wick moisture away from the body and offer superb durability and convenience.

In your lifetime you may spend around 26 years in bed…….that’s a long time

How often do you find yourself tossing and turning, trying to get comfy?

People don’t always associate chemicals in homeware products such as their bedding and towels.

Conventional cotton farming is a toxic operation that does not prohibit the use of pesticides and other harmful chemicals. This is where the chemicals come from, also in toxic dyes that your fashionable prints are printed with.

In my opinion. the feel of organic cotton at its purest form is soft to the touch and delivers comfort like no other fabric.

One of the best ways to ensure that you are purchasing top quality organic bedding products is to check the label for certifications. When shopping for organic bedding, the industry standard that guarantees products are made with top quality organic materials is the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).

Yes, its more expensive but a good quality organic bedding set will last years, whereas cheap bedding, you properly replace every year.

Even more than the cost, there just isn’t a price tag you can put on your health and the health of your children.

If you start by replacing just your family’s pillowcases first, then move on to bottom sheets and duvet covers.

Make a family organic bedding plan – Purchasing them separately and spreading the cost over the next few weeks/months.

The same with organic towels – Nothing beats snuggling your little one in a gorgeous soft fluffy organic towel after their bath.

As Mums we make the right choices !!

Eliminate Artificial Fragrances

What is an artificial fragrance?

Almost all the chemicals in synthetic fragrances are derived from petrochemicals. These chemicals include benzene derivatives, aldehydes, phthalates, and many other known toxins that can cause cancer, birth defects, nervous-system disorders and allergies.

How do I avoid artificial fragrance?

I am sure most of you try hard to make better choices when it comes to eating organic foods and avoiding harmful hormones and GMOs – we do this by reading labels for information on those products.

How often do you read the label on your personal care products, home cleaning products, along with candles and other home fragrance products?

Harmful chemicals from these artificial fragrances are absorbed into the bloodstream directly through the skin. Even if the product says ‘fragrance free’ the product can still contain masking agents to cover unpleasant chemical smells used.

But we still want our homes to smell beautiful, our rooms to be sparkling clean, our clothes to be washed and left feeling super soft and smelling wonderful….so what do we do?

Read labels!

Buy organic essential oil Home fragrances – these last so much longer and are beneficial to your health and wellbeing not detrimental. These include soy wax candles and essential oil aromatherapy diffusers

Always use organic non-toxic cleaning products – they come in different scents and are even safe for babies and people with allergies

Look for organic and chemical free Washing liquid and fabric softener – many fabric softeners cover clothes with a thick layer of chemicals to help make the scent last longer, this will go directly on to your families skin and into their bodies.

Small changes result in happy healthy lives !

#HealthyFoods

I must mention organic food, although this is a complete subject on its own.

It is so important to look at the food you eat and the food you give to your children.

Habits you teach them when they are young are the ones that will stick the longest.

Focus on eating whole, organic food that does not come in a box with a label (with a focus on vegetables, greens, fruits and healthy fats and oils like coconut oil and avocados).

As a start try to purchase all produce organic that are on ‘the dirty dozen list’ by the Environmental Working Group.

#TheDirtyDozen

These foods have been tested to have the highest amounts of pesticide residues, that you should try and buy organic whenever possible.

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Peaches
8. Cherries
9. Pears
10. Tomatoes
11. Celery
12. Potatoes

#TheCleanFifteen

The “Clean Fifteen” are some of the cleanest foods, with the fewest amounts of detected pesticide residues, so if you’re on a tight budget, you can save by buying the non-organic versions of these foods.

1. Avocados
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Sweet peas (frozen)
5. Onions
6. Papayas
7. Aubergine
8. Asparagus
9. Kiwis
10. Cabbage
11. Cauliflower
12. Cantaloupes Melon
13. Broccoli
14. Mushrooms
15. Honeydew Melon

Remember by making these organic lifestyle changes you will be improving your families health, which improves happiness and quality of life.

You will also be helping to improve the environment, keeping our beautiful planet clean and oceans free from plastic waste.

You are Wonderful!