As a minimalist, I clear my closets of excess stuff and my calendar of excess commitments. When overwhelmed with negative thoughts or stress, I detox my mind with meditation and prayer. I remove toxic relationships from my life. But what about the toxic load I carry with me every day?
I was first introduced to the concept of toxic load when I saw the documentary The Human Experiment. We carry toxins in our body as a result of the thousands of chemicals (many untested) that we are exposed to in our homes, our food, clothing, cleaning products, personal care products, and more.
Of particular interest to me was the focus on toxic load and its link to infertility. My husband and I were diagnosed with “unexplained infertility” in 2014. As the name suggests, it means that there is nothing physically wrong with either partner and there is no explainable reason for the inability to conceive. 12% (or approximately 7.3 million) of U.S. women experience infertility or are unable to carry a child to term, a 49% increase from 1988 according to the documentary. While many factors impact a couple’s fertility, the number of unregulated chemicals that we are exposed to every day is important to note.
When we were able to conceive via IVF, we decided that an overhaul of our personal care and cleaning products was in order, to reduce our (and our baby’s) exposure to harmful chemicals. Since making those changes, we were lucky to conceive my youngest son naturally without any medical intervention. While there could be many reasons for this, I am convinced that lowering our toxic load had a positive impact on our reproductive health.
Many people have made the switch to bisphenol A (BPA) -free bottles and paraben-free shampoo, mostly because manufacturers changed their practices after customers demanded it. Many manufacturers, however, still fly under the radar of including unregulated chemicals in their products while simultaneously using marketing techniques (advertising products as “natural” while their ingredient list is anything but) that deceive consumers.
Figuring out what products to use is overwhelming, since ingredient lists typically read like a foreign language. I use two apps to help me decipher: Think Dirty (personal care products) and Healthy Living (personal care products and food). Both allow you to scan barcodes and then give scores based upon the potential health concerns for each ingredient. For cleaning products, the Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning is helpful.
Here are the five areas where we have made changes. While I will mention specific products here that we use, I would recommend using the resources listed above to find the ones that work best for you and your family.
Cleaning and Laundry
Our simplified cleaning routine includes:
- Dr. Bronner’s – Fair Trade and Organic Sal Suds Liquid Cleaner
- Seventh Generation – Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Emerald Cypress and Fir Scent (side note: I’ll probably phase this out and just use baking soda/vinegar going forward)
- Baking Soda (bathroom deodorizing/cleaning)
- Vinegar (for glass/mirrors)
- Seventh Generation Fragrance Free Dishwasher Detergent Packs
For laundry, we use:
- Molly’s Suds Original Laundry Detergent Powder
- Molly’s Suds All Sport Laundry Wash (read about Molly’s Suds story here)
- Baking soda (1/2 cup for each load as a deodorizer)
- Vinegar (as fabric softener)
- Molly’s Suds – Wool Dryer Balls
We have been very happy with the results and it has simplified our routine considerably.
Personal Care Items
Switching to safer personal care products can seem daunting, especially since we all have different skin types, hair types, etc. A product that works for your best friend may not work for you. For this reason, I recommend using the Think Dirty app to scan the barcodes of your personal care items and then add them to “My Bathroom Shelf.” The app will give you an overall rating based upon the ingredients found in the products (0 is best, 10 is worst). If a product you’re using has ingredients that concern you, the app will make recommendations of less toxic products. For example, if you use a moisturizing shampoo, they can give you a recommendation for a safer one. Here’s a snapshot of mine:
While I don’t want to make specific product recommendations, here are some brands I love:
- Beautycounter (cosmetics, skincare, haircare, kids’ personal care). My sister-in-law introduced me to Beautycounter. I love their mission to “get safer products into the hands of everyone,” and find their products effective and enjoyable to use.
- Dr. Bronner’s (soap, body wash). Castille soap has a million uses, but we use it for body wash and hand soap. My husband also uses it as shampoo.
Personal Care Items That are More…Personal
It’s strange how I was so focused on certain personal care items (shampoo, deodorant, cosmetics) but completely ignored others, even though they are arguably just as important. While I don’t use these products every day, they are worth mentioning.
- Good Clean Love : Almost Naked Personal Lubricant. I didn’t realize that the personal lubricant I was using contained parabens until recently. It wasn’t a label I thought about checking. This brand is organic and paraben-free.
- L. Organic Cotton & Chlorine-Free Pads. Another personal care area that I didn’t think much about was menstruation products. There is some debate whether chlorine-free pads and tampons are worth the extra cost, but for now I’m erring on the side of caution. While I’d like to try menstrual cups or reusable panties, I like that L. has a “one for one” model where they donate a product to a woman for every one you buy. After watching this documentary, I realized that lack of access to period products is one of main reasons girls drop out of school in developing countries.
“You Are What You Eat Eats”
I am not a dietician or nutritionist, but I try to follow writer Michael Pollan’s advice:
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
“You are what you eat eats.”
Everyone’s food budget, dietary restrictions, and lifestyles are different, but focus on consuming unprocessed, organic food where possible. Check out the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen if you can’t completely overhaul your diet. For those of you that aren’t vegan or vegetarian, when it comes to meat, poultry, fish, and dairy, think about what it eats and its quality of life.
Air and Water
I am a stay-at-home mom, which means that my kids and I spend a lot of time in our house. I can feel good about cleaning with baking soda and vinegar and eating organic produce, but if the air inside my home is polluted and the water we drink is contaminated, there’s still more we can do. My husband installed a reverse osmosis system for our drinking water. Even though it takes up the majority of our under-sink space in the kitchen, I like the convenience of filtered water for drinking and cooking. We also recently purchased the Winix C535 True HEPA Air Cleaner to supplement the air filters we use with our central air system.
Cast a Vote for Low(er)-Tox
I love this quote from Anna Lappé: “Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.”
When we educate ourselves about the toxins that we are exposed to, we can choose products that reduce our toxic load and choose companies that make it their mission to build healthier communities. Where the money goes, so will manufacturers and marketers. Focus on one of the areas above, and leave a comment about how you are going low(er)-tox!
Interested in experimenting with lowe(er)-tox products? Great! Why not experiment in other areas to help you live a simpler life? Check out my free 5 Experiments for Simple Living guide for inspiration!
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