4 steps to embrace clean living without overwhelm
I spent 17 years in healthcare, and after watching thousands of sick patients enter and exit the hospital, I became very interested in preventative measures to keep myself and my family healthy. I spent the past 10 years doing my best with clean personal care and household products, buying only organic produce and reducing plastics; I even did a product dump one day (dramatic, for sure) when I threw away everything in our home that contained harmful ingredients (I don’t necessarily recommend this strategy).
My point is that I was as committed as any busy full-time working mom could be to clean living, and yet it seemed to be increasingly challenging and exhausting. Purchasing clean products can seem overwhelming, but when you peel back all the greenwashed labels, the mediocre standards of “natural” marketplaces, and the static noise of influencers and social ads, clean living is entirely possible—and dare I say, simple. Now, as the founder of Free Living Co, here are my simple steps, for busy moms who wear all the hats and strive to live clean.
4 steps to getting started with clean living
1. Build awareness
The first step is awareness. We all want to believe that products, brands, stores and online marketplaces have our best interests at heart. And while some certainly may, your new role as a clean-living-simplified-superhero is to question everything and everyone. For most companies profit is top priority, and recurring profit is second. That means; billions are spent on marketing to get you to buy, and buy again. The experience, smell and efficacy of the product come next, while your and your family’s health gets pushed further down the priority list.
As a result, you can safely assume that plenty of labels are greenwashed, that natural stores do carry some harmful products, and that influencers and social ads just want you to add to cart. All of a sudden, you may feel less enticed to purchase! And if you are less enticed to buy, then harmful ingredients sneaking into your cupboards costumed in clean and green labeling will be less likely.
2. Start to scrutinize
When it does come time to buy products, as we know this time will come, take a deep breath, whip out your best side-eye, and take a minute to scrutinize the label. The Environmental Working Group has an app called Healthy Living where you can scan the barcode and it will rate the product. In general, if the rating is green, you are good to go. Anything less probably means a hard pass. (There are other apps as well, at Free Living Co we prefer EWG as they tend to be the strictest plus their scientists look beyond the list of ingredients to the specific concentration of the ingredient and whether its inclusion is safe for repeated human use.) They also take into consideration our Mother Earth; noting what happens to our environment when the product goes down the drain.
3. Try the last squirt, last spray rule
I already shared about my product dump—boy, was my husband impressed by the entire garbage can filled to the brim with “perfectly good, but highly toxic” products, and also the line item in our budget when I replaced everything. Rather than causing marital tension, simply employ the last squirt, last spray rule. When you pump the last squirt of lotion or use the last drops of counter spray, commit to replacing it with something cleaner. Over time, you will have a whole new arsenal of favorite products to combat the driest of skin, the stickiest of counters, the dirtiest of toilets that won’t put you or your family at risk for negative health effects. And let me tell you, the greener, cleaner versions of products these days are so good! They work, they smell great, and I find that less product does the job which means they last longer. There are many brands at a variety of price points so your budget doesn’t have to take a hit.
Choosing a replacement product
When replacing your old staples, there are 3 things to avoid:
Fragrance: Fragrance is code for 3,000 compounds, chemical cocktails meant to induce a sensory experience that can also turn on pesky triggers like allergies, migraines, even cancer and developmental problems. Any scent that is OK for human use will be transparently labeled “lavender,” “lemongrass oil” or “tea tree extract.”
Plastics: Phthalates and bisphenols (BPA being the most common) are examples of plastic often used in product formulations and containers. These micro and nano plastics can end up in your body. Similar to the effects of fragrance, plastics are not good for your health.
Pesticides and preservatives: Organic is the keyword to identify the exclusion of pesticides. Look for the USDA Organic label not only in food but personal care products. Paraben is the celebrity preservative these days, but there are many. Generally, fewer ingredients and ones you can pronounce make it easier to limit exposure to chemical preservatives. Water-based products require preservatives, so lean towards oils, balms or butters when possible.
To simplify this even further:
Use the EWG healthy living app to scan the item, it will immediately tease out all of the above with a green rating. If the product is not found, you can enter the ingredients in the “build your own report” feature of their website.
Shop at Free Living Co. We scan every label and only offer products that are safe for repeated human use. For more information on our standards check out How Clean is Clean? If you want to press the easy button, start with our Clean Home Starter Kit.
4. Give yourself grace
The last step to simplified clean living is to take it easy on yourself. I know you’re busy doing all the things for all the people in your world, and while the lack of regulation and profit and loss statements don’t make your role very easy, you are doing your best. Simple and tiny steps add up over time, so, just take one small step today—and the rest can wait until tomorrow.
Sources
Gandhi Rádis-Baptista. Do Synthetic Fragrances in Personal Care and Household Products Impact Indoor Air Quality and Pose Health Risks?. Journal of Xenobiotics. March 1, 2023.
Halla N, et al. Cosmetics Preservation: A Review on Present Strategies. Molecules. June 28, 2018.
Ullah S, et al. A review of the endocrine disrupting effects of micro and nano plastic and their associated chemicals in mammals. Frontiers in endocrinology. January 16, 2023.
