I am on a personal quest to simplify and detox my life.
Lately things have gotten out of hand and I’m looking to break down the things I do into simpler tasks and to consume less so that I can afford better quality products. This definitely won’t be a money saving adventure but I feel it will bring more peace of mind. A dear friend, Sharon is working with a few of us here at Carpet Colour Centre in helping to detox, simplify and basically live better. She is a master nutritionist and is the embodiment of what a healthy, clean lifestyle should look like.
Let’s break this down to bite-sized pieces, the first thing I am striving to do is reduce the amount of chemicals that I subject myself to daily. Now, it’s not possible to get rid of everything unless I want to go live in a cabin somewhere and cut my own hair but there are small steps that I am taking to help along the way. I have already written about de-cluttering and simplifying life and the next step is to clean up the chemicals! I tried this venture a few years ago and found that it was liberating and I felt the best I have felt in my life – I went away from it because I became lazy and old habits began to creep back in.
Sharon challenged us to write down every ingredient of every product you put on or in your body for two days – absolutely IMPOSSIBLE.
The list of ingredients on hand soap alone is enough to give you writer’s cramp. I am taking photos of the ingredients lists and keeping a photo diary of what I use from the shampoo to the body lotion/deodorant/hairspray/makeup/perfume. And that’s just getting ready in the morning! Add stress to the day with poor eating habits, headache cold or allergy medication and you have piled more substances into your body than it can get rid of in a week!
It is a good exercise to recognize the things we are putting in us and in our homes. What sort of products do you use to clean your home and are they safe to use? Do you have a home full of natural products or do synthetics abound? You can make choices when it comes to flooring, fabrics and finishes in every part of your home. Familiarize yourself with the country of origin and be conscious of the possible lead or formaldehyde content of product that you are buying. Off gassing is obvious and if a product has a strong chemical smell you can bet it is releasing VOC’s into your air.
There are easy, simple choices you can make right now to make your life less toxic including your choice of cosmetics and cleaning supplies. Become an expert label reader and try not to use any product that contains ingredients you can’t pronounce.
Your laundry room opposes itself being the room that makes everything clean while being a chemically volatile environment; opt for more natural choices in this room such as soap nuts or Norwex products.
One simple change can make such a huge difference in your feeling of well-being.
I am working on changing products to more naturally sourced items and am working at replacing all cleaning products in my house with more natural options, wish me luck!
Kim Lewis is an interior designer in Red Deer with Carpet Colour Centre.
