7. Stop Buying Shampoo
Big name shampoos and conditioners are full of carcinogenic and questionable chemicals that seep into your scalp.
Instead, comb extra-virgin coconut oil through your hair and let it sit for ten minutes to precondition it.
Wash it out with castille soap and rinse thoroughly before drying. You can also go no-poo by swapping shampoo and conditioner for baking soda and vinegar.
Housekeeping
Like personal care items, many products used to keep your home fresh and clean contain harmful chemicals.
They also emit harmful fumes that lurk in your house and slowly poison your family.
8. Unplug Your Air Freshener
Air freshener, like scented candles, contain harmful artificial perfumes that can cause respiratory distress. Plug-in air fresheners are also made of plastics that leech into the perfume even faster when exposed to the heat that help diffuse the oil (7).
Instead, fill a glass jar with water and a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Next, place clean twigs or dowels in the jar to make a quick oil diffuser.
9. Forget Lysol and Mr Clean
Avoid store-bought cleaning products that emit toxic fumes by making your own cleaning spray with diluted vinegar and baking soda.
You can even use it to clean your sink, toilet and bathtub just as effectively as chemical products. Just make sure to store it glass instead of a plastic spray bottle.
10. Change Your Detergent
While many natural companies make non-toxic laundry detergents, these are often stored and sold in plastic. Even the soap sold in bulk in health food stores is stored in large plastic barrels.
If you want minimal packaging and plastic contamination, try soap nuts. These organic nuts are grown and harvested in central and south Asia and are completely non-toxic.
Each nut contains saponin, a natural detergent, which can be used for up to 10 loads of laundry. The nuts are stored in cloth bags and be composted after use.