Hey friends! Today I want to talk about making the switch to all natural household products.

I know, I know – one more thing to worry about, right?

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Well, that’s exactly it – if you haven’t already made the switch to natural household products, you SHOULD be worried.

(Now, I’ll have you know that I am not the type of person to worry about every little detail now that my daughter is two. Ha!)

I’m not trying to scare you into thinking you’re doing something wrong, but I would love to help educate you on the things that you are using in your home and on your bodies.

First, let me tell you a quick little story about how I got started with natural household products.

When I was pregnant with my first child almost 3 years ago, I went crazy educating myself about what was safe for baby and what wasn’t.

I read every book on pregnancy and early childhood, researched birth methods, and researched baby products like CRAY. 🙂

(Yes, it was my first baby, and I think it’s natural to go a little over-board in preparation.)

Natural household products

As I was doing my research, I knew that two biggest things I needed to change were:

  • The things I was putting on or in my own body, therefore affecting my unborn child
  • The things I was using to clean my home

It was my personal mission to make both my home and my own body as safe as possible for my baby. It became clear to me that I needed to make quite a few changes. I’d stumbled upon this super informative website run by the Environmental Working Group, and I was shocked at how much JUNK was in the products I used every single day.

(I’ve written about the junk in makeup and personal hygiene items before, and I’ve also written about safer baby products before – it’s something I just want you all to know!)

Basically everything that I was using was somehow harmful – or potentially harmful – for humans. Not just fragile, new humans – but humans in general.

We’re talking about cleaning products, cosmetics, and other personal care products that are known to cause allergies, cancer, deformities, and “developmental & reproductive toxicity.”

Talk about scary!

So I immediately started to enter my cosmetics and household cleaning products into the EWG’s database and stopped using things that had poor ratings. (There’s a database for cleaning products here, and a database for cosmetics here, but there is also a database for food products.)

The Environmental Working Group helped me find super-safe products that would be free of things like parabens and phthalates (which, BTW, are banned in several countries.)

I ended up buying a ton of safe new natural household products so that I’d have enough to get me started and hold me through baby’s first year.

Yes! They are super effective and get the cleaning job done!

Now that my daughter is nearing the age of three, I still use those same products because I feel so much better knowing that they are safe for her. (Especially since we’re starting to have her help with chores.)

So, if you’re ready to start making the switch to natural household products, here’s what I recommend:

  • Start doing a little research on the best stuff for your family with the help of the EWG website.
  • Test out a few new products with a free $10 credit to The Grove Collaborative. This is a company that features ONLY natural home products and I love it! Right now, they have a ton of fall scents out for a wide variety of products (but my favorite brand is Mrs. Meyers). They also have beauty products.
  • Research the products you’re already using and either throw out the really bad stuff, or use it super conservatively.
  • Consider making your own products (vinegar kills a lot of germs) for everyday use. I use Castile soap and essential oils for this all the time, but you can find a ton of recipes on Pinterest.

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Here are some of my favorite products that have not only clean well – but smell good – and are highly rated by the EWG!

Once you find a great set of products that you like, you can just use a subscription service to make sure that you get enough. Since not all grocery stores have a lot of natural products (and not all natural cleaning products are made equal), this is a good way to escape having to buy the harsh stuff.

Here are my two favorite household subscription services (I’ve used them all!):

Happy homemaking,

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