Household Cleaners and My Mom Fail

Put cleaners up high where children cannot reach them. Check.

Put childproof latches on cabinets with medicine or cleaning supplies. Check.

Use name-brand cleaners because they work more effectively and have your best interest in mind. Check.

Imagine my surprise when my then two-year old came up to me with a bleach smell on his breath! I couldn’t believe it– I didn’t even have bleach in the house! I racked my brain to figure out what he had gotten in to— and finally realized that he had opened the dishwasher and licked the dish soap! After vomiting– he was ok, but this was a big eye-opener for me.

I did what I thought was right but still I ended up having to call poison control three times in one year for that one certain child of mine! Talk about feeling like a totally mom failure.  And I was a little angry too because I trusted the products I was using were safe for my family— and they weren’t.

This is when I started to read labels.

• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or Sodium Laureth Sulfate
• Ethanolamine (DEA, MEA, TEA)
• Propylene Glycol (PEG)
• Propyl Alcohol
• Methyl-methoxycinnamate
• Toulen
• Benzene
• Talc
• Parabens
• Synthetic Fragrances
• Triclosan
• Formaldehyde
• Aluminum

What in the world were in my cleaning and personal care products? And after researching– wow– I started avoiding products with the ingredients listed above.

Simple Steps to a Wellness Home

Honestly, it was a little overwhelming at first to start creating a wellness home. I was a busy mom with young children— I didn’t have time to do a ton of research, and shop around to find the safest products. I also didn’t have a huge budget. So I started with baby steps:

1. Read labels.
   I learned enough to know what to look out for and avoid if possible. The Environmental Working Group has a database where you can type in your product and see a rating: Skin Deep
2. Swap out with quality products.
   Start with one area of your household first. For me, switching out cleaners was going to be the easiest for me to tackle. Then I moved on to personal care items, then supplements. And currently my wellness journey has me working on diet! :)At first I started making my own homemade cleaners:
   *basic cleaner — 50/50 water and vinegar and put it in a spray bottle.
   *sink scrub – box of baking soda, about 1/2 cup of water plus a couple drops of essential oils.
   *drain cleaner – 1/2 c. baking soda and 1/2 c. vinegar. Let the reaction occur. After 15min. pour boiling water down the drain.But now I use something even easier!
3. Get connected with like-minded people.
   I had several friends who were way ahead of me on this journey. They were already fermenting things, dry brushing and I was like– “Hey! I’m ready to read labels now.” 🙂 They were a tremendous help! (Don’t have a community? Join us!

Now I have confidence that I won’t ever have to make that phone call ever again!

Creating a Chemical-Free Home

Join me as I share about why it is important to read labels, which chemicals to watch out for and the products I have found to work in my household. Being able to make an informed decision is key. Fill out the form below to access the webinar– it could be the exactly what you need to help make your home a wellness home.

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