Welcome to your nontoxic era.
You’ve done the research. You’ve dived into the studies that compare conventional products to all-natural ones.
(Or at least, you’ve browsed the crunchy side of TikTok. That counts, right?).
It’s 2024, and you’re ready to purge the toxic relationships in your life—including the relationship you have with toxic body products.
Maybe you don’t know it yet, but you’re about to make history. You’re part of a powerful community that’s saying “no” to toxin exposure and a lifestyle of quantity over quality.
Replacing your daily-use products like laundry detergent, makeup, and lotion for their nontoxic alternatives can feel overwhelming. That’s why we created this guide: a list of simple nontoxic lifestyle choices that can make a significant difference in your journey.
8 Easy Ways to Begin Your Nontoxic Lifestyle Today
We compiled these tips and tricks to help you start living a nontoxic lifestyle—without guilt or a huge financial investment. Choose just a few of the tips to get started with, and remember that good things take time.
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Embrace Ancestral Practices
It’s easy to assume that a nontoxic lifestyle requires buying a bunch of new (and expensive) products. We’re a pretty consumer-focused society, so it makes sense that a purchase translates to an action.
But there are so many things you can do to detox your life with resources you already have at home. We encourage you to create a lifestyle that closely aligns with ancestral practices.
Here are just a few ancestral practices you can try:
- Go to bed early.
- Rest more in the winter.
- Waste less food.
- Eat foods that are in season.
- Reduce screen time.
- Reduce exposure to artificial substances.
- Drink more warm tea.
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Build Connection with the Earth’s Rhythm
As mammals, we’re meant to connect with the earth’s natural rhythms. Our circadian rhythm, for example, is our body’s clock. It tells us when to wake, sleep, and eat. It also helps regulate our hormones and mood.
Sadly, most of us are disconnected from nature. When we function in a state that’s out of tune with the earth, we open ourselves up to nervous system dysregulation and miss out on essential health benefits.
Luckily, connecting with the earth is free and easy to do.
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Nourish Your Gut
Did you know? The central nervous system connects the gut and brain so they can communicate (this is called the gut-brain axis). That’s why depression, anxiety, and various chronic illnesses can be curbed simply by caring for the gut.
We encourage you to gradually make the switch to organic produce, raw milk, milled grain, and other foods that are good for your gut. If you want to make immediate changes, you can also help your gut health by drinking bone broth, increasing your water intake, and eating more mineral-rich foods.
Simple and inexpensive interventions like these can help your gut keep up with the modern influx of environmental toxins and pollutants—and hopefully protect your immune system.
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Rewire Your Nervous System
Possibly the most powerful intervention for your health, rewiring your nervous system requires speaking kindly to yourself and testing your mental limits. Try somatic exercises, yoga, meditation, morning walks, or a brain rewiring program like DNRS or Gupta.
Your nervous system is partially responsible for your cortisol levels, stress, gut issues, and fight-or-flight response. It’s also your first line of defense against environmental illnesses. Caring for your nervous system is a huge part of living a nontoxic lifestyle, and it’s extremely easy to do once you have the right tools.
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Plant a Window Garden
Growing tomatoes and herbs in your window (or on your front porch) is an easy way to bring more natural foods into your life. Herbs have a ton of nutritional benefits and can easily be added to any meal. When you grow them yourself, you’re in charge of pesticides and growth conditions. Not only will this help you increase your plant consumption, but it helps you learn natural gardening and farming practices.
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Understand Your Limitations
Instead of forcing yourself into routines that take energy from you, try a different approach. Prioritize goals and habits that actively give energy and wellness back to your body. This might look like a holistic skincare routine that makes you feel good, regular magnesium baths, lymphatic massage appointments, dry brushing, or a relaxing nature walk.
When you create routines that feel exciting, other nontoxic lifestyle habits will fall into place more easily. And you’ll naturally feel more grounded.
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Make Meals from Scratch
The art of making food from scratch has been lost to most of us. Between raising kids, building careers, and enjoying community—there’s not much time left over for handmade bread, cheese, and new dinner recipes.
But unlocking your culinary skills could be key to embracing a nontoxic lifestyle. When you make your own meals, you’re more in control of the ingredients you put in your body—and you’re forced to pay better attention to macronutrients (no more #girldinner).
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Switch Out a Product Every Time You Buy Something New
Time for new laundry detergent? Get something nontoxic.
Just emptied your face wash? It’s time to try an oil cleanser.
No more toilet cleaner? Make your own.
Going all-natural one product at a time is a simple and sustainable way to ease into a nontoxic lifestyle. You don’t have to drain your bank account or commit to habits you’re not ready for. This is the ultimate hack to prevent “biting off more than you can chew”—and it’s good for the environment since it doesn’t promote waste.
A Nontoxic Lifestyle Doesn’t Require a Huge Financial Investment
It’s a common belief that living a nontoxic lifestyle requires abundant resources and a significant financial investment. Sure, it may be different than the lifestyle you’re used to. But different doesn’t mean worse. And it certainly doesn’t have to mean more expensive.
So many nontoxic products can be made with ingredients already in your pantry.
When you start using things like holistic skincare, you’ll notice that products last longer and improve the appearance of your skin over time, too.
Organic and whole foods will nourish your body more than processed foods. You’ll likely experience fewer cravings, which means you buy fewer snacks.
When it comes to a nontoxic lifestyle, you have to believe in playing the long game.
You may pay a few extra dollars upfront, but the goal is to save money on medical bills and live a longer and fuller life. When you think about it that way, it’s more than worth it.
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