Top 5 things you’d recommend

@allisonintx
  1. Filter your water with a filter that takes out 100% of solid particles (we like zerowater!)
  2. Focus on mostly whole foods or simple ingredients and as much organic as you can
  3. Change out personal care products and household cleaning products for a cleaner version one at a time as you run out. This way you don’t have to spend a ton of money all at once to replace things and it’s less overwhelming to research one product at a time
  4. The book “Dirty Genes”
  5. Try your hardest to not overthink everything and keep enjoying your life!! Balance is good🤎
 
@allisonintx Waterproof usually means PFAS chemicals, so don't just assume that waterproof items are better. That extra coating they offer to apply to the inside of your car before you buy it? Likely just paying to spray an additional layer of PFAS all over your interior. Be judicious with what really needs to be waterproof and seek alternatives if you do need something.
 
@allisonintx Lots of great advice here - definitely recognize that it's impossible to be perfect in this but just taking steps and doing your best is amazing. My priorities are:
1. Kitchen - eat as much whole food as possible. Don't buy anything with a long shelf life. Try to buy organic as much as possible for produce with a high surface area (dirty dozen), eggs, dairy, and wheat/oat products. I try to get as much as I can from local farms but sometimes we just have to run to costco. Also get rid of anything plastic (Tupperware, cutting boards, plates, etc) and replace with glass, bamboo, porcelain, or stainless steel. Get rid of any nonstick cookware and use cast iron, stainless steel, or ceramic.
2. Hygiene - get unscented cleaning products, personal and household. Or if they're scented make sure they use natural essential oils. You can check EWG for product recommendations and scoring. I prioritize body lotion and deodorant since those are meant to be absorbed into your body, as well as dish soap and laundry Detergent because they are in your clothes that you wear all day or on your plates and cups that you eat off of and I don't want chemical residues on that stuff.
3. Bedroom - put an air purifier in your bed room. Replace your sheets and blankets with natural fibers. Eventually replace your mattress with something with low/no VOCs.

My next goal is to improve on my use of disposable products and try to buy secondhand more often.. baby steps.
 
@allisonintx
  1. Filtered water (do not drink from disposable plastic bottles)
  2. Learn to cook healthy meals. Try to eat less processed food. No juice boxes. Make your own granola bars/power balls for kids. What you eat and drink is 100% most important.
  3. Try gardening. You can do it with your kids. My daughter and i spent an hour picking blueberries last night. Gets them and you outside.
  4. Get outside!
  5. Buy preowned. I love FB marketplace for used kids stuff. Saves you money and the earth from more unnecessary crap.
Also your products like cleaning and detergent. You can make your own cleaning solution (vinegar, distilled water). But I wouldn’t buy too much into the whole consumer end of crunchy. Other things are much more important than buying ms. Myers or whatever. Do what you can here.
 
@allisonintx I’d say…
1. Food / ingestibles— for me, this doesn’t mean all organic because we can’t afford that, but just limiting the number of ingredients in foods! I try to but organic wheat products/if I’m buying something packaged it’s probably organic to reduce glyphosate exposure. We don’t buy anything with food dyes, HCFS, or artificial flavor. Reeeally try to avoid natural flavors too but it creeps into some things. Try to avoid all preservatives too. Food for me also means no plastic in the kitchen (especially for anything you’re heating up!), eliminating nonstick cookware, and using a water filter. We’ve just been using a Lifestraw fridge pitcher filter, but that doesn’t filter out fluoride. I want a clearly filtered fridge pitcher filter but they’re a lot more expensive!
  1. Body and cleaning products — eliminate any products with added fragrance (will show as fragrance/parfum in the label). Laundry detergent, any body/hair products, candles, cleaning products (including dish soap, hand soap, etc.). Other things to avoid in body/cleaning products are PEGs, parabens, aluminum (specifically in deodorant).
  2. This is the newest one for me, but I’m trying to wear mostly natural fibers—organic cotton, wool, linen, etc…this also extends to blankets, rugs, bedding, etc.! Also, avoiding flame retardants or PFAs in things like car seats, sofas, etc…basically, would prefer not to buy anything that’s treated with chemicals.
  3. Reducing consumption/waste. For me this means buying clothes (and toys/baby products for my kids) at the consignment store or on poshmark, trying to be more mindful about not throwing food away, limiting our use of paper towels/paper plates (my husband comes from a big paper plate family and we have a toddler + I’m 33 weeks pregnant so this is an uphill battle😅), trying to use minimal products (like I don’t really wear makeup anymore, don’t have 3 different shampoos in the shower, etc.) and just generally buying less. Also try to buy local/from small businesses instead of ordering on Amazon or going to target when we can, but we definitely still order too much from Amazon!
  4. People have very different opinions about this in this group, but for me it’s important to try alternative options before jumping straight to medications! For the record I am NOT anti vax/my toddler is fully vaccinated/I am getting TDAP and RSV vaccine during pregnancy. But, I just mean when my family is sick we don’t jump straight to medications. We try other things first (humidifier, fresh air, healthy foods, rest, natural chest rub, electrolytes, etc.). But, we have genexa (a dye free version of Tylenol) and some other medications on hand! My 21 MO hasn’t had antibiotics but if they’re necessary I’ll absolutely give them to him, just wouldn’t go there first!
 
@allisonintx Great question! It can be overwhelming when jumping in. Everyone will have different opinions on what's important to them but here are mine!

1. I would start with deodorant because that's where your body gets rid of a lot of toxins. Typical antiperspirant clogs up the pores in your armpit plus aluminum is not great for the body in high quantities.

2. Next, and this is a big one, anything that goes on your skin. Start with shampoo/conditioner, but then work your way through other hair products, makeup, lotion, etc. All of that stuff gets sucked into your body through your skin.

3. Fragrances- most things that are designed to smell good in the US market are very bad for your body. There are alternatives but it takes time to find well made products. Get rid of plug-in scents, wax warmers, candles, sprays, etc. Look into simmer pots or diffusers to make your home smell better.

4. Laundry Detergents, etc. Learn about wool dryer balls vs. softener. Ditch all scent beads if you use them. Get a clean ingredient laundry soap.

5. Food. Learn about the dirty dozen and clean fifteen for produce. Learn how to wash your produce well. Start learning about ingredients in processed foods and what to avoid.

I'm not sure if the rules allow me to suggest Instagram accounts that have good info or other resources, but feel free to message me if you are interested!

Edit: spelling
 
@mmiranda Correct, but still no reason to demonize antiperspirant/aluminum salts. It’s the subject of so much fear mongering, partly based on inaccurate information about our bodily functions.
 
@ooooooo Aluminum is a neurotoxin and in high doses can affect the body in negative ways. I don't think there is any problem with reducing exposure to aluminum especially in products that are used daily.
 
@mmiranda We consume 7-9mg of aluminum daily via food and water. From antiperspirant, one MIGHT absorb 0.004mg.

Edit: Aluminum-containing salts (what’s in antiperspirant) are not elemental metal aluminum. I’m happy to provide links to sources once I check the subreddits rule about them
 
@ooooooo Thanks for getting back with that info. I'd love to hear what your top five are. It's fun to see how different people interpret what it means to be "granola."
 
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