Happy Spring Cleaning
From SPYSED

Warmer days with the windows wide open blowing the stuffy old winter air out of the house, and welcoming the new season in are on the way.  With that usually comes cleaning!  Have you ever stopped to think about what you're cleaning with and if perhaps it's doing more harm than good?

I encourage you to take a moment and look at labels on the favorite cleaning products in your household.  Is there a list of ingredients contained in that product? If not, it beckons the question of what is actually in those cleaning products? And have you ever noticed the overpowering aroma that hits you aisles away from the cleaning product section of your store? Amazingly enough, just like the labeling of GMO's in our food, commercial and household cleaning product companies are not required to list the ingredients contained in their cleaning products.  That means, in short, that these companies can put anything they desire into their products--benign, toxic, or otherwise.  We are talking anything from endocrine disruptors to known toxins, (like formaldehyde, phenol, nitrobenzene, perchloroethylene, etc), that we might be cleaning our homes with, or wearing the residues of on our clothes all day long. 1, 2, 3, 4

At this point you may be thinking oh well it would be only in small amounts that I'm exposed. But low level toxic exposure summates in the body overtime!  And we've got to remember that we are exposed to so many toxins throughout our day that we have no control over, that are also creating immune and stress responses in our bodies.  This could be a very important part of the puzzle as to why humans are the sickest they have ever been in recorded history.  So while we may not be able to control the toxins that are in much of our environment, we can make an educated decision in what we are cleaning with and eating.  I like to think of it as simply lessening the toxic load on our bodily systems as much as possible.4,5

I personally choose to make our home environment as safe an oasis as possible.  I do that by purchasing organic detergents and cleaning products that list all of their ingredients, or by making my own cleaning products.  I have my trusted and reasonably priced favorite products from companies like Mrs. Myers, Earth Friendly Products, Branch Basics, and Seventh Generation, that I use and recommend to clients.  While these products are a little more expensive, they do list the ingredients included in their products right on the back of the bottle so that you may choose which of those ingredients will work for you and your family's bodies, and in your home.  Price should never be a reason that holds you back from cleaning in a healthy way.  When I was a poor college student and waitress I discovered ways to very inexpensively clean my home and clothes, (FYI: I still use them regularly!), using products that your great grandmother would've used: baking soda, salt, and vinegar!  You can get a month’s supply of those three products for under $10.  To whiten your laundry you can add a little baking soda. To scrub sinks, tubs, and scour surfaces, simply make a paste of baking soda and salt, and add a little elbow grease to a good scrubbing brush and they sparkle like new. Slow draining sinks: remember what happened in middle school science when you added vinegar to baking soda?  You can make a cleaning spray with half vinegar, half water, and a few drops of non-toxic dish liquid--it cleans everything from mirrors to countertops beautifully!  And the list could go on...!  If you are able to invest a little more in your household, essential oils are a versitile tool for nurturing and cleaning both your body and home.

I pride myself on keeping things real, so I should let you know that there are some products with questionable ingredients that we use in our household on occasion.  Only if they are truly and absolutely needed do we purchase them, use them, and immediately get rid of them!  I never like to store any of these products in my home because even in their designated containers they emit toxic fumes into the air. So much so, that there are documented stories of people removing these things out of their homes and then eliminating symptoms that they might have been suffering from for years; migraine headaches, behavioral problems to cancer--it's really quite shocking and amazing!

I hope you will educate yourself further on what hidden ingredients are in your favorite cleaning products.  I challenge you to dump those products that may have questionable ingredients and trade them for a healthier option!

Check out the YouTube video I made for you on making salt and sodium bicarbonate scouring paste on my channel:  http://youtu.be/Ht1_A_v_XUU

 

Happy Spring Everyone!

Get healthy.  Get fit. Get SPYSED!

 

 

Sources:

1.    Environmental Working Group. “Cleaning Supplies: Secret Ingredients, Hidden Hazards”.  EWG Guide to Healthy Cleaning. ewg.org.  22 March 2015.  Web

2.    “Tide HE Turbo Clean Liquid”.  www.tide.com.  22 March 2015.  Web

3.    Fioravanti, Kayla. “The Household Product Labeling Act of 2009”. Personal Care: Information based on Scientific Facts.  personalcaretruth.com, 26 May 2010.  22 March 2015. Web

4.    Haas, Elson M., MD and Levin, Buck Phd, RD. Staying Healthy with Nutrition: The complete guide to diet and nutritional medicine. Berkely:  Celestial Arts 2006. Print

5.    Mullin, Gerard E., MD and Kathy Madonna Swift, MS RD LDN. The Inside Tract:  Your Good Gut Guide to Great Digestive Health.  New York:  Rodale 2011.  Print


If you are ready to make real and lasting changes in your health I can help.  Contact me for your free 15 minute phone consultation. I look forward to helping you make your dreams reality!
Wishing each and every one of you a Happy Holiday season, and a very Happy New Year!