I am not the type to get paranoid about things. But lately I have been thinking more seriously about ways I can reduce everyday exposure to toxins in my home. You hear so much about plastics, chemicals in cookware, pesticides on produce, off-gassing mattresses, synthetic fabrics. It can feel endless and overwhelming.
And here is the thing: stress is also toxic. So drowning in anxiety about every product in your house defeats the whole purpose.
My approach has been to start small, make one swap at a time, and build from there. No perfection required. Just progress. Here is what I have been doing, room by room, in case it helps you figure out where to start too.
We spend so much time cooking, eating, and cleaning in the kitchen that it felt like the most logical place to begin. Some of the easiest wins are right here.
White vinegar. This is one of the most inexpensive and versatile things you can keep in your kitchen. I use it to rinse fruits and vegetables (fill your sink with water, add a splash of white vinegar, soak for a few minutes, rinse well), run it through my dishwasher as a rinse aid, and use it as a general surface cleaner. It cuts through grease, deodorizes, and costs almost nothing.
Swap plastic utensils for stainless steel or wood. Plastic spoons and spatulas can leach microplastics into hot food. I switched to stainless steel and wooden utensils and honestly never looked back. They last longer and just feel better to cook with.
Our Place pans and air fryer. I invested in the Our Place Always Pan and their air fryer and I am obsessed. Non-toxic, non-stick without the PFAS coating, and genuinely beautiful. Worth every penny. I bought my dad one for his birthday and he bought three more he loves them so much!
Swap plastic cutting boards for wood. Plastic boards develop knife grooves over time that harbor bacteria and shed microplastics into your food. I switched to wood and it has been a great upgrade.
Glass food storage containers. Storing food in glass instead of plastic means no leaching, especially when reheating. I gradually replaced all my old plastic containers with glass and it was one of the easiest swaps I made.
Coconut sponges and a natural dish brush. I found these amazing coconut fiber sponges and went back to a good old-fashioned dish brush. No synthetic microfibers going down the drain, and they work beautifully.
Dirty Labs dish soap and detergent. For the dishwasher I use Dirty Labs. You can get it as a powder it cleans really well and smells great. It lasts a long time too. You can also get the Blueland tabs, which are the more affordable option and do not have a plastic coating like conventional pods. Fair warning: the tabs do not leave that same super-fresh clean smell, but they work well and are a much cleaner choice. I found them on sale recently at Costco as well as Amazon. Sometimes I toss a lemon into the dishwasher for a natural freshness boost. It is amazing.
A water filter. Filtering your drinking water removes chlorine, heavy metals, and other contaminants that commonly show up in tap water. Even a simple pitcher filter makes a meaningful difference, or you can install one under the sink.
The Laundry Room
Dirty Labs laundry detergent. I made the swap here too. Clean formula, no synthetic fragrance overload, and it works really well on workout clothes.
Wool dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. Dryer sheets are loaded with synthetic fragrance and chemicals that coat your clothes and bedding with every cycle. Wool dryer balls reduce static, cut drying time, and you can add a few drops of essential oil if you want a light natural scent. A set lasts for years and pays for itself fast.
Personal Care: Your Skin Is Your Largest Organ
This is the section I think people overlook the most. Everything you put on your skin gets absorbed into your body. That includes your toothpaste, your deodorant, your moisturizer, and your makeup. I have been slowly cleaning up my personal care routine and these are the swaps I feel good about.
Toothpaste. I switched to a hydroxyapatite-based toothpaste, which remineralizes enamel naturally without fluoride. Risewell and Boka are both excellent and I have tried both. David’s Natural Toothpaste is a great and more affordable option that is easy to find on Amazon. If you want to go zero-waste, Bite makes toothpaste tablets with no plastic tube at all.
Deodorant. Aluminum-free deodorant has come a long way and there are genuinely good options now. Primally Pure is a clean beauty favorite with a very simple ingredient list. Kopari is coconut-based and works well. Native is the most accessible option if you want something you can find anywhere. I love their coconut vanilla blend. Salt & Stone makes a mini 4 pack I love to bring one when I travel.
Clean makeup. The clean beauty space has exploded and there are now brands that perform just as well as conventional makeup with none of the questionable ingredients. ILIA Beauty and RMS Beauty are the gold standard for me. Kosas is another one I love that bridges clean formulas with real performance. Saie is newer and doing great things. You do not have to replace everything at once. Start with what sits on your skin the longest, like foundation or tinted moisturizer, and go from there.
Check your products on the EWG Skin Deep database. This is a free tool that rates personal care products by ingredient safety. I use it to check anything I am considering adding to my routine. It is a great resource!
What We Wear
This one is harder and I want to be honest about that. Conventional workout fabrics are often made with synthetic materials that contain chemicals and shed microplastics with every wash. I am still navigating this one but here is where I have started.
Swap your underwear to 100% cotton. I did this first because it is a small, manageable change that matters a lot, especially for women. Easy win and you will never go back.
Look for organic cotton workout options. It is a harder lane but brands like Pact are making more cotton-forward activewear if you want to explore. This is a work in progress for me too. I’d love to design my own cotton workout sets!
The Bedroom: The Biggest Splurge Worth Making
We spend roughly half our lives in bed. Conventional mattresses are made with synthetic foams and chemical flame retardants that off-gas for years. When I really understood this, I knew it was worth the investment to make a change.
Ultimate Snooze organic mattresses. A friend introduced me to these and I just swapped out the mattresses in my boys’ rooms. All organic, no chemical treatments, and honestly they sleep so well on them. This is not a small purchase but if there is one splurge worth making, it is what your family sleeps on every single night. My friends are offering 20% off to all my Substack subscribers if interested use this link.
Organic cotton bedding. Pairing an organic mattress with organic cotton sheets and pillowcases rounds out the sleep environment beautifully. Look for GOTS-certified options to make sure you are getting the real thing. Ultimate Snooze also makes all organic bedding and I have swapped all of it in on my boy’s beds. It’s SO soft and amazing. I think right now you can get free bedding when you order a mattress and they will remove your old mattress for you if you need them to, which was key for me.
The Air in Your Home
Swap paraffin candles for beeswax or soy. Paraffin candles release toxins when burned. Beeswax candles burn cleanly and even help purify the air naturally. If you love the ritual of candles the way I do, this swap is a no-brainer.
An air purifier for your bedroom. A HEPA air purifier removes dust, dander, VOCs, and particulates while you sleep. The Levoit Core 300 is an affordable option (around $100) that works beautifully for a bedroom. For larger living spaces, the Blueair Blue Pure 211+ is excellent. This is one of those things that once you have it running you wonder how you went without it.
Open your windows. Indoor air can actually be more polluted than outdoor air because of off-gassing from furniture, paint, and cleaning products. Ventilating your home regularly is completely free and one of the simplest things you can do.
Invest in plants.
Certain houseplants are natural air purifiers and filter toxins like formaldehyde and benzene from the air. Snake plants, peace lilies, and pothos are all great options and are nearly impossible to kill. They add beauty to your space and quietly clean the air around you at the same time. A few well-placed plants can make a real difference.
Where to Start
If this list feels like a lot, just pick one thing. The white vinegar swap alone is worth it. Or replace your dish sponge. Or throw dryer balls in your Amazon cart right now. HERE is my amazon storefront where I try to add things I purchase/use as I go or give recommendations. Also Amazon is having their big sale right now.
The goal is not to overhaul your entire life this weekend. It is just to make better choices when you can, without adding more stress. Progress over perfection, always!
I will keep sharing what I find and what I am swapping as I go. And if you have a swap you love that I did not mention, please share it in the comments. I am always looking for good ones.
The personal care section is the one that stopped me.
Kitchen swaps were easier for me to start with too. The plastics and heat research has been out long enough that I'd half-rationalized some of it. But toothpaste, deodorant, moisturizer all in the same list, and the note that your skin absorbs everything you put on it. That's harder to compartmentalize.
The EWG Skin Deep mention is worth flagging for anyone who hasn't used it. I use it but always wished there was something faster for when you're actually standing in the aisle.
p.s. I've been building something along those lines for men's personal care specifically. A scanner that flags phthalates, parabens, and fragrance-hidden chemicals by ingredient. Beta at mangood.app?ref=substack-awareness if curious.
I’ve been needing to make some swaps and am going to start with the kitchen! Thank you for re-inspiring me to take this on! <3