15 Everyday Necessities I No Longer Buy & What I Use Instead
When my twelve-year old son suddenly had a grand-mal seizure and was diagnosed with cortical dysplasia with epilepsy and my only daughter was diagnosed with a rare cancer, Ewing’s Sarcoma of the chest wall, just one year later, my life (and my family’s life) drastically changed. At first, we slowly started learning about all the chemicals that we were living with in the household and personal products and foods we used daily. Then, with the terminal cancer diagnosis, we knew we had to make changes in a hurry.
My daughter Tara’s legacy has been so important to the lessens we have learned along her journey. I’ve discovered that her passion for all things natural has been my passion just the same. She has made a huge difference in the lives of those that knew her and loved her, and still in others she did not know. Her influence on this subject has left a lasting impression on us, and we will continue to inspire others to live healthier because of it.
I have stopped buying most of the mainstream toxic products and i am always trying new ways to eliminate the ones I continue to buy. Follow this link to my Shop page for more information on all of my products. Here are some of those changes I have made.
1. Household cleaners and sprays – This includes Windex and any cleaning sprays, detergents (aside from laundry detergent), bathroom scrubbing bubbles, etc. I use instead baking soda, rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, and the like. I use these ingredients separately and mixed together in a spray bottle. Baking soda and white vinegar, with its chemical reaction, cleans bathtub and toilet surfaces excellently. The spray mixture I use of filtered water, rubbing alcohol, and white vinegar works fantastically on mirrors, windows, countertops, and other surfaces. These work far better to clean and shine than any store-bought cleaners, in my opinion.
2. Room Air Fresheners & Number Two Sprays – These items are highly toxic and contain PFAHS and forever chemicals. I use instead my Honey Hill Naturals Amber Romance Fine Mist Spray for the living areas, my Honey Hill Naturals Lemon Fine Mist Spray for our number two bathroom spray, and my Honey Hill Naturals Lavender Fine Mist Spray for our bedroom and closet areas. These are made with essential oils. These are so much safer to breathe and offer benefits those other sprays cannot do. I make other scents for my household not available on my website, but you can do the same. Have fun concocting your favorite scents!
3. Fabric Refreshers – I just cannot spray those mainstream fabric refresher sprays on my fabrics! Those chemicals stick to our lungs when we breathe them in. No thank you! I use instead my Honey Hill Naturals Lavender Fine Mist Spray mostly, but again, have fun making your own essential oil sprays for this.
4. Dryer Sheets – Yuck! That’s all I have to say about that! Too many chemicals sticking to your clothes that are even flammable! Not to mention the fragrances and scents! No bueno! I use instead wool dryer balls. I have three that I use and mine are made from Alpaca wool from a local farmer. You can add essential oils to these, however, be sure to check on the descriptions of the essential oils you use in combination with the heat setting you use in the dryer. Some may be sensitive to the heat, and we wouldn’t want to start a fire from it.
5. Candles – The main reason for not buying mainstream candles any longer are for the petroleum-based waxes and blends, as well as the fragrances used. Highly toxic. I use instead my Honey Hill Naturals Candles. I lovingly call them the “healthier candles” because of the very specific ingredients I use to make them. Check them out here! Also, I like to remind people that even though the fragrances I use are 100% phthalate-free, I would still only light them in a well-ventilated area, open a window if you must, and try not to breathe them in directly. It is still chemicals after all.
6. Perfumes Body Sprays – The same fragrance and chemicals issue here that I don’t want to breathe in or have on my body. I use instead my Honey Hill Naturals Lavender Fine Mist Spray. It is my favorite. I use other things like essential oil roller balls for various reasons like immunity or focus, that are scented by the oils. Yet again, these offer benefits to our health that the other mainstream products cannot do.
7. Facial Cleansers – Okay, well technically I never did buy these. My mother raised me with only using water on my face. She always said the water was more gentle for cleaning, moisturizing, and healing than any soap. So, that’s what I’ve always stuck with. Drinking plenty of water and eating healthfully, also helps to have beautiful, youthful, clean skin as well.
8. Soaps & Shower Gels – I’m just like most people here. I have used all kinds of mainstream brands of soaps and shower gels in the shower. Most of these are laden with surfactants and chemicals that just irritate the skin. I use instead my Honey Hill Naturals Goat Milk Soaps. These are made with organic goat milk soap base that actually offer vitamin benefits for our skin and do not destroy the natural ecosystem of our skin. The added superfatting and essential oils offers so many good things for our skin as well. Check out all of our soaps here!
9. Lotions, Body Butters, & Face Creams – I stopped using all of these. They’re filled with preservatives, fragrances, parabens, and alcohols! Don’t alcohols dry out your skin? I use instead my Honey Hill Naturals Creamy Salve line. I lovingly call these babies “nutrition for your skin”! The oils and butters in these creamy salves more than hydrate your skin, they actually feed it. It was an easy decision to never buy mainstream lotions and creams again.
10. Medicinal Salves – There are just as many chemicals in anything medicinal as most of the ingredients used are rarely plant-based. I use instead organic or local raw honey, cbd salves and oils, and Honey Hill Naturals Creamy Salve line. There are times that I also use Epsom salts as well as my Honey Hill Naturals salts line, depending on what healing is required.
11. OTC Medicines – I try to avoid all over the counter medicines like ibuprofen, acetaminophen, cough syrups, and the like. (If you need to be on any medications, listen to your doctor. I am not a doctor, and I am not giving medical advice.) I use instead essential oils like peppermint EO for headaches and joint pains or back pain, DMSO, and my Honey Hill Naturals Magnesium Oil Spray. My HHN Cooling Vapors Creamy Salve works for me during allergy season and during the cold and flu season. This is my clean version of Vicks. My HHN lip shine and lip balms work great for dryness on the lips and other smaller areas of dry skin patches. Epson salts and my HHN salt baths, tub teas, and bath shots also do wonders for certain conditions when needed.
12. Lip Gloss & Chap Stick – These products contain chemicals like preservatives, dyes, and fragrances. Parabens are the most widely used preservative in lip products. Do you know why? According to an article I found titled, Cosmetic Formulation Basics: What’s in a Lip Balm, and why…, it is stated that by including parabens into the mix of a lip balm may help to mitigate the bitterness of the formulation. This is because parabens have a numbing effect on the tongue. Gross! And no thank you! I use instead my Honey Hill Naturals Lip Balms and Lip Shines. The ingredients I use protect my lips from toxins, they offer sun protection when needed, they truly hydrate my lips, as well as offering beneficial nutrients. Being that we eat most of the lip sticks we wear, my natural lip products offer safe enough to eat ingredients where I don’t need to worry about this. On those occasions that I choose to wear a lip stick, I wear my HHN Lip Balm as a base to at least protect my lips from absorbing so much of the lip stick parabens. Check them out here!
13. Hair Gels & Mousse – I used to wear a ton of hair gels and mousse, I must admit. I stopped using these products when I figured out they were blocking my head up. I mean quite literally. My head was getting so congested and would not drain. I worked with my chiropractor along with stopping the use of these products to get my head flowing again. I use instead salt spray, my HHN Magnesium Oil Spray (which works much like a salt spray), or I use nothing at all. All natur-el! I actually had to get used to my hair feeling so soft and flowy!
14. Plastic Bags & Wrap – Plastics have been proven to be terrible for our health. This is a whole separate discussion. I have stopped using plastic baggies of all sizes for any of my foods. I use instead Glasslock bowls and reusable baggies made from safe plastics. I mostly stopped using plastic wraps (and foil for that matter!) on my foods for the same poisonous reasons. I use instead covered bowls when I can or beeswax paper or parchment paper.
15. Paper Plates, Napkins, towels, & Plastic Utensils – Though I have a different these days on climate change, I do believe in not being wasteful. I don’t use paper plates and napkins for everyday use at all. I use instead my regular dishes and cloth napkins. It makes no difference as far as cost with washing cloth napkins. In fact, home economists have stated in the past that it’s actually cheaper overall to use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins. I only use paper towels for things that are not safe to use cloth towels for. For example, when I am working with my candle wax. This cannot go down the drain because it will clog things up. This includes the drain from the washer machine, so cloth towels are out. I also use paper towels when I am cooking poultry. This prevents the spread of salmonella. I limit the use of plastic all together, so this means I never use plastic utensils as in forks and spoons for everyday use. I use instead my regular stainless steel silverware.
If you want to learn more, I offer a masterclass that can help you to learn all the ins and outs of getting chemicals and toxins out of your daily living. Check out my masterclass here!