Hey guys,

Happy Monday! I want to hop on this topic today because it is something I focus a lot on in my home + personal life, but haven’t really addressed here on the blog. Let’s hop right into it.

It is imperative that our home is a place that nurtures, heals, restores, and contributes to our health and wellbeing. A place to come back to that lifts stress, comforts us, and just feels good!

Today’s post is on the importance of detoxing that space, and I don’t just mean running the vacuum or picking stuff up, although that’s good, too. Everything that touches our skin or goes into the air we breathe enters our bodies. Toxins are a threat to our mental and physical health, the Earth, and our existence on this planet. Energetically, we want our space to give us all those good vibes and support us while we strive to be our best selves. We will touch on this aspect of detoxing as well.

Here are some tips to green up and cleanse your space:

Buy plants!

Plants are one of the most amazing ways to purify the air in your home. Plus they make your place look rad for not a lot of money, and contribute to decreasing stress. Humans are meant to be surrounded by plants. They have the ability to absorb volatile and toxic gasses out of the air which means your air will be purified. Ivy and snake plants are awesome choices, and really easy to keep alive. I actually ordered my snake plant from Amazon, believe it or not, and it came in perfect condition!

Ditch the chemical cleansers.

It’s ironic to think that we are trying to remove substances in our home only to introduce toxins that are far worse. Harsh and toxic chemicals not only harm our bodies, but the environment as well. Simple solution: read the labels and buy natural cleaners. Whole Foods has an entire aisle of better choices. You want to avoid ammonia, chlorine, and petroleum distillates.

You can also make your own cleansers, and don’t underestimate soup and hot water. My mom swears by this for her counters, and her house is immaculate. We have been duped into believing that we need to sanitize everything. A little soap and hot water goes a long way.

Since we bought our K8 I pretty much only clean with 11.5pH strong alkaline water or 2.5 strong acidic water. The 11.5 strips the oils and gunk right off (so awesome for my countertops), and the 2.5 sanitizes and kills all the gross stuff. I love that I’m not buying plastic bottles or putting any sort of contaminants into my home or the space where Bodie eats and plays.

Air out your home.

My grandmother was from Newfoundland, and she said that they always used to air out the home, especially in the winter time when everyone gets sick. My good friend who grew up in Norway said they did the same thing there. It is crazy important to remove the dull stagnant air from within your home. Homes that are super efficient or use AC I find are almost the worst because who wants to keep the door open when the AC is running? In Florida during the hot months, I don’t think anyone turns off the air and opens up all the windows. Just something to think about if you live somewhere hot (or cold and need the heat in the winter).

Your water matters

When we take a hot shower in chlorinated water, we actually inhale and ingest chemical gasses, not to mention they also soak into our skin. Research has shown that we absorb 6x more chemicals through our lungs and skin while bathing. Showering is the primary cause of elevated levels of chloroform in the average American home, which is a potent carcinogen. This is why I highly suggest filtering out the chlorine from your showers, most especially if you have kids. We use an Anespa shower filter, and I cannot live without it. When I was in NY this summer, and just having to take regular showers, I couldn’t believe the amount of chlorine. It made my eyes burn because I just am not used to it anymore. I started to prefer a good swim in the fresh lake to be honest.

Himalayen Salt Lamps

Besides being pretty, and just so calming to look at (my four year old loves ours!), salt lamps emit negative ions into the air around them. This balances out electromagnetic radiation in the home (produced by electronics like your laptop, TVs, and so forth) and cleanses and purifies the air. A little one is not expensive either. Give it a try, and see how you feel! I definitely recommend having one in your bedroom as well as your desk.

Diffuse essential oils

Once winter comes around, I frequently diffuse essential oils to keep germs to a minimum. Some air purifying essential oils are lemon, eucalyptus, peppermint, and tea tree oil. Just be warned, only use a few drops because good quality essential oils are very potent. The first few times I diffused essential oils I used the “more is too much” technique and my husband was slightly traumatized by it. Now I used maybe 2-3 drops max of an oil, and less if blending several. Buy organic oils when possible.

Smudge your home

Listen, you may think this is some kind of hippie nonsense, but humans have been smudging their spaces with sage and palo santo to cleanse the energy for thousands of years for a reason. When I first got into alternative practices I used a lot of palo santo in particular, and to be fully transparent with you all, I really questioned its validity. Even though I enjoyed the act, it wasn’t until more recently that I began to understand the actual importance of these practices.

First of all, for my skeptical friends, sage has actually been shown to absorb high amounts of airborne bacteria… so even if you think cleansing old energy out is nonsense, there is still that benefit.

Sage and palo santo alters or resets the vibration of a space. You’ll want ceremonial sage, which comes dry and usually wrapped together. Frequently it’s right next to palo santo on the shelf… or you can order it online. Palo santo is from a sacred tree in South America, and I personally love how it smells. When burned, the smoke has cleansing and therapeutic properties.

I will have to put a blog post together just on this topic alone! I only scratched the surface here. Give it a try! Cleanse your space once a week, and see how you feel.

Let me know how you detox your home below!

Happy cleansing.

With LOVE,

Lindsay