Move Towards a Chemical Free Home

Not only what we breathe, drink and ingest affects our health, but also what we use to clean and beautify ourselves has a significant impact on our health. Our home cleaning products as well as the daily hygiene products that we use affects our bodily systems, as it ultimately goes back into our environmental systems, which ultimately affects us all. Awareness is the first step to turning our bodies, our homes and our environment into less toxic places.

Chemical synthetics are used in mass produced home products for convenience and affordability. It is important to be informed of this so that we can protect our family and environment from becoming toxic playgrounds. The chemical synthetics that are easily made available to us are unable to break down naturally or biodegrade, which then accumulates in our body’s fatty tissues and creates toxicity.

Toxic Ingredients can be found in many of the products we find at our friendly grocers. There are very few regulations imposed on companies who produce these products. When purchasing cleaning products, it is very important to keep in mind that some unethical companies have evolved to advertise “green”, which is a concern, as some of these products contain suspect ingredients that do not at all make them a “green” product.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has listed some of the more hazardous chemical additives found in common cleaning products. As you browse through this list, think about the following questions. What does your cupboard look like? Does it need a makeover?

Chemical Additive	Problem with Exposure	Products Found In
Fragrance	Mild irritants, suspect carcinogens, often extended by the presence of endocrine disrupting phthalates	Household products
QUATS Quaternary Ammonium Compounds	Inflammatory reactions and dermatitis, breaks down to form formaldehyde (carcinogen)	Antibacterial Household cleaners
2-Butoxyethanol	Respiratory irritant.. (odor of window cleaners)	Window cleaners and many kitchen and multi-purpose cleaners
Petroleum	Suspected of containing residues of known carcinogens, Benzo A Pyrene and Benzo B Fluoranthene	Common petrochemical additive in household products
Chlorine	Respiratory irritant with exposures through public water supplies, fumes, and cleaning agents. Potential of thyroid disruption	Common in Scouring powders, toilet bowl cleaners, mildew removers, laundry whiteners

Why not Do It Yourself (DIY)?

DIY places all of us in control of a safer home environment. It takes a commitment to get started, yet once you begin it is really surprisingly easy and fun to do. By combining essential oils into our DIYS, we reduce risks and exposures to toxins, while also providing excellent cleaning benefits and improving our immune systems. Don’t delay, get started with 1 or 2 of the recipes below and then you can begin to expand your repertoire.

For more information you can contact us at hooplaessentials@gmail.com. We will send you our FREE DIY recipe booklet to keep your home healthy, clean and toxic free. We would be happy to hear from you. The next issues of Just Saying we will provide beauty DIY recipes.

 

Home Cleaning Recipes

Carpet Deodorizer

 

Shake well before each use and store in an air-tight container. Sprinkle over carpets and sofas before vacuuming.

 

Fabric Softener

 

Mix as a paste in a small bowl. Transfer to the fabric softener holder of the washing machine. Use during the washer’s rinse cycle.

 

Simple Laundry Powder

 

*can change the oil for your preference. You don’t actually smell the oils in the finished wash.
Mix baking soda with essential oils, add washing soda. Be careful when mixing, it can be an irritant. After, mix or shake in large container. Use a large tablespoon for a regular-sized wash load. You may choose to add a spoon of borax for whites/towels/really dirty loads.

 

Bathroom Cream Cleaner

 

Mix oils with baking soda and then add castile gradually until the desired consistency. If you are storing this, you will need to give it a mix before each use.