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Your drinking water probably contains more toxins than anything else in your home, yet most people focus on skincare first when starting their toxin-free journey. It comes from a lack of education in non-toxic living.

As an Environmental Toxins attorney turned Clean Living Coach, I’ve watched the non-toxic living space become increasingly overwhelming, polarizing, and fear-based. But reducing your toxic exposure shouldn’t feel stressful! It should feel empowering and even fun. That’s why I’ve created this straightforward guide for beginners that focuses on the five changes that will actually make the biggest difference in your overall toxic load.

From filtering your drinking water to ditching synthetic fragrances, these five simple swaps target what you consume and inhale all day and the areas where most of your toxic exposure occurs. You’ll be surprised to learn that you don’t need different cleaners for every surface in your home and that those disposable coffee cups expose you to more chemicals than you realize.

By implementing these five changes, your toxic exposure will be lower than approximately 80% of the general population. Plus, you’ll save money by eliminating unnecessary products and using smart alternatives. Once these become part of your routine, you can continue your journey to becoming a little more toxin-free every day.

In today’s episode, we’re chatting about:

• Why filtering your drinking water should be your first priority
• The truth about non-stick cookware and which alternatives actually work
• How disposable coffee cups are leaching chemicals into your hot beverages
• Why you only need one cleaning concentrate for your entire home
• How synthetic fragrances are polluting your indoor air quality

5 Simple Steps to Non-Toxic Living

I’ve talked a lot about simple steps to toxin-free living before because people tend to overthink it. They believe they need to completely overhaul their entire home and lifestyle to make significant changes. In reality, just a few things can make a big difference. We’ll make this fun and simple!

1. Filter Your Drinking Water

Drinking water from the tap is probably one of your biggest contributions to toxin exposure. These are some common toxins found in drinking water, depending on where you live:

• Chlorine 
• Fluoride
• Heavy metals
• Pharmaceuticals
• Birth control
• Plastics
• PFAS forever chemicals

You’re drinking water all day long (at least I hope you are!), so you’re consuming these toxins A LOT. A high-quality water filter will do wonders for your health. Shop my recommendations in my toxin-free shopping guide.

2. Stop Cooking with Non-Stick Pans

PFAS chemicals, which are forever chemicals, are part of a class of toxins that are contributing to endocrine disruption, weight gain, reproductive issues, and a whole host of other health issues. When you cook your food on a non-stick pan, you expose yourself to those chemicals, especially if it’s an older pan and scratched.

I totally understand the inconvenience of stainless steel and cast iron pans, but I have a hack for you. I use one pan every single day for every single meal, and it works amazing and has lasted for a long time. It’s the Titanium Pro pan from Our Place (code WENDY10 for 10% off!). This thing is indestructible, but there’s no coating, and yet the pan is completely non-stick. You still have to use oil or butter, but they use grooves to create a surface that is naturally non-stick without any coating.

It’s a completely non-toxic cookware option. You can throw it in your dishwasher or oven, and it’s literally the only pan you need. I have been using and reviewing cookware for years, and it’s the one pan that never gives up. 

3. Use Reusable Coffee Cups

If you go to a coffee shop and drink hot liquids, tea, or coffee out of disposable cups, please stop. This is one of those things where all of the plastic and PFAS chemicals are leaching from those paper cups. The inside lining of disposable cups is filled with microplastics and forever chemicals. When you pour hot liquid into the cup, it releases those chemicals into your drink, and you’re consuming them. 

You can bring a disposable cup to Starbucks, and they will use it for your drink. I know this isn’t always possible while you’re traveling, so I’m not crazy about this one, but little non-toxic living steps always help your health!

4. Get Rid of All Your Toxic Cleaning Products

This one will actually save you money! Unless you are purposely buying non-toxic cleaners, you probably have cleaning products in your home that are filled with toxins, and guess what? You don’t need them! Go ahead and throw them out. They’re mostly water, anyway.

They release toxic VOCs, synthetic fragrances, and chemicals that you want to avoid, even when they’re just sitting under your sink. They are contaminating the indoor air of your home. At a minimum, move them into your garage. 

What you inhale in your home is another significant contributor to your daily toxic exposure. If you’re in a developed country, you spend way too much time indoors. Things like cleaning supplies pollute our indoor air.

Now, here’s the hack. You only need one cleaner concentrate to clean every surface in your house: Thieves Cleaner. It’s literally the only thing I clean with in my entire house. You use a tiny little cap full in a spray bottle, fill it with water, and I clean everything. You do not need a different cleaner for every single surface in your home.

My toxin-free shopping guide has more cleaning product options, but Thieves is my favorite. Use code SHAREYL to get 10% off your first order of Thieves Cleaner!

5. Ditch All Synthetic Fragrance

This is so important for the same reason we’re ditching cleaning supplies. Synthetic fragrances contribute to all the things you’re inhaling when you’re home.

These are some popular products with synthetic fragrances:

• Candles
• Glade plugins
• Room sprays
• Toilet sprays

I have a lot of podcasts where I talk about synthetic fragrances and endocrine disruptors. Synthetic fragrances contain a lot of reproductive toxins, endocrine disruptors, and toxic VOCs. Since we spend a lot of time in our homes, synthetic fragrance contributes to a lot of our indoor air issues.

Go through your home and get rid of all those things. You don’t even need to buy anything to replace them. This is just another place where you can save money by just opening your windows and enjoying the fresh air. If you really want a clean fragrance, there are options in my toxin-free shopping guide.

What About Other Non-Toxic Living Tips?

You probably noticed that I didn’t talk about skincare, haircare, deodorant, or other daily products that could contain toxins. When you are on a journey to decreasing your toxic exposure, those things matter eventually.

But I want you to think about this. You’re drinking water all day long. You’re eating food that you cook on your pans all day long. You’re inhaling the air in your home all day long into your lungs. You probably put your skincare on your face twice a day. 

So, when it comes to exposure and the things that make the biggest difference, it will be the five things I just listed. Once you’ve got those five things down and they are just a normal part of your life, you can continue on your journey to get a little more toxin-free every day. But, of course, you can always binge my episodes on other non-toxic living tips and swaps!

If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please:

• Leave a positive review or rating wherever you listen
• Shop toxin free products on my Toxin Free Shopping Guide
• Download your free 25 Toxins to Avoid
• Post a screenshot, share what you loved, and tag me on Instagram @wendy_toxinfreeish
• Want to ask me a question to get answered on the podcast? Leave me a voice message here.

Related Episodes:

Episode 4: Are Toxins in Your Tap Water? Here’s How to Find Out.

Episode 43: Is There Mold in Coffee? What You Need to Know About Mycotoxins and My Clean Coffee Picks

Episode 74: What is The Best Non-Toxic Cookware? Avoid PFAs When Cooking