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Share simple swaps you can do for your health (and the earth).
Hello friends! I hope you have a nice morning! I’m looking forward to a hike with some friends and catching up on SEO and other blog work that I’m putting off for as long as possible. 😉
As we’re a bit into January of the new year, some of the dust has settled and we can move onto some of the things we’ll be working on. I know so many of us are looking for healthy changes for ourselves, our families, and the Earth too! In today’s post I wanted to share with you some ideas for easy switches and changes you can make in your routine. Please remember this is not a list to get ALL THINGS done. Take a look at which ones would be helpful to you and applicable to your lifestyle and start with the one that feels most sensible and important to you. If you’ve done it, maybe add something else over time!
I find that habits are so much stronger when we take the time to individually build them into our routine. We don’t need to overwhelm ourselves with trying to do everything at once and some things on the list may not apply to you or be something that is important to you, and that’s okay too.
Just share some ideas for inspo and if you have any to add please let me know in the comments section – I’d love to hear them!
Simple swaps you can do for your health (and the earth).
Assess the water quality and invest in a filter
In many US cities, our tap water is…not it. Some places are better than others, but you can check the quality of your local tap water here. Our gorgeous Tucson water is loaded with arsenic in addition to nitrate and radium.
Unfortunately, fridge filters don’t do a good job of filtering out chemicals, bacteria, pharmaceuticals, and pathogens. Our absolute favorite is the Big Berkey – it tastes amazing in the water – and I also recommend the Aquasana. Another option is Therasage. Sometimes when you filter out all the bad bacteria, you inevitably filter out minerals as well. To add minerals back in, you can use real salt (like Redmond’s), trace mineral drops, or the Sakara beauty drops <— that's what I use.
compost
That’s something I want to do this year. Every time I throw away leftover food and countless other things, I think to myself, “You should compost this.” I know our garden would love it, and even if you don’t have a garden, there are local farmers who will accept donation compost, and some larger cities offer compost pickup.
Use fewer paper towels
People. This has been one of my goals for years, but I haven’t found a suitable replacement. I use way, way, way too many paper towels. If you have an option you love, please yell it in the comments!
Reduce your morning stress (alarm clock, meditation practice, etc.)
If you’re woken up by a loud, banging alarm clock, you might be preparing for a huge spike in cortisol. Waking up quickly in a fight-or-flight response can be distressing and can impact your insulin sensitivity, hunger, mood, digestion, immune function, etc. Try to find ways to wake up more slowly and peacefully. Even if you use a traditional alarm clock, try not to spend a lot of time on your phone in the morning. What other day can you start your day more peacefully?
ground in the morning
Get those feet in the grass or dirt and sunlight in your face when you wake up. It helps reset the circadian rhythm (to later allow for the necessary melatonin production at the right time) and may also have therapeutic effects. According to this study, grounding or “grounding” can potentially help with chronic stress, ANS dysfunction, inflammation, pain, poor sleep, impaired HRV, hypercoagulable blood, and many common health disorders including cardiovascular disease.
Establish a sleep routine
My best sleeping tips are in this post! I can also highly recommend the book Sleep smarter.
Use reusable plastic bags and minimize single-use plastic
It used to be a lot harder to minimize plastic, but luckily there are so many options now! I love the storage bags (we get them from Thrive Market), stainless steel, glass bottles and storage jars, and beeswax wrappers for sandwiches and odds and ends (like half a pepper or onion).
Optimize your cleaning products
This is one of my favorite times of year to completely empty out our pantry and closets, throw away anything we don’t need or have expired, and get organized. If you are running out of items, this is the perfect opportunity to trade that item in for a safer option. For example, it can be really overwhelming to think about replacing ALL your cleaning products at once, but when you run out of multi-purpose cleaner, try a new one with even better ingredients. I order most of our cleaning supplies from Thrive Market.
Buy from local farmers – choose foods that are seasonal and local
Supporting and connecting with local farmers is important (especially when eggs are $10 a dozen at the grocery store…). Food can be more nutritious because it didn’t have to sit on a truck for longer transportation times, it reduces the transportation emissions associated with the food, and I find that it’s always fresher and tastes better. The same goes for seasonal foods; it doesn’t have to travel that far to make it onto your plate. Check out this seasonal nutrition guide!
Check your meat sources
If you’re really a meat eater like you, it’s important to know where your meat comes from and what diet it’s eating. How was it treated? Were there steroids or antibiotics? Was it able to eat its natural food? Has it been colored with artificial dyes (like salmon)? I’m very picky about the meats we buy for our family, only buying from Butcher Box (my favorite source for organic meats and wild-caught seafood), Whole Foods, and certified organic or wild-caught from Trade Joe’s. It’s even better if you can source meat from a local farmer!
Don’t be afraid to buy second-hand clothes, rent clothes, and donate clothes instead of throwing them away
This is an easy way to show the earth a little more love. I’m a big fan of clothing rentals – I’ve done Rent the Runway Unlimited forever and now I’m back to Nuuly – donate, share, anything to help a garment go the extra mile.
Avoid scents
The term “fragrance” is a trade secret that allows companies to hide more than 200 chemical ingredients. It’s easy to avoid in makeup, skincare, cleansing products, and candles. Check out this post for more ingredients to stay away from.
Start a garden
My garden tips are all here! It’s so much fun to just walk outside and grab everything you need to make a salad. I had to learn a lot along the way, but it’s one of those things that you can’t improve on until you actually do it. 🙂
Carry a reusable water bottle
Make your water your BFF. Not only are you hydrating yourself, which can have a huge impact on skin, satiety, digestion, immune function, etc., but it’s also helping the earth because you’re not using disposable bottles.
So, let’s go!
I’d love to hear any ideas you have about simple exchanges for your health and the earth, or goals you are working toward this year.
xo
gina