Finally!! It's Spring!
Some warm weather is arriving... There are more open windows to get some fresh air flowing through... bees are beginning to buzz around outside in the garden.... and there's soon to be lighter evenings ahead with daylight saving on its way.
Woo! We made it!
And nothing feels better after such a hard winter that we've all had, than a deep Spring cleaning!
Here are some of my top tips for a natural, plastic-free, toxin-free Spring clean.
1) DETOX AIR - You can start your spring cleaning by opening your house windows to get some fresh and clean air. A good friend told me recently that to get a full exchange of air in a room, that you'd have to open the window for half an hour, four times a day! Wow! Dust can hold loads of yucky toxins in your home, such as flame retardant chemicals and formaldehyde from our furniture for example, so fling open the windows for the day, do some hoovering, and bash out your door mat and rugs, too.
2) DETOX PLANTS - We have loads of houseplants. Not only because they are beautiful, life-giving and restorative to have around and about the home, but also because of they to help filter toxins such as benzene and formaldehyde out of the air. My favourite air-purifying, detoxing houseplants are Aloe Vera (also good for use topically on skin for things like sunburn) and Spider Plants (I have zillions of these, they propagate really well! You can't stop 'em!).
3) DETOX AROMATHERAPY - Once your air is as fresh as a Spring daisy, you can set some essential oils in your living room or your babies nursery, for example, to naturally scent the air and to detox even further - lemon essential oil, for example, is a great detoxer, and is refreshing and helps to brighten to mood if you're feeling in a bit of a slump (NB - please talk to your doctor before using essential oils or detoxing if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, and for use around babies & children). If you are using aromatherapy oils around children, it's wise to opt for an aromatherapy stone, which requires no electricity or flame to use. It's safe for use in any room in the house, including the nursery, and you can even move it to the kitchen table to deter insects and beasties. Alternatively, these Plastic Free Natural Aroma Diffuser Flowers are a beautiful addition to the home. Pop them in a bottle with your favourite (baby friendly) essential oil, such as chamomile or mandarin, and.... RELAX :-)
4) DETOX KITCHEN - I highly recommend recycling all of your plastic-based food storage or food serving items (such as kids plastic bowls, plastic cups, plastic cutlery) from your kitchen, and replacing them with items made of natural materials instead. Plastic contains unpleasant chemicals which can react with foods, and leach out into your food - these chemicals are known to be endocrine disrupters (can disrupt the system responsible for our hormones) which is unhealthy for us and our whole family unit, especially infants who's systems are not yet fully developed. There are many alternatives offered in the Plastic Free Baby shop - you could, for instance, consider replacing your plastic dish sponge with a bamboo long handled dish brush which is made entirely from sustainably sourced bamboo.
What other plastic-free detox top tips do you have?
Happy cleaning!
Laura