7 Frugal and Non-Toxic Alternatives for Cleaner Living

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Carla Muller
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If you want to live a cleaner life, then you’re going to have to make a few changes in your household. It starts by cutting down or eliminating harmful chemicals and other pollutants in our homes and around our bodies.

It also comes down to using products that come in the least processed forms and opting for natural products, too. Here, we have listed some of how you can reduce harmful chemicals in your household by introducing these simple swaps.

You don’t have to implement all of these changes at once, but hopefully, this list will encourage you to start taking baby steps toward living a cleaner life.

Glass Food Storage Instead of Plastic

Assortment of grains, cereals and pasta in glass jars and dry herbs on wooden table. Healthy balanced food ingredients, sustainable lifestyle, zero waste storage idea, eco friendly concept.
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Sadly, plastic food storage has become such a big part of our lives nowadays, but the good news is that we have an excellent alternative- glass. Plastic is known to leach chemicals over time or when heated, so if you’d like to avoid these chemicals in your home, then how about reaching for glass food storage options?

You can start slowly by focusing on using glass food storage for the foods that need to be heated or are hot when entering the container.

Homemade Is Better Than Store Bought

Woman making homemade pasta with tomato sous and cheese over old wooden table. Tomato, olive oil, spices, herbs, cheese, tomato sauce on a weathered wooden table in the summer sun's rays. Organic food
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The best part of making food from scratch is that you get to decide what goes into your body. When buying ready-made meals, you don’t have a say in what goes into the ingredients (and, therefore, into your body).

More often than not, these foods contain a lot of highly processed ingredients, which you’d be far better off without. As a bonus, you’ll be saving a whole lot of money on cooking your meals.

Wooden and Stainless Steel Utensils Instead of Plastic

various kitchen utensils on wooden table
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As we mentioned earlier, plastic leaches chemicals over time, so try going for wooden and stainless steel utensils instead of plastic ones.

Cleaner Laundry Detergent Options

Against background of drum of steel-colored washing machine, woman pours liquid washing gel into plastic cap.
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There’s a good reason that a lot of the branded detergents from the US are banned in Europe. Most of them contain harmful chemicals, and it’s, therefore, best to scope out ingredient lists more often or try opting for your home homemade detergents.

Castile Soap

A small crate of Dr. Bronner's natural soap at a market.
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Castile soap is a great multi-functional product. It’s not only great as a general soap but can also be used as a wound cleaner, dish soap, shampoo, laundry soap, and even an all-purpose household cleaner.

It also happens to be non-toxic and biodegradable and even comes in liquid and solid forms. The only thing to watch out for when purchasing this nifty product is to make sure you’re buying a 100% pure one.

Swap Water for Soda

Young man drinking water.
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It’s so easy to reach for a soda when we feel like having something to drink, but these drinks are loaded with sugars and other harmful ingredients. It may seem like an adjustment at first, but trust that your body will be thanking you further down the line!

Stainless Steel or Glass Instead of Plastic

Stainless steel reusable water bottle on vineyard background. Copy space. Zero waste, no plastic. Reusable water bottle.
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It’s easy to reach for plastic cups or water bottles because, yes, they are super convenient. But as we already know, they are not good for our health since they leach chemicals, and they are also not exactly great for the environment.

Luckily, we have glass and stainless steel alternatives to mitigate the issues that come with plastic.

12 Things People Don’t Realize Belong in the Fridge

Beautiful Young Woman Looks inside the Fridge and Takes out Vegetables.
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In our daily lives, we all rely on the trusty refrigerator to keep our food fresh and beverages cool. However, there are many items that people often overlook when it comes to refrigeration.

It’s not just about the groceries or leftovers; several surprising things actually belong in the fridge to maintain their quality and longevity.

12 Things People Don’t Realize Belong in the Fridge

12 Household Items You Can Throw Out Today (You Really Don’t Need Them)

Asian woman passes the aluminum can to the reception point for garbage and sorted waste.
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Do you feel sometimes like all you ever do is clean up and put away clutter? No matter how big your space is, it seems like all of our “stuff” just takes over, making it harder and harder to have a clean and tidy space.

The secret to a clean, orderly space is very simple: have fewer things around that take up space and force you to care for them. Here are 12 things you definitely can get rid of and won’t miss! (Or things you can avoid buying so you save money, too!)

12 Household Items You Can Throw Out Today (You Really Don’t Need Them)

8 Ways to Create a Relaxing Oasis in Your Rental

Sweet in love couple dreaming of their future.
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It’s always a great idea to improve our living spaces. After all, most of us spend most of our time at home, so wouldn’t it be nice if the place you spend most of your time is nice? But how do we execute this effectively?

Here, we have summarised some of the easiest ways to upgrade your humble renting abode, and the best part is that it won’t even cost you a pretty penny.

8 Ways to Create a Relaxing Oasis in Your Rental

3 Outdated and Overdone Bathroom Design Trends That Are No Longer Trending

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One could say that bathrooms are equal parts utility and sanctuary. Essentially, they’re the place where you can light a candle and wind down from a long day, but at the same time, it’s the exact spot where most of your grooming and getting ready for your day (or bed) happens. In terms of aesthetics, we do want our bathrooms to feel welcoming and serene, but, at the same time, they need to be functional.

3 Outdated and Overdone Bathroom Design Trends That Are No Longer Trending

15 Home Trends That We Wish Were Already Over

Thoughtful pretty young redhead woman in a striped t-shirt leaning on a white painted brick interior wall looking at the camera with a quiet smile.
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The home design trends that are so popular today will be out of style tomorrow. The “in” styles usually start at the designer level before trickling down to the public. It’s helpful to look ahead at the next trends when having work done for your home. What’s in today among the public may already be on its way out and no longer be used by designers.

15 Home Trends That We Wish Were Already Over

 

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