Healthy Home

Don’t think eco-friendly natural window cleaners really work? Gotten streaks when you’ve tried them in the past? Try these nontoxic cleaning formulas and tips. You’ll never go back to commercial, chemical-based cleaners again.

If your life is anything like mine, spring cleaning does not get completed in one fell swoop. Mine’s dragged out for weeks. But this weekend, my hissing air purifier reminded me of a few places germs love to hide out while we’re all distracted with cleaning out our closets, scrubbing our grout and weeding our gardens.

I don’t make many mistakes when it comes to keeping toxic chemicals out of my house — and off my property. I have an eagle eye for such things because of my experiences with chemical sensitivity and my longtime work to help others avoid harmful chemicals. But now and then the wool gets pulled over my eyes, or I go into denial when I should know better. Case in point for me: pressure-treated chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood.

Especially when there are flu and virus outbreaks in your community, added protection against germs is often warranted. Try these homemade essential oil mists — an easy way to add antiviral and antibacterial yet natural scent to your home. They are proven allies in the fight against germs, and they don’t pose the health dangers of many store-bought disinfectants.

If you could wave a magic wand over the world and turn a toxic product into a pure, eco-friendly version, what would you transform first? For me, my number one choice would be pesticides. Hands down. My reason does have a lot to do with the fact that I was severely poisoned by organophosphate pesticides in 1980 and was in the hospital for three months.

Bleach is one of those household items that has been around for so long no one can remember when we didn’t use it. So it’s often assumed to be non-toxic and even natural. While bleach isn’t the worst toxin you could have in your home, it is an EPA-registered pesticide that is bad news for the environment and human health — and there’s really no reason you need it around.

My latest spring bedroom update: A breath of fresh air!

Hurray, we made it! With the vernal equinox this weekend, spring is finally here — and I’m in my element! I adore a big spring clean in every sense of the word … breathing fresh new life into everything from my bedroom to my outlook.

Using toxic chemicals is so last century. If you’re still doing your spring cleaning the same way you always have, this is the year to change it up — and save money in the process. Make these 5 updates and clean the house top to bottom without taking a toll on your health or your wallet.

Do you hang dry-cleaned clothes in your bedroom closet? If so, guess what you are breathing all night long: a probable carcinogen. Dry cleaning chemical fumes depress your central nervous system as they waft around the room. If this isn’t exactly your idea of a healthy sanctuary, try wet-washing as one alternative to conventional dry cleaning. Here’s how.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), which created a cosmetics database outlining and analyzing the ingredients in tens of thousands of personal care products, recently revealed that much of our lipstick is still lead-filled — a year after first releasing such shocking news.

If we’re screaming for change, nobody’s listening.