Personal Actions

Simple Steps

Simple steps toward a healthier lifestyle can really make a difference! Here are some examples of commitments you can make to reduce your (and your family’s) exposure to toxic substances. Most of these ideas will save money too!

Air Quality
  • If you smoke anything or vape, quit
  • If you are not yet ready to quit, smoke outside for the sake of your family
  • Keep children and pregnant women away from renovations
  • Contain reno. dust by sealing area with plastic or closing it off with wood
  • Use less-toxic paint, finishes, and glues for crafts and renos
  • Wash work clothes separately from other clothes
Cleaning
  • Damp mop and dust
  • Vacuum with a central vac. or one with a Hepa filter
  • Keep vacuumed dust out of your compost
  • Wash dusters separately from clothing
  • Take your shoes off at the entrance door
  • Minimize clutter
  • Store books in closed bookcases, or vacuum them often
  • Store toys in covered bins
  • Wash your hands often using ordinary soap and water
  • Use baking soda as a scouring powder
  • Use vinegar for windows, surfaces, and floors
  • Avoid bleach at home
  • Use un-scented products
  • Avoid air fresheners and plug-ins
  • Avoid dry cleaning or ask the cleaner to NOT to use Perc. (Perchlorethylene)
  • Use alternatives to pesticides in your home
Mould
  • Repair cracks in the foundation
  • Install a de-humidifier
  • Install exhaust fans to the outdoors in the bathroom and kitchen
  • Add insulation in cold, damp corners
  • Hire a professional to clean mould that is bigger than one square meter
  • Replace problem windows
  • Do not store clothing and papers in cardboard boxes in a damp basement.
Pesticides
  • Refuse to use: Find less toxic ways to avoid pests
  • Keep food in closed containers
  • Keep window screens in good repair
  • Sprinkle cayenne pepper across where ants enter the house
  • Mix baking soda with icing sugar and leave a little pile on the counter for a few days=for ants
  • Set up a trap line with peanut butter as bait to catch mice in the spring and fall
  • Use decoy nests to discourage hornets’ nests where you congregate outside
  • Wear appropriate clothing when hiking to avoid ticks and other biting insects
Food
  • Cook from scratch
  • Avoid pop
  • Avoid artificial sweeteners
  • Reduce “white foods” sugar, flour, rice
  • Buy local, in season, and then process it yourself
  • Grow your own, without pesticides
  • Buy in bulk
  • Buy organic if you can.
  • Avoid highly processed foods
  • Resist preserved meats (Hot Dogs, Pastrami, balogna, etc.)
  • Reduce your consumption of industrially-raised meat (eat lower on the food chain)
  • Eat safer fish:
    • Those low in mercury; mackerel, herring, rainbow trout, wild or canned wild salmon, tilapia
    • “Light” varieties of Tuna, NOT albacore
    • Check local information for safety of self-caught fish
Plastics
  • Never put any kind of plastic into the microwave
  • Store food in ceramic or glass containers
  • Heat baby’s milk in glass container and put into a glass bottle when warm, not hot
  • Use stainless steel or glass water bottles and sippy cups
  • If you have a plastic sippy cup, NEVER put hot liquid into it
  • Avoid BPA, BPF and BPS-lined cans by buying food frozen, fresh, or in jars
  • Avoid teething toys, bath toys, or toys for small children that contain PVC (Vinyl)
  • Use a shower curtain that does not contain PVC
Personal Care Products
  • Use unscented products and as natural as possible
  • Resist hair dye, especially if pregnant
  • Try using the free, ”Think Dirty” (Shop Clean) app when selecting personal care products
  • Audit your personal care and beauty products for items that may be harmful

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