Top 7 Reasons to Use All Natural Cleaning Products In Your Home
At this point in time, few would argue that health and environmental awareness can wait. If we don’t start doing our own small part to create more sustainable ways of living, our planet will see its end within a very short time. Now we’ve never been the type to use gloom and doom as a motivator, but taking a reality check is sometimes what’s needed in order to make a significant change.
What many people don’t realize is that ‘going green in your home’ doesn’t have to be hard! In fact, it can be very enjoyable. Making simple healthy lifestyle decisions (like using all natural cleaning products) can bring amazing gifts into your life – more energy, better moods, greater happiness, longer lives – the list goes on. And we have a responsibility to provide this same environment, if not a better one, for the generations to come.
Here are the Top 7 reasons to use all natural cleaning products in your home, in order to improve your own health, the health of your family, and the health of the planet.
1) In 1996 the Canadian Government pledged $300 million towards assessing 200 potentially harmful substances on the market, and to regulate the most toxic within the next few years. Already most landfill sites in Canada ban toxic cleaning products. Non-toxic cleaning products have no harmful effects on our environment.
2) Most toxic chemicals were developed during World Wars and were initially intended for warfare. After the wars, domestic uses were found for surplus stocks. This move assured the future of the chemical industry and guaranteed huge profits.
3) Toxic cleaners are full of chemicals that make chores simpler. But these chemicals have their costs. Many give off unhealthy fumes that can irritate eyes, nose and lungs. Some cleaners are corrosive and can harm delicate skin. Some even contain ingredients that are suspected of causing cancer. All natural cleaning products do not.
4) Toxic cleaners can also have hidden dangers. Though most seem to disappear, they can leave behind chemical residues. Children tend to touch everything, put their hands in their mouths, eat food off the floor and other surfaces. They may be putting chemicals in their mouths along with their toys and food. Small amounts may not be immediately harmful, but can accumulate to cause health problems over time. Using organic cleaning products helps to ensure the health and safety of your children.
5) A recent case cited in the daily papers showed that 500 dangerous man-made chemicals were present in a single fat cell of a seemingly healthy 30 year old female living in Britain today. By comparison, a single cell of an Egyptian mummy contained none.
6) Dr. Samuel Epstein, co-author of The Safe Shoppers Bible says, “Since 1965 more than 4 million distinct chemical compounds have been reported in the scientific literature; of these 70,000 are in commercial production and have been completely untested or inadequately tested, which raises questions about their safety.”
7) Nearly all household cleaners contain ingredients which have dioxins and organochlorines. These dangerous chemicals are linked to birth defects, cancer and reproductive and developmental disorders. However, the problem is that the process is so gradual that the cause is often not established. Similar problems in wildlife populations have been definitively traced to this type of pollution.
The good news is that there are plenty of better alternatives! Whether you’re using our Dusting Divas All Natural Cleaning Products, or making your own natural alternative, we will all benefit from making more conscious decisions in our homes and in our lives. Our bodies, our planet and our future generations will thank us.
Aromatherapy – The Emotional Impact Of Scent
Your mental and emotional health is a huge factor in your overall happiness and sense of well being. Unfortunately, not many people understand all of the factors that contribute to mental and emotional health in the home. One that gets ignored more often than most is the impact of Scent. Scents and odours have a powerful influence over our state of mind, and by extension the state of our emotions. In order to live a happy, healthy life it is imperative to make the best use this critical factor in the one place where you have most control – your home.
The Power of Scent
Have you ever wondered why scent is such a powerful emotional trigger? Have you ever fully realized just how much the scents and odours around you are impacting your health? Do you know what kind of an affect they have on your overall state of being?
We’ve all had the experience of taking in a familiar smell and being instantly transported back to a memory. More importantly, we also get reconnected to the corresponding emotion…often without our conscious awareness that it’s happened. The smell of fresh baked cookies, fresh cut grass, that lotion your mother used to wear, or the perfume or cologne that your partner wore on that unforgettable night. What’s the connection between scent and emotional state?
Scent is processed by the limbic system, the area of your brain that controls taste, emotion, and memory. That’s why you’re immediately transported back to childhood when you catch a whiff of Mom’s chicken soup. Chances are good you also start feeling better when you smell it. When we detect an odour in the air, we decide if we like it before we even identify it. You can be going about your day, your mind wandering, and before you know it be on the verge of tears—all because of an aroma. This happens because the perception of scent actually bypasses the conscious processing centre of your brain and travels instantly to the areas where memory and emotion are processed and stored. The power of scent can be very dramatic, both from a physical and chemical standpoint, but also from an emotional perspective.
Use This Knowledge To Your Advantage – Make Your Home An Uplifting Place
Where do you have the most control over how something smells? Of course, your home. Knowing what you now know, you can choose to make your home the kind of place that lifts you up rather than drags you down. You can use your sense of smell to make it a place that actually helps you rebalance, rejuvenate, and uplift your mental and emotional energies. This doesn’t have to be a complicated process at all. It can be as simple as burning some essential oils, or switching over to all natural cleaning products.
Did you know that there are all natural cleaning products that have aromatherapeutic properties? Every time you clean your house you could be calling up energizing and uplifting feelings, or relaxing and calming your family with scents from pure, therapeutic grade essential oils.
If you truly value your health and well being, consider looking at all of the factors that contribute in your home. You may want to consider trying some all natural cleaning products. This small shift alone can have a dramatic impact on your home environment – both physically, and emotionally.
Stay happy, stay healthy!
A Shift – From “Cleaning To Kill” To “Cleaning For Life”
It is now widely known that essential oils have powerful cleansing properties. In the past, we’ve resorted to toxic chemicals in order to give us “peace of mind” knowing that our spaces are clean, and free from bacteria. However, what is becoming painfully obvious (literally) is that these toxins have serious, harmful effects on our overall health. The good news is there are other options – like using all natural cleaning products with pure therapeutic grade essential oils.
Rather than dwell on the negative, and overwhelming you with the negative impacts of harmful toxic chemicals in every day cleaning products, in this particular post (and in general) we choose to focus on the positive alternative. Creating a healthier lifestyle begins with this shift in focus. Rather than living in fear of germs using the “Cleaning To Kill” approach, we shift towards the “Cleaning For Life” approach – using all natural cleaning products with a healthy, sustainable focus. These all natural cleaning products also do all the work to get rid of the harmful bacteria in your home.
This shift to a health focus will require some education and information around the harmful effects of chemicals as well, but this post will focus primarily on the cleaning properties and health benefits of essential oils.
What Are Essential Oils Anyway??
For centuries these oils have been used for their beautiful scents and as an integral part of some natural healing practices. While they’ve grown considerably in popularity, many people still don’t know what essential oils actually are, or where they come from. Essential oils are delicate, fragrant compounds found in small concentrated amounts in many plants. Some are found in the wood or bark of plants such as pine or cinnamon, some are found in petals of flowers like roses, and others come from the rind or outer peel of common fruits like orange and lime.
Today as they continue to grow in popularity they are used in a variety of ways – for aromatherapy and health practices, as flavouring agents in foods, mouthwashes and toothpastes, and as scents and cleaning agents in all natural cleaning products like the Dusting Divas product line.
The Scientific Goods On Essential Oils – Can They Really Do The Job?
For most people, the main concern with their cleaning products is that they do the job. We all want the peace of mind of knowing that our spaces are being protected from spreading bacteria, moulds and fungi. We want to know that we’re helping to protect our family from food poisoning, and the passing of germs in the home. The primary objection when someone suggests a natural alternative to toxic cleaning products is “Does it actually work?” We have good news, and better news. Not only can you be sure that a good all natural cleaning product does the job, the best ones have health benefits as well!
Some exciting research has been done on the use of essential oils to eliminate bacteria, fungi, and viruses on surfaces. Thyme, oregano, clove, tea tree and cinnamon oil can kill bacteria in a lab dish. In some experiments, simply burning a candle infused with essential oils was sufficient to kill bacteria in a dish in the same chamber. These and other essential oils have a way of disrupting the outer membrane of bacterial cells, destroying them. While they may not be able to eliminate a full scale mould problem in the basement, using these oils in your regular cleaning practices (when done consistently and properly) can be very effective. Not only do they have anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties, they also have proven positive effects on your physical and emotional health.
Cleaning For Life
Thankfully we are entering a time where people in general are making a move towards healthier, more sustainable practices in their lives. This is especially true in our own homes, where we feel we have the most control over such things. One of the many ways you can choose health over illness, and natural over toxic, is to use good, all natural cleaning products that contain pure therapeutic grade essential oils. Not only will your spaces be clean and disinfected, but your body, your family and our global community will thank you. Make the shift today.
Welcome!
Welcome to the Clean Conscience Blog! We’re so excited to have a new avenue to connect with our clients and customers. We look forward to sharing some of our unique tips and secrets for keeping your home clean the healthy way. Feel free to subscribe to receive our updates by email, or visit our home page and subscribe to our newsletter. We always appreciate you sharing your thoughts and feedback with us, so leave your comments when you visit. Thanks, and happy holidays!
-Clean Conscience Team
