This is Episode 122 of the Juna Women Podcast, A Little Less Toxic With Shawna Holman, all about simple steps for creating an environment with less household toxins.
In this episode, Sarah interviews Shawna Holman, creator of the popular brand, A Little Less Toxic.
Shawna is a wife, mom, and credentialed teacher.
She uses her teaching skills to homeschool her two little ones along with teaching them and anyone interested in how to live a little less toxic.
Her motto is “one day, one product, one meal at a time.”
What are toxins?
A toxin is any substance that is capable of harming a person if ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through any body surface.
Toxic substances vary widely in the types of harm they cause and the conditions under which they become harmful. T
The effects of the toxic substances vary widely, too. Acute reactions are sudden ones such as vomiting or dizziness.
Chronic reactions occur over longer periods and include symptoms such as decline in mental alertness, change in behavior, cancer, and mutations that can harm unborn children of exposed parents.
Because toxins can cause both acute and chronic reactions, they are a broader category than poisons, which produce acute reactions only.
What are household toxins?
The EPA says that our indoor air can be up to 10 times more polluted than outside air, and that 60% of homes are hazardous to our health. It’s important for us to look at the overall environment of our home and what things are contributing to poor air quality.
Some furniture has flame retardants, Formaldehyde VOC, glues, varnishes, things that are going to be off-gassing into our environment.
- Filters
- Air ducts
- Cleaning Products
- Anything with added fragrance including candles, air fresheners, etc
- Personal care products
- Makeup
- Soaps, shampoos, conditioners
Shawna recommends starting slow and eliminating one household toxin at a time. Don’t feel like you need to do it all at once.
What’s a good way to start reducing household toxins?
A great place to start is by reading labels. This includes nutrition, clothing, cleaning products, shampoos, etc. Anything that has ingredients — read the label!
Cleaning products are a great first step. You can make your own cleaning products. It actually saves money and it works just as effectively as the leading cleaning products.
What are some good cleaning product brands that will help reduce household toxins?
Shawna recommends Molly’s Suds, Cleancult, and Branch Basics.
Removing toxins from beauty and laundry products
Many shampoos and soaps have harmful toxins. Shawn’s favorite clean brands include:
One thing to note: Often times the clean products don’t produce traditional suds. This is because of Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES). Your hair and body are still getting clean. Once you get used to a reduction in suds it won’t bug you as much.
Kids
Aleavia is Shawna’s go to hair and body cleanser for her kids.
Laundry
Molly’s Suds for detergent. She uses the powder version.
Here are the top 11 ingredients you want to avoid in your laundry detergent.
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Harmful Dyes
- Optical Brighteners
- Chlorine
- Formaldehyde
- Synthetic Nonylphenol Ethoxylates
- Phosphates
- Phthalates
- Methylisothiazolinone
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
- 1,4-Dioxane
Shawn’s Top 3 Tips For Making Your Life A Little Less Toxic
1. Take off your shoes when you come in the house
2. Open up your doors and windows as much as you can
3. Start making swaps. Whatever the next thing that’s running low, find a better alternative to swap it out for something a little less toxic.
For more on living your life a little less toxic, please listen to the entire podcast episode with Shawna Holman.
Get In Touch With Shawna
Shawna is a wife, mom to two small children, teacher, daughter, sister, friend, and more.
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