Household
A Plastic-Free, Toxin-Free Home
Depending on your budget it may take months, perhaps years, to transform your house or apartment into a toxin-free and plastic-free home. Don’t feel overwhelmed. Just take small steps and you’ll be surprised how many changes you can make in a few months.
Your home is your domain. It’s the easiest place to start making changes for a toxin-free future. Sometimes it’s easier to make changes with a friend. Challenge a friend to join you. In tandem, you can start contacting community businesses and government representatives to do the same.
Please review these suggestions to help you detoxify your household and start to limit your plastic consumption:
- Join a CSA, Food Coop or shop at the farmer’s market. Avoid processed and packaged foods.
- Eat fresh, organic, whole foods. Avoid conventional produce most contaminated by pesticides: apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, raspberries, spinach, and strawberries.
- Choose non-toxic personal care products from EWG’s Cosmetics Safety Database
- Avoid PC #7, PCV #3, and PS#6 bottles and food packaging, and all canned foods as they are lined with a plastic containing Bisphenol A.
- Never microwave plastic food containers. Use microwave glass containers. Better yet, lose the microwave.
- Stop using plastic-packaged, laundry detergents containing fragrances. Choose non-toxic alternatives like Soap Nuts.
- Try forgoing plastic bags in your household trash bins (dump your trash into the common bins in the front of the building.) and compost your kitchen scraps.
- Avoid plastic packaging. Try to buy products packaged in foil, paper, or cardboard.
- Say NO THANK YOU when a business offers you a plastic bag. Ask the manager if they would consider switching to paper.
- Replace toxic cleaning products with inexpensive, non-plastic packaged alternatives, like baking soda, lemon juice, and vinegar or enzyme-based cleaning products.
- Replace your vinyl shower curtain with non-toxic cotton or hemp.
- Choose plastic-free toys, clothes and products for your baby.
- Replace your Tepholon (perfluorochemical-coated) non-stick pans with cast iron.
- Choose plant-based bug repellents and barriers. Avoid DEET and chemical mothballs, especially around children.
- Choose clothes made of natural, preferably organic fibers: Cotton, Linen, Wool, Cashmere, Silk, Hemp. Avoid synthetic “plastic” and chemically-treated fabrics, like Acrylic, Polyester, Rayon, Acetate, Triacetate, Nylon or anything labeled static-resistant, wrinkle-resistant, permanent-press, no-iron, stain-proof or moth-repellent.
- Grow plants, lawns and gardens without chemical fertilizers, insecticides and weed killers. See the Green Guide for organic garden care.
The Plastic Albatross Recommends:
- Stainless Steel Food Storage and Happy Tiffin instead of plastic containers.
- Ecobags for produce and grains instead of plastic produce and bulk bags.
- Brooks natural bristle pearwood toothbrush instead of nylon bristles.
- Soap Nuts instead of plastic-packaged, synthetic fragranced detergents.
- Kleen Kanteen + Stainless Steel Cap instead of plastic water bottles.
- Eco-Dent Floss instead of toxic Gore-Tex/Teflon Glide and plastic-packaged floss.
- Natural Value Waxed Paper Bags instead of plastic baggies.
- If You Care Recycled Aluminum Foil instead of plastic wrap.
- Anchor Hocking glass containers instead of Tupperware or other plastic food containers.
- Organic Fiji Soap instead of plastic-packaged and synthetic fragranced soaps.
