Walking the Eco Path

Boosting creativity through wellness

I’ve been on a mission for the past few years to make my house and our lifestyle eco-friendlier. This has taken lots of time and planning, but it’s been so fulfilling, and I honestly feel like our quality of life has improved. If this way of life isn’t for you, that’s totally fine—no judgment. If it is, that’s also great! I’d love to hear more about the things you’re doing in your day-to-day to be more earth-conscious.

Here are some swaps/adjustments we’ve done so far:

Kitchen/Bedrooms/:

• We got rid of almost all the plastic in our kitchen: glasses, Tupperware, cutting boards, you name it! We have some surviving pieces here and there, but for the most part, we’re all glassware, stainless steel, ceramic, and wood now. I thought this would be annoying, but it’s so aesthetically pleasing and grounding that I find myself enjoying cooking and just being in the kitchen so much more. Everything also feels infinitely cleaner, and after watching The Plastic Detox documentary, I was only confirmed in my decision to start doing this years ago.

• Evie loves using straws, so we switched to compostable ones.

• We have stainless steel or glass water bottles almost exclusively now. We’re also very much on the electrolyte train now, so we have packets of those everywhere to make sure we’re always hydrated.

• No more seed oil sprays.

• Reusable grocery bags. I kept forgetting them for the longest time, but now I just have a bag full of bags in the trunk of my car, and this helps.

Vitamins/Wellness:

• I’m basically a vampire, so I have a prescription amount of vitamin D I have to take, but my family is also taking vitamin B, D, and elderberry supplements daily now, too.

• I’ve fallen in love with Beekeepers Naturals products, especially their throat spray.

• Dennis and I take ginger and turmeric shots at least twice a week. He hates me for this, but he knows it’s good for him, so he begrudgingly agrees, especially since we’re both workaholics and it helps our immune systems.

• I love all things mushrooms, so you know I’m on a steady diet of Lions Mane extract and Mudwtr. The one I’ve been really feeling lately is the coffee alternative with cacao and chai, especially since cacao ceremonies have become a regular part of my life now.

• I regularly open my windows and doors to let fresh air into the house. I’m a big believer in stagnant energy, and this (and washing my doors with peppermint essential oil) is something I frequently do. I also have selenite on most of my doorframes, but that’s more of a witchy thing (ha!).

Cleaning/Beauty Wellness:

• I switched to all cotton, organic tampons.

• I’m slowly in the process of switching out my shampoo and body washes now, too. I’m really enjoying the Giovanni hemp hair product line. The smell is divine!

• I use all bamboo hair brushes and combs now.

• Aluminum-free deodorant is a must.

• Wool dryer balls (with eucalyptus essential oil for added scent).

• For multipurpose sprays, I’m usually using something from Seventh Generation or Mrs. Myers. I like their hand soap, too, and once I get through the back stock of Bath and Body Works stuff I still have, we’ll likely be using those.

• I bought my first pair of Earthing Harmony brand ground sandals for the summer. I’m so excited to check them out, and they should be here next week! Eek!

I decided to write this all out because 1) I feel like it’s fun to share information and see what others are doing, but 2) I like to keep track of my various journeys so I can look back and see how far I’ve come (and take stock of what worked and what didn’t). I feel proud of this so far, and while it doesn’t seem like it would affect my creative life, it certainly has. I’m more focused, I’m sleeping infinitely better, and the brain fog seems to be lifting more and more these days. All in all, I feel more energized to write and make art and just be present in my mind, which is a truly wonderful feeling after years of insomnia, caffeine addiction, and chronic fatigue.

Photo by kazuend on Unsplash

On my summer to-do list:

• Switch to bamboo tooth brushes.

• Switch to a plastic-free dental floss.

• Continue swapping out chemically loaded stuff in our bathroom (soaps, shampoos, plastic bath products, etc.).

• I bought this beautiful handwoven basket the other day, and I’m planning to use it for all my produce now (so I can avoid plastic bags at the supermarket). I’d like to grab some cotton produce bags, too, just in case.

• I’d love to learn how to make my own laundry detergent, so if you have any good resources, please let me know!

• Explore red-light therapy and head back to the salt caves.

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