If you were here last week, you know that my journey to a healthy and joyful pregnancy began by learning more about toxins.

I wish I had a picture to share of the beginning of this journey.  Armed with a list of ingredients that I now wanted to avoid, I tackled my bathroom.  I took out everything that I didn’t want to use anymore.  I emptied things from the medicine cabinet, counter, under the sink, drawers, and shower.  I placed them on the floor and looked at them.  This long line of bottles that I didn’t find healthy anymore.  

I added in products that fit my new parameters over time, testing them out until I found products that worked best for me.  In the end it boiled down to a pretty simply stocked bathroom – handmade soap from a local company that served as hand soap, body wash, and, for Jon, shampoo.  I found a different shampoo to use.  New deodorant, toothpaste, lotion, and face soap.  Coconut oil for moistourizing my skin.

Throughout this process, that line of bottles sat there, staring at me.  What was I supposed to do with them?  Throw them out?  That seemed wasteful.  Give them to someone else?  “Here, do you want these products that I find too toxic to use?”  In the end I asked my mom if she had any interest in the products that I was getting rid of, and she took 1 or 2 things from brands that she was using and not ready to shift away from yet.  The rest eventually found their way down the drain and the bottles to the recyling bin.

A fresh start in the bathroom, and it was really a painless process.  At this time, I was still struggling with eating as healthfully as I wanted to and exercises with regularity.  Making the first changes in the bathroom came easily to me because it was basically a one time event.  Knowing that I was doing the best I could in my bathroom at home, I let go of the worry when I was out at someone else’s house or in a public bathroom.  Did I still read the labels?  Honestly, yes.  But then I would let it go and wash my hands.

Peace, Love, and Wellness,