10 Clean Living Suggestions And Their Sad Realities

10 Clean Living Suggestions And Their Sad Realities

Kristyn Meyer is on a journey to make herself the best human that she can be. These posts are a reflection of that. She welcomes your support via reading and through commissioned affiliate links within her posts! To stay up to date on all of her shenanigans, please subscribe to her email list!(psst…there’s a free gift involved)

So here’s the thing. I once had no clue what clean living and clean eating was. I had a vague idea, but it wasn’t anything concrete. Nothing that I would feel confident telling people who asked me about it.

And then a friend of mine asked me to participate in a clean eating challenge.

Umm…yeah….sure.

As soon as I figure out exactly what that is! That was pretty much the gist of my immediate reaction.

She sent me a list of items that were okay to eat. Then I spent time looking up different recipes and such to implement. It was going well. Not great, just well. There was definitely a learning curve to it.

And remember – I’m still trying to break-up with fast food. But it’s all a process. And I’m very much at step one.

And then we found out that my son had a bunch of food sensitivities. Like six of them. So that added a whole other element.

Due to that, we have been on a quest to clean up our food and living environment. And here are ten things that I have learned that will help you start your clean living and eating life:

10 Clean Living Suggestions And Their Sad Realities

1. Ketchup is not clean eating. I love ketchup, like more than the average person. My friends like to remind me of my younger years when I would get a Wendy’s chili cup to use for ketchup. The tiny ones were just never enough. Say no to ketchup!
2. Restaurants have different ideas about clean. Panera likes to advertise itself as clean eating, but in all actuality, it is not 100% clean eating. In addition, you’ll find that every website has a different opinion on the topic as well. Do your research!
3. Check your products. Hair products, makeup, laundry detergent, cleaning products all contain so many chemicals. I love the Environmental Working Group because they break all of your products down for you and tell you which things to buy. Read your labels!
4. Diapers are a culprit too. There are only a select few brands of diapers that are acceptable for use if you want to be completely safe. But they are definitely not the cheapest.
5. Thrive Market is a great resource. They are basically an online Costco, but all health foods. You can even sort the products by different diets. I found our laundry detergent on there, and it was one of the most highly ranked options on EWG. I couldn’t find it in store, but did there. Check out Thrive!
6. Clean deodorant sucks. Not all of them are created equal, and one of them actually causes some kind of red rash under my arm. None of them seem to work the way the chemical-laden ones do. Try different ones to find one that works!
7. From scratch is best. Most recently, my husband has taken over most of the cooking at our house. And he’s rocking it. Our meals have become more simpler and definitely more clean. We typically have a protein, vegetables and some kind of carb, typically potatoes. This lets fewer chemicals into our bodies by going more simple. Go simple!
8. Be careful with your water. Bottled water is horrible for you, the plastic bleeds into your drink and then into your body. And even the pitchers and filters that are sold to clean up your water aren’t 100%. Carefully research the different options before you buy one!
9. Good luck with cleaning products. Honestly, vinegar is probably the way to go for most things. It’s so hard to find quality products for sanitizing and cleaning that do what you need them to. I was a big Method brand user, but found out that they are not as good as I thought. Research before you buy!
10. Organic is always best. I know some people don’t believe it, but you need to. Even if it’s only 70% organic, it’s still better than 0%. Ultimately, just research what types of foods should always be consumed in its organic form and make sure you have them. Buy organic!

In conclusion, these are ten very basic things that I didn’t know and have helped a lot. And as I said, I am in the very beginning stages and trying to do better everyday. If you have any suggestions for me, please comment or drop a message on social media – and be sure to share this article for people you know that are interested in clean living!