How to Start Living Clean / Non-toxic

Where should I start in making the switch to a non-toxic, cleaner lifestyle?

Sometimes the overwhelm in that question is what keeps us from starting at all. I’m here to clarify and simplify the process. I’ve walked through it myself, and I’ve walked countless private practice clients along their healthier living journey, too! 

Moving to a non-toxic lifestyle is simple when given the right steps. And I can provide the roadmap. Below, you’ll find a list of the easiest places to start making changes. You can also download my FREE Master List of tried-and-true non-toxic brands I love and personally use!

My Personal Approach

My approach when moving to cleaner living is to start with the obvious, everyday, close contact foods, items, products, and practices. Getting rid of these and/or swapping them over to non-toxic alternatives will make the biggest impact in the quickest amount of time. 

Here’s a helpful promise when transitioning to a cleaner lifestyle: small steps have a huge impact. Don’t feel pressured to make a complete overhaul overnight! Just start somewhere. Swap out conventional products for non-toxic ones as you run out of them. Be willing to start small. Pick one area (cleaning products or personal care products or the pantry) Resist the overwhelm by not looking ahead (or comparing to those around you)!

It’s so important to know that clean living is as much about what you take out as it is about what you add in. It doesn’t do much good to buy an expensive air filter if you continue to use the same toxic chemicals to clean your house. 

For that reason, I like the first step toward cleaner living to be subtraction. Let’s look at what we want to get rid of or swap out in order to make space for health:

Start with Tossing Everyday Sources of Harmful Toxins

• Laundry: Swap out laundry products for cleaner alternatives like Molly’s Suds or Branch Basics detergent (use code TAYLORDUKESWELLNESS). Switch to wool dryer balls instead of chemical and fragrance-laden dryer sheets. Use Branch Basics Oxygen Boost and All Purpose spray for hard-to-treat stains. 
• Fragrances: Trash the fragrances. These contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals that contribute to hormone imbalance, feed inflammation, and can even lead to allergenic, skin, and/or respiratory issues. This includes: perfumes, air fresheners, pot pourri, scented candles, plug-ins, scented trash cans, and anything else with “parfum” or “fragrance” in the description. 

The most inexpensive way to do this is simply ditch the fragrances altogether. But if you’re a candle-lover or want something to help your home smell lovely, consider these better options: Branch Basics beeswax candle, Primally Pure home line (candles, home sprays, etc. – use code TAYLORDUKES), or even inexpensive simmer pots! 

• Plastics: Swap out plastics in the kitchen (and beyond) for glass. PFAS, BPA, BPS, PVC, and PBDEs are dangerous chemicals used in the production of plastics often called “forever chemicals” because they are so difficult to rid from our bodies. Pitch the plastic and instantly lower your body’s toxic load. 

Use Beeswax wrap (instead of plastic wrap), silicon bags (instead of plastic bags), stainless steel or glass cups and water bottles, and glass tupperware (I love Caraway’s beautiful glass storage – use code TAYLORDUKES).

• Cleaning Products: Use Branch Basics (use code TAYLORDUKESWELLNESS) or simple vinegar and water solutions for all of your cleaning needs. We often and unknowingly cover our countertops, sinks, floors and carpets with harmful chemicals in the name of “cleaning” them. I’m here to tell you it is not good. It’s time to switch to effective cleaning products without the health risk. 
• Personal care products: Don’t lather or slather on chemicals! This includes lotions, body washes, shampoo/conditioner, makeup, toothpaste and anything else you’re lathering on your body. My favorite cleaner brands are Ilia (makeup), Primally Pure (deodorant, facial products, body care – use code TAYLORDUKES for ​​15% off),  OSEA (shower products and lotions – use code TAYLORDUKES10), Toups & Co (my favorite makeup), Innersense hair care (use code TAYLORDUKES), and Risewell (use code TAYLORDUKES for 10%). 

Next, level up your home and water sources:

• • Keep a shoes-off policy. Think of all the things that could be on the bottom of those soles – eek! I’m not just talking about dirt and dust. I’m talking about car oils, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, weed killers, detergents, chemicals and more. You don’t want to track those through your house, over your carpet or across your hardwood. Easy solution – take the shoes off. 
  • Open windows daily. This is one of the easiest and least expensive actions you can do to drastically improve your indoor air quality. Indoor air is up to five times more polluted than outdoor air. A simple “airing out” for ten minutes can fix that. 
  • Vacuum + wet dust regularly. Did you know that harmful VOCs and SVOCs can actually attach to dust particles, which makes dust a vehicle for harmful chemicals. Dusting with a barely damp rag and regularly vacuuming with a HEPA-filtered vacuum can rid your home of the dirt and dust, but more importantly, of the chemicals that travel on them. 
  • Change whole-house air filters every 3-6 months; add individual air filters to bedrooms. This ensures the circulation of cleaner air. If budget allows, add a high quality air filter, starting with bedrooms. The Austin Air filter is my air filter of choice. There are research studies in hospital settings to back up its effectiveness. 

• Use the bathroom exhaust fan before, during, and after bathing. Easy and free way to reduce your risk of mold exposure. 

• Filter your water. You can start with something less intimidating – many under the sink filters and all countertop gravity filter systems don’t require a plumber for installation. I like Aquasana (use discount code AQTDW50) and have rounded up everything you need to know about water filters in this blog.

Then, take a look inside your kitchen:

• • Toss the added sugars and processed foods. Prioritize getting rid of those foods with artificial dyes/colors, preservatives, added sugars and inflammatory vegetable and seed oils (such as peanut, soy, sunflower, safflower, soybean, canola and vegetable oils). Also, toss the highly refined carbs. It can be hard to find high-quality replacements for products you love in your pantry. Here are some of my clean favorites from coffee to creamer to protein powder and lemonade.

• Hydrate. And if possible, with electrolytes! Hydration is so important for overall wellness – metabolic function, bowel regularity, organ and tissue function and beyond. I like adding these electrolytes to my water. 

• Clean up your coffee. Remember when I said I like to start improving the things we’re consuming daily? If you’re a daily coffee drinker, this one is important. Coffee is typically heavily sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and other chemicals. Go for a cleaner cup of Joe in the morning like this one.

Finally, focus on personal care:

• Tongue scrape: It takes ten seconds, and it automatically uplevels your morning + evening wellness routine. Remember, the entry to the gut starts in the mouth. Oral health is important!

• • Detox bath: This is such a good way to relieve stress and open your detox pathways. A lot of epsom salt or bath salts can have parfum and fragrance. So opt for a clean, one ingredient only epsom salt or this one for a spa-like experience. You can read more about detox baths here.

• Rebounding daily: Lymphatic flow is crucial for proper detoxification. And because our lymphatic system doesn’t have its own pump, we need to move in order for lymph to flow and toxins to be transported away. 

• Dry brush: Dry brushing also encourages lymphatic flow. It’s a gentle detox practice that is very effective before a shower. The Skinny Confidential makes my favorite dry brush. More how-to tips here.

• Gentle movement daily: More lymphatic love! Moving our bodies helps lymph and bowels to move and function properly. Not to mention the other physical benefits including metabolic and blood sugar regulation. 

• Sweat: Did you know that we detox through our bowels, our urine…and our sweat?! If you’re not sweating, it’s a red flag that tells us we need to work on opening your detox pathways. Try a hot yoga class, get outside on a hot day, do a hot detox bath, or go all out and uplevel your detox using my favorite sauna (I’ve been using this type of sauna both personally and in practice for years – use code TAYLORDUKES). 

• Encourage daily bowel movements: Magnesium (citrate), adequate intake of fiber-rich fruits and vegetables and proper hydration can help bowel regularity, which is absolutely paramount for detoxification. 

• Sleep 8+ hours for good sleep hygiene: You simply cannot heal if you do not sleep. Sleep is when our bodies do their deepest detoxification and rejuvenation work. Aim to go to bed and wake up at around the same time each day. Early morning sunlight and evening usage of blue light blockers (use code TAYLORDUKES) can be helpful in regulating the body’s circadian rhythm. 

• Gratitude journal: Maybe not obvious, but a huge part of detoxification and healing happens in the mind. The physical and scientific benefits of gratitude are well documented. Begin practicing gratitude today, and I promise you’ll start to discover more and more things you’ve always forgotten to be grateful for. 

There you have it! Easy ways to begin living a cleaner and more non-toxic lifestyle. I want to briefly revisit two very important points that I need to drive home:

1. Don’t be overwhelmed by the list above. Pick one or two things to start. Get solid and consistent with those. And then? Pick one or two more. Also, you know yourself best. Maybe you’re someone who needs to do a cold-turkey pantry overhaul to get on the right track. Maybe that sounds scary and you want to just start by swapping out your coffee and switching up your breakfast. Do what works for you – whatever is both doable and sustainable!

1. There are so many layers and levels to detoxification. The above includes my massive list for “easy entry” points for non-toxic living. Don’t mistake that with low impact! These easier and less expensive changes can have a huge impact on the health of you and your family. I do want to mention that there are more rigorous, expensive and comprehensive detox practices. Some of which I’ll list below.

Next Level Up:

• Coffee enemas
• Red light therapy (use code DUKESWELLNESS)
• Sauna (use code TAYLORDUKES)
• Austin Air or other targeted air filtration
• Whole house water filtration
• Targeted detox with TDW Community – We have resources on how to dive deeper into detoxing, open up your drainage pathways, parasite cleanse and more in this wellness space I created just for y’all!

Now, go ahead and get going on your journey to cleaner living. I’m here to cheer you on and help you along the way! 

More Tried-and-True Recommendations

It took me years to figure out which non-toxic products I trusted AND that actually worked. I’ve rounded them all up in my FREE master list HERE. Never have to wonder what brands to buy or waste money when it comes to the kitchen, wellness gadgets, detoxing and more.

I have so much information on my blog about simple and non-overwhelming ways to learn about and implement a cleaner way of living. These articles could be a great place to get you going!

• The Healthy Home Edit: Every Non-Toxic Product We Used in Our Renovation
• The Best Non-Toxic Lifestyle Swaps: Cleaning, Personal Care, Food, and More
• Back to School Checklist for Healthy Kids: Non-Toxic Swaps and More
• How to Get Your Guy to Live Non-Toxic: From My Husband’s POV
• My Ultimate Non-Toxic Nursery and Beyond

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