Sometimes, letting go is the best way forward.

Last year, I bid farewell to five household items that were falling short in nurturing our bodies and home.

In their place, I embraced higher quality, more holistic alternatives to elevate our living experience (and make them look nice, too!)

1. Regular Toilet Paper → Bamboo Toilet Paper.

I get it— getting mass toilet paper is so much easier. And cheaper (hello, Costco!).

But after doing some digging (and writing a blog post all about it), I realized that cutting trees down when there are other, more sustainable options like bamboo, which is the fastest-growing plant in the world! So much easier on the earth, and honestly, feels a lot more durable compared to cheap paper.

2. Aveeno Lotion → Dr. Bronner’s Lotion.

Man, is it hard to find a nice, clean-ingredient lotion. And during the holidays especially (which is when I’m currently writing this), it seems like Bath and Body Works is the go-to for gift bags.

But let’s compare really quick: Suncrisp Apple Harvest Body Lotion from Bath and Body Works vs. Dr. Bronners, based on info from EWG’s Skin Deep®️:

❌ Suncrisp Apple Harvest Body Lotion from Bath and Body Works: 9/10 EWG Score

While you’ll find these smelling up all your local malls, it’s biggest harmful ingredients including fragrances (I avoid these unless they’re stated that they’re from essential oils), propylparaben which is a preservative and high endocrine disrupter, lilial which is an immunotoxic fragrance.

It’s nice and smelly— but at what cost?

🌿 Dr. Bronner’s Organic Hand + Body Lotion: 2/10 EWG Score

You’ll see the score of Dr. Bronner’s is much cleaner, with no ingredients in the “red,” except for peppermint oil being a potential immunotoxin (as it’s a very strong essential oil especially when put directly on the skin).

EWG is a fantastic resource to look up brands and see exactly what the concerts would be in the ingredients, including fragrances and preservatives being a big pair to look out for!

*Something I actually found when going on EWG is that the specific lotion I’m using seems to have a higher (more toxic) score than some other scents, i.e. mint. So I’m definitely going to go for another scent next time I need to refill!

3. Store-Bought Disinfectant + Cleaner → Hypochlorous Acid.

You can use the exact same website to look up the ingredients in the store-bought cleaners you have.

But even if you’re not thinking about the toxicity of the ingredients, consider the amount of money and waste that’s taken up by purchasing store cleaners. Disinfectants, window cleaners, surface cleaners— there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t be using your own cleaners!

All you need to do with this little spray bottle is put in water, a scoop of salt using their scooper, and to push the button. It’ll do its thing for 10 minutes, and after the rainbow-colored lights turn off and the machine makes a little beep, you’ll have hypochlorous acid, ready to use on any surface (except for metal since it oxidizes it). Plus, hypochlorous acid can be used on your face as “beauty water,” as wound care, to gargle, and so many other ways!

4. Filtered Fridge Water → Hydrogen Water Machine.

We’ve been working to upgrade our water for a while. Ideally, we were using the Berkey, but since it’s a manual water filter and not directly connected to a water source, it was a bit of a pain to constantly refill over and over again.

I was introduced to the idea of a hydrogen water machine just shortly before I bought it— it really sold me! A hydrogen water machine is a machine that adds a pH or ORP to water, enhancing its electrolyte and antioxidant content. Every time I turn the machine on and hit one of the hydrogen water buttons, it electrolyzes the water that passes through.

The hydrogen is only available for a few hours after pouring it before it goes away, so you’ll want to make sure you’re staying super hydrated throughout the day.

I definitely feel a difference when I’m traveling and not able to use a hydrogen water machine— which is why we even have a little mini HydroShot for when we’re on-the-go!

5. Teflon Pans → Our Place Cookware + Baking Set.

We’ve definitely had our fair share of testing out different pans. And for someone (me 🙋‍♀️) who isn’t the best at cooking, I find it helpful for cookware especially to spark joy as much as possible.

Before we knew better, we were using Teflon as a simple non-stick option, but soon, we learned about the toxicity and forever chemicals that they can bring straight to your plate! 😳

For Christmas this year, we were lucky enough to gift ourselves the entire Our Place Cookware and Baking Set— in a gorgeous Lavender color!

These pans are non-stick without all the gross toxic stuff. Plus, the WonderOven can air fry, bake, broil, roast, toast, and reheat (with a night little steam section).