words Al Woods
Are you tired of using products with a list of ingredients you’ve never heard of? Do you like the idea of slowing down in life? Are you thinking about how to live more purposefully and more sustainably? If you’ve decided that you want to live a more natural lifestyle, you can get started with the suggestions below.
Decide What Natural Means
Natural can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, and there’s a lot of space between “I’m going to eat organic food and wear only natural fibers” and “I’m going to live completely off the grid and grow all my own food.” If you aren’t really sure what you mean but just feel a need to make a change to a less artificial way of living, you can start small and test your comfort zone along the way.
Get the Right Products
You can find a lot of guides online for making cleaning products from household items, such as baking soda and vinegar. These often clean as well or better than more expensive and potentially damaging store-bought products. You might also want to make a change in your personal care items. For natural hair care products, you can shop online for shampoo, conditioners and hair treatments. You can also get natural toothpaste, deodorant, detergent and soap.
Reduce Waste
Buying products is one thing, and you certainly need various types of cleaners for your house and body, but as far as many other things go, you’re better off not buying anything at all rather than purchasing items that have a green or sustainable label on them. When you do need to buy things, look for items that have less packaging.
Whole Foods
Aiming to eat more foods that are minimally processed may be an easier and more useful goal than trying to buy organic. The problem with shopping for organic food is that depending on where you live, there might not be strict regulations regarding how this term is used. Another potential problem is that it can get expensive. In contrast, items like brown rice, dried beans and apples are rarely costly. If you’re committed to buying organic, find out as much as you can about the companies you’re considering buying from. If there’s a small local farm in your area, they may be your best source of information and products.
Do It Yourself
You don’t have to live in a house you built by hand, sew all your own clothes and make everything that you eat from scratch, but there is some satisfaction in being connected with some of these processes by doing them by hand at least some of the time. You can pick and choose what appeals to you. If you’re passionate about gardening, you can grow food. Maybe you love making soap or baking bread or building your own furniture. What you choose is less important than that you leap into it in a hands-on way. You may find this type of work particularly refreshing if your job is one that involves spending a lot of time staring at a computer screen.
