Tips & Tricks For Your Family's Health Naturally
Your family members are under a great deal of stress as we come out from under the pandemic and other challenging events. For their protection, you'll need to watch what they take in and try to protect them from exposure to toxins. This includes cleaning products, unhealthy foods, and destructive activities.
1. Clean with Natural Products
There are many cleaners on the market designed to both clean and add fragrance to your environment, but often these products include harmful chemicals. Instead, clean as low on the food chain as possible. To degrease in the kitchen, put white vinegar in a spray bottle and add orange peel and a cinnamon stick. In two weeks, you'll have a terrific degreasing product that smells wonderful and doesn't increase the toxin load in your household.
2. Skip the Fabric Softener
Instead of putting money into dryer sheets and fabric softener that can
- be loaded with fragrance
- make your towels less absorbent
- do little to reduce static
invest in dryer balls to keep items in the dryer from clinging and creating static. Not only will dryer balls last for years, but they will save you money over time. Additionally, try not to over-dry your clothes. Hang garments when slightly damp to allow them to dry wrinkle free. This will also reduce the risk of shrinking.
3. Get Moving
Whenever possible, get your family outside to enjoy some fresh air. If you can, work it into your daily schedule so everyone expects that exercise will occur at some point every day. If the weather is too grim to face a walk, make room for stretching on the floor or do push ups against the wall. Exercise is a great way to manage stress and lift tired spirits. It can also help you sleep better.
4. Monitor the Temperature
Keep an eye on the temperature in your home. Make sure you let the temperature in your space fall at night. Lower temperatures make it easier for your body to drop into the deepest level of sleep quickly, which is good for your brain and allows your nervous system more time to cleanse itself. This can be a great way to ensure that everyone is getting better quality sleep on average.
5. Take Care of Yourself & Your Spouse
Do what you can to make sure that you and your spouse are a couple first and parents second. Under the pressures of life, it can be easy to let your romantic connection wither. Try to do little kindnesses for one another, such as using a massage device to take care of sore muscles or a tense neck. This tool can also be used to reduce growing pains as children move into adolescence; sore knees, tight calf muscles and painful hamstrings can all be relieved with a massage.
6. Eat Raw Foods
Include raw foods in each meal to make sure that everyone is getting enough fiber. If anyone in your household is struggling with digestive challenges, try to increase the water intake of your whole household, and consider adding cabbage to one meal a day. Cabbage is extremely nutrient dense with a high dose of Vitamin C. It's very high in fiber and generally more interesting to the taste buds than plain lettuce. It's also often more cost effective.
Conclusion
Many of us are struggling to find a new normal. Whenever possible, avoid making long-term plans in front of your children. They are more heavily impacted by all this uncertainty and have more to lose if plans fall through. Do your best to keep a schedule running regularly if not smoothly to reduce the risk of upset and uncertainty.
