Not Sure? Toss It!

For years, one of the most fun and valuable exercises I do with clients is a kitchen clean out.  We go through the pantry, the cupboards, the fridge and the freezer and dump everything that’s not actually food.

The next step, then, is to procure real, fresh, unadulterated produce, meat, fish and poultry from the local farmer’s market or grocery, culminating in a food prep session right in the comfort of their own home.

Well, guess what else needs a clean out?

Your bathroom cabinets, medicine chest (do they still call it that?) and shelves beneath the bathroom sink; this isn’t a step relevant only to us ladies who use makeup, but to men and kids as well.

CVS announced recently that they’re banning toxic chemicals which is a tremendous step.  Let’s follow their lead!

We’re all using personal care products; even the simplest of a regime has some sort of soap, shampoo and hydrating solution as part of a routine.

So today, one day before Earth Day and one day before my one year anniversary of having signed up with Beautycounter as a consultant, I did something I should have done long ago- clear out the area beneath my own bathroom sink where I keep my hairdryer, my safe skin products…and, confession: I still had a plethora of sample size products I’d kept for travel.

Bad, girl!

It all got tossed today.

Call it a European approach, if you will.

The EEU has banned over 1,400 ingredients from their personal care products since 1938 (the last time the US passed a law governing what’s safe to use over here), in the same time that the US has banned barely over 30).

Rather than checking all these teeny, tiny bottles in the free, EWG’s site, Skin Deep Database, I just chucked them all.

Not sure? Not going to use it.

Not only am I ensuring my own safety in decreasing the amount of chemicals I slather on my skin, it’s also part of my spring cleaning.

Why not do the same thing?

Set aside an hour tomorrow, clear out all the junk from your own regime, your kids’ and your significant other’s daily arsenal of products, replace them with safe options and celebrate Earth Day with a whole new, fresh routine!