Spring Cleaning With Thieves: Clean Home Workshop

I recently had the opportunity to host a local event all about spring cleaning with Thieves, ditching and switching to plant based products, and why you will love Young Living products as much as we do! It was SO MUCH FUN so I thought I’d bring the content over here to the blog as well!

The Dirty Truth About Household Cleaners

AT THE RISK OF BEING THE BEARER OF BAD NEWS, YOUR RUN-OF-THE-MILL CLEANERS ARE INCREDIBLY TOXIC.

According to the American Lung Association, the ingredients in most commercial solutions, sprays, and scrubs can:

• Be air pollutants

• Be harmful chemicals

• Be flammable or corrosive

• Irritate eyes or throat

• Cause headaches

• Contribute to health problems like chronic respiratory problems and allergic reactions

Not only are these ingredients problematic, but they’re pretty far from your “let’s go green!” goals. Choosing cleaners with naturally derived ingredients is a win for you and a win for Mother Earth.

YIKES! ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW?

UNFORTUNATELY, YES.

Brace yourself—manufacturers aren’t even legally required to list all ingredients. It sounds bonkers, but toxic ingredients could be lingering in your laundry detergents and floor cleaners without you knowing about it.

For example, some products such as carpet cleaners and dishwasher liquid release VOCs—volatile organic compounds. Experts say that some VOCs can irritate eyes, nose, and throat; create difficulty breathing and nausea; and cause harm to the central nervous system and other organs.

At Young Living, we’re incredibly meticulous about which ingredients we bring into the YL family. Want a list of stuff we will never, ever, ever mix with pure and precious essential oils? Enjoy!

THAT’S AWESOME! HOW DO I CLEAN WITHOUT HARSH CHEMICALS?

FOR STARTERS, TRUST US AND DON’T USE ANY OF THE INGREDIENTS LINKED ABOVE.

There is a HUGE LINK between indoor chemicals and all sorts of hormonal and emotional disruptions:

The age of puberty is declining, causing mood swings in your girls even earlier than ever because of weird chemicals in most make-up and skincare lines.

Most candle brands are now being called “the new second hand smoke”, but instead of the lungs being mainly affected (they still are though!), it’s hurting our delicate hormonal systems, throwing off how we regulate our emotions.

Indoor air quality has been shown to be several times more toxic than the outdoor air quality in cities! Our over-burdened systems may make us feel fatigued, cranky, etc.

You may have heard the term “Endocrine disrupters” before, and in plain English, this means “affects the hormonal system”. This is related to Emotional we’ll being because our Hormonal System also regulates our Emotions. Yes, we can make good choices, but the same reason you smell that Peace & Calming and *feel* calm is the same reason you smell harsh-chemical cleaners and can feel or have a body reaction that automatically makes you more irritable. Most adults can compensate outwardly, but that doesn’t mean these harmful household chemicals aren’t affecting you.

I’m not here to be alarmist, friends. But isn’t it time that we just take a realistic look at what kind of stuff we have in our homes?

I invite you to check out www.ewg.org and search out what you have hanging out under cabinets, in your linen closets, etc!These are just a FEW of the chemicals you want to look out for:

Chemicals commonly found in personal care products + household cleaners:

Phthalates = endocrine disruptors that alter hormone levels

The impact on each individual is different, but mostly they increase or decrease estrogen, can cause preterm labor, may be risk factor for birth defects and interfere with the intellectual development of babies/kids. Ummm, no thanks.There’s also a correlation between phthalates and a higher incidence of food and environmental allergies. Getting them out of our homes makes us more tolerant to wider variety of foods and prevents adverse reactions to our environment

Triclosan = high rates of food and skin allergies, increases both estrogen and testosterone is well know to pass into blood, urine and breast milk. But the *worst thing* is that it gets out into the environment and combines with chlorine in water, creating dioxan which is well know to be toxic to mammals, birds and fish. Well…. we are mammals and we eat fish and birds…Found in most household cleaners, soaps, detergents

2-butoxy ethanol = can cause skeletal defects, inhibits coordination especially in young children

Perchlorethylene = Central nervous system depressant, World Health Organization class 2 carcinogen

Chlorine, ammonia, sodium hydroxide = all are irritating to the lungs and skin, and may have other harmful effects

BUT!! We have a company that is on the forefront of science, creating products free of harmful ingredients *and* continuously researching other potential harmful compounds!

One of my favorite examples…Thieves Household Cleaner = cleaning power that is just as safe as it is effective, is multipurpose, and is 100% safe for every member of family (children and pets)

+ Instead of that other stuff, Thieves cleaner, dish soap, laundry soap, etc. has two different, naturally occurring sulfate molecules. These sulfates act as surfactants that go and find dirt/germs on surfaces and stick to them, then bring them into solution, puling them out of clothes, dishes, surfaces.

These sulfates are naturally occurring -one sulfate from sugar and one from coconut.

Decylglucoside – a natural surfactant found in many YL products that is gentle and mild.

It’s the surfactant of choice in baby shampoo! Super gentle on the skin but highly effective. Many of the products, including the dish soap, also contain plant based a moisturizer for happy skin!

Buckle up because there is a lot of info here.

Not in the mood to read?

Download the Think Dirty app and just start scanning the products you use!!!

Spring Cleaning With Thieves

Let’s talk about ditchin’ & switchin’! After learning how toxic some of my life-long beloved products were, I began the process of getting rid of some of those products and replacing them with healthier choices. Thieves Household Cleaner to the rescue!

I’ve been using Thieves products almost exclusively for more than four years, so that’s why we’re passionate about getting those nasty chemicals out of our home and replacing them with healthier, cleaner alternatives and thankfully Young Living supplies sooooo many of those things!

The toxins so commonly found in household cleaning products, makeup, soaps, and skin and hair-care products can really wreak havoc on our hormones and overall wellness. So let’s talk about how to replace the yucky stuff with the good stuff.

HOW TO GET STARTED WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK

You don’t have to replace ALL of your current cleaners at once! 

Begin choosing one cleaner to ditch and switch per month. 

Of course I started with Thieves Household Cleaner which eliminated MOST of the products I was using. But here are several additional products I ditched and switched as I ordered each month. I exchanged:

DRYER SHEETS ⇨ WOOL DRYER BALLS
Dryer sheets are scary. If you do some Googling, you will sprint to pick up a couple wool dryer balls and a bottle of Lavender. The wool helps protect your clothes from static, and the Lavender gives a calming scent that is soothing on your skin.

GOO GONE ⇨ LEMON OIL
Why buy a bottle of chemical-y goo gone when you’ve got that handy dandy, all-natural bottle of lemon oil right there in your starter kit?! Put a drop onto a sticky surface and rub with a dry towel- voila!! No more sticky gunk!

TIDE ⇨THIEVES LAUNDRY SOAP 

This was a huge one for me. I’ve ALWAYS used Tide, and so did my mother!
Thieves Laundry Soap is plant-based and is as pure and natural as a detergent can get—plus it contains the most powerful essential oils on the planet that not only make it smell amazing, but really help to get things clean. I mean, I use Thieves to clean literally everything in my house, and now they have the best detergent I’ve ever tried! Really.

This little compact bottle does 64 loads of laundry, instead of your typical 32. It’s 6x concentrated, so a little goes a long way. I love that it’s not so cumbersome like those giant jugs of detergent, and doesn’t take up a ton of space in your laundry room. 

AND IT WORKS. Stains come out, whites don’t get dingy, clothes I didn’t think could be saved actually come out CLEAN. I can’t believe how well it works with only needing to use such a small amount. Truly AMAZING.

TOXIC CLEANERS ⇨ THIEVES HOUSEHOLD CLEANER
Trade out the harmful effects of bleach and other toxic cleaners for a solution that will get rid of the germs while preserving your skin and lungs. Thieves has actually been proven to remove more bacteria and germs than bleach. So you aren’t compromising clean for green!! Be sure to download the Think Dirty app and check out the ratings on the products you’re using. So eye-opening!!

DAWN SOAP ⇨ THIEVES DISH SOAP
Without even looking at the label on a Dawn soap bottle, you can see that it has added dyes and synthetic fragrances, which are never good or natural! The Environmental Working Group (EWG) gave Dawn the grade of ‘D’ because it contains methylisothiazolinone, which is a “High Concern: acute aquatic toxicity; Some Concern: skin irritation, allergies, or damage.” 

EW! NO THANKS. 
CLOROX WIPES ⇨ THIEVES WIPES
Clorox Wipes contain ammonium compounds, and these chemicals trigger asthma, allergies and soooo many other health concerns. And the canister directs us to wash our hands with soap after use—uh, WHY???! Switch to non-toxic and biodegradable Thieves wipes!!!!

CASCADE ⇨ THIEVES DISH POWDER (+ a citrus agent!)

“Loading your dishwasher with this powder detergent means you’ll clean your dishes with chlorine bleach, phosphates, fragrance and other unknown chemicals. From cancer concerns to nervous system effects and ecotoxicity, this detergent has a lot wrong with it. Overall, it earned the grade of  F from the EWG.”

Move over, Cascade!!!! There’s a new dish powder in town—and it’s got zero toxic chemicals and smells amazing! We recommend adding a citrus agent like LemiShine to Thieves Dish powder to get those extra sparkly dishes!

Where do you start with all this??

Start small. Start slow.

Learning to integrate oils into your home is about small, simple baby steps. Take it one month at a time. Maybe the first month you focus solely on Thieves Cleaner; and toss every single chemical cleaning supply under your sink. Go home and wipe your kitchen down and fall in love, knowing you just boost your immune system instead of taxing your liver. 

The next month, swap out some laundry soap or dish soap. Month three, focus on your personal care products, like deodorant and shampoo. Month four, focus on beauty supplies, like face wash. Every day you leave your makeup on, your skin ages by seven days. Use a toxic free option to get it off. 

I started this journey myself, with a Young Living starter kit, and have never looked back. We use the oils every single day in our home. Every oil you use is a toxic chemical you are not using. This is where I began, and it’s where I recommend you start, too. 

How do I order? Simply go to youngliving.com, click on “Become A Member” It’s that simple. Welcome to the world of oils! 

Let’s recap your checklist…

Snag Premium starter kit and get on Subscribe To Save! Then start ditching toxins!

Young Living is the best decision I’ve made in my chemical free journey! I know it will level the playing field for you as you start to kick toxic ingredients out of your home. There is a consequence to everything we breathe, everything we eat, and everything we put on our skin. We may not feel it immediately, but your safety is worth the swap. You have to know your home to protect your home. And that comes with careful label reading. 

You matter. Your family matters. Your friends matter. It’s time to start kicking toxic chemicals out of your life and start living clean!

Ready to start your spring cleaning with Thieves? I’ve created a ditch & switch bundle just for you! Click right here to shop it!

DON’T HAVE OILS YET? YOU’RE MOMMING TOO HARD- CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED!

You can also read this post about how and why we started using oils in our house!

If you want to shop my favorites- here is a link for you: Courtney’s YL Favorites

Interested in joining the business? I can help! It costs $30 to grab your Business Kit and then you’re off to the races! Click here to grab yours, then drop a comment below and I’ll reply to your email so we can chat more!