5 Frugal (& Tox-Free) Kitchen Tips
Voting with our dollar for the world we want to live in.
Consumers hold the cards via the supply and demand model. And that’s us.
Unfortunately, the manipulation-tactics used by many industries has meant that people run gleefully back to harmful and expensive products believing it’s their own choice, because they’ve [literally] been brainwashed to ‘think’ they want them through billion-dollar advertising campaigns by companies who sell products and disposable-use items that we a) don’t need b) harm our health or c) harm the environment (But mostly all three).
The advertising industry spends billions every single year on working out the best way to condition thinking towards consuming Big Brand products. Most of these used in and around the home hark back to a mere handful of large multi-national companies.
Running a frugal and toxic-free home is one of the things that is on the incline in many circles. It’s a more peaceful, conscious, and healthy decision for the whole family and is a proactive way of investing in the world we want to hand to our future generations while empowering ourselves away from harmful habits.
Here’s some reasons why people are making the change.
1. Awareness on the danger of chemicals and toxic burden of our family.
Childhood disease, cancer, illness, allergies, all auto-immune conditions (asthma, skin conditions, attention disorders etc) are on the rise. This is the opposite of what a modern world should deliver… surely?
EDC’s (endocrine disrupting chemicals) are one of the primary causes of toxic-burden that contributes to these illnesses and most of these come into the home in mass-produced items of ‘convenience’, that are sold as a requirement to a ‘healthy’, and ‘clean’ home. . [The amount of personal stories I have heard about allergies, eczema, and asthma clearing up as chemicals were removed from the home are huge].
Humour me for a moment here…
Would you lick your bench-tops directly after spraying them with Domestos? Or Pine’O’Clean? Hell no. We know that they’re chemicals when we think like this. We know we cold injure ourselves, poison ourselves, burn our mouths.
When we think so directly and consciously about something, we can think logically about the risk and danger of it. BUT, what about using these same chemical cleaners every single day, multiple times a day - often sprayed directly into the air we breathe - in our main area of food preparation and dining? We don’t tend to consider the daily toxic exposure we place our loved ones in.
As someone who greatly values whole health and helping to support foundational wellness for my family. and hence only using natural, non-toxic products from nature, I personally wold feel fine licking my kitchen benches after I cleaned them. I mean, it would just be vinegar and citrus oil.
2. Awake humans
Never before in my life have I seen awake adults seek to simplify out of the over-consumerism of the Matrix to find peace with a frugal life. These last few years have opened the eyes of so many adults who question so much of what they’ve been taught, told or sold in the past.
Big Agriculture and\ Gov relationships push products onto us that harm us and they get away with it. The regulation around carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and EDC (endocrine - hormone - disrupting chemicals) is abysmal IF they even regulate them at all.
This is why Johnson and Johnson got away with selling cancer-causing baby-powder for so many years. In fact it wasn’t until 2018 that they were forced to pay $4.69 billion to 22 women and their families who had claimed that asbestos in the company’s talcum powder products caused them to develop ovarian cancer. Imagine how many cases of cancer, disease and illness in babies, toddlers and children (+ carrying into adulthood) they contributed to, all because this industry is one of the most under-regulated in the world.
So many more of us know that we don’t need the ‘brand name’ cleaner. We see through manipulative advertisements. And we now know (more and more) that our governments actually do ‘not’ have our backs when it comes to protecting us from harm (in fact, they profit most from the ‘Big’ industries that do our health the most harm).
Getting out of the Matrix of manipulated consumerism is pretty lit. ;) It’s freeing. And it’s much, much healthier for us.
3. Health
This one almost goes without saying. However I am going to add this because the products I recommend we introduce to our frugal and toxic-free kitchen can actually offer us health benefits on the side.
Imagine wiping your benches with an essential oil that also creates a feeling of mental clarity, or calm, or invigoration. . Imagine if what you deodorise your air with actually kills airborne pathogens and helps support your immune system.
Imagine if you can make a toxic-free soak for your non-organic fruits and vegetables that remove harmful herbicides and pesticides that contribute to illness and disease.
Many of the decisions around your home will help or hinder your health. Let’s make good ones!
5. Financial gain/savings
You can save SO much money over time by voting with your dollar for the world you want to live in.
Once you throw the shackles off that ‘STINK’ aisle in the supermarket, and you realise you can make super simple and healthy kitchen products, that you can mix up in mere seconds, you’ll never go back. You’ll save your health, your wallet, and be able to invest in areas of your life that are so much more awesome. Like seeds for the veggie patch, or silver bullion, or organic chocolate. Or building your bunker. 🤣
Here’s 5 tips for a Frugal and Tox-Free Kitchen:
Purchasing standard ingredients via a co-op or bulk supplies store. You’ll be able to buy soap powder, castille soap, bicarbonate of soda, washing soda, magnesium salts etc from bulk food places like ‘The Source Bulkfoods’.
Wash and recycle cling-film and any plastic zip-lock bags your kids use. We don’t buy clingfilm, because it’s no biodegradable, however sometimes we end up with clingfilm from organic fruit or veggies we might pick up cheap from the supermarket, or from double-wrapping that the butcher does over the top of their plastic wrap. Or from foods we may buy take-away. You can actually just rinse the clingfilm under hot water, and hang it over your drying rack and use it again and again and again. We save it all!
Same with zip-lock bags. I might buy one box per year and then the kids are instructed to always bring the bag home from school. I wash if needed and re-use.Purchase kitchen gadgets from Marketplace or Gumtree. Vitamix, Thermomix, Excalibur dehydrator? Set alerts up on Marketplace or Gumtree and you might bag a bargain! One of the members of our Smug Health and Lifestyle School bagged a $750 dehydrator for $200 recently. What a saving.
Thrift stores are amazing! Peruse thrift shops for containers, bowls, cutlery and baking dishes (not pyrex as they leech lead when heated). I’ve found Thermomix bowls, excellent camping and picnic gear, and I buy teaspoons in bulk as it seems the kids lose them daily. If you’re interested in making your own cleaning cloths, you can also get super cheap towels at thrift stores, cut them into squares and zig-zag stitch the edges on the sewing machine (optional of course but will stop the fraying bits from dangling off). This is also a great tip for face-washers. (I’ll post soon about the excellent facial oil-cleansing routine that these are amazing for).
Use natural and essential oil based cleaning solutions.
With so many negative effects of health, there is rarely - if ever - any need to purchase chemical cleaning products. Even those marked ‘all natural’ in many supermarkets, are using the conditioning technique of ‘greenwashing’, which is a ploy used to make you believe you’re getting a healthier option when many of them are filled with toxins, ‘fragrance’ being one that fools a lot of people! These can also be so much more expensive because of the thought that they’re better for you.
You can make your own cleaners for mere CENTS using common, and super cheap natural products (most of which you may already have in your pantry).
You can easily go down from a cleaning product with 200 toxic ingredients, to 2 safe ones.
Ingredients For DIY Cleaners - I recommend buying these in bulk. Sometimes we don’t need to purchase items for cleaning the house for months on end.Baking soda/Bi-carbonate of soda is a natural deodoriser. It helps to neutralise odours and leaves a fresh, clean scent.
Essential oils not only provide a beautiful, non-toxic aroma, but they also hold anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Talk about side benefits!
Liquid castille soap is a coconut-based soap that is non-toxic and non-irritating. It’s the natural cleaning agent in many DIY cleaning recipes that’s mild, yet super effective.
Rubbing alcohol cleans streak-free and sanitises surfaces.
White vinegar helps to break down dirt and grime – especially those fingerprints and smudges. It also helps to clean without streaks.
Witch hazel is a great alternative for rubbing alcohol. It sanitises surfaces, but doesn’t have a strong scent like rubbing alcohol. (We also use this in home made toners, perfumes and bug sprays).
What Essential Oils to Use?
You can use a combination of essential oils to clean with, provide a yummy aroma, and deoderise and sanitise your kitchen space. My personal faves are listed below (many come in the Starter Packs from doTERRA).
Two simple recipes for toxic-free kitchen cleaning
Simple household Cleaner- perfect for benchtops
Ingredients:
2tbs Liquid castile soap is a coconut-based soap that is non-toxic and non-irritating. It’s the natural cleaning agent in many DIY cleaning recipes that’s mild, yet super effective.
10 drops Essential oils not only provide a beautiful, non-toxic aroma, but they also hold anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Talk about side benefits!
Directions:
Add liquid castile soap and essential oils to a 400-500ml spray bottle.
Fill with filtered water and shake well.
Spray on surfaces such as benches, shelves, fridge, stove, oven door, table etc. Wipe with a damp cloth.
Stove-top and oven cleaner
Ingredients:
¼ cup baking soda
¼ cup table salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
4–5 drops of Purify Cleansing Blend (or any of the oils listed above)
Directions:
Stir all ingredients together until they form a paste and spread it over the stove top and burners.
Leave it on for 15 minutes or longer for hard-to-remove stains.
Using a sponge, scrub the mixture into the grime.
Remove excess cleaner and wipe surface clean.
