Healthy Chicks

Happy Earth Day ladies and gents. I’m off to work in a few, but I wanted to share three of my favorite, little ways to go greener right now. Enjoy!

1. Buy Whole Foods: Take a good, hard look at your cabinets. Are they mostly packed with processed, packaged foods? No need to revamp your entire kitchen overnight, but even a few small changes will suffice. Perhaps that means skipping the popcorn or potato chips this week, and actually purchasing real, whole potatoes and corn. Or maybe it’s simply buying your nuts and seeds in bulk and storing them in jars around the house. It’s the little things that add up, not only being safer for the environment, but also being much more safe and natural on your body.

2. Clean up Your Cleansing Products: Care2 published this amazing article “How to Make a Non-Toxic Cleansing Kit” that includes DIY alternatives for everything from soft scrubbers to window and oven cleaners. I highly suggest you check that out. Who knew how many natural solutions there were for common household cleaning supplies. Also, you may want to look into a more earth-friendly laundry detergent like Ecos Free & Clear Liquid Detergent that I own (thanks to The Boy).

3. Examine Your Beauty Supplies: I was absolutely shocked the first time I read the label on my makeup, deodorant, perfumes and other beauty essentials. Many contained parabens, chemicals, added artificial coloring and other harmful ingredients I couldn’t even pronounce. These chemicals are not only harmful for the environment, but also effect our body, skin, hair and nails!

Pick one everyday beauty product and read the ingredients – it can be anything from your shampoo to your foundation. Then, if you choose, make a small change by looking for products that are organic, free of parabens and other toxins, or most of all one that you can actually pronounce the ingredients.

For example, when I found out what was in some of my skin care products, I ditched my “zit cream” for natural tea tree oil and exchanged my additives-laden face wash for a more natural line from 302 Skincare. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am a huge fan of Lush Cosmetic’s Karma Koba shampoo bar that cleanses the hair naturally and 100% bottle-free packaging.

What are your favorite go green tips and tricks? Are you looking to ‘green up’ your lifestyle?