Question from Getting Started

Hi Debra,

I have three young children and I’m wondering. Where do I start? If you had to pick the top few items to start with what would it be? It’s an expensive journey to cut out toxins and I can’t really level my home and toss all we have so it’s about replacing for better as I can. What is your trip few picks? Mattresses? Pillows? Couch? Bras? Food?

Debra’s Answer

Many years ago I answered this question in a book called The Nontoxic Home. I set for myself the challenge of arranging the chapters in the order of putting that which is most important to change first in the beginning and going to least important. I found it was a very difficult task because you have to look at the relative toxicity of exposures from each product. It took me a while to figure this out, but I eventually came up with a sequence that made sense. This book is no longer in print but I pulled out an old copy.

Here’s what I recommended in The Nontoxic Home in 1986:

• Cleaning Products
• Household Pesticides
• Tap Water
• Drugs & Medications
• Personal Care Products
• Food
• Beds
• Clothing
• Home Office

But now that I know more, there are four things to consider, in this order:

1. How toxic is the chemical you are being exposed to
2. What amount are you being exposed to
3. What is the route of exposure into your body: breathing, eating or drinking, through the skin
4. How often are you exposed to the chemical

And so, you see, as a writer I can order toxic exposures by relative toxicity, but I can’t predict how much you will be exposed to, the route of entry into your body, or how often you are exposed to it.

That’s the problem in a nutshell.

However I do have two references for you that will help you make decisions about where to start.

The first is my book Toxic Free. In my opinion, this is the best book I’ve ever written for a beginner. It starts by explaining the basics of the problem and then gives you 50 things you can do, in the order in which you should do them.

In this book from 2011, the list was a little different:

First I listed “The Big Five”: cigarette smoke, alcoholic beverages, drugs, household poisons and hazardous waste, toxics you track indoors on your shoes (leave them at the door, especially if you have babies or children playing on the floor). These exposures are so major there’s almost no point in doing anything else if you are still having these exposures (except for toxics tracked indoors on your shoes).

And then I listed

• Indoor Air Pollution: carbon monoxide, plastics
• Cleaning and Laundry Products
• Household Pesticides
• Tap Water
• Beauty and Hygiene Products
• Food
• Textile Products including mattresses and furniture
• Interior Decorating Products
• Home Office

Toxic Free has basic instructions for making these changes, but you will find a lot more on this website.

The other reference is a free ebook I made for a summit called The Toxic Free Lifestyle Checklist. This is much more barebones than Toxic Free but it gives you a good overview, in my recommended order.

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