The Clean Swap Edit: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Healthier Home

In this post, we try our best to provide you with healthy swaps for your home in a way that is digestible. We get it - the journey toward clean living can feel overwhelming, especially when you're looking at your entire house wondering where to begin. That's exactly why we created this room-by-room guide: to break down this transformation into manageable, meaningful steps. 

From your kitchen pantry to your child's playroom, every space in your home presents unique opportunities to make healthier choices for your family. In this guide, we'll walk you through each room, suggesting simple yet impactful swaps that can significantly reduce your family's exposure to common toxins while creating a more nurturing environment. We've done the research, tested the alternatives, and curated options that are not only better for your health but are also practical, affordable, and accessible.

You'll discover swaps for everything from kitchen essentials to playroom materials. Each swap is chosen with both functionality and wellness in mind, ensuring that your home remains practical while becoming progressively healthier. Remember, this isn't about perfection or changing everything overnight - it's about making informed choices, one room at a time.

Let's begin our journey through your home, creating spaces that support your family's well being from the inside out.

The Pantry/Refrigerator 

• Crackers→ Simple Mills crackers (Great deal at Costco)

• Cereal→ LoveBird Cereal (add some milk of choice and some protein for a balanced meal)

• Tortilla Chips→ Siete Chips

• Tortilla Wraps→ Siete Wraps (they have almond, cassava, etc for your individual dietary needs)

• Sandwich Bread→ Homemade Sourdough is a great option, if unable to tolerate gluten or need something quick BaseCulture 

• Cheetos→ LesserEvil Putffs

• Oreos→ Simple Mills Nut Butter Stuffed Cookies

• Chips Ahoy→ Simple Mills Chocolate Chip Cookies 

• Graham Crackers→ Simple Mills Sweet Thins (Chocolate or Honey Cinnamon)

• Non-dairy milk with fillers and gums → Malk or Elmhurst Milks

• Beef Jerky→ Chomp sticks or Palleovalley 

• Yogurt filled with added sugars→Whole Milk or Grass-Fed Greek Yogurts (A2 is even better) (love the Costco Greek yogurt or Alexandre or Bellweather Farms or StonyFields)

• Non Dairy yogurts→ Coconut Cult (Chocolate is my fav) or Forager Plain (add honey and protein for a balanced snack or meal) 

• Chocolate chips→ Enjoy Life or Hu Chocolate Chips 

• Hershey bars or other snacking chocolate bars→ Hu Bars 

• Granola→ Purely Elizabeth Yogurt (Grain Free or With Grain) 

• Granola Bars with added sugars and oils→ RxBars or LaraBars or Skout Bars (They have mini ones for kids that are YUMMY)

• Fruit Roll Ups or Fruit Snacks→ That’sIt Bars 

• Foil→ parchment paper (IfYouCare Brand), beeswax wrap 

• Plastic containers for ingredients such as flour → glass containers 

• Traditional candy bars → Unreal candy bars 

• Soda→ Ollipop or Poppi 

The Kitchen 

• Plastic cutting boards→ wooden cutting boards 

• Plastic spatulas→ Wooden (EpiCurean is a personal fav)

• Plastic zip lock bags→ reusable bags or glass tupperware 

• Tap water → filtered water (reverse osmosis water filter) 

• Plastic Coffee Makers→ Glass French Press or Pour Over  

Bedroom 

• Polyester sheets→ linen, 100% cotton sheets, or bamboo sheets  

• Polyester pillow cases→ silk pillow cases 

• Using a cell phone as an alarm → Hatch alarm clock 

• LED lights → incandescent bulbs and/or red light (after dark) 

Living Room 

• Scented candles with fragrance or other hormone disruptors →100% beeswax candles, candles scented with only essential oils

• Rugs made with synthetic materials (nylon, polyester)→ rugs made with 100% cotton or wool 

Bathroom 

• Lysol spray, air fresheners, and any other sprays scented with hormone disrupting chemicals →essential oil diffuser or naturally scented room sprays (Primally Pure has a great option) 

• Toilet cleaner, shower cleaner, countertop spray, and mirror spray →vinegar and water or Branch Basics (this simplifies your cleaning routine… 1 product for everything) 

• Hard tap water→Jolie Shower Filter 

Playroom 

• Toys made with BPA, phthalates, and other plastic additives →toys made with Solid wood (especially maple, birch, beech), natural rubber, organic cotton and wool, non-toxic silicone, and/or water-based, non-toxic paints 

• Electronic learning tablets → Montessori-inspired wooden puzzles (inspires more creative play and encourages naturalistic learning) 

• Books based off movies and/or cartoons → educational books on topics of interest for the child and/or books that are at the child’s reading level 

• TV/entertainment system → area designated for art, exercise, or a reading nook 

Laundry Room 

• Dryer sheets scented with fragrance and/or other hormone disruptors—-> wool dryer balls (can be scented with natural essential oils) 

• Tide, Gain, Persil or other laundry detergents made with hormone disrupting chemicals → Branch Basics, TrulyFree, Molly Suds, or other non-toxic laundry detergent brands

Let us know if you start to incorporate any of these swaps in your home. We love to hear from you! We hope you feel that this blog post took something that can feel very daunting and broke it down into something that feels feasible. Once you start making small changes, bigger ones naturally come along! We promise your bodies will notice (and appreciate) the changes! 

If there is something we missed, please reach out. We usually can find a swap or atleast a better for you option! 

Pro tip: Swaps can become expensive if you do them all at once (if this is feasible for you, go for it), but we love the rule of just swapping the item or items out once you run out of them at home. Over 3-4 months, you will have curated healthier options without spending lots of $$$ at once! 

Stay Healthy and Happy, 

Kylie and Annie