5 ways to make your home more fertility-friendly

When it comes to your egg health and your fertility, your exposure to toxins can make a huge difference. A lot of chemicals are endocrine disruptors which means they mess with your hormones, plus they can affect egg and sperm development. Not good features if you’re trying to get pregnant.

The products we use in our homes have a big impact on our overall toxic load because we’re exposed to them all the time. That’s why it’s important to clean up not just things like shampoo and makeup, but our homes as well.

Because it’s not only your fertility that’s taking a hit: your baby’s being exposed, too. Studies of newborn umbilical cord blood have shown over 200 chemical toxins in the blood–and that’s just your baby’s exposure in utero, not to mention what he’ll be exposed to once he’s born!

That’s why it’s so important to limit your toxic load in the ways you can control. There will still be pollution and toxins in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and your neighbor might be having a love affair with Roundup, but we have control over what happens inside our homes.

It might sound overwhelming, but trust me, it doesn’t have to be. Here are my 5 simple switches to help you detox your home:

1. Replace your cleaning products

Cleaning products can be full of chemicals and toxins and using them to clean every week (plus just having them around in your house), isn’t doing your eggs or hormones any favors.

I know a lot of cleaners make sexy promises of a sterile, germ-free existence, but the truth is, a little vinegar and/or baking soda can really do wonders for most of your cleaning needs.

2. Clean up your laundry detergent

I know that “sport fresh ultra” detergent smells so good (and how could anything stink anyways when the waft of your detergent is so strong!), and those dryer sheets make your towels smell like flowers–but all those fragrances are just chemicals.

And because they are getting on your clothes and bed sheets, they are on your skin ALL THE TIME. We spend all day wearing clothes and all night in our sheets, so whatever chemicals are lingering on those items, we’re absorbing through our skin.

So steer clear of the conventional detergents and stick to brands like those above (7th Generation or Honest Company). Or if you’re a DIY kinda girl, there are tons of make your own detergent recipes online–just do a quick google search.

Then skip the dryer sheets and get a felt dryer ball instead to combat the static cling.

Your clothes will still smell fresh, but your body with thank you for ditching the chemicals.

3. Skip the fragrances and air fresheners

I know we’re all afraid our homes smell like dogs/ cooking/ sweaty men/ insert your concern of choice, but the truth is, all those air fresheners, plug-ins, and even scented candles are just releasing toxins into the air you breathe.

And these chemicals are often endocrine disrupters, meaning they mess with your hormones. Your fertility doesn’t need any of that.

Open your windows and let some fresh air in if things smell stuffy, and if you’ve got to have a scent, try essential oils in a diffuser. Just make sure your essential oils are cold-pressed or steam distilled (not distilled with chemical solvents). I love using Doterra essential oils for their quality and purity.

4. Email your receipts

Receipt paper actually has BPA in it– a chemical also found in hard plastics and water bottles— that we absorb through our skin when we touch the receipt.

BPA is a proven endocrine disrupter meaning it throws your hormones out of whack. So next time the cashier asks “printed or emailed?” choose emailed!

If you do touch receipts, just be sure to wash your hands to remove those chemicals as soon as you can.

5. Purify your air quality with plants

A lot of furnishings, finishes, and carpets can give off VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), which can have long-term health consequences. But these can also be difficult to avoid (It’s a little harder to throw away all your furniture than your cleaning supplies!).

A great solution is to add plants to your home. House plants like the snake plant, aloe, or spider plants are great for purifying the air and removing some toxins from the environment.

Plus, get fresh air flow daily by opening your windows for a few minutes each day to get some air circulation, which will also help clear some of those VOCs out of your home.

I know that thinking about our environmental exposures is like opening a can of worms and you’re probably looking around your home suspiciously and maybe starting to freak out a little bit because it’s overwhelming.

I hear you, but there’s no need to stress. You’ve been exposed to these things your whole life, so change doesn’t need to happen overnight. Remember it’s about the overall load you’re exposed to–your body is designed to handle some toxins–we’ve just been overloading our bodies with the high levels of our modern-day exposures.

Start small–when things run out, buy a cleaner alternative and slowly you’ll start to reduce your exposure. We can’t control everything in our environment, but if we are conscious about the things we can control, it can help us reduce our toxic load and improve our health. And your fertility (and future baby!) will thank you!