Cleanse your Home
to improve your health
People with fibromyalgia tend to have high levels of toxic overload in their bodies. But, before doing a body cleanse, consider that your home is likely filled with hundreds of harmful chemicals that are aggravating your symptoms. It makes sense to start with a home cleanse.
Now I hear you saying, "Don't be silly Rodger, I simply don't have enough spoons to do reorganize my home." No problem, I've come up with a way to detox your home using as few spoons as possible.
The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of results come from roughly 20% of causes. Here are a few examples:
20% of factories cause 80% of pollution
20% of employees do 80% of the work
20% of athletes score 80% of the points
So, thanks to Vilfredo Pareto you only need to tidy 20% of your house. Simply replace those items that are most likely to be making you ill with healthier and more natural alternatives.
A Joyful Way of Cleaning
You might have heard of Marie Kondo. She’s that petite Japanese lady who loves decluttering people’s houses. Well, it turns out that her method of decluttering is ideal for fibromyalgia sufferers because it's centered on bringing more joy into your life. And if there’s one thing that fibees need, it’s more joy.
Actually, you are not going to be tidying up, rather you are going to be practicing mindfulness through the art of tidying. You see, when you put your house in order you put your body in order too.
In The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up Marie Kondo lays out her method: pick one category of items such as clothes or books. Find all those items in your entire house and then put them in one big pile. And here comes the important part: take one item at a time and hold it in your hands. Look at the item and ask it, “Do you bring me joy?” If the answer is “no” take a few moments to remember the happiness it brought you, and let it go with grace. Next, find a proper place for each of the remaining items. To maintain order in the future always return an item to its designated place after you have used it.
In a decluttering session I got rid of some old T-shirts that I'd grown tired of. A few months later, when winter came along, I realized that although those old T-shirts were a bit shabby, the extra layer of warmth under my pajamas had provided me with was indirectly a form of joy. I also got rid of a few books I really miss now. So, when you hold an object in your hands, ask
The secret to Marie’s method is that she starts with the easiest category first and then tackles progressively more difficult categories each time. Her order is clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous items, and lastly sentimental items. If you want a beautiful home you are welcome to follow this sequence, however our focus is not on tidying, but rather on creating a healthy home, so we will be following a slightly different sequence:
Simple Changes
They are free and don't require much energy or any precious spoons.
No Shoes
About 60% of dirt, pesticides and germs come in to your home on the bottom of your shoes. Keep them out by never letting your shoes walk in. Go barefoot or wear slippers on chilly days.
Add Plants
Plants not only make your home look pretty, they improve air quality and detox your home by removing pollutants like ammonia and formaldehyde. About 15 to 20 plants is enough for an average house.
Open Windows
If you have good ventilation in your home, you can reduce mold and improve overall indoor air quality.
Dust Often
Your home is full of items that contain chemicals. Over time traces of these chemicals accumulate in dust that can be inhaled or swallowed. Dust and vacuum your mattress and furniture regularly.
Eliminate Mold
Regularly clean damp surfaces where mold is likely to grow. Add 8 drops of Tea Tree Oil to a liter of water to kill mold without chemicals.
Plastic
If you are at home right now take a moment to look around you and make a mental list of all the plastics you can see: shirt buttons, computer keys, picture frames, light fixtures, and more. I’m sure you will be surprised to notice that plastics are everywhere.
It is nearly impossible to avoid plastic in our everyday lives because it is everywhere. Plastic is cheap and versatile but it is made of various chemicals that improve its properties. These chemicals can leach out when exposed to small changes in temperature or light.
It’s almost impossible to remove something so ubiquitous from our homes so the most practical approach to take is to focus on the plastic items that are you come into close contact with, such as water bottles or cooking utensils.
Go around your home looking at plastic items you come into regular physical contact with. Hold one item in your hands at a time and examine it.
Is it worn out and decaying?
Does it come in contact with food?
Does it come in contact with your body?
Cookware
Non stick cookware is coated in Teflon. Teflon contains a family of chemicals that pose a risk to your health because at high temperatures they release toxic fumes. Studies have shown that nonstick cookware can reach dangerous temperatures in as little as 2 minutes on a stove top.
Aluminum cookware is a long-standing kitchen staple due to its low cost and ability to effectively conduct heat. But aluminum is a known toxin to the body and can leach into food from cookware especially when cooking acidic foods such as tomatoes.
I strongly suggest you get rid of any non stick and aluminum cookware immediately and replace it with a healthier alternative such as cast iron, stainless steel, ceramics or oven safe glass.
Now I hear you saying that this is getting expensive. First I asked you to replaced your plastic utensils, and now it’s cookware. What’s next? My argument is that nonstick cookware lasts between one and five years on average while a cast-iron or stainless steel pan will last a lifetime if you take good care of it. Not only will you save money in the long-term but having quality cookware in your kitchen inspires you to cook better quality meals. Every Wednesday in my neighbourhood is recycle day and as I walk to the station I always see non stick pans left out to be collected. More on kitchenware here.
Cleaning Products
The ingredients found in household cleaning products mean that our homes look clean but might not be healthy. Cleaning products are ironically the most prevalent source of indoor pollution filling the air with carcinogens, hormone disrupters, neurotoxic solvents, mood altering chemicals and reproductive toxins.
Collect all your household cleaning products into one pile and your cosmetics into another. Hold each item in your hands and examine it carefully. Does it contain harmful chemicals? Do you really need it? If you feel you’d prefer to discard it right away or replace it when it runs out. It depends on your budget.
Natural products are healthy but there are a few downsides: they tend to be a little pricy, they are usually only available online or at speciality stores, and they are not as effective as commercial products. At this point you want decide which of your commercial products you like and would like to continue using, and which ones you want to replace. It’s a matter of balancing health against convenience.
If you can’t find stores that sell handmade near you you could try online. Sites such as Etsy, Shopify, Big Cartel, Bonanza, IndieMade, and even Handmade at Amazon have great products. The bonus of shopping at them is that you are supporting small businesses.
I’m Dr. Rodger Douglas, DMH, a South African-born homeopath now based in Osaka, Japan. With a psychology degree from Nelson Mandela University and a diploma from the Hahnemann College of Heilkunst, I specialize in holistic care for fibromyalgia. I serve clients by phone or video across the US, Canada, and the UK.