Healthy Home Healthy Body

In these industrialized times we live in so much of what we come into contact with has some degree of toxicity. The symptoms of toxicity in the body include painful muscles, stiff joint, lower back pain, headaches, digestive issues, food intolerances, allergies, skin problems, weight gain, frequent colds, fatigue, fuzzy thinking, and insomnia.

You might have noticed that these symptoms are very similar to those of fibromyalgia, and you may thus conclude that toxicity is likely a causal factor in fibromyalgia. It makes sense to begin fibromyalgia treatment with a detox for three good reasons.

ONE: When you declutter your home, detox your body and clear your mind you are taking small steps to create a positive environment for yourself.

TWO: Overcoming fibromyalgia requires making a few lifestyle changes. Starting with a cleanse, which is relatively easy, makes it much easier for you down the road to make those lifestyle changes and stick to them.

THREE: The symptoms caused by toxicity should clear them up. Also, the medicines and remedies you use will be more effective on a clean body.

A Joyful Way of Cleaning

People with chronic illness tend to have high levels of toxins in their bodies, so I highly recommend a body cleanse. But, before that, consider that your home could be the source of those toxins, so why not start with a quick home cleanse.

You might have heard of Marie Kondo. She’s that petite Japanese lady who declutters people’s houses. Well, it turns out that her method of decluttering is ideal for people with chronic illness because it's centered on bringing more joy into your life. And if there’s one thing that most people 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 and mind 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 all of my old T-shirts. 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. 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 our sequence is plastics, cookware, and cleaning products.