How I lower my toxic load at home

By Chloe Thomas | Soul Balm Homeopathy

There was a time in my life where I became very aware of just how many hidden toxins we are exposed to every single day.

Not in a frightening way.

Not in a perfectionist way.

But in a quiet, gentle awareness that our bodies are carrying a huge amount of “load” in the modern world.

Fragrances.

Pesticides.

Synthetic fabrics.

Cleaning sprays.

Plastic.

Poor airflow.

Processed foods.

Stress.

And eventually, for many people, the body begins whispering through symptoms.

Skin flare-ups.

Histamine issues.

Fatigue.

Hormonal symptoms.

Brain fog.

Inflammation.

Over the years, I’ve slowly created a home that feels softer, slower, calmer and more supportive to the body.

You absolutely do not need to do everything perfectly. Even one or two gentle swaps can make a beautiful difference over time.

So I thought I’d share a few of my favourite things we do in our home here at Soul Balm.

Tallow Balm Instead Of Conventional Moisturiser

One of my favourite swaps has been moving away from heavily fragranced conventional skincare and instead using a beautiful tallow balm from Ancestral Cosmetics.

Their tallow comes from grass-fed, pasture-raised cows, and the balm itself feels incredibly rich and nourishing on the skin.

The version I use contains manuka honey and lavender oil, and it has become one of my favourite little evening rituals.

Unlike many modern moisturisers filled with synthetic fragrances and long ingredient lists, tallow-based skincare is wonderfully simple and traditional.

There’s something deeply comforting about returning to ingredients our ancestors would have recognised.

Soap Nuts & Wool Dryer Balls

I stopped using conventional fabric softeners and heavily fragranced detergents years ago.

Now I wash our clothes using soap nuts inside a little linen bag.

Soap nuts naturally contain saponins, which create a gentle cleansing effect in the washing machine without all the overpowering synthetic fragrance.

And honestly… once you stop using conventional laundry products, you begin realising just how strong and artificial they actually smell.

For drying, I use wool dryer balls with a few drops of organic lavender essential oil.

The wool balls help separate the clothes as they tumble, which can reduce drying time and soften fabrics naturally — and the whole house smells like a sleepy lavender cottage afterwards.

Simple. Beautiful. Non-toxic.

My Favourite Homemade Cleaning Spray

One of the easiest and cheapest swaps you can make at home is your cleaning products.

Most conventional sprays contain huge amounts of synthetic fragrance and chemicals that linger in the air long after cleaning.

My favourite homemade spray is simply:

Half white vinegar

Half water

Lavender essential oil

Sweet orange essential oil

That’s it.

I store mine in reusable amber glass bottles around the house.

Glass feels so much lovelier to use than plastic, but it also means you can refill the same bottle again and again rather than constantly buying more plastic cleaning products.

It’s cheaper, lower waste, and your home still smells fresh and beautiful.

Natural Fibres In The Home

One of the biggest changes we made was choosing more natural fibres throughout the home.

Wool.

Linen.

Cotton.

Wood.

Natural materials breathe completely differently.

Our bedding is all wool, linen and cotton now, including our wool pillows and wool mattress from The Wool Room.

The inside of the pillows literally looks like freshly shorn wool from a sheep — because it is.

The Wool Room focus heavily on breathable, temperature-regulating natural sleep materials without synthetic foams and chemicals.

It genuinely transformed my sleep quality and helped calm my skin enormously too.

You spend such a huge percentage of your life in bed. Creating a cleaner, more breathable sleep environment can make such a difference.

Why I Use Salt Deodorant

Another favourite swap of mine is Salt of the Earth deodorant.

One thing I’ve become increasingly passionate about is supporting the body’s natural detox pathways rather than constantly suppressing them.

Sweating is one of the body’s incredible natural ways of removing waste and regulating itself.

Salt-based deodorants work differently to conventional antiperspirants. Rather than blocking sweat glands, they help reduce the bacteria that create odour on the skin.

So your body is still allowed to sweat naturally, just without the unpleasant smell.

It feels like a much gentler approach for the body overall.

You Do Not Need To Become Perfect

I think this part is really important.

You do not need to suddenly throw away your entire house overnight or become fearful of every tiny thing around you.

Healing should still feel grounded, calm and joyful.

For me, this journey has simply been about slowly creating a home that feels softer on the nervous system… quieter for the body… and closer to nature.

Tiny little swaps really do add up over time.

Understanding The “Toxic Bucket”

And perhaps most importantly…

Please don’t underestimate how much these little everyday exposures can quietly add up over time.

I often explain it to patients like a “toxic bucket.”

For years, the body can cope beautifully with modern life — fragrances, pesticides, mould exposure, plastics, synthetic fabrics, stress, processed foods, poor sleep, medications, chemicals in the air and home.

But eventually the bucket can begin overflowing.

And that’s often when the body starts whispering through symptoms such as:

Skin flare-ups

Histamine reactions

Brain fog

Hormonal imbalances

Fatigue

Digestive symptoms

Headaches

Inflammation

Feeling “puffy”, overwhelmed or exhausted

It isn’t that the body is failing you.

Very often, it’s actually the opposite.

The body is working incredibly hard trying to protect you, process everything, neutralise toxins and keep you functioning every single.

To slower living, open windows and lavendar scented sheets,

Chloe Thomas,

Founder of Soul Balm Homeopathy.

Homeopathic Consultations, worldwide.

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