I have a powerful sense of smell.
It’s not ideal when you’re living full-time in about 250 square feet.
We bought our first travel trailer back in 2000. We had it for 19 years and pulled it over 250,000 miles.
We commented for at least ten of those years on how it still had that “new car” smell when we entered from outside.
We now know that it is not a good smell. It is toxic.
This new motorhome did not have that smell, so I hope it is cleaner.
There are things we can control and things we cannot. So, I focused on those I could – like detoxing the bathroom first.
I have to admit, I wanted to eliminate all the plastic bottles like shampoo, lotion, face cream, and all the things that would fit into a house closet, but not in our tiny medicine cabinet.
Then I started to learn how toxic a lot of those things were. And in a small space, it felt like I was living in a toxic waste facility. Plus, with my elevated sense of smell, it was a bit overwhelming.
I am one of those people who cannot walk down the detergent aisle at the grocery store without gagging.
For two years, I embarked on a mission to eliminate plastics as much as possible and reduce the toxicity of the products we use. It isn’t very comforting once you know what we put into and onto our bodies.
I make my own face wash, foaming hand wash, and dish soap. (I can share the recipes if you are interested.)
We switched to bar soap that comes in a paper box, as well as bar shampoo and conditioner. It took a while to get used to, but it works great.
The only plastic in the shower is the bottle I use to make my foaming face soap. It has lasted two years so far.
Then there is the stuff under the sink. I haven’t tried an alternative to toilet juice yet, so if you have something that works, please share.
Everything else is handled with a mixture of vinegar, soap, and water. It even took care of a sugar ant invasion.
Vinegar is magic.
Now, as a woman who takes care of her skin, I’ve had to find alternatives to the toxic products that stores claim will make us look younger and jump higher.
I found some great nontoxic replacements, made at a local store in Utah, which allows me to add my own essential oils. It includes Pit Paste that has none of the bad stuff. That took some getting used to, but I’m glad I switched.
This change is not only cleaner and safer for us and the environment, but also significantly less expensive.
Win, win!
