5 Sustainable Home Swaps that Support Your Well-Being

As we reset our health routines for the new year, it’s easy to focus only on what we eat—but the environment in which we live plays a big role in our overall health too. What we bring into our homes, cook with, and use on our bodies can all influence exposure to unwanted chemicals and stressors.

We asked our Registered Dietitian, Rita deFreitas of Red Apple Nutrition, to share some practical swaps you can make for a cleaner, healthier environment. As she says:

“Clean living is a way of life. While we can’t always control what we are exposed to in the air, we can do our best to control what we put into our bodies, on our bodies, and in our living environments. Chemical exposure can lead to thyroid dysfunction, inflammation, hormonal imbalances and gut dysbiosis."

1. Swap Plastics for Safer Storage

Many plastics contain chemicals like BPA and phthalates that can leach into food, especially when heated. Studies have shown that there can be health risks tied to packaging products in certain potentially harmful materials like BPA or plastics that contain phthalates.

Rita's tips:

Swap food storage containers for glass and plastic wrap for reusable beeswax wrap.
Never freeze or heat in plastic containers.
Avoid drinking from plastic water bottles and swap for stainless steel or glass!
Try to avoid buying foods packaged in plastic wrap, like vegetables and deli meats.
Avoid canned items when possible.
Try to avoid touching receipts (yes, these all contain BPA!)

2. Choose Cleaner Household Products

Traditional cleaners and detergents may contain harsh chemicals linked to irritation and long-term health concerns. Switching to plant-based or chemical-free options can make a big difference. Some chemicals that are used can contribute to asthma, infertility, and cancers.

Rita's tips:

Go green! Use chemical-free products in your home (soaps, detergents, cleaning supplies, insect and weed killers.)
Try using Branch Basics or Norwex products for cleaning.
Make your own weed killer with white vinegar, environmentally friendly liquid dish soap, and salt! I like The Garden Glove's recipe!

3. Cook with Safer Cookware

Choose safer cookware. Cooking with the wrong pans can contribute to exposure of heavy metals, as over time these chemicals can leach into our food. Pots or pans with a nonstick coating tend to arouse the most concern. That’s because they are usually made with a polymer coating whose active ingredient is called polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a unique polymer coating that prevents food from sticking in the pans during the cooking process. You may know PTFE by its brand name, Teflon. Studies have found that at normal cooking temperatures, PTFE-coated cookware releases various gases and chemicals that present mild to severe toxicity. More alarming is the fact that a well-known toxic environmental pollutant, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), is also used in the synthesis of PTFA. There are some reports where PFOA was detected in the gas phase released from the cooking utensils. Potential contamination with (PFOA) is associated with cancer, mammary cancer, reproductive toxicity and endocrine disruption.

Rita's tips:

Use cast iron skillets
Try ceramic pots and pans that are durable enough to handle high heat over time
Stainless steel is durable and non-reactive, meaning chemicals won't leach into your food from your pan!
Use the EWG app to help find safe products: www.ewg.org

4. Filter Your Drinking Water

Water is crucial to our health. Every system in our bodies depends on water. However, tap water may contain disinfectants and heavy metals, including lead and arsenic. Installing a good-quality water filter can help reduce unwanted contaminants and make your drinking water taste cleaner and fresher.

Rita's tips:

Try bottled water in glass from a spring - Check here for a possible spring near you!
Add a filter to your faucet like Pur water filters. Certified to reduce over 70 contaminants including 99% of Lead, 96% of Mercury, 92% of certain pesticides.

5. Rethink Beauty & Personal Care Products

Many conventional skincare and beauty products include synthetic fragrances and preservatives that can act as hormone disruptors. Choosing cleaner, simpler formulations, or natural alternatives like coconut oil as a moisturizer, can reduce daily chemical exposure. Rita shares: “Did you know that Europe bans 1400 ingredients from their beauty products, Canada bans 600, yet the U.S. only bans 31?!"

Rita's tips:

Swap your skincare for better beauty like: Counter or Crunchi
Ditch the old deodorant for Attitude brand

Start small, think big!

Start small and give yourself grace. Healthy living isn’t about doing everything perfectly — it’s about making intentional choices, one step at a time. Even one or two simple swaps can meaningfully reduce your daily toxic load and support your body’s natural ability to thrive. Small changes add up, and over time, they create lasting impact.