1. What does wellness mean to you?
Wellness means being mindful of the choices I am making for my mind, body and spirit. I am aiming to do the best I can at the time, making progress from where I am right now rather than seeking perfection.
2. How has living green contributed to you & your family living well?
It seemed that once we began making greener choices (e.g., reusable diapers, cleaner products, organic when possible food, organic mattress/bedding etc.) that we tuned into our lives more. We became more mindful about everything including how we spend our time as a family and even the decision to live in a log home lakeside for a year. We’ve always been fairly minimal when it comes to clothing and ‘stuff’ around our home but living green meant that the things we’ve bought have been more intentionally purchased such as saving up for a set of organic king-sized bed sheets or adding to our collection of reusable containers every year. We now have enough for leftovers and school lunches!
3.What are 3 easy things parents/families can do around their home to contribute eco-wellness?
- Open windows when cleaning whether you are using green or conventional products. Yes, even in winter. We spend a lot of time in our homes so it’s important to keep our indoor air healthy.
- Babies and children spend a lot of time on the floor playing and crawling around to explore their environment. Leave shoes at the door of your home. Wearing them around the house tracks in all sorts of yuckiness like waste, renovation dust and winter ice salt…which you breathe in and your children play on.
- Swap out a personal care product you use multiple times a day for a cleaner alternative. It’s the items that we use daily that can really contribute to our wellness. My guide to green beauty can help you figure out what to switch but I recommend starting with replacing plastic soap dispensers for a natural soap bars. Bars are the ultimate in minimal waste as you use every last scrap of soap and they have less packaging than their pump counterparts.
4.What should parents look out for shopping for green or eco products?
A good starting place when shopping for cleaner products is to look for a simple and easy to understand ingredient list. Also, if you aren’t sure if the scent in the product is a synthetic or natural fragrance, than opt for unscented. Synthetic fragrances can cause breathing problems, headaches and a build up of VOCs (products that off-gas chemicals) in our homes.
I aim to avoid these ten ingredients when shopping for natural beauty products since we use personal care items daily which can really impact our health.
ABOUT SARA:
Sara Vartanian is a mom of two boys, who recently moved back to the city after spending a year living lakeside amongst the trees. She is the founder of Green Moms Collective, a Canadian website dedicated to helping mothers live a green and mindful lifestyle. Sara works with wellness and education businesses to manage their social media and outreach programs. If she’s not on Instagram sharing all things green mom, she can be found wiping green smoothies off her children’s faces or shopping at a farmer’s market.
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