A couple of years ago I decided to go entirely chemical free. That meant I ditched all the chemicals in my home. I used no chemical cleaners, deodorants, shampoos, body lotions and laundry supplies, etc. If it was a chemical base, I didn’t use it. Once I made the decision I felt fantastic. It felt like I was the best wife and mother, you know an ‘instagram mom’. But then reality set in.

At first, all was going well. I was feeling good about my new found choices and things were clipping along. The first thing I did was to use most of the things I already had on hand and when I replaced them I purchased organic, chemical and dye free options. This was the easiest thing to do financially. The first thing to replace was the laundry detergents, softeners and dryer sheets. Then the shower supplies and finally the deodorant. I didn’t make my family do all the chemical free things, just what they wanted. But, I was on a mission to do the most for me and slowly ‘convince’ everyone else that this was the right thing to do for themselves.

The deodorant switch was the first thing that went very haywire for me. On the first day I could smell myself. This totally sucked because I had a full day of clients to see and I bet they could all smell me. It was so embarassing. I kept my arms to my sides and cranked up the diffusers in hopes to hide the smell of my pits. So…that change lasted 24 hours before I abandoned it. Well, not entirely. I will still reduce my chemical load under my pits on the weekends or if I have a day off.

Hair products were the next thing to go. But, I really do enjoy my new hair products that are chemical free and I still use those. But, sometimes they make my hair very dry so I have had to use the most botanically based hair salon products that I could find that help me out. So, it’s not 100%, but it is better than before.

Well, after about 6 months of using chemical free laundry soap I started to notice that my husband and son’s clothes smelled like arm pit. So I researched laundry boosters and began to put in baking soda and vinegar. Still the arm pit stench prevailed but I persisted. I was going to win this game! Until one day the smell was so bad! As if washing workout clothes isn’t bad enough, all of my kid’s shirts started to smell like a dirty locker room all the time. My husband’s sweatshirts smelled like deodorant and arm pit constantly. I started to get worried about social norms here and frankly I got tired of the smell of sweat lingering around the house.

I …was…done! I know let out the gasp!

Well…not quite done, but close. I actually did give up on the vinegar and baking soda. But I do my best to choose detergents that are still free of dye and chemicals but still work on tough stains and smells. They actually do make those. I do use fabric softeners because the static cling in the winter in Wisconsin is crazy! But, I also use only dryer balls in the dryer. Monthly, I will was a few loads in only vinegar and water just to clean out the chemicals, but I don’t stress over it anymore.

I began to look at natural living and changed it up to reducing mine and my families overall chemical load. That’s a little different. I was able to be kinder on my choices and not feel the need to be perfect. Are there things that I will absolutely only use that are chemical free? You bet! But there are other things that I really kind of like. I will never use perfumes or air deodorizers, instead I do opt for essential oils. They smell better and are not made with chemicals to breathe in.

Why did I share this with you? I wanted you all to know that wellness isn’t perfect and neither and I. Sometimes it stinks. But, if you make good choices and reduce your chemical load the stress of perfection won’t take you over the edge.