68ish Tips To Living a Natural Lifestyle

I get at least 5 emails a week from people who want to know how to live a natural or crunchy lifestyle. 

This email usually comes after what I like to call "The Awakening". The Awakening, as I call it, is when someone's eyes are opened to the commercialized & chemical filled world we live in. In our culture, baking your own bread seems like something for a special occasion, making your own skin care products is for a craft day with your girls, and buying meat from a local grocery store is the norm. 

People have asked, "When did you decide you wanted to live a healthy lifestyle?"

Honestly? I never "decided". My mom and step dad raised me to do most things myself. We had a small vegetable garden. We cooked from scratch and rarely ate from a box. Before we booked an appointment with our primary care physician, we saw a chiropractor. 

I was always "The Flowerchild" as my uncle called me. I always had a love for making things from scratch, walking barefoot in the field, gardening, and I had a love for nature. It just was normal for me to be in love with the earth and see the beauty in it. 

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I would have to say I went through a phase from the age of 17-20ish where I wanted to commercialize myself. I struggled for years because my personality and just who I am never really fit in. I didn't understand why I always felt different. I never could find my groove-- mostly because I resisted the very things that made me .. well me. Now that I don't fight who I am- I've truly blossomed into who I am as a person and I'm 100% happy. 

That being said.. I still get asked how to live a natural lifestyle. How do you become a "crunchy" mom. How do I live a "hippish" lifestyle. 

I honestly hate labels... but I've really sat and thought about what all of this means. There is definitely a movement into doing things "the old way" or "the natural way". 

So for those of you who are looking to change your lifestyle-- here are   tips to try to work towards to have a more natural lifestyle! ​

Foods/Cooking

1. Stop eating processed foods-- or eat mostly homemade foods. 
2. Ferment your own foods. This is simple & fun-- and honestly really inexpensive.
3. Find a farmer's market and shop for your groceries there. This will teach you how to eat in season.
4. Find a local farm that offers a CSA program & take part in that.
5. Find a raw milk share (if you drink milk)
6. Stop using iodized salt and use sea salt 
7. Eat all the fats! (butter, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, lard, tallow, palm oil, etc) please don't eat transfats.
8. Learn how to cook a whole chicken-- use the bones to make bone broth.
9. Stop paying attention to calories and just eat real food.
10. Buy local eggs- they will taste 10X better
11. Drink clean water.
12. Try your hand at making kombucha or water kefir.
13. Try your hand at making your own yogurt or milk kefir.
14. Plant a garden-- even if it is just one plant. 
15. Take part in a community garden if you can't garden at your home. 
16. Learn about the "weeds" that surround your home. Chances are they are actually medicinal.
17. Get rid of nightlights and use salt lamps. 
18. Drink elderberry syrup everyday. 
19. Find some raw local honey & use that instead of sugar. 
20. Stock your medicine cabinet with essential oils, herbs, homeopathics, oils, and other natural remedies.
21. Learn the wonders of Apple Cider Vinegar
22. Learn to make your own Apple Cider Vinegar
23. Buy in bulk-- when you can.
24. Brew your own tea.
25. Learn how to can veggies.
26. Get to know your local butcher. 

Lifestyle

1. Look into natural birthing options if you are pregnant. (once you look into them) you will probably find that a natural birth as opposed to a medicated or high intervention birth is most often safer & has a better recovery time. 
2. Breastfeed if it is possible for you!
3. Hire a doula. Hire one for birth & postpartum. 
4. See a chiropractor 
5. Get a massage or reflexology regularly (hey if you can swing it do both regularly)
6. Make your own baby food and/or try out baby led weaning. 
7. Cloth diaper if it is possible to you! (or look into diapers that are chlorine free)
8. Make your own skin care products (or buy mine!)
9. Make your own laundry soap! It's very simple!
10. Line dry your clothes in the summer time
11. Look into raising backyard chickens! They are a great way for cheap entertainment and you'll be able to get eggs!
12. Shop local if possible. 
13. When you eat out-- don't eat out at chain restaurants. Try to find something that is original and actually makes their food!
14. Learn about essential oils and their many purposes. (cleaning, medicinal, perfume, etc)
15. Dry skin brush 
16. Learn about detoxing & detox with the seasons
17. Use a menstrual cup or mama cloth instead of pads and tampons (those things are loaded with false estrogens and toxins-- and we wonder why so many women have female problems....)
18. Walk barefoot in the grass
19. Have "no screen time" each day. This means cell phones get turned off, wifi is turned off, computers are off, tv is off. 
20. Read!
21. PLAY with your kids! It's an odd concept to some people. 
22. Take daily walks-- especially if your mood is off. If you don't want to take a walk... you need a walk.
23. Buy used. Get to know thrift shops, mom to mom sales, etc
24. Declutter your home-- only keep what you need.
25. Get out and enjoy nature!
26. Do something that scares you! This will make your anxiety worse for a moment but then you will overcome your fear!
27. Get rid of the toxic chemicals in your home-- use vinegar, thieves cleaner, and baking soda instead.
28. Take time-- even 10 minutes a day to breathe and really concentrate on your breathing. 
29. Hold your tongue when you want to yell-- just once & see what happens.
30. Get rid of your plastic tupperware & buy glass. It might be expensive up front but they last much longer, are easier to clean, and have no chemicals. 
31. Take Epsom Salt & Lavender baths weekly. 
32. Stop using commercial deodorant. Detox your lymph (it might take a while) and use natural deodorant or essential oils.
33. Don't wash your hair everyday-- this to me seems like a no-brainer but ya know..
34. If you are using shampoo-- look into one without sulfates and crazy scary chemicals. 
35. Whatever you do... don't do the baking soda and apple cider vinegar "no poo" method. It will start out great but like no.. just no.. trust me!
36. Do oil treatments to your hair. This is a common practice in the Indian, Hungarian, and many other cultures.
37. Recycle as much as possible. Often times, the city will give you a second recycling bin for free.
38. Donate unused items & get a tax right off.
39. Make or buy reusable shopping bags! You can usually save five to ten cents per bag.
40. Find some cool DIY projects and see if you like them!
41. Open up your windows instead of turning the air conditioner on  (I mean turn it on but open the windows first.)
42. Consider getting rid of carpet throughout the house and get a rug or two. Carpet will hold lots of dust and icky stuff. 
43. Try doing a "no spend" week (or month if you feel adventurous) to reset finances. 
44. Bonus-- Listen to some good music... happy.. kind.. 
45. Bonus-- Capture the moment. Take photographs & actually get them printed. 
46. Bonus-- Keep a journal & give it to your kids someday. 

Like I said before... labels are not my thing. I am more about doing what feels right to you. I always lived pretty naturally, but when "the awakening" happened for me, I ditched a lot of things. 

I take part in almost all of the above! I also cosleep, question everything, paint, exercise, do yoga, and at times I am very hard on myself.

Life is about balance. You will never be happy until you see and understand what that really means. 

Be you. Be beautiful. Be fierce. Know when to say no. Know when to hold your tongue when you want to scream at someone. Get to know YOU. 

Never be a well behaved woman. Find your niche & run with it! Find your beauty. Find your sexy. Become one with the earth. Think a little deeper than "normal".

Finally just do what is best for you.

Photo credit: Michelle Lynn Photographic Artist