There are many products that we use from day to day and it can be a huge wake up call to just monitor the amount of harmful and toxic chemicals each of these contain.

It is scary when you begin to do just a little research on exactly where each of these chemicals came from and how they contribute to various detrimental health hazards over time. Ignorance can be bliss, but it is also proving to be catastrophic in the long term as we are all here as the ancestors of generations to come.

In just a few short years, our environment has become a very scary topic. People think that they are powerless in when it comes to the environment and that it is all up to the government to make the necessary changes.

This is a huge misjudgment. We as ordinary people, have the power of choice. If we choose to live consciously, we can begin one by one to eradicate the poisonous toxic health hazards, that we have come so used to living with on a day to day basis.

The best place to start is at home in your immediate surroundings, over which you have the most power.

This is the one place where we have freedom to choose whatever we want. Begin with the bathroom, where you store all of your personal body and skin care products.

This is usually a very powerful experience, just to clean out the shelves. Beginning to read the labels of each product you may be surprised at what nasty chemicals you have come to use on your body.

The next areas of concern to look for, is the shower and bath cleaners, anti mould products and bleach based products. Bicarbonate Soda and vinegar used with a scourer, is a very simple and easy, healthy alternative to these nasty toxic cleaners.

For personal care products, there are a range of alternatives on the market. Visit your local health food shop, there is usually a number of different organic herbal products that are safe, and many of the products you find in health food shops contain herbs and oils that are known to promote health and wellbeing, and stimulate the senses.

Once you have been through your bathroom and personal care products, go to the kitchen and clear the cupboards there. Look out for the oven cleaners, bench top and surface cleaners and the floor cleaning products.

For a healthy product with equal power to any kitchen cleaning spray, mix together 300ml water with a tbsp Castile soap and a tbsp pure vanilla essence. Shaken well and used as required, you will find this to be just as effective.

A good anti mould product, for all wet areas around the home is a mix of 200ml water and 40 drops of pure tea tree oil in a spray bottle.

For baked on grime in the oven, use Enjo marble scrub. Another alternative is vinegar and Bi carb soda spray. Vanilla spray is also very effective, so say good bye to all the poison heavy duty oven cleaners from the supermarket, and enjoy better health for both your body and your home.

All it takes is a little extra love and care for preparation, which is actually much more enjoyable and rewarding as a process. For a great floor cleaner, use 2 tbsp of Castile soap in warm water with 10 drops of tea tree oil.

Another problem area in the home is the toilet. Toilet bowl cleaners, sprays, air fresheners and bleach based cleaners are all harmful products.

Mix up 300ml of water with 2 tbsp Castile soap and 20 drops of tea tree oil. Shake the bottle well and spray the bowl when cleaning. For an air freshener, mix together 200 ml water and 20 drops of essential oil of your choice. Shake well before spraying.

In the laundry people commonly use harmful washing powders and liquids, fabric softeners and ironing aids. A healthy selection that is already available at supermarkets is Award or Planet Ark.

There are also a number of other products such as Envirocare, Natural Organic Instinct and Herbon that are all available at health food stores. If you want a natural and safe fabric softener, throw a handkerchief in with 10 drops of Eucalyptus oil, in with the washing on the final rinse.

When it comes to tough stains, do not use chlorine bleach, it is better to soak them with either oxygen bleach or Borax, which is available at the supermarket. For ironing aid, use liquid starch sparingly.

Dilute it in a spray bottle and spray onto clothes from a distance. Instead of using carpet deodorizers, mix half a cup of bi carb soda with 20 drops of essential oil of choice and sprinkle over areas to be vacuumed. Leave for 15 minutes before you start vacuuming.

For indoor insecticides, use citronella candles that are soy based and not paraffin. Peppermint oil on cotton balls in cupboards can be used to deter mice. For dog bedding you can use essential oils of thyme, lavender or eucalyptus in water to make up a spray.

This can also be good to use in areas that are walked over more frequently. Another problem area that can easily be solved is air fresheners, general sprays and electrically released perfumes.

A natural uplifting alternative is to use Aromatherapy.

A few drops of essential oils in an oil burner with a tea light candle underneath will give any space a more pleasant mood. You can also mix up a spray with 200 ml water, a tsp of pure vanilla extract and 5 drops of lavender essential oil and 5 drops of bergamot essential oil.

This is a great spray for stuffy areas. With all of these alternatives to house hold cleaning products, you will find your shopping trolley a lot less full. The more you can eradicate chemical waste around the home, the more you begin talking with your dollar.

After a while you will begin noticing what a difference this makes, especially for those who tend to suffer from chest congestion and asthma or allergic reactions. When your surrounding environment is clean and healthy, you will also benefit.

Over time you may even notice you are more sensitive to harsh chemicals in other environments and be able to see the hazardous effect these are having on the health of not only buildings, but also the occupants living in them.

There is an abundance of people living with unnecessary products that do much more harm than good. Ill health is very much avoidable more often than not and a good place to start is with lifestyle choices that support the health of both your body and environment.

Organic food and body products may cost more but you are most definitely getting what you pay for.

You will either pay for your health now or you pay for it later. The choice is yours. What surrounds you, you end up breathing in, and what you apply to your skin, ends up in your blood, as the skin is also a breathing organ. That is why people use patches on their skin when trying to quit smoking.

This is for the simple fact that whatever you put on your skin ends up in the blood stream. Take good care to remain aware of the products you are using. Many of the widely available and heavily marketed range of products are dangerous in the long term.

Our advice is, do your research.