Welcome to Natural Cleaning Made Easy!

I'm Kristin: editor-in-chief of Live Simply and your teacher and coach throughout this course.

I want to take a few minutes to share my natural cleaning story with you.

As you read my story (below), you'll notice that I didn't go from using Tide and Pledge to vinegar and castile soap overnight.

Instead, I took one small step of change at a time: researching ingredients in cleaning products, gradually making my own products, then learning about and using safe store-bought options. My journey has been years in the making and is still in the works.

By joining this course, you've already taken the first step in your journey.

As you walk through each of the four steps in this course, don't fell like you need to make all the changes right this moment. Give yourself grace and the permission to take one step at a time. I'll be here to teach and cheer you on each step of the way!

My Natural Cleaning Story

In 2008, Dustin (my husband) and I made a decision to change our eating habits. 

Our goal was to eat less processed food and enjoy more “real food,” a term that I learned from Michael Pollan. This goal took us down many different paths: veganism, vegetarianism, and eventually the discovery of something called pastured bacon (hallelujah!). Today, we focus on real-foods that come from animals and plants.

At the time, I thought our decision was one that would simply change our meals; nothing more. I never thought for one single second that our decision to eat "real food" (food that comes from the ground or an animal, just like our ancestors ate) would change the way we clean, what we use on our bodies, and even the way we do laundry.

Oh how I was wrong!

That one decision resulted in a total lifestyle change for our family.

After a couple of years of eating real food, I began to question not only the products we called “food,” but also the products being used on our skin and in our home.

This questioning led me on a quest to find safer products that contribute to the health of our family and home environment.

There weren't many safe cleaning options on the market at this time (from what I could find), so I started learning about how to make my own cleaners. Soon, I found myself making friends with empty spray bottles and castile soap, learning how to use vinegar for more than just salad dressing, and loving the simplicity and cleaning power of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.

As safe products entered the market, I began experimenting with adding these products to my cleaning routine: using both store-bought options and homemade solutions.

Much of this learning has required going back to high school and college chemistry lessons (something I never thought I would need to visit again): learning which ingredients are safe to mix together to make DIY cleaners, about the nature of various chemicals, and how to read a chemical ingredient list.

Today, our lifestyle is radically different than it was back in 2008. Our family is larger and noisier (hey kiddos!), our food is made with real ingredients that nourish our bodies, and we are more informed about the products we buy and make which has allowed us to create a home environment that contributes to our health and wellbeing.

This course takes everything I've learned over thirteen years and compiles that learning into a four step course.

After taking this course, you'll be able to find, make, and use non-toxic cleaners and cleaning practices in your home and create a healthier home environment for your family.