Simple Doesn't Mean Easy

Today we're chatting about my latest frontier when it comes to simplifying our family's life: Working Towards a Non-Toxic Home.

It can be deeply overwhelming, so today I'm sharing some practical ideas for you to choose from.

We can never rid our home of every chemical, but we can feel really good about taking small steps towards making a big difference.

Today I'll explain how I manage to buy very little liquid hand soap, dryer sheets, dishwasher soap, liquid dish washing soap, all-purpose cleaner, and paraffin candles.

And I share each recipe.

To download my complete Pantry Checklist (which has been updated to include every DIY cleaner ingredient mentioned in this episode as well as many new coupon codes): https://soulyrested.com/pantry/

In this episode:

• The EPA’s take on chemicals in household cleaners that are “relatively safe if used as intended” 
• What a surfactant is, why they’re in conventional cleaning products, and how to avoid them
• What VOCs are and how they affect indoor air quality
• Some VOCs that are out of my control & tips for how to deal best with those
• How there is no federal health-based standard for VOCs
• What “artificial fragrance” really means on an ingredient list (& how it can refer to more than 3000 undisclosed chemicals!)
• How artificial fragrances can worsen allergies, inflame sinuses, and lead to more colds and respiratory infection
• The term “artificial fragrance” can and company doesn’t have to disclose what chemicals they’re using.
• Additional benefits to homemade cleaners
• Benefits of air-drying clothes
• What essential oils I use for all my non-toxic DIY cleaners & why (bonus: no MLM involved!)
• 5 recipes for my favorite DIY cleaners

About our Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Redmond Real Salt.

Go to SoulyRested.com/salt for my favorites and links. And use code SOULYRESTED to save 15%! Enjoy FREE shipping on all orders of $30 or more.

I was tempted to buy cheap salt just for cleaners but then I realized minerals, particularly trace minerals, are very involved in the various protective properties of your skin. Trace minerals have been shown to be essential in fighting the damages of excessive sun exposure, wrinkles, and maintaining the moisture in your skin.

Minerals are tiny molecules that easily penetrate the skin, so topical application of minerals is a thing.

Why not add some trace minerals via my cleaners?

Redmond Salt: https://glnk.io/oq72y/soulyrested

Today we're digging into the truth about 3 ingredients you make need to rethink, with the Chief Experience Officer of Azure Standard.

In this episode:

• The unique model of Azure Standard, as a grocery distributor, organic farm, and more.
• Do you need to buy organic maple syrup? (You may be surprised.)
• Does it matter if your refined cane sugar is "organic"?
• What sugar might be the best one to have regularly in your diet?
• Why cane sugar is treated with desiccants and glyphosates & how that impacts our health
• How insecticides are ingrained into a plant's DNA
• Why I choose avocado oil, daily
• A great reason to use grapeseed oil
• The lax food standards on avocado oil
• How to choose refined vs. cold pressed avocado oil
• Why it's extra helpful that avocados are resistant to oxidation
• Where to store avocado oil
• Why we should go organic when it comes to chocolate
• The difference between cacao nibs, carob chips, and organic chocolate chips
• What chocolate is inflammatory, adding to inflammation
• Chocolate inhibits absorption of calcium
• Why carob is the best choice for someone with an autoimmune disorder
• Why carob is the best choice for someone in menopause
• Why carob is a great choice when trying to loose weight and have a healthy gut
• What carob is (35:00)
• The one source in the U.S. for organic pure carob (without cocoa butter)
• Encouragement and tips for folks who are starting to eat healthier

Find out if Azure Standard delivers near you: https://www.azurestandard.com/drop-point-locator/?a_aid=bd9edf28fd

This episode's sponsor:

Redmond Real Salt. Use code SOULYRESTED to save 15% off your entire order! See my top 3 favorites here: https://soulyrested.com/salt/

Are you ready to ditch the hurry? Embrace the slow? And enjoy your child(ren)? Listen in as we analyze these very things.

In this episode with Sarah Roof, of Simplyy_Sarah_, we dig deep into the importance of connecting deeply with each child, often. And, referencing multiple studies, Sarah points out, throughout this episode, why daily connections points between a parent and a child improves everyone's healthy. 

In this episode:

* Research suggests that stress levels can significantly impact our physical and mental health

* How does intentionally slowing down and engaging in meaningful activities with our kids help reduce stress and improve our overall health as mothers/parents?

* Millennial moms are more likely to experience anxiety, depression & stress than any other generation of moms

* Do moms rarely or never take time for their own health?

* The best ways for a mom to take care of herself

* Is "self care" what our peers and society tell us it is?

* Parents who are devoted to regular family time report lower stress and higher levels of happiness

* Great ways for a family to loose track of a few hours and just spend time together

* Why intentional connection time with our kids improves mom's health, as well as the children's.

* The many benefits of sitting down at dinner together as a family

* Practical strategies to carve out time for slow and intentional time with kids

* What "connection points" are with our children and how to create them

* Fighting societal pressures to constantly be busy and achieve more

* How society’s demand for productivity leads to LESS

* How embracing a slower pace of life and prioritizing quality time with our kids help us redefine our definition of success and well-being

* What age is too old for a child to have "connection points" with mom in a day?

Amazing ways that quality time with our kids improves a parent's health

Planning a special dinner night once a week

* The rhythm of theme nights planned regularly

* How immersing ourselves in a moment offers the sweet spot of happy hormones and less stress

How spending 20-30 minutes in nature results in a deep drop in cortisol levels

More about Sarah Roof, today's guest:

Sarah is a wife and mama who is on a journey to ditch the hurry and embrace a slower-paced life. Married to her (homeschool) highschool sweetheart, she and their little family live on a small piece of land about 50 miles east of Kansas City. Through her popular Instagram account, Simplyy Sarah, she encourages other mamas to reclaim motherhood from busy culture’s narrative, find beauty and purpose in the midst of the mundane, and to savor the slow and simple life.

Follow Sarah Roof: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplyy_sarah_/

Sarah's store, where you can sign up for the monthly newsletter: https://stan.store/SimplyySarah

Research articles Sarah mentioned: 

https://www.mother.ly/news/2023-state-of-motherhood-survey/

https://www.today.com/parents/today-survey-pandemic-parenting-finds-moms-are-burnt-out-t217123

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8263013/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/a-20-minute-nature-break-relieves-stress

Redmond Salt, Today's Sponsor:

Redmond Real Salt... because salt should be simple.

It shouldn’t contain artificial additives or unhealthy pollutants.

So look where your salt comes from. I have only used Redmond salt for many years, and I know exactly where it comes from… a mine in Utah, created by an ancient sea bed.

Zero chance of pollution which is exactly the way I love my salt, thank you.

Use code SOULYRESTED for 15% off—grab the 25-lb bag cause it never goes bad and it never has pollutants and it’s loaded with more than 60+ trace minerals. Plus, shipping is FREE if you're spending over $30. Can't beat that!

Ever wondered how to switch up your medicine cabinet, in simple ways, to make it more naturally healthy? Ever wanted to talk to a pediatric nurse who was more interested in natural ways to help your child's heath than telling you the solution is simply to buy more pharmaceuticals?

In this episode with Elizabeth Parsons, of purelyparsons, we dive into all this and lots more.

5 Things You Need in Your Natural Health Medicine Cabinet (S5 E16)

In this episode:

• The slow process that led a pediatric nurse of almost a decade to leave the medical industry and embrace a more holistic, natural view of her family's health
• why should we even care about using natural health remedies?
• What are some medicine cabinet essentials, that everyone should have?
• Tips to be more successful in treating ailments naturally
• Treating respiratory issues and coughs naturally
• Treating fevers naturally

Essentials mentioned in this episode for a natural health medicine cabinet:

• calendula salve (code SOULYRESTED saves 10%) https://fhteas.ositracker.com/112884/8732/url_28474
• coconut oil https://amzn.to/3q6nvgZ
• apple cider vinegar https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/food/condiments/vinegar/apple-cider/pure/vinegar-raw-apple-cider-organic/11564?package=CO129&a_aid=bd9edf28fd
• essential oils (code SOULYRESTED saves 20%) https://bit.ly/2STeuH9
• bentonite clay (code SOULYRESTED saves 15%) https://glnk.io/oq72y/soulyrested

Tips for Better Sleep-podcast episode with renowned sleep scientist

https://soulyrested.com/2023/07/17/tips-for-better-sleep/

Find full episode notes and information here: https://soulyrested.com/2023/07/31/5-things-you-need-in-your-natural-health-medicine-cabinet-s5-e16/

Follow Guest, Elizabeth Parsons:

• on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purelyparsons/

• Elizabeth's blog & shop: https://www.purelyparsons.com/

This episode is chocked full of so much great advice from Dr. Aric Prather, a world-renowned sleep scientist and author of The Sleep Prescription: Seven Days to Unlocking Your Best Rest

You may be surprised at how many traditional sleep "solutions" Dr. Prather debunks or suggests you look at a whole new way, while giving very doable, commonsense suggestions to help you get your best sleep ever.

• You're not going to find deep scientific concepts in this episode, but doable, wondrous bite-size tips that may unlock perfect, restful sleep
• How our society's view on busyness and productiveness is hurting our sleep
• How research shows we are the better version of ourself if we get restful, regenerative sleep
• Health problems that are shown to result from inadequate sleep
• Added sleep difficulties for menopausal women
• How depression and insomnia are interlinked
• The most common stimulant used by people around the world and why it's a big challenge
• The half-life of caffeine as a stimulant and how long it is in your body, impacting your sleep
• Is there a hereditary variability to how well we metabolize caffeine?
• How hyper-vigilance impacts our sleep
• Debunking melatonin as a silver bullet for sleep (how clinical trials rank it similar to a placebo)
• Debunking blue light glasses as a silver bullet for sleep
• Why it's more important to consider the content we're consuming than worry about the blue light
• How our body craves predicability and how regulation helps the brain make its best choices
• #1 tip for improving our homeostatic sleep drive & why it matters
• The worst thing to tell someone who has trouble sleeping
• Can naps help us sleep better?
• Ideal length for a nap
• Is there a way to avoid waking up at night?
• Is it detrimental to use the snooze button in the morning? How to know.
• Magnesium and sleep
• What to do about a snoring spouse

This Episode Sponsored by:

Redmond Real Salt Use code SWEETSALT for 15% off everything!

See Michelle’s top picks & more: Soulyrested.com/salt

Buy the book:

on Amazon: The Sleep Prescription

to support local small bookstores: The Sleep Prescription

In this episode:

• How being joyful requires practice, not unlike learning to play an instrument
• An example of training the brain to have positive thoughts in place of negative thoughts
• How your brain needs fuel and if joy isn't the fuel, fear will be
• What fear mapping is, and when and how it happens in your brain
• How can we be equipped to "stay ourselves" even when things get hard?
• Studies about how children react to their environment when their brain is fear mapped
• What happens to cortisol levels and brain growth after just 6 minutes of negative thoughts
• How high-energy joy and low-energy rest are two sides of the same coin and both are necessary
• Why at only 2-3 months of age infants can amplify joy
• Why 9-month-old infants can build joy for 8 hours every day
• How lack of joy leads to harmful addictions
• The ages of joy-peaks of growth throughout a lifetime, when we are most receptive to joy and it impacts us the deepest
• Why the teenage brain is hard to quiet down and why praise and relationship is so important during teen years
• The 4 Habits of a Joy-Filled Life
• How these simple habits can alleviate panic attacks
• How to recalibrate your nervous system so it runs on joy, in only minutes a day

This Episode Sponsored by:

Redmond Real Salt Use code SWEETSALT for 15% off everything!

See Michelle's top picks & more: Soulyrested.com/salt

More Information:

https://soulyrested.com/2023/07/10/the-effects-of-joy-on-our-health/

About the author, Chris Coursey:

CHRIS COURSEY, co author of the 4 habits of joy-filled people is an ordained minister, pastoral counselor, published author, and international speaker. He and his wife, Jen, lead and design the THRIVE Training Program that uses brain-based exercises to train leaders, families, and communities in the 19 relational skills and the Immanuel Lifestyle. Chris is passionate about helping people acquire the skills to make relationships work. 

Find the author:

Free Resources: https://4habits.org/

Thrive today: https://thrivetoday.org/

Find the publisher:

on Instagram: https://instagram.com/moodypublishers

website: https://www.moodypublishers.com/ 

Surprising Ways to Relieve Stress (podcast)

Having a Positive Attitude

Fight your feelings of inadequacy with these 7 little adjectives

In this episode:

• A different way to look at "farm to table"
• Where to start when analyzing your garden soil
• How to start with the outliers when analyzing your soil (regardless if it's macronutrient or micronutrient or ph)
• How Agronomy--large agriculture farming--analyzes a soil test
• How the example of vitamins added to a poor diet correlates to soil supplements added to unhealthy/dead soil
• How this soil test doesn't record minerals in soil that are tied up, only ones that are available to plants
• Signs of healthy, alive soil
• Signs of unhealthy soil
• Why manure, humates, compost, sea minerals, and volcanic minerals are the best additions to most gardens
• Why a book may not be your best resource when trying to learn about improving your soil
• Helpful, hands-on resources to learn more about soil health
• Tested results of using chicken manure as a soil amendment
• The most convenient animal poo to use as soil amendment
• The "More-On" principle
• The importance of balance in your garden soil
• How big should your garden be before you do a soil test?
• Best plan for testing the soil in raised beds
• Does healthy soil produce more nutrient-rich food?
• Is homegrown food genuinely superior to large-scale farming food?
• The value of bentonite clay to garden soil
• What Cation Exchange Capacity is and why every gardener should know about it
• Why & how salt and clay add different value to your garden soil
• What humates are and how they improve cation exchange capacity
• Where (and WHY) to get salt for you, your garden, and your livestock.

Resources: 

Soil Test Kit Karson & I were geeking out over: https://bit.ly/3Nx2PXf

BRAND NEW soil amendment Karson mentioned (use code SOULYRESTED): stay tuned... available soon right here.)

The bulk size bag of salt I love (use code SOULYRESTED for 15% off anytime): https://bit.ly/3XCHJeo

Follow Guest:

on Instagram: https://instagram.com/redmondagriculture

on YouTube: Redmond Agriculture https://www.youtube.com/@redmondagriculture2794

website: https://redmondagriculture.com/ 

This Episode is Brought to you by:

Redmond Salt is unrefined salt with over 60 trace minerals. It's the only salt I've used for many years. Check out my all-time favorite Redmond items and grab a SWEET discount here: https://soulyrested.com/salt/

Growing Seedlings for Profit (article)

My 7-page Pantry Checklist (free download)

My Poor Soil Results & What I Did About it (article)

Why take elderberry syrup?

Find Today's Guests:

Their site: abbyselderberry.com

Use code SOULYRESTED to save 15% off EVERYTHING at AbbysElderberry.com

In this episode:

• Medicinal benefits of taking elderberry syrup
• Why elderberries? How does their antioxidant, vitamin, and nutrient count compare to other fruits?
• Warnings if you are foraging elderberries and considering using them raw
• The difference in American and European elderberry shrubs
• Greek and Roman, European, and Native American historical uses of elderberries
• 3 parts of the elderberry shrub you can use medicinally
• Intriguing way to use the main stalk of the elderberry shrub
• Details about elderberries to help you locate them where you live, for foraging
• Cultivated elderberry shrubs, compared to wild bushes
• The easiest way to make a quart of organic elderberry syrup
• What to look for in all other elderberry syrup

Also in this episode:

Business building tips from successful, family-owned small business success.

More show notes and information: https://soulyrested.com/2023/06/26/why-take-elderberry-syrup/

Find photos of the elderberry bush, flowers, and berries here: https://soulyrested.com/2023/06/25/can-i-add-elderberry-syrup-to-kombucha/

Michelle's recipe for elderberry syrup: https://soulyrested.com/2021/06/14/does-elderberry-syrup-boost-your-immune-system/

Today Chris Martin, content marketing editor at Moody Publishers, is joining us. Chris is the author of Terms of Service: the Real Cost of Social Media & The Wolf in Their Pockets. Chris has been studying and writing about social media for over half a decade and you're going to enjoy his practical, encouraging insights.

In this episode

• Does Social Media actually impact our health?
• The average person is using social media for 2 1/2 hours every day and multiple studies have linked social media use to depression, anxiety, loneliness and suicide.
• Social Media use leads to feelings of inadequacy, self-absorption, distraction, sleep disruption, and keeps us from developing real-life relationships.
• So whether we want to admit it or not, our social media usage DOES impact our health.
• 95% of young people use social media and devoting a huge amount of time to it
• How studies have shown that teens face double the risk of mental health issues because of social media use and habits
• 3 ways to look at social media (and why 2 are wrong)
• The connection between TV of the 60s and today’s social media platforms
• How entertainment went from a 1-way street to a 2-way one
• Why social media is not simply a teenager problem
• The most common thing kids want to be today when they grow up
• Practical suggestions to limit the impacts of social media

Resources mentioned in this episode:

The Wolf in Their Pockets

Terms of Service: The Real Cost of Social Media 

Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman

Techwise Family, by Andy Crouch

To snag Michelle's Master Class on DIY kombucha at less than HALF PRICE

Ways to spend less time on social media:

1. Show yourself that the unpredictable (therefore addicting) results of social media are pretty predictable on your mood: For 1 week, 1x a day write down how you feel (from 1 to 10) before scrolling social media and again after.
2. Plan a real-life gathering with friends. 
3. Make time to get outside.
4. Make exercise a "have to" and put it on the calendar.
5. Find a place you'd love to volunteer a few hours a week.
6. Spend time, face to face, with one friend every week.

Follow Today's Guest on twitter: @chrismartin17

For more information: https://soulyrested.com/2023/06/19/social-medias-impact-on-our-health-with-chris-martin-s5-e11/

In this episode:

How Amber’s battle with chronic illness started when she was only 5 years old.

Lyme’s–an imitator disease

The Doctor Shuffle

What it means that the Lyme’s bacteria is shaped like a corkscrew

Description of bioenergetics and how it helped Amber finally diagnose her Lyme’s disease

The cumulative effect of chronic illness on your body

Making choices today that will help you feel better tomorrow

Herbalism vs. Homeopathy

Modern vs. Natural health solutions Seeing food as a part of healing

Why homeopathy recommends fermented food and drinks

The Herxheimer effect and what you should know about it

Remission via bioenergetics

Why you MUST advocate for yourself, even when treating chronic pain naturally

Tips for advocating for yourself with the medical experts you work with

Resources mentioned in this episode:

For tick testing and more information about Lymes: https://www.lymedisease.org/

To snag Michelle’s Master Class on DIY kombucha at less than HALF PRICE: https://soulyrested.com/kombucha/

For the best Soil Test Kit, (at a sweet discount with code SOULYRESTED): https://bit.ly/3MAslZI

Follow Guest:

on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gracewalkfarm/

on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gracewalkfarm

Amber’s blog:https://gracewalkfarm.org/