As nature comes back into bloom after another chilly winter season, the season of spring can feel like it's naturally calling for us to do the same through a detox.
When we say detox, we don’t mean a juice cleanse or a green smoothie. We’re talking about clearing out the clutter, lightening our loads and reconnecting with what truly matters most to us in life; a gentle dismissal of what no longer serves us in our bodies, minds, homes and in our environments.
As Earth Day draws near, here are some ways to initiate a spring detox in aspects of both personal wellness and planetary care.
Body | Try a Low-Impact Diet
After the long days, longer nights and heavy meals of winter, give your body lighter, easier-to-digest nourishment through a diet that’s climate-friendly and sustainable for you, your lifestyle and Mother Nature.
When starting your morning, consider awakening your digestive system with a glass of warm lemon water. The natural acidity of the lemon initiates natural stomach acid production, aiding in smoother digestive function throughout your day. It’s also incredibly hydrating after 8 hours of sleep, during which time you’ve likely had no water intake.
Then, while grocery shopping for the week, focus on seasonal whole foods such as spinach, cucumber, citrus and fresh herbs like cilantro. These simple selections are wonderful for hydration, digestion support and a gentle cleanse of our bodies - and recipes!
For natural energy boosts without the crash this season, replace acidic caffeinated drinks with herbal teas or Cocoa Sun Ritual.
Home | Integrate a Circular System
Creating a more zero-waste home doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult. Here are just some circular living ideas for how to make your home more sustainable.
Plant a Regenerative Garden
Whether you live in a house with a yard or a condo/apartment with a balcony, you don’t need a lot of space to start a permaculture or no-dig regenerative garden at home.
Simply fill a few raised beds or balcony/patio pots with both compost and mulch, reducing water usage while supporting soil health. Then, add pollinator-friendly flowers such as lavender, echinacea (beloved by butterflies), monarda (aka Bee Balm), sunflowers or borage (blue flowers).
If you live somewhere with hot or drought-like conditions, zinnias are easy to sustain, drought tolerant and pollinators can’t get enough of them!
Contributing to no-waste kitchen initiatives, you could also consider growing what you and your family love to eat, turning your home into its own little ecosystem. This is all a great learning experience for children as well as they gain a better understanding of where their meals come from (besides the kitchen) and how their choices and behaviours impact Mother Nature.
Create a Circular System
Home functions can feel like a linear model at times. To make a better effort toward circular living, replace one-time use products with alternatives that are compostable, handmade or refillable.
Instead of throwing them in the trash, use food scraps to feed your soil. Instead of tossing old clothes, cut them up and turn them into towels or cleaning rags. There are so many creative ways to reuse what you already have, and be more circular with what you need to purchase more of.
Additional Footprint Reduction | Use a Sustainability Checklist
A simple, empowering way to see how far you’ve come in your sustainability journey, our Household Sustainability Scorecard can track where you’re already aligned with your life detox and where there’s room to grow.
Ready to take action? Download your checklist here.
