What is natural living?
Natural living is connecting with nature and choosing non-toxic food, home, and beauty products to help you and the environment lead a healthy life.
Luckily, there is a lot of flexibility with natural living, and it can mean something different to each person. While there are many changes you can make, you don’t need to feel overwhelmed. You can choose what works best for you and your family and start with small changes.
I’m going to break down 5 benefits of living a more natural lifestyle, and 5 ways you can get started today!
5 Benefits to living a natural lifestyle
1. Improve your physical health
Spending time in nature gets you outside and moving, increasing your physical activity. This can be as simple as going for a walk, bike ride, gardening, or horseback riding.
As well, eating whole, organic foods provides our bodies with better nutrition, and using non-toxic products reduces our chemical exposure.
2. Improve your mental health
Connecting with nature has positive impacts on our mental health. When we’re out in nature, we are present and relaxed and have a greater sense of well-being.
Feeling better physically also helps us feel better mentally. We have more energy, and our thinking can shift to a positive mindset. Our heads are clearer.
3. Help the earth
Organic farming of fruits and vegetables prevents toxic chemicals from entering the soil and is far less polluting than commercial farming. Eating organically helps support this system of building healthy soil and encouraging a more natural ecosystem.
As well, living a minimal lifestyle means less consumption of products and reduces waste. That means fewer products (especially plastics) sitting in landfills.
We have found that between recycling in our blue bin and composting kitchen scraps, our garbage has reduced significantly. A big bonus is that the compost creates beautiful healthy soil for gardening.
4. Reduce stress
I believe we have the choice to improve our environment, by adjusting how we respond to things. Choosing to spend time in nature helps us relax and breathe deeper with intention.
As well, living minimally creates an environment free of clutter and chaos, which greatly reduces our stress levels. And when you’re less consumed with consumables, you can slow down and spend more time doing the things you enjoy. For me, that means spending quality time with my husband and son.
5. Save money
Living minimally means you’re buying fewer products overall. You’ll have more money in your wallet.
Another way to save money with a natural lifestyle is by making your own non-toxic products. Simple ingredients like shea butter, jojoba oil, and essential oils can be found for a good price to make a moisturizer. There are endless simple recipes online to make your own natural home cleaners and beauty products. This has saved me a lot of money, and I can use the products knowing they’re free of chemicals.
While some organic foods may cost more, one solution is growing your own veggies and herbs. If you have space outside, or even a couple of pots or a windowsill, it’s amazing what you can grow. I’ve done all of these and there is nothing that beats the taste of homegrown food.
Now that you understand some of the benefits, how do you get started?
Here are 5 ways you can get started to live more naturally. Even choosing one of these changes will help make a positive impact on you and the earth.
5 ways to start living a natural lifestyle
1. Spend time in nature
Connecting with nature will help you appreciate what it has to offer, giving you an incentive to make some changes. Going for a walk, riding a bike, or getting dirty in the garden will expose you to different ecosystems and show you they are worth protecting.
“Forest bathing”, which originated in Japan, means bathing in the forest atmosphere or taking in the forest through our senses. It’s not about exercising, but simply being in nature. There are even excursions you can sign up for to enjoy 2-3 hour forest bathing experiences.
2. Switch to non-toxic products
When it comes to home and beauty products, read the ingredients list, not the marketing labels. My rule of thumb is if a product has “fragrance” or “parfum” in the ingredient list (amidst other ingredients I can barely pronounce), I avoid it.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a wonderful resource to look up different products and better understand their toxicity ratings.
3. Practice minimalism
Minimalism doesn’t have to be all white walls and a mattress on the floor. It’s about having things that bring value and meaning to your life, so do what works best for you.
One way to get started is to pick a room and declutter it. I’m sure we’ve all heard of Marie Kondo and her general rules for decluttering and keeping things tidy – if something brings you joy, keep it.
Living minimally to me also means buying less and giving everything you have a “home” so that items aren’t randomly laying out and cluttering a space for months on end.
4. Thrift clothes
Reduce, reuse, recycle – and a great place to start is with your clothes. Save money and find good quality clothing in thrift stores. I’ve found some amazing finds in the thrift store for a fraction of the original price. You can also donate clothes you don’t wear anymore, so it’s a win-win.
One suggestion I have to enjoy living more minimally while thrifting, is to create a list of specific clothing you need and look for those instead of buying five shirts you don’t need. I don’t exactly do a capsule wardrobe, but I do create a list and stick to it. This has worked very well for me.
5. Eat whole, fresh food
The dangers of pesticides and insecticides on our health is real. And unfortunately, they’re used on many crops to produce our food. That’s why it’s important to eat organic foods as much as possible. This was actually the first step we took to living a more natural lifestyle. Don’t get me wrong – we still enjoy the occasional takeout, and I have chicken nuggets in the freezer for a quick lunch. You do what you can.
Eating organically then led us to cook more intentionally with whole organic ingredients. I enjoy cooking foods from scratch whenever I can, and once you get in the groove of making your own bone broth soups, salad dressings, and other meals, you don’t think twice about it.
Another option for getting whole fresh foods is growing your own vegetables and herbs. I grow herbs in my kitchen window year-round and will supplement with potted herbs outside in the summer. I’ve also grown a lot of veggies from seed with success. Nothing tastes better than homegrown food!
Conclusion
As you can see, there are some wonderful benefits to natural living and there are many ways to get started. It really is a journey and there is no perfect way to do it. If it feels overwhelming, just pick one thing that resonates with you and start there. We can’t do everything all the time, so it’s a matter of doing what you can when you can.
So, let me know – what steps are you taking towards natural living? What has been your experience so far?