5 Easy Steps If You Want To Shift to An Organic Lifestyle
Written by: Cathy Calzar
Shifting to an organic lifestyle can be quite daunting especially when you don’t know where to start or when you lack knowledge about it. Here at LineaOrganica, our team has totally embraced organic not just in using organic products but also being mindful of our food and daily activities.
Here are 5 easy steps you can do if you want to shift to an organic lifestyle, just like it and helped us!
Step 1.LEARN
It’s so important to do your research first when going organic. Learning what it is and its importance won’t just guide you in your journey but will always remind you of your “why” and motivate you along the way.
You can read books and available resources online. Here are some of our favorites to get you started:
- Organic Body Care Recipes by Stephanie Tourles
- Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces by Gayla Trail
- No More Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics by Siobhan O’Connor, Alexandra Spunt
- Organic Foods: What You Need to Know
- Top 7 Organic and Sustainable Living Blogs to Follow
- What are Certified Organic Products?
- Organic Cosmetics Fact Sheet
Step 2: ACCEPT AND EMBRACE
For so long, we have been bombarded with so many products and information that promote the “artificial”- artificial flavors, artificial colors, artificial beauty.
We are natural creatures living in a natural world and this so much blending of the artificial in our lives has caused so many problems environmentally and in all aspects of health- physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social.
Shifting to an organic lifestyle requires us to appreciate and embrace what’s naturally given to us from our natural beauty & bodily functions to amazing natural flavors from organic, unprocessed food.
Start with this and it’s so easy to ditch the artificial and go back to our natural and organic selves.
Step 3: PICK, REMOVE & CHANGE
We usually don’t pay much attention to the mundane things of everyday- our food, our bathroom essentials, household materials, clothes. As long as they taste fine, smell good, work well or look nice, everything’s okay. But the thing is, these small things actually have a big impact in our lives- our health, our environment, our society’s system.
Imagine a day without soap, without toothpaste, without food. Without these things, a day seems to be incomplete.
This is one of the reasons why shifting to organic can be quite overwhelming. It’s because shifting will make us realize that we actually have to change a BIG part of our daily lives.
So how are you going to start this big change?
Pick one area of your life that you want to start changing to a more organic one. Then break it down to smaller areas you can work on more easily.
Let’s say you choose food. Food is a really broad category and trying to switch your ingredients to organic all at once can be really overwhelming and expensive. You can start with one food category first (ex. dairy, grains, fruits, vegetables) or even just one ingredient. Remove what can be removed (sodas, processed meat, food with lots of salt and artificial flavoring, etc.) and find a healthier alternatives (whole grains, organically-grown vegetables and fruits, using herbs and spices for flavor, etc.)
You can also start with personal care products. Choose a category- hair care, skincare, body care- whichever you’d like to start with. Try changing one product at a time be it your shampoo or body soap or toothpaste.
Where you want to start is up to you! Make sure to take small but consistent steps. 😊
Step 4: SUSTAIN
So you’ve started accepting and loving all things natural, picked an area you’re starting with, and started to remove and change things to a more organic and natural. The next thing you have to do is to be consistent!
I know I said I’m going to share 5 “easy” steps but then you might be thinking now that consistency is hard to accomplish. Where’s the easy part in this step?
Is it really as hard as you think? Let me change your mind.
The key to consistency is doing the first 3 steps I shared with you.
In Step 3, I told you to pick one small thing that you’re going to change. And it’s should be easy to be consistent when you’re doing just one small thing, right?
I’ll give you a practical example
Let’s say, you chose to change the shampoo you’re using. At first, you might not feel like your hair is getting cleaned due to the lack of lather or foam, typical of organic shampoos (did you know that SLS is the ingredient that makes your chemical shampoos really foamy?). When you’re at this point, go back to Step 1. Remind yourself why you did the shift. Remind yourself that through consistent use, you will notice that your hair becomes healthier. It will be less dry. There’s going to be less hair fall and your hair will look more alive.
Next, go back to Step 2. Embrace the fact that organic shampoos which contain natural ingredients are gentler and work differently from synthetic ones. Appreciate how nature works to balance your hair’s pH, maintain its natural oils, and bring back life to those hair follicles.
Also, to sustain your organic lifestyle, find support by surrounding yourself with like-minded people that will not just support and motivate you but also guide you especially when you’re starting out the shift. Try joining groups online or offline that are also into organic living. These groups usually have members from different backgrounds with also different lengths of experience in the organic lifestyle. Some could be newbies like you or some have been living organically for years already.
It’s just so much easier when you’re going on the organic journey with someone. 💚
Step 5: SHARE
Living and loving the organic life? Take your siblings, friends, parents, partner, or even your workmates with you so they can also experience the benefits of the organic lifestyle.
Don’t forget to share the joy of living organically with the people around you! Let’s all learn, live, and love organic together. 😁
Join our Live Organic Community on Facebook and follow @LiveOrganic.PH to join the organic beauty movement! Shop organic at LineaOrganica.com for your organic beauty needs!