Question: I want to go organic… but how to start?!

Here are my tips: 1. Have a Purpose As when starting anything, we must first ask the question WHY? Why do you want to do it? One main reason why people go organic is because they want to be healthier, and eliminating toxic chemicals in your body will definitely help in achieving your health goals. Another reason is maybe because they are sick, and they need to detox themselves. For others, it may also be that they want to help save the environment. There are so many possible reasons why you may want to go organic, but just make sure that you are not doing it to follow a “trend,” because I don’t believe that it’s a fad. Do it with a purpose. 2. Educate Yourself Educating yourself before diving into it is important. Don’t simply “go organic” without knowing anything about it. I recommend reading books, blogs, watching documentaries, checking out research papers, or maybe talking with someone who’s already gone organic. First and foremost, learn what organic REALLY means, because there are quite a lot of misconceptions about it. One time, I had a conversation with someone I just met, and then he said, “Oh, what’s organic? Do you just eat fruits and veggies?” To get you started, here are some of my favorite blog posts that might help you:

• What does “organic” really mean?
• Organic vs. Natural: What’s the difference?
• Why Women Should Use Organic Down There (Feminine Hygiene)
• Does your deodorant contain these toxic ingredients?
• Why I Went Organic

3. Go Slow If you read my post on Why I Went Organic, you will read there that it took me quite a journey to get here. I didn’t just wake up one day and decided to go hardball organic. In fact, I’m not sure if it’s possible at all. Keep in mind that IT IS A PROCESS. 4. Read the Ingredients PRO TIP: To know if something is truly organic, you have to read the ingredients! Don’t just rely on the labels because so many companies label their products as organic even if they’re really not. The only sure way to know if the product is organic is if you don’t see any bad chemicals in its ingredients list. If you have no idea yet how to read ingredients, check these out:

• Organic certification logos to look for
• Beware of these 10 cosmetic ingredients

5. Start with Products, then Food This is just my suggestion, but of course, you can start with what’s easier for you. For me, it was first starting with my beauty products like my skincare, hair products, and cosmetics. But then again, it’s quite difficult to eliminate everything completely, so just take your time, and do it slowly. Food is a little bit more complicated, even for me. Lucky for you if you have time to cook your food every day (I suggest shopping in a market where you can find organic meat, veggies, fruits, and other ingredients) but if not, then you can at least try to be mindful of what you eat. Move away from overly processed foods like instant noodles or canned meat. 6. Take It Easy – It’s a Journey Don’t be so hard on yourself! There’s no such thing as perfect. You can never be 100% Organic (#truth), because the world is too complicated for that. There are too many processes that products go through that we can only rely on organic certification bodies to check on them thoroughly. What’s important is that you are thriving every day, be mindful of your decisions, and do what you feel is best for you.

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Hope that these tips help somehow! On another note, if you are interested in organic but don’t really want to commit to switching to an organic lifestyle just yet, you can start by just trying organic products here and there, checking out a Farm-to-Table Organic Restaurant, or try experiencing an organic spa treatment. It’s worth a try, I promise! If you have other questions, feel free to leave them below!

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This post was originally published in Organicaholic Blog