7 conscious low tox choices I made travelling – and one I forgot!

I live a super low tox life these days. When traveling though, it can be challenging. These were some of the thoughts I had while away in Tasmania these past 3 days about how to lower the toxic load when traveling and staying in built modern environments. It’s important not to stress or feel like you’ve failed if you don’t achieve ‘perfection’ – whatever *that* is! Sometimes it’s just not possible due to time or something else. We have to remember to ditch guilt and just do the best we can. Often, you’ll be able to find stuff when you get to where you’re going too.

1. Bring your own toileteries (unscented or naturally scented soap and shampoos in particular). Don’t know about you but my body and fake fragrances are arch enemies. The fake fragrances have phthalates in them to make them ‘stick’ and are hormone bending chemicals. No thanks! I forgot my soap this time and thought ‘relax, it’s a super mild fragrance you’ll be fine’ with the hotel soap. I used it. I had horrible BO the next day and haven’t had bad BO like that for years – since using fake fragrances, no doubt. Last time I forget my soap fragrance-free soap!
2. I switched off – count them – 8 switches, standby’s and wifis around my hotel room. 2 x wifi related, 1 TV, alarm clock, telephone, air conditioning and lamp switch at wall…  If you’re prone to a bad night’s sleep in hotel rooms, this could be why. There’s way too much energy buzzing around and while you’re not immune to all of it in the hotel by doing this, at least you can control your immediate surrounds. Switch everything off at the wall and unplug for sleep time.
3. I avoided the hotel food, even for breakfast. This is a money AND low tox thing… There is a lot of vegetable oil used in mass cooking and breakfast frying and of course processed cereals, unethical meats and meats / eggs that have been fed GMO grains, so I like to avoid it all if possible and seek out good, ethical, local spots to get breakky – yesterday morning I simply ate local oysters at the market for breakfast. When I wanted to just relax and not go out I had packed a couple of tins of mackerel and seed crackers,  a big green smoothie I had a bit of each day, a couple of bits of produce from the market – You save so much money and avoid loads of weirdness. Food is not the only way to enjoy time away and if you are a total foody, I guarantee you it will be out and about that the best food will be found, few hotels excepted.
4. I brought my herbal tea bags – most herbal tea bags available in hotels contain fake flavours in them and are even sometimes plastic nylon tea bags. No thank you!
5. I made the most of the natural surrounds. Don’t be inside too much. Nature is the best way to get the negative Ions happening to balance us back from our modern walls and airplanes. Find the great natural delights that might be around you and go exploring. I saw snow for the first time in 33 years yesterday – and to think I was going to go back to the hotel room and work. Carpe Diem. We owe John Keating and Robin Williams that, right?
6. If you’re somewhere super ‘built’ – loads of artificial light, energy such as wifi or electricity… Best thing you can do each day is get barefoot in the grass for 10 minutes a day. It really helps in the way the above point does at centering the body.
7. I packed a couple of bottles of my filtered water from home – You save crazy money that hotels charge for water, you save single use plastics AND chlorine / fluoride in the tap water. I also got to drink fresh spring water out of the side of a hill. Oh. My. Wow. Never tasted water like it! Amazing.
8. I packed a coconut kefir bottle for probiotics, seeing as it was a short weekend trip. For longer trips, I’d take a high quality probiotic. You could bring cultured veggies too.

After a big lunch that day, a couple of simple bits of produce were all I needed that night for dins with a little smoothie – Often I used to over eat when I traveled because I was, erm ‘traveling!’. Eat only to your fill, choose super yummy things and enjoy all the other aspects in addition to the food. (Caveat: When in France I DO eat my bodyweigh in raw milk cheese. That I won’t apologise for!)

 

One of these kids is not like the other. Hee Hee!

 

Yes, I was just a bit excited to taste the freshest of fresh spring water jetting out of the base of the mountain!

 

Another thing I noticed was that my skin got so dry and I could really smell the chlorine in the shower water. I have this shower filter at home and it is just wonderful – You forget how much is in ‘normal’ tap water and my rough hands are testament!

If you fancy having a look at a massive low tox travel tips list I made when travelling long haul last year, you can read here.  or if you want to jump into MONDAY’s round of the Go Low Tox e course and kick loads of low tox goals together, you can do that HERE. 

Low Tox. Happy body,

 

ps. The shower filter link does have my affiliate code built into it. I would NEVER suggest anything I didn’t 100% believe in and believe me I say no to a lot of products people want me to promote. If you buy through my link, it also means you support me being able to spend more time helping our community, so thank you! xx