When you're out of your normal routine, some people accept it wildly, and they just go and don't worry about it. But if you're anything like me, there are things that you think about when you're traveling. 

The first thing I want to chat about is flying and the toxins that you're going to be exposed to while flying. So this is something to think about. I love travel and this exposure is something I'm willing to take on because the benefit outweighs the risk in my opinion. And you can't always drive somewhere you can't always take a train and so that you are going to be exposed to radiation from flying. And here is what's crazy. I did a little bit more research on this because I did not know why you're exposed to radiation when you fly but here's why. So when you fly, you might think that you're gonna get radiation through the airport scanners. And that is true. And I personally have done TSA PreCheck. Because it's not only convenient, it does take away that scan that is, is said to have very trivial amount of radiation. However, I like to reduce my risk wherever I can, and I'm already getting exposed to radiation when I'm flying. So TSA PreCheck makes me feel a little bit better. Plus, the lines are shorter. And I don't have to take out all my stuff and take my shoes off and all that. So I like it. But anyway, so I did more research. And I learned that when you fly, you're exposed to radiation. And the reason why is because as the air gets thinner in the high altitude, and the further you get away from the Earth's surface, there are less molecules of gas. And that thinner air means that incoming rays, the radiation from outer space, comes into the plane, and there's less atmospheric shielding. And so there's more exposure to radiation. Isn't that so fascinating? That, you know, we are going up in the air, we are being exposed more to cosmic rays. And that's how we're getting radiation because radiation really is from the beginning of time, and there are manmade ways that radiation can affect us. And there are natural ways. And this is one of the natural ways even though we are flying in an airplane that is manmade. Interesting, right. So that's one thing I wanted to say about, you know, toxin free travel tips is that, you know, if you fly, you're going to get exposed to some radiation. And you just have to determine for yourself if that risk is worth it or not. So that's the first tip I want to talk about. And it's not really a tip, honestly, but just a little bit of information for you. So the other thing I wanted to share is just how you can, you know, bring along conveniently, your personal products, so that you are exposed to less toxins. So some of these might be extreme, and some might just be, you know, depends on depends on how strict you are with your toxin free journey. And in my personal life, I am trying to focus on balance, so that I don't stress myself out. And maybe you can relate to that a little bit. So sometimes I have to just let things go. And just be a little bit more flexible. Because otherwise, I might make myself go crazy. But I know some of you out there are super, super strict, and that makes you feel good. So I'm going to share these tips and you figure out where you are on that spectrum. So when you bring your products, think about the things that you might forget. So for example, hand soap, figure out how to get how to use hand soap while you're traveling, instead of having to use what's in the bathroom at the airport. Or maybe you choose to use hand sanitizer that you know is safe versus washing your hands at the airport. That's very controversial, I'm sure just even saying to use hand sanitizer instead of washing your hands. But for some people, that might be a choice that they make. And you could cut off very small pieces of a bar soap and bring them with you and use that instead of using the hand soap. I have found that if you heat up your soap just a little bit in the oven, you can slice it very easily into small little chunks. So that is one great way to take your bar soap with you when you're traveling. And if you put it in a cloth bag, like I have an old makeup bag, that's a small little makeup bag that is cloth, it dries pretty quickly and then the soap doesn't get all all over around everything else or those silicone bags are pretty convenient, too. So that's one thing is to bring your own hand soap. And for those of you that struggle with eczema or anything like that on your hands, it is a smart idea to bring your own soup. So because a lot of those products, a lot of those conventional hand soaps have ingredients in them that can exacerbate your eczema. So for those people that struggle, then I would highly suggest doing that so that you're not making your eczema on your hands worse.

Of course there's all Also the products that are going to be at a hotel, like your shampoo and your soap and your conditioner. Personally, I've always had to bring my own for those things because I have such thick curly and really hair and the conditioner and shampoo, at houses, hotels just does not work for me. That is something I've had to do for a very long time. And it's kind of a pain but it is what it is. I'm currently using inner sense hair products from their shampoos, conditioners, curl creams, and they have the best that I have found for my Unruly thick curly hair. And it is still packaged in plastic. Unfortunately, I have tried using a shampoo bar and conditioner bar if you have one that you love, that works really well for really thick curly hair, please email me and tell me I would love to try it. And I would love to get rid of my plastic in my shower. But at this point it is what it is. And I recycle those plastic bottles and just do the best I can remember when I said I was working on balance. So of course bringing your own haircare products, and all those sorts of things is a good idea when you're traveling. I also like to bring when I travel, a little bit of laundry detergent, just because what if I need to wash something this happened recently, we were at a volleyball tournament over the weekend and my daughter and I both just forgot to pack some things. And so we had to wash a pair of jeans. And I ended up using there was a stain on the jeans and I ended up using my crunchy Gentle Facial bar. And amazingly enough it got this stain out pretty incredibly. So I did that in the hotel room. And then I threw the jeans in to the wash without any detergent because I wasn't going to put some tight on there and have it smell like tied for the the rest of the jeans a pair of jeans life because that smell does not come out. And it came out just fine. The stain was gone. Can you believe that? A stain in jeans washed with a crunchy Gentle Facial bar and it came out just fine. So it reminded me oh yeah, in my bag and my other bag. I keep a little bit of detergent in there. And I had just brought a different bag and I didn't have it. So that is definitely on my don't forget list is to bring a little bit of your own detergent in case you need to do some hotel sink, cleanup. And if and if you have to do a whole load, then you'd be just feel better having your own detergent with you. Here's another tip, bring your slippers or bring socks that you wear in your hotel room. I'm sorry, but those carpets are just gross even in the nicest of hotels. So I always like to bring a pair of socks that I wear in the hotel room. And then I usually put them inside out and then I wash them when I get home because yuck and who knows what they're putting on those carpets too. So that is another tip is to bring your slippers or your or some socks and you might want to have your shoes in some sort of shoe bag or keep them separate from your clothes in some way. When we are walking all around, we are picking up things. The best way that I like to think about this is like if I'm taking my dog for a walk, and I have my tennis shoes on and it rains a lot in the northwest. There are puddles everywhere and all of the sludge from cars and the runoff from from grass with your neighbors using God knows what on their grass. That all gets onto your shoes. So not only is it important to not wear your shoes in your home, but think about how your clothes are touching your shoes in your suitcase. So it is a great idea to have some sort of separation for your shoes. It's a great way to reuse plastic bags. If you happen to have a couple of extras like maybe your newspaper gets delivered in a plastic bag. It's a great way to reuse those so keeping your shoes separate or putting them in some sort of bag in your suitcase is a great idea. Now this may not be a toxin free tip but it's just a travel tip. And who doesn't love it? OSE I started using packing cubes a few years ago. And I think they are life changing, that you can get so many things into travel packing cubes, I roll up each of my items, and I put them in the cube. And you can just fit so much more and it all stays organized. Sometimes I like to organize it in different ways. So I will either organize it by day, like I'm going to wear this outfit on this day. Or sometimes I put all of my workout clothes together, or I put all of my underwear and pajamas together, or I put, you know all the tops together. So not only does it help you stay organized, it also saves so much space in your bag, and you will be able to pack so much more. Some ways to reduce your exposure to BPA and other chemicals associated with plastics is to bring your own water bottle. Of course, I almost didn't even bring that one up in this episode, because you probably are doing that anyway. But it's a good reminder, to not have to be using plastic bottles, so bad for the environment. And also just not good for our health as well. So bring your own water bottle. And also use your digital boarding pass, get the app, download your boarding pass, because that paper is thermal paper that they print the body passes on and those have a lot of chemicals in them. Did you know that I often at the grocery store, just ask them to throw away the receipt so that I don't have to be touching it. Also a great idea to wash your hands. Of course before anytime you eat, because you potentially have been touching toxic exposure chemicals, and you're gonna get exposed through eating with your hands. So that is just another smart tip. And doing some research, I also learned that food packaging has a lot of toxic chemicals. This isn't I honestly had not researched that much. And I'm not surprised at all. But I found this article from the Breast Cancer Fund in the Silent Spring Institute. And they found that families who avoided all food packaging, reduce reduce their levels of toxic chemicals in their bodies by 60%. In just three days, isn't that incredible? I learned this through the toxic free future website. And I am just shocked by that. So they found that families who cut out all their food packaging reduced their toxic chemicals in their bodies by 60%. In three days, oh my goodness, makes me rethink some of the things that we have in our house need to be better about buying our own. I know it's very hard to reduce your packaging that you're using, especially because it's just more convenient, right? It is so much more convenient to buy pre packaged items. Also, a lot of diets suggest doing that because you can you know exactly how many calories you're eating your note what the nutritional facts are for those items. It's just not worth it. If you are on a diet and you want to work on being able to actually count calories, if that's your jam, I suggest getting a food scale that would be a much better and less exposure to the chemicals in food packaging. And also just better for the environment. That's just a little side tip, if you need measuring your food is the best way to learn how much you're eating. And my last tip is to bring your own utensils. Yep, I've you've seen those like little packages of utensils. They're adorable, you know, a fork, spoon, knife and a little canvas container that you can take with you. Great way to do that it's better for the environment, of course, but also you're not having to eat your food off of plastic. And of course that's going to have some chemical exposure with that as well. So those are my toxin free travel tips. I hope you enjoy them. If you have more to share, I would love to hear them. So you can always email me Megan at detox Dot Design. And don't forget if you're a superfan and you want to be a part of my podcast relaunch elite relaunch team as a host with special benefits. Then make sure you email me Megan at detox Dot Design. All right. Until next time, bye.

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