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Cleaning Out Your Kitchen: Clean, Safe Kitchenware

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It's been so fun to be able to share these past few weeks about Jase and I's process of renovating and filling our home. While this process has been much longer than expected, it really began, not when we decided to renovate our home, but when I made the switch to Clean Living. When I think of how much we've changed over time, from products we use in our home, to practices and more, we really have been on this journey for a while! If I've learned anything it's that Clean Living isn't just a one time switch, it's really a lifestyle you adopt and constantly adapt to.As we've renovated our home, we've been so fortunate to use materials that are toxic-free and to fill it with clean, modern products and brands that we've come to love. This has inspired the current series we're in on the blog that we're calling Making a Home. For the past few weeks, I've been able to share with you just a few of these products and brands, and in the next couple weeks, I'll continue to share with you more about specific areas of our home, as well as a few before and afters of our renovation!I also love that I've been able to share with you so many things that I'm constantly getting questions about whether here on the blog or over social media – from clean mattresses that I love, to everyday clean products that I use in my own home. One of the other topics that I am always getting questions about is our kitchen! And of course, the kitchen is such an important topic in all our homes. It's where we prepare our meals, share time with family, and partake in practices and routines that bring us so much joy. I'm excited to share with you this week a  few clean products and brands that I love to use every day in my own kitchen, and really have become a staple in our own home.I love these pots and pans from Food52. They are absolutely the best when it comes to using nonstick, cookware that doesn't contain any added chemicals or toxins that cook into the food we eat or the air we breathe. They're actually made from sand with diamond-infused ceramic coating, and they promise to never peel or tear like other traditional nonstick pans – which is such a win-win!No kitchen is truly set without a cast-iron skillet, and I love this one! It's right on Amazon and super affordable when compared to other brands and competitors. I use mine for a variety of different recipes and dishes in my home and it's simply the best.I just love this kitchenware set that is made from natural wood. The spoons and spatulas not only work perfectly when cooking or serving up different dishes, but they're cute enough to leave on your kitchen counter or to use when hosting. They're handmade, along with a variety of other cute items from this brand that you can use in and throughout your kitchen!Rikumo is a brand that I've come to love for their kitchenware especially with a few items from them that I use in my kitchen on a regular basis! Again, I love a good cast iron, and while their cast iron pan is a just little more expensive than the skillet I listed above, it's definitely worth the investment. Other items from them that are on-hand in my kitchen is their copper graiter as well as their stainless steel kitchen tool set – All of which work just as great as they look!This is something I use absolutely every day in my kitchen, my Vitamix blender! It can seem like a bit of an investment for a blender, but when it's something you use every day, it's worth having an item that's durable and gets the job done! Seriously the best and available amazon – Need I say more?Lastly – I love having these towels on hand, especially because it cuts down on our paper waste. They're a great neutral color that works well in my kitchen, but they also have a few other color varieties to choose from!I hope you're enjoying following along with our Making A Home process and learning more about all the clean, safe steps we've taken along the way! If you're interested in learning more or making the switch to Clean Living, take a look The Clean Sweep, my 90-day program where I walk through practices, products, and food that create a clean lifestyle. And for more on specific clean products I'm loving right now, follow along at The Clean Stuff Instagram. x

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Native Union: Simple Technology for the Home

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I'm excited to continue week three on the blog with you of Making A Home. For those of you who have been following along, you know what a special process it has been for Jase and me to renovate our home and take extra care in filling it with clean, safe, and simple items that we love. Though it has been a longer journey than expected, many of you have been asking, and I'm excited to finally share! Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing all things home, before and afters, and brands we've come to love along the way.Jase and I were shopping one day in Malibu, and we walked in the coolest store. I came across the most high-quality wireless chargers, and the rest is history. Nothing takes the coziness out of a room more than technology cords, and I always have the hardest time finding USB chargers, cases, and wireless chargers that actually look nice in a home.It was like a whole new world opened up when I discovered Native Union. It is our go-to brand for all technology needs, and the quality is an A++. My most favorite thing we use are the drop wireless chargers we put in our room and the guest rooms. It is such a nice feeling when you don't have to find a place to charge your phone. First world problem by far, but I am so thankful for these inventions that add a classic twist to something we use every day.Here are the pieces we love:

I hope you’re enjoying following along with our home process – And, more to come over the next few weeks on my Instagram and right here on the blog. Xo 

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Thinking Bigger: Serving Others and Supporting Small Businesses

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Although this time is full of struggle, re-adjusting, loss, learning to homeschool, and bits of frustration or maybe even fear, there are positive ways we can support each other! This time has reinstalled a sense of camaraderie and community. Do y'all agree? Many are serving more than they ever have. It’s a beautiful silver lining to this pandemic. When loneliness sets in, I encourage you to check in on someone else or send a thoughtful note or gift to a loved one; I guarantee it will bring you joy and will only bring comfort to others!

Here on the blog, we've implemented a new series of talks on Thinking Bigger. Last week we touched on How Simplicity Changes Everything, and this week I wanted to talk about serving others and supporting small businesses – A topic that has really been on my heart and surprisingly, has also helped me process during this time.

My family lives in Dallas; we are so close, and it was really tough to cancel the trips we had planned to see each other, not knowing when the safe next time will be. One way that has helped me feel so connected is by sending them presents that remind me of them or fun little things for my sweet nieces! And all the while, I order the items from small businesses. You bring a company joy while sending joy to someone you love, and it doesn’t have to be big!Another long-winded, yet rewarding project we have been diving into is all things home and finishing the furnishing process! With the intension of supporting small businesses, I feel like I have entered an entirely new world of discovering some incredible companies! It makes the purchase that was on the to-do feel much more purposeful.

Fun Ideas

  • Create your neighbor a bouquet of flowers from the backyard.
  • Write a note to someone you are grateful for.
  • Call your grandma.
  • Give to a charity that provides meals to others during this time.
  • Cook a meal or cookies and deliver it to someone it would help.

Gift Ideas

  • Send a bottle of wine from here (it's organic and biodynamic and delicious!)
  • A toy for your friend's puppy from here, here, or here.
  • Send something cute from here.
  • This Box of Sunshine that gives 100% of proceeds to Baby2Baby.
  • The cutest organic clothes for kids.
  • For new mamas.
  • Healthy products from here.

For the Home

To follow along with items I'm getting my hands on, or to see how I'm constantly learning and processing throughout this time, stay up to date on my Instagram. x

How can you serve and support others during this time? Jot down a few ideas and try to implement one this week!

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