How We’re Building a Healthier Home for Our Growing Family
Becoming parents changed the way we think about everything inside our home — from the air we breathe and the water we drink to the products we use every day. This story-led, science-informed guide shares how we’re making practical, sustainable changes to build a healthier home for our growing family, without fear, perfectionism, or extremes.
12 min read Updated December 2025
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Five months ago, we brought our son Greylan home for the first time.
Nothing about the house had changed… and yet everything felt different.
Suddenly, the air felt more important. The water. The couch he’d eventually crawl on. The floor he’d spend hours face-down on doing that awkward baby scoot. Even the way our house smelled started to stand out in a way it never had before.
It wasn’t fear. It was a responsibility.
When you become a parent, you don’t turn into a hypochondriac — you turn into someone who finally notices things.
And that’s where this whole “healthier home” journey really began.
Awareness Is the Real Beginning
Before Greylan, we already cared about nutrition and health. That part wasn’t new. But having a baby… that really has a way of zooming the lens out.
You start realizing that babies breathe more air relative to their body size than adults. That they spend more time on the floor than furniture. That their detox systems aren’t fully developed yet. And that many of the exposures we’ve normalized over the years weren’t designed with tiny humans in mind.
That realization didn’t make us panic. It made us intentional.
We weren’t trying to build a perfect home. We just wanted to reduce the biggest sources of unnecessary exposure — the things we interact with every single day — and let the rest take care of itself.
The Invisible Stuff: Why Air Was Our First Focus
If there’s one thing I underestimated before becoming a dad, it’s indoor air quality.
Most of us assume the air inside our homes is cleaner than outside. In reality, it’s often the opposite. Furniture, paint, rugs, cleaning products, cooking fumes — they all contribute to a constant background level of indoor pollution that you can’t see but absolutely breathe in.
Once we started learning more about VOCs, particulate matter, and how early-life exposure affects respiratory and immune development, this became an easy place to start.
We run air purifiers in our main living spaces and bedrooms, using brands like AirDoctor and JASPR. They’re not flashy. They just quietly do their job all day long. And that’s kind of the point.
Cleaner air isn’t something you feel instantly — but it’s something your body appreciates over time, especially when those lungs are only five months old.
Water: It Touches More Than You Think
Water was already on our radar years before Greylan, but parenthood made it feel non-negotiable.
We don’t just drink water. We cook with it. Wash bottles with it. Bathe our baby in it. Stand in hot showers while inhaling steam that comes straight from it.
Municipal water is treated to kill bacteria — which is important — but that doesn’t mean it’s free from everything else. Heavy metals, pesticide residues, PFAS, pharmaceuticals… these aren’t hypothetical concerns anymore. They show up in real testing.
We’ve used AquaTru for years because reverse osmosis filtration removes a broad range of contaminants without needing a full home renovation. It’s one of those quiet upgrades you stop thinking about once it’s in place — which is exactly what you want.
We even use the AquaTru shower, which is NSF certified to remove more than 80+ chemicals (most of which are linked to some pretty serious health concerns).
Sleep: Where Small Choices Add Up Fast
Babies sleep. A lot.
And when you realize how many hours a day your child spends on a mattress, in pajamas, wrapped in blankets, material quality suddenly feels less abstract.
Many conventional mattresses and bedding products contain flame retardants and synthetic foams that can off-gas for years. That didn’t sit well with us, especially for a developing nervous system.
We chose Naturepedic because their materials are transparent, organic, and free from chemical flame retardants. It wasn’t about luxury. It was about peace of mind.
As a bonus, everyone sleeps better. And if you’re a parent, you know that matters too.
Cleaning Without the Chemical Cloud
This one surprised me.
Once we removed synthetic fragrance from our cleaning routine, it became impossible to ignore how intense it is everywhere else. Many conventional cleaners rely on scents to signal “clean,” even though those fragrances often contain respiratory irritants and hormone-disrupting compounds.
We switched to Branch Basics and haven’t missed the chemical smell even a little.
The house still gets clean. Greylan can be on the floor without worry. And we’re not filling the air with something that needs a warning label.
That feels like progress.
The Kitchen: Where Heat Meets Materials
The kitchen was never about going extreme for us — it was about being more thoughtful.
Heat changes everything. When food gets hot, the materials it touches matter more. Over time, we started paying attention to where plastic was sneaking into our cooking routine and began slowly phasing it out where it made the most sense.
We leaned into materials that hold up better under heat — stainless steel, glass, cast iron — and upgraded cookware gradually instead of replacing everything at once. Brands like Our Place and Caraway became easy swaps for us because they prioritize cleaner materials while still being functional, durable, and realistic for everyday cooking.
No overhauls. No panic buys. Just replacing pieces as they wore out and choosing better options moving forward.
It’s not flashy, but these small, consistent choices add up over time — and that’s really been the theme of our whole home.
Fragrance, Candles, and the “Normal” Things We Questioned
One of the quieter changes we made was around fragrance.
Synthetic scents are everywhere — candles, air fresheners, laundry products — and they often contain complex chemical blends that aren’t fully disclosed. Once you learn that, it’s hard to unlearn it.
Now our house smells like… a house. Fresh air. Food cooking. Clean cotton. And honestly, it feels calmer because of it.
What This Is (And What It Isn’t)
This isn’t about fear.
It’s about margin.
Reducing toxic load doesn’t mean eliminating everything. It means lowering the background noise so the body can do what it’s designed to do — especially during early development.
We didn’t change everything overnight. We focused on the big, daily exposures first: air, water, sleep, and cleaning. And we’re letting the rest evolve naturally.
That approach has felt sustainable, empowering, and surprisingly grounding.
If You’re Reading This as a Parent
If you’re early in this journey, here’s what I want you to hear:
You don’t need to do everything. You don’t need to do it all now. And you’re not failing if your house isn’t perfect.
Awareness is the win.
Every small change compounds. Every intentional choice matters. And your kids don’t need perfection — they need a home built with care.
We’re still learning. Still adjusting. Still raising a tiny human who will one day crawl, climb, and probably lick the floor despite our best efforts.
And that’s okay.
This Is Just the Beginning
What I’ve shared here isn’t a checklist or a finish line. It’s simply the starting point of how we’re thinking about our home now that we’re raising a little human inside it.
We didn’t change everything at once. We didn’t chase perfection. We focused on learning, asking better questions, and making one thoughtful upgrade at a time. And honestly, that mindset alone has made our home feel calmer and more intentional.
As we went through this process, I kept thinking the same thing:
I wish someone had laid this out clearly when we were starting.
What actually matters. What doesn’t. Where to focus first so you don’t get overwhelmed or waste money.
That’s why we put together:
The Healthy Home: A Beginner’s Guide to Creating a Safe, Non-Toxic Environment for Your Family
It walks through the same areas we focused on — air, water, sleep, cleaning products, kitchen choices, and everyday exposures — in a simple, practical way. No fear tactics. No extremes. Just clear explanations and realistic steps you can take at your own pace.
If you’re a parent, expecting, or simply trying to build a healthier environment for the people you love, this guide was made for you.
Because a healthy home isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing the right things — intentionally, sustainably, and with confidence.
