It began with our family move to Kent, from a relentlessly noisy bit of South East London (on, we later discovered, one of the most polluted roads in the UK) to a 200-year-old cottage in a little village. The air quality was so obviously better we couldn’t quite believe how long we’d spent inhaling the fumes of eternal traffics.

Without the air pollution around us, we became that bit more sensitive to our surroundings. We were able to throw windows open, to let gusting breezes race through our rooms, without fearing for our lung capacity. It also inspired me to start asking bigger questions about the environments we choose to live in, and the decisions we make when we come to decorate, clean, restore and care for our homes.

I spent days researching the lowest toxicity paints on the market, with zero to low VOC ratings. This stands for ‘Volatile Organic Compounds’ which have been shown to be skin, eye and lung irritants, and have also been linked to endocrine disruption with its increased risk of cancer. Most commercial paint is high in them. I decided on Earthborn, a clay-based paint that is 100% VOC-free.

For areas subjected to more rough and tumble, we used Little Greene’s floor paint, very low VOC and extremely resistant to damage and marking.

I long ago switched from commercial domestic cleaning products to natural alternatives. Lemon, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar will do most household jobs very well indeed and I recommend the brilliant book Natural Home Cleaning by Fern Green (Hardie Grant) for things you can make with cheapest basics, to do any household job imaginable. 

I’ve also taken out an account with Big Green Smile, who deliver cost-cutting eco-friendlier bumper sizes and refill packs of the best-known green cleaning products (by Ecover, Method, Ecozone etc) in boxes that are themselves 100% biodegradable.

My favourite household cleaning brands are Tincture London, Marcel’s Green Soap and Dr Bronner’s Liquid Castile Soap (which can be used for laundry, dishes, floors and even our own bodies).

For those who like to disinfect their loos with bleach, I would caution as it has been shown to be the single most corrosive and toxic home cleaning product of all, with fumes inhaled by children linked to chronic asthma and a much higher incidence of allergies and skin conditions. Instead, I’d recommend the super-thick and highly effective Ecozone Toilet Cleaner, the best I’ve tried out of a dozen eco brands.

Then there’s the plastic. While it’s unlikely we’ll ever be plastic-free, it’s worth paying attention to when plastic is at its most health-threatening. While many manufacturers now produce what they deem to be ‘safe’ plastics e.g. BPA-free, there are many different chemicals involved in the manufacture of this eternally problematic material, many of which have been found to leach into the foods or liquids within them, particularly when subjected to heat.

So, microwaving your food in a plastic container is a bad idea, as is regularly eating or drinking hot things out of plastic or polystyrene. If food or liquid is to be stored, it’s certainly worth switching to ceramics, glass, stainless steel or earthenware instead.

Likewise, with bottled water – some of which has been shown to be bottled up to two years before it is finally sold. Far better and cheaper is to simply carry your own filtered tap water in a glass or stainless steel bottle, every day.

To make sure that water is pure I recommend the counter-top filtration system The Big Berkey (save money if you pick one up from the slightly damaged sale).

Plastic-free online stores are booming – and plastic-free retail shops are also popping up all around us (Unboxed Kent in Canterbury; Macknade Fine Foods in Faversham; Bare Bazaar in Ashford, to name a few) and are fantastic value for money. You take your own containers and fill up on daily essentials such as pasta, washing liquid, pulses and flours.

While we do still use our local supermarket for certain things, we have also switched our veg and fruit orders to a local farm box scheme, which comes in paper and card, and is returned the following week. And our peelings go to compost, or our happy rabbit Pip.

Nothing in our new systems has been harder work or more expensive overall, and it’s been a satisfying learning curve for the whole family.

Eminé shares more of what she learns on Instagram @thisconsciousbeing and would love to hear of any new eco, ethical, low-waste finds, schemes and communities, in and around your home town too.

This month Eminé has been:

enjoying a gentle, seasonal facial treatment with Ellie Gill. A natural make-up artist and holistic facialist, she works a day from Botanica Health, a secret little spot in rural Rusthall, just outside of Tunbridge Wells, and another day from the beautiful AS.Apothecary in Lewes. To book in for a treatment, or a natural make-up lesson (highly recommended) visit elliegill.co.uk; asapoth.com; botanicahealth.co.uk