Kelly's Healthy Home

I’m a little behind on my blogging this month. Possibly it’s due to the busy real estate season, various home repairs (more on that to come!) or that I’m officially 21 weeks pregnant! I blame the pregnancy since in my spare time I’ve been consumed with research on how to make my home, nursery and future for my baby as non toxic and safe as possible!

Which leads me to today’s topic- Toys! First let me start off by saying that I sincerely do not want our home to be cluttered with baby stuff and toys. We want the essentials and live by our minimalist intentions. But babies still need to play and be stimulated! So we’ll have toys, just a select few… for now.

First general rule of thumb to keep the toys toxic-free is to avoid plastic. Even the BPA free toys could still have small traces of chemicals. So we’re taking it old school with a lot of good old fashioned wooden toys (or bamboo is great choice).  Another thing to avoid are China made toys and products since their standards are less than ideal. Many great companies are made right here in USA and from Europe. Organic, natural fabrics are another key material to reduce potential chemicals. You might pay a little more, but again we aren’t going to flood our home with things, so we’re choosing quality over quantity.

Some key words to consider when buying safe, non-toxic and eco-friendly toys:

-GOTS certified

-Organic certified

-Look where it’s made and where the materials come from. Stay local= less pollution.

-BPA , PVC and Phthalate Free

-Bamboo is another great material to consider

I recently came across this company and they include 2 things I value for my baby- stimulation and safety: https://iplaybaby.com/green-sprouts/toys/

Throwing this out there just because I LOVE dollhouses: https://www.onceuponatreehouse.com/collections/wooden-doll-houses

Sustainable company and non-toxic is a win-win! http://plantoys.com

If you have any other suggestions, I’d love to hear them! I’m still in my research and learning phase.

KellySteyn2013@gmail.com