We recently had a fabulous celebration dinner with one of our first WWYW Ambassadors, Grace Kaynor of lifestyle boutique Sotre in New Orleans (pictured here with Jillian Pritchard Cooke and Nonnie Preuss of WWYW and Susan from Sotre).

Our Ambassadors will represent all 50 states (with additional representatives globally) and will be carefully selected from the retail, design and building communities.

Once selected, ambassadors have the chance to be the first in their area to earn the WWYW designation, and will partner with WWYW to spread the word on the health benefits of reducing toxins in interiors by organizing education seminars and teaching the complete WWYW four-part health and safety CEU courses in their region. Think you’re the perfect fit for us? Contact Nonnie Preuss at Nonnie@wellnesswithinyourwalls.com.

At Wellness Within Your Walls, we’ve been studying the role toxins play in interior spaces for years so we have a ton of information to pass along. But since keeping things clear and achievable is our top priority, we definitely don’t want to overwhelm anyone.

So to get you started, we came up with 5 Easy Tips to Detoxifying Your Home. Consider this your basic level of knowledge, and then keep these things in mind as you live your life. Small steps add up when lessening toxins, so it’s important to just get started. You can then add more layers to this base of knowledge over time, gaining additional tips and lowering toxins even more.

1. Use Natural and Sustainable products as much as possible. Whenever you can, choose the product that is made completely of natural materials, or one that is made from sustainable or recycled materials.

2. Look for transparency. Ask questions. Don’t assume that a product is healthy just because it has the word Natural or Healthy or Fresh on the front. Read the label. We’ll give you more details about what to look for later, but just begin by noticing the words. Just as we’ve learned in food, the more chemicals are listed, the more toxic the product.

3. Know your supply chain. Knowing where a product comes from tells you a lot. Fabric from Europe (which has tighter regulations) is going to be treated with far fewer chemicals than fabric from Asia. And remember, the entire manufacturing process counts. A table may be made of sustainable and untreated wood but then painted with a highly toxic paint.

4. Track your toxins. Make wise choices. Different products and processes can have vastly different toxin levels. It’s just as easy to pull your clothes out of the dryer quickly as it is to use dryer sheets laced with chemicals. It’s just as easy to fall in love with lightly treated kitchen cabinets instead of lacquered. Remember, lowering the toxin levels in your interior by small degrees adds up.

5. Off gas—It’s crucial to let any product that contains chemicals off gas—release the chemicals into the air—before you bring it into an interior environment where those toxins may be trapped. Any time something smells, leave it outside in your garage. New paint and carpet? Open windows and run fans to ventilate the space before you move in.