How To Start Living A Natural Lifestyle: 9 Easy Changes To Make
Updated: May 8, 2022
How To Live A Natural Healthy Lifestyle
Living a natural lifestyle means many different things, depending on who you ask.
But at the core, those looking to start living a natural lifestyle want to create a better environment for their body, mind, and space.
And often not just for them personally, but for the world around them as well. Love it!
Does the whole "natural living" thing seem overwhelming to you?
You're not alone and no one can blame you— because it totally is overwhelming. Brands and people are constantly talking about how to do it and why it's important.
And I support that! But if you're new around here, my goal is to turn healthy living into simple, balanced, and affordable actions.
And natural living can definitely play a part in this.
So in this post, I'm going to share a few easy ways to start living a natural lifestyle that are actually attainable for the everyday person. They helped me and I hope they help you too!
What Is Living A Natural Life?
Living naturally can take many different forms, but there are definitely some general guidelines.
Here are some of the most important things that define natural living:
Choosing products with whole, non-synthetic ingredients (avoiding toxins)
Being mindful of the environment and waste production
Connecting with nature
Prioritizing sustainability
Appreciating and striving for simplicity
Being mindful of routines and habits
My favorite part about natural living is that it can kind of be what you make of it. Some of that list might make you scream "yaaass!" and some of it you might disagree with.
And there may be some things you consider to be living a natural lifestyle that you don't see on this list at all. (If so, comment below and let us hear them!)
For me personally, learning how to live naturally is
about feeling better physically, being mindful of the world around me, and finding calm and peace in life.
You can be committed to living more naturally without removing every single gram of processed sugar from your life.
Take it slow, learn how to form healthy habits that matter, and treat natural living as a journey, not a destination. Developing habits for longer-term natural living means taking things slow and enjoying the journey.
The Benefits of Living a Natural Lifestyle
If you want to know how to live a natural healthy lifestyle, start by finding your own reasons for choosing to live more naturally.
It's your life and your journey!
Although everyone considers living life more naturally for their own reasons, here are some of the big benefits that you should know about:
Safer Products- If the food and products you use and consume contain chemicals, synthetic materials, or other harmful ingredients, they could be harmful to your health. Using more natural products can help protect you and make you feel better.
Helps the Environment- Many actions of natural living decrease waste and pollution and contribute to a higher appreciation of the place we call home.
Peace and Mental Wellness- It might not be a cure-all, but learning to spend time with nature, use fewer electronics, eat wholesome nutrition, and other features of natural living can help you relax and process life easier.
Life is pretty...for lack of a better word... manufactured.
What I mean is that there's a lot less natural stuff going on, simply because that's the way we get stuff done.
You don't walk to the neighbor's house to tell them your news, you send a text message.
You don't work outside all day or even do your research in books. It's on screens.
And how often do you pick food from the garden in your backyard instead of eating something processed from a box?
I'm never going to de a doomsayer and scream about how bad that is for us. But it's still important to consider it as a part of life and find ways to balance it out.
So without further ado, here are a few simple ways to start living a more natural lifestyle that are actually attainable for the everyday person.
9 Simple (And Attainable) Ways to Start Living a More Natural Lifestyle
Living life more naturally doesn't have to be complicated. I want my natural lifestyle to be:
sustainable
manageable
something that I truly enjoy
So here are some simple, affordable ways to implement natural ideas into your every day that have worked for me or people that I know.
1) Eat More Whole Foods
Processed foods contain a lot of unnecessary ingredients that help preserve food for longer and make them taste better.
But whole foods can taste great too!
And I promise it doesn't have to take a lot of time in the kitchen. Buy fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables as often as you can and eat them to
feel more energized
get stronger
prevent breakouts
generally, be your best self
You can use superfood powders and vitamins to supplement your diet and fill in gaps that you might not get consistently otherwise. But you can't rely on them to replace your intake of whole foods!
Keep it simple, plan healthy meals ahead so you know which produce items to pick up at the grocery store. Or, use the bulk meal planning method and save fresh ingredients in the freezer for use when needed.
And hey, take it slow if you need to. It takes time to build habits for longer-term natural living. If you eat out 4 times a week, make it a goal to eat out only 2-3x a week and cook a simple recipe at home instead.
2) Upcycle, Recycle, & Minimize Garbage
While recycling is undoubtedly a great thing, upcycling and minimizing the waste we create in the first place is actually way more sustainable and productive.
Recycling takes a lot of energy, still produces some pollution, and outputs lesser quality products. Plus, despite misconceptions, even recycled products eventually end up in the landfill, even if it took them longer to get there.
What's upcycling? Upcycling means taking something you might consider throwing out and turning it into something else. This guarantees that it's not entering the landfill (at least for now) and also prevents you from buying another item that will eventually be thrown out anyways.
There are thousands of creative Do-It-Yourself ideas that use the process of upcycling. Save some money, create less waste, and get creative! It's a win-win for everybody.
3) Transition to a Clean Beauty Routine
How can anyone not enjoy the concept of clean beauty?
Beauty lines that claim to be "clean" typically:
Use more sustainable practices in their production and packaging
Limit the environmental impact of this absolutely huge industry
Are safer to use
Aren't tested on animals
Have beneficial nutrients
So you can expect to have less irritation and more comfort. Most of the time you're getting more out of the products as well since real natural ingredients are often loaded with good stuff from the earth.
4) Use Less Plastic
This one is short, sweet, and nothing you didn't probably already know.
One of the best habits for living more naturally is opting for more wood and glass in your homeware and packaging when possible. Glass use may come with some of its own set of issues as well, but it does not contain the toxic chemicals found in plastics.
Glass is less often recycled, but its quality doesn't decrease continuously until it ends up in a landfill anyway (like plastic). Also, it's really easy to upcycle! I love turning old glass containers into decorations like vases, planters, or other containers.
5) Grow Your Own Plants
This might not sound like one of the simple tips that I promised. And you're right. Growing your own plants can make you feel more natural and connected to nature, but it can be difficult sometimes.
If you're not a hobby gardener or a plant collector, you might be questioning the dedication.
But, there are so many indoor plants for a healthy home that are really easy to maintain. They don't all need a ton of care, some actually prefer to be left alone.
Growing a few of my own herbs this past year was almost tragically easy. I literally put no effort into it and they sprouted up ready for use. It was amazing to discover that I had the ability to grow something fresh and edible right inside my city apartment.
Cute and tasty! I plan to grow more plants in my home; all it takes is seeds, dirt, and something to grow in. (Psttt the upcycled jars I was just talking about work really well.)
You can grow herbs and smaller vegetables right in your home, porch, or yard. More space, more possibility...but don't count out your apartment when you want to live more naturally!
6) Reconnect With Nature
Natural living involves being closer to nature, which to me, means taking time to be in natural habitats.
Have you ever heard of earthing (aka grounding)?
If not, it's a method of reconnecting with the earth that is thought to actually improve health. By physically connecting with the earth, you get benefits from the electrical charges.
It sounds like a lot of hoopla...but think about it for one more second.
We know the earth is a living thing with electrical conductivity making things flow smoothly. And some of us go weeks (year?) without actually touching the earth. If you live in the concrete jungle of a city and you're always wearing shoes...when do you connect with the earth?
Our ancestors did that all the time.
Grounding might be a natural method of restoring some of the body's healing and immune processes. Whether you believe it or not, when was the last time you actually touched the Earth's surface? City livers- I'm looking at you!
An alarming number of activities take place indoors or behind a screen these days. We know removing blue light from our morning and night routines improves our sleep because our body runs on the circadian rhythm of the sun.
We know that the sun provides us happiness and essential nutrients. "Grounding" as a tip for how to start living more naturally doesn't sound too crazy now does it?
7) Use Natural Cleaning Products
Cleaning products obviously contain a lot of chemicals. There's a reason you should wear gloves when using stronger products!
While they're powerful at cleaning, it's worthwhile to think about their potential effect on our skin, surfaces, and the air.
You can DIY your own cleaning products using natural ingredients to know exactly what you're putting into the bottle. Not only are they more natural, but you can save on plastic and money by reusing containers and making more with what you have at home.
It can be pretty easy, but it's understandable if you don't have time to commit to making cleaning products. Especially since you can just grab some at the store.
Start by just checking what's in the cleaning products that you do buy! Popular and highly rated natural lines could replace what you currently use:
to name a few. This is such an easy way to be more cognizant of the toxins around you.
8) Choose Local To Live More Naturally
Eating local is actually a really influential habit of mindful living.
I used to think that eating locally was really just a way to support small businesses and boost the local economy. Which I support of course!
It's also part of living a natural lifestyle because local food production requires way less transportation pollution, which is something we don't usually consider. It's more sustainable to eat and use locally when you can, simply because less stuff will have to be imported.
Plus there is nothing like farmer's market groceries. Such a fun and affordable way to get those whole foods we were talking about!
Visit your local farmer's market from time to time and you pick out unprocessed, fresh products and take them right home to eat!
9) Plan Ahead
Don't be mad at me.
You wanted to know how to live a natural lifestyle and I end by telling you to be better at planning? Hear me out though.
Planning is the key to so, so much. That's why you hear me talk about it all. the. time.
And it's important no matter what you're planning:
long and short term goals
your daily schedule
your budget
your grocery list
your spending
The list goes on and on. So how exactly can planning be used as a method of living a natural lifestyle?
If you plan ahead for what you need, you can drastically reduce your:
time
money
waste production
Planning gives you a wonderful peace of mind, and when that's paired with natural lifestyle habits and other aspects of healthy living, the results in your life can be astronomical.
Moral Of The Story: How To Live A Good Life
Taking natural living how you want to take natural living.
Sometimes it's stressful to feel like you're not living a healthy lifestyle. And I think that the push to live life naturally can be overwhelming if you overthink it.
It's easy to think "Am I treating my body perfectly? If I don't do this, I'm wrong or not as good as someone living naturally."
By no means does the transition to more natural living have to be overwhelming or confusing. Don't compare yourself to what other people are doing or use their choices to inform how you should be living.
Sure, draw inspiration from people, but never let it feel like you're not living right. Small, simple changes in your daily or weekly habits can have huge powerful impacts on your personal health, your friends and family, and the world.
Start there.
In what ways are you living more naturally? Has trying to live a natural lifestyle been beneficial for you? Or made you feel more mindful? Let me know in the comments!
