Tips for getting your partner on board with natural living
- Be enthusiastic
It’s hard to rain on someone’s parade when they are especially pumped up about it. Present your new found love of natural living as something positive and exciting and your partner- who loves you more than anything- they will at the very least be happy for you. Support and participation may take some time but just being enthusiastic about choosing a more natural lifestyle is a great start in getting them on board.
- Start with one or two things at first
Choose an area you are partially passionate and concerned about; cleaning products, chemicals in clothing, food quality and food packaging or beauty products are all options and just focus on that for a while. You can be thinking and researching anything you want for your own knowledge but the key is NOT to overwhelm your partner in the process. If someone were to come at you saying you can’t have your favorite foods or shop at your favorite store anymore, all while yelling “Toxic! Poison!” you would shut down too. Growing up my grams would call everything “poison” and eventually I just started to tune her out and follow more of a don’t ask/ don’t tell policy with her. Now my family refers to me as the “new grams of the family” but I do my best to not overwhelm anyone. Afterall lifestyle changes are incredibly daunting to most everyone.
- Do your research
People (especially men) respond well to simple logic and facts, so a little research can go a long way in convincing your partner to make some small changes in your home. You know your partner better than anyone, so use this to find what intrigues them and create discussions. I know my husband loves a good conspiracy theory, or corruption story so finding articles about health scams is a big way to get through to him. Knowing your stuff is a great way to stay motivated in your crunchy journey as well as back up your choices. So when your sister asks why you “bother spending all that money on organic when it’s just a scam” you can tell her about how conventional fruits and veggies are sprayed with glyphosate, a chemical that the World Health Organization stated is “probably carcinogenic to humans” and is ultimately destroying America’s microbiome and gut health.
- Focus on the saving money aspect
The fact that natural living is cheaper is an excellent point to focus and share with your partner, everyone wants to save money! This does include a lot of hard work on your part though. When I get excited about something new I’ve learned my instinct is to instantly throw away whatever I have and go buy the “natural product” that is the better option. Sometimes that is the right choice if there is no going back from what you’ve learned (ie canola oil or crisco). But throwing out your wardrobe only to replace it with 100% American made organic linen clothing is probably not the best move considering that would be incredibly expensive. Instead, focus on using what you have first and implementing changes when it’s time to buy again.
- Try the natural way first
Make a deal to try the natural thing/way first, then try other options after if the results are not satisfactory. This was the best thing I ever did with my husband, because 9 out of 10 times the natural way worked perfectly! Instead of running to the store for a bug killer I would just make a non toxic one from what we had and then watch my husband’s shock and amazement at its success. Naturopathy has been around forever and is making a huge comeback because it works. So sit back and let the plants do the work- the proof is in the (chia) pudding!