These ten steps will not involve drinking less wine or running 3 miles a day. Yes, we all know that will make us more healthy, but my knees are bad and the mental health benefits of a glass of wine have to be considered somewhere in life.

These ten steps are about reducing toxins and chemicals–in your food, your air, your playroom, and the stuff you put on yourself and your kids everyday like lotions, make-up, and hair products.

1. Eat more organic foods

Organic foods are grown without putting pesticides into the ground or water, and as a result, they aren’t in the food. They also don’t have anti-biotics or hormones which may prove to have unintended, harmful consequences (This is where I think I need to say “there is no discernible difference between milk with rGBH and that without” or I risk being sued for food slander. If you think I’m kidding, go see Food Inc and check out your Stonyfield Farm yogurt package).

Organic foods do cost more and my order of priority is to focus first on dairy and meat, then fruits and vegetables (particularly the “dirty dozen”), and then other items as budget permits. I’ve also found that we can eat organic more affordably by eating less red meat, having a few vegetarian meals a week, and upping quantity of fruits and vegetables–all eating changes that are better for the diet and health as well.

2. Audit your personal care products

The Environmental Working Group has a great tool called the Safe Cosmetics Database. You can put in your brand of lotion, shampoo, soap, make-up, hair product, etc and it will come back with a score–green is low risk, yellow is moderate risk, and red is high risk. I was horrified when I put in my sunscreen and it came back a high risk #8. It can also help direct you to the safest choices for each product–and don’t assume just because it is made by a “all natural” brand that it is super safe. Even Burt’s Bees, for example, has products that scored a 7.

3. Know your plastics–and don’t put them in the microwave and the dishwasher

Plastics are convenient and tough to ditch all together (check out Fake Plastic Fish for one mom’s amazing attempts). But we are beginning to learn that some are not great for health, particularly those labeled #3, #6, and #7 because they can leach chemicals into food and drinks. Some countries have banned plastics with chemicals like BPA in them, but so far, the US has not done so. Fortunately, more and more BPA free plastics are on the market and better information is available when deciding what to get.

4. Avoid pesticides, inside and out

In your own home, you can take steps to avoid pest entry in the first place (Here’s a great checklist) and if they do show up, get rid of them using non-toxic products or strategies. You can also ask people remove shoes when coming inside and have a mat to wipe off feet. Those two steps can reduce the introduction of dirt containing chemicals in the house by nearly 70%. Once you’ve eliminated them from your own home, start advocating at the school and in your town’s parks departments or other places your children spend lots of time.

5. Avoid furnishings, clothes with flame retardants

While flame retardants have contributed to safety, the EPA states that the PBDE chemicals used (Plybrominated diphenyletherether) may have had unintended negative consequences for the environment and for health, citing accumulation found in breast milk and wildlife. Exposure can cause liver, neurological, and thyroid toxicity. And recently, the three major manufacturers have committed to phasing one type out over three years, but others will still be in use.

They are all over a home—computers, foam furnishings, etc—but the place to focus most is the kid’s bedroom given how much time they spend in bed and in pajamas. You can easily put kids in long john type pajamas, which often do not have flame retardants (GAP sells them for babies and kids. If you want organic, Hanna Andersson has a good assortment and great sales) and if you are buying a new mattress, look for one that is made with all natural flame retardants versus PDBEs.

6. Clean with all-natural products

Some of the chemicals in conventional cleaning products are really toxic, not just to the water that goes down the drain, but also for the people using them and assumedly, at least some of the time, that’s you and your family. The good news is that all natural products do work just as well. You can buy all-natural cleaning products from companies like Seventh Generation or you can even make your own.

7. Learn more about other VOC’s and when to avoid them

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) are organic chemicals that may be natural or synthetic and produce vapors. Generally, if you can smell it, it counts as a VOC. VOCs have many uses, including in fuels, solvents, paints, scents, refrigerants, pesticides, and resins. Many VOCs are hazardous air pollutants and regulated. The release of VOC’s into the air is called off-gassing, but you may recognize it more as “new paint or carpet” smell.

The problem is that the release of VOC’s into the indoors of a home causes the concentration of chemicals to be 2-5X that of outdoor air. Depending on the chemical and the concentration, the symptoms could be from watery eyes or mild skin irritations to more serious issues like asthma and the long term effects of VOC exposure could be much more serious. If you’ve heard of Sick Building Syndrome, that’s generally caused by high concentrations of VOCs and a poor ventilation system.

The best way to combat VOC’s is good ventilation and fresh air. The next is to avoid products that off-gas known toxic chemicals, including regular paints, furniture made with foam or fiberboard, synthetic carpet, pesticides, floor finishes, etc. A good rule of thumb is that if it’s made from all-natural materials (wood, wool, natural fibers, etc), the VOCs released are likely to be very low risk.

You can check to find out the chemicals in thousands of household products using this website from the US Department of Health & Human Services. It’s a little complicated, but many products have health and safety ratings and it does list all chemicals in a product.

8. Reduce the amount of fake stuff in your food

Food labels are confusing–and believe me, with a child who is allergic to nuts, sesame, shellfish and eggs, I read a lot of them. I’ve decided that the longer the food label with the more words I don’t understand, the more likely the food is to be not so great for you. In particular, we try to avoid foods that have been shown to potentially contribute to obesity (like transfats and HFCS), as well as artificial colors and flavors, preservatives like sodium benzoate, artificial sweeteners like phenylketonurics, etc. Why?

Basically because you can eat just fine without them and we’re finding out more everyday that the fake stuff in food may be contributing to health issues. For example, there are reports of soda containing more benzene (byproduct of sodium benzoate that in high doses contributes to cancer) than it’s supposed to and that preservatives are causing hyperactivity. Whole towns in Massachusetts are banning transfats and Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivores Dilemma definitely makes you think hard about the health impact of high fructose corn syrup. We aren’t zealots. We love Oreos and every now and then I break down and buy everyone Apple Jacks, generally to big cheers and “yeah mom!!!”. But we try to keep it to low doses figuring better safe than sorry.

9. Be smart about anti-bacterials and antibiotics

With a child with asthma, I’m as freaked out about H1N1 and the flu as you are. But I have tried really hard to avoid the constant use chemical hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes because if you want to see freaked out, mention drug-resistant bacteria to a physician. So when you or your child needs antibiotics, finish the dose as directed. Use soap and water whenever possible and when you can’t find soap and water (like the train), use all-natural hand sanitizer. The use of antibiotics in farming is also a contributor to drug resistant bacteria so that is another health benefit of buying organic meat and dairy.

10. Get the lead out

I still remember the day in 2007 I had to take James, the red Thomas the Train pal, and throw him out because he was on the list of toys from China that had unsafe levels of lead in them. My son was in tears and I was royally pissed off. I had just spent thousands on a lead paint abatement so he didn’t get exposed when we raised and lowered our windows and in the end, it was the darn train?!

But the reality is that lead is still a major risk for kids and hundreds of thousands of kids test positive for elevated lead in their blood every year. It can wind up in your air or in your products in unsuspected ways, particularly during a home renovation project of a home painted before 1950. But it can also be in soil, get into your water through old pipes, be found in imported or older toys, art supplies, and even some imported candies. The CDC maintains a good site about childhood lead exposure to learn more.