Easy Steps to Help You Start a Crunchy Lifestyle
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard the term “crunchy” in the last five years. The crunchy lifestyle seemed to explode around 2020 when we were all not so very crunchy, stuck in our homes and eating alllll the takeout. Over the last four years or so, there has been a large increase in people wanting to take responsibility for their health and wellness instead of outsourcing to big companies, organizations, or government entities. A good amount of people have started their own cottage businesses, selling things like sourdough bread, beef tallow balm, beeswax candles, soap, aprons, and many other items. In some ways I’ve always been at least a little crunchy. Where I’m at currently, I’m what you’d call “scrunchy,” a mix between crunchy and silky. I’m working towards becoming a little more crunchy and a lot less toxic, but I didn’t have easy steps to start a crunchy lifestyle.
I love a good deep dive, so naturally, the more I learned about food sourcing, chemicals, toxins, and holistic health, the more I gravitated towards living a crunchy lifestyle. However, there is SO much information out there. Raw dairy or only A2/A2? Organic cotton diapers or reusable? Seed oils or no? Should I make my own cleaning products or buy the low-toxin stuff from Amazon? Is it a crunchy “sin” if I buy new decorations from Hobby Lobby instead of sourcing them from a thrift store? There’s a lot of noise in the crunchy community and it can be overwhelming at times. I’m not even on social media and I still find myself at a crossroads with the crunchy lifestyle due to information overload.
Thankfully, you don’t have to get overwhelmed and you don’t have to “do all the things” to start living a crunchy lifestyle. Crunchy is a spectrum, not all or nothing. And I’ve even created easy steps to help you start living a crunchy lifestyle and to help you take the guesswork out of where to start. At its most basic form, living a crunchy lifestyle is about becoming as healthy as you can be. There’s a strong desire to move back to a traditional way of living through eating better foods and not burdening our bodies as much with chemicals and toxins. It’s super popular with my generation (the Millennials) and I think part of this is because of the crazy things we were exposed to growing up! (Purple ketchup, anyone??)
For me, being crunchy goes hand-in-hand with my slow lifestyle. I desire a sense of old-fashionedness and to get back to how God intended us to live. With the amount of outsourcing we’ve done the last 150+ years, we’ve lost touch with our bodies and with how to heal and take care of ourselves. Convenience has taken the place of traditional living but many of us are waking up and realizing this is not how God intended for us to live. Even though I’m not too far into my crunchy lifestyle journey, I’ve learned a thing or two along the way. I hope you’ll be able to learn a few tips for how to start your own crunchy journey.
1. Eat out less, cook more at home.
When others think of the crunchy lifestyle, the first thing that typically comes to mind is food. In one of my most recent posts where I talk about how to avoid ultra-processed foods, I mentioned that somewhere around 73% of food at the grocery store is ultra-processed. Yikes! Not only that, according to the Washington Times, more than half of Americans struggle to cook basic recipes. Learning to cook is a skill that has to be practiced, but it’s well worth it. One of the easy steps to start a crunchy lifestyle is to cook more at home. Even if you start with something basic like pasta with sauce and meatballs, you are working towards being a little more crunchy. Before you know it, you’ll be roasting chicken to make bone broth and upping your sourdough game with a beautiful boule!
2. Cook with ingredients instead of buying pre-packaged foods.
As you continue your crunchy journey, you’ll start to learn about ingredients in food labels. Trust me, you’ll be disgusted. When you buy a lot of packaged food, the money also starts to rack up. When you buy ingredients though, you tend to save a lot of money. Ingredients can be bought in bulk and either kept in long-term storage or preserved so they last longer. You can do so much more with protein, produce, and grains than you can with a bag of salad mix. It takes more creativity and planning to figure out meals from ingredients but it’s another easy step to start a crunchy lifestyle.
3. Buy a reusable water bottle.
While I try to be conscience about the products I’m using, I’m not ridiculously zealous about going waste-free…yet. However, this is one of the easier steps to start a crunchy lifestyle. On average, Americans use about 50 BILLION plastic water bottles per YEAR! Not only is this incredibly wasteful and hurting our beautiful planet, but there are a slew of other reasons to forego single-use plastic water bottles. There are slews of chemicals used in plastic. They’ve been found in drinking water and even human placentas! These chemicals include PFAS (“forever chemicals), BPA, and phthalates among many others.
So, what’s the big deal? You may be thinking that drinking a plastic water bottle isn’t that detrimental. Unfortunately, you’d be wrong. First of all, think about how much plastic you use. I bet it’s not just a single water bottle. Water bottles, containers, makeup, to-go cups, storage bins, produce clamshells. The list seems endless. Once these chemicals break down, they can get inside our bodies causing a multitude of issues, like damaging our endocrine and reproductive systems. There’s a large body of belief that now suggests plastic is a major contributor of the infertility crisis in our world.
It sounds scary and it might be, but your can start your crunchy journey easily by using a reusable water bottle! Not only will you reduce your plastic intake, but they are also incredibly cost-effective. If you’re spending about $6 on a 24-pack of water and are buying that once a week, you’re spending about $30 a month of plastic water bottles. That adds up throughout the year. I recommend switching to a Clearly Filtered water bottle. The water bottle itself costs around the same as a Stanley cup and it comes with a bult-in filter that costs around $25 and is delivered every two months or so. The great thing about having a Clearly Filtered water bottle is the built-in filter. You can drink water without having to worry about its quality!
4. Buy your clothes at thrift stores.
Clothes are expensive. Do you feel me? I’ve never been what you’d call a fashionista, but I do have some semblance of style. I’m not trendy and big brands don’t appeal to me. If I could spend a lot of money on clothes, it’d be at places like Smith & Pyne or Little Women Atelier. I don’t buy clothes often, but when I do it’s either with a gift card or at a discount store. The best option and one of the steps to start a crunchy lifestyle is shopping at thrift stores. If you’re like me though, I get overwhelmed easily. I have to have a pretty exact idea of what I’m looking for and go with a list. Sometimes though, I get lucky and find some gems. Not only is thrifting your clothes typically cheaper, it’s also better for the environment and helps avoid fast fashion.
5. Stop purchasing fast fashion.
Fast fashion is clothing that is produced in very large volumes while paying their workers very low wages. These workers usually work in horrible conditions and live in third world countries. The brands then take the cheaply made clothes and sell them for a much higher price to turn large profits. It produces a LOT of waste and is unethical. Fast fashion brands include Shein, Temu, H&M, Old Navy, Victoria’s Secret, and Nike. Don’t get me wrong; I LOVE Old Navy. Some of my favorite workout clothes are from there and they’ve actually lasted a long time. However, they don’t align with my values so I’m trying to shift away from purchasing from them.
Avoiding fast fashion can be hard, but it’s possible. Thrifting is by far the best option, as its cheaper and supports local organizations. However, you can also purchase clothes from local tailors who focus on handmade, slow fashion. Yes, they’re often expensive, but these items are often incredibly well made and meant to last a long time. In turn, you don’t need to buy as many items so the overall cost tends to even itself out.
6. Make your own cleaning products.
I’m going to tell you a secret: Almost all cleaning products are unnecessary. Yep, I’m letting the cat out of the bag! Not only are they unnecessary, they are also pretty toxic. Even more fun, they’re known endocrine disruptors that add to your toxin overload. And the “clean” versions in the store aren’t much better. Brands like Mrs. Meyers and Method both received terrible ratings on the Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning. The EWG has a whole list of verified cleaning products. Unfortunately, they can get expensive.
One of the next steps to start a crunchy lifestyle is to make your own cleaning products! You may be thinking this will take a lot of time and money, but I’m happy to prove you wrong. You actually probably already have most of the ingredients you’ll need. Most homemade cleaning products use ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, alcohol, water, and essential oil. It’s that easy! All you need are a few spray bottles to put everything in and cloths to help you wipe surfaces down. I’ve made a basic homemade cleaner and it works on everything, even on windows!
7. Buy products that support cottage industries.
This point is similar to #5. Our fast-paced world demands convenience because of how busy we’ve allowed ourselves to become. When you buy cheap products from big box stores, you often sacrifice quality. I’m not innocent here; I LOVE buying my decorations from Hobby Lobby; however, whenever I can, I try to buy items and ingredients from small businesses who put their whole selves into making amazing products. Calico and Twine and Haselmayer Goods are two of my favorite websites to check out.
8. Swap out plastic grocery bags for reusable ones.
If you live in a state like Colorado (where I live!), you may have noticed they’ve begun to put a ban on single-use plastic bags. If you want to purchase one, you now have to pay for it. It’s not a large fee, but it’s enough that I’ve seen a significant increase in reusable bags compared to Kansas and Pennsylvania, where I used to live. Using reusable tote bags is one of the easiest steps to start a crunchy lifestyle. You probably already have some in your house. Using reusable bags lessens the amount of plastic in our environment; plus, no more annoying swishing sounds from all those plastic bags! I bought these amazing reusable shopping bags a few years ago and they’re extremely handy.
9. Buy a low-tox shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and/or toothpaste.
This is one of my favorite easy steps to start a crunchy lifestyle because it was the step that truly made me feel like I was becoming crunchy. Many mainstream shampoos contain sketchy ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens, phthalates, and even formaldehyde! Shower gels aren’t much better and don’t get me started on the fluoride in toothpaste. I highly recommend Maple Tree Holistics’ Tea Tree Shampoo & Conditioner. I currently use Hello toothpaste because it’s fluoride-free and I’m loving Avalon Organics Lavendar body wash. If you want to be a little bougie, try Aleavia body wash. Switching over to non-toxic or low-tox body care products while not only make you feel better mentally, you’ll also know you’re helping to contribute to a healthier ecosystem and population by not using products with a lot of junk in them.
10. Engage in slow living.
Have you ever felt so busy you thought you didn’t even have time to breathe? I’ve been there. And until I quit teaching in 2023, life seemed to constantly spin at faster and faster paces. I feel I missed out on so much. Not activities, necessarily, but rather joy-filled moments and times of peacefulness. If you’re new to slow living and/or the crunchy lifestyle, welcome! Slow living is exactly like what it sounds like. There really aren’t any particular sets of rules, but there are some ideals, which include cutting out unnecessary tasks or activities, being more present in the current moment, and taking time to do things rather than rushing through them.
By the time I learned about slow living, I didn’t even realize that I was already practicing slow living. You don’t have to give up all technological devices, move out to the country, and start a homestead to practice slow living. You can do it right now! It can be as easy as counting your breaths or taking a few minutes to enjoy the silence around you. The best part: it’s a completely free way to be crunchy.
11. Make your snacks instead of buying them.
What’s one of the next easy steps to start a crunchy lifestyle? Why, make your own snacks, of course! Recently, I wrote about how up to 22% of calories are consumed through snacks. Amazingly, once I stopped snacking, I dropped a lot of weight and spent less at the grocery store. If you feel like you still want snacks though, that’s ok, because you can easily make them! Potato chips, Oreos, Goldfish, and gummies can all be made at home in very little time with few ingredients. People will look at you funny, but it’s a great way to let them know you’re dipping your toes into the crunchy lifestyle. Once you get the hang of it, you won’t want to stop. Just make sure you don’t shame your friends who still buy the stuff from the store!
12. Purchase good quality meat and dairy.
To be honest, this is probably one of the least easy steps to start a crunchy lifestyle. Buying good quality meat and dairy can sometimes go beyond simply stepping into the grocery store to make a purchase. However, to me, it’s SO worth it. When I wrote about avoiding ultra-processed foods, I talked about how most meat in the grocery store is raised on CAFOs and are stuffed with yucky things like antibiotics, hormones, and glyphosate-ridden grains.
Fortunately, we have many resources that allow us to find ways to access good quality meat and dairy. If you have a health food store near you, you can probably buy good meat and dairy there if you’re not able to find a local farmer. If you’re shopping at the grocery store, look for farms that use phrases like “pastured/pasture raised,” “grass-fed and finished,” and “regenerative practices.” For dairy, if you can’t find raw milk near you, your next best option is to buy A2/A2 dairy that’s been vat-pasteurized. This means it’s pasteurized at lower temperatures to help retain the beneficial bacteria in milk. If you can’t find proper A2/A2 dairy (A2 milk from Costco that’s been ultra-pasteurized definitely doesn’t count, friends), look for non-homogenized dairy that’s organic and grass-fed. Whenever possible, avoid dairy that has been ultra-pasteurized and homogenized.
13. Switch over from plastic to glass.
To me, there is nothing more exciting than seeing a cupboard filled with glass jars containing all sorts of goodies like dried beans, spices, and baking ingredients. I’ve already explained why you should avoid plastic and by using glass jars, you get some side-eye glances that say, Hmm, I wonder if she’s one of those weird crunchy people. Why yes, I am! Not only that, but it looks prettier. Us crunchy people love to feel connected to a time of days gone by and by using glass (specifically mason jars), this is one way we do it.
14. Once you use something up, replace it with a crunchy alternative.
Ok, THIS one might be the easiest step to start a crunchy lifestyle. You can do it pretty much at anytime once something is used up! About to finish that Heinz ketchup? Gather the ingredients for homemade during your next shopping trip. Is your Bath & Body Works soap about empty? Buy some Blueland soap instead. Done with that carton of bone broth? Buy a whole chicken next time and make your own! There are SO many ways you can begin to incorporate the crunchy lifestyle without going crazy. I used to think I had to make all the changes at once, but I realized it’s much easier to do it little by little. (Also, my husband doesn’t even realize what’s happening half the time 😉)
15. Buy 100% organic cotton feminine hygiene products.
If I could beg you to do anything, this one would be it. STOP using Tampax, Always, and Playtex. They are so harmful for your body. “Fragrance,” food dyes, parabens, and even heavy metals like arsenic and lead have been found in feminine hygiene products. What the?!?! They’ve even been linked to toxic shock syndrome! If you switch to a silicone menstrual cup like SAALT, you’ll save your body and your wallet! Take it a step further and support an incredible organization like Garnuu. Their products are 100% organic. Not only that, but the brand supports true femininity and even donates money to help get girls out of human trafficking. How cool is that?!
16. Find ways to use up leftover foods.
This is one of the easy steps to start a crunchy lifestyle because it will literally save you money! I’m not talking about simply eating up leftovers. I’m talking about taking those leftovers and making something else out of them. If you buy a whole chicken, you can take the carcass and turn it into a delicious, gut-building bone broth. You can save stale bread and turn it into breadcrumbs. You can take leftover veggies and turn them into a soup, or if you don’t want to use the leftovers, you can compost them! With leftover food, the possibilities are pretty much endless. The best place to start is by putting leftover food in baggies and freezing it. You may even find that you can make something really fun or unique with the mix of leftovers in your freezer!
If you’re new to the crunchy lifestyle journey, I’m so glad you’re here! Whether you’re “silky” and realizing you want to make some changes, or you’re partially on the journey like me and consider yourself “scrunchy,” or you’re way more into it than anyone on the planet and are full-on crunchy, I’m excited for you. I’d love to know how you practice the crunchy lifestyle. Drop your thoughts down below. And until next time, stay crunchy, my friends.
