How To Detox Your Whole Life

By Carrie Pinkard

The beginning of the year is the best time to look closely at your life and health. You don’t want to bring anything toxic with you into 2021. 

We’re laying out a 7-day plan on how to purge everything that’s keeping you from being your best self. Read on to learn how to detox your whole damn life.

Day One: Detox Your Phone

Girl, we know you’re glued to your phone. You’re probably reading this on your phone right now. 

Most Americans spend five and a half hours on their phone per day. Take this first day to devote time to press that delete button. 

Clean out any apps that you haven’t used in the last six months. Check your contacts. Your ex’s sister’s college roommate’s cousin’s hairdresser who cut your bangs 6 years ago? DELETE. These names take up space in your phone and therefore your consciousness and you don’t need that clutter.

Next, turn to social media and do a brutal audit. Mute or unfollow anyone who makes you feel bad about yourself. There is no need to have that negative energy living in a space that you spend so much time every day. Only keep accounts on your timeline that inspire you, feature cute dog pics, or make you feel more connected with the world. 

Day Two: Detox Your Closet

It’s time to Marie Kondo the fuck out of your closet. Start by taking everything out and putting it on your bed. Get two large trash bags. One is for donating and one is for straight-up trash, like old underwear or that NSYNC shirt you’ve worn so many times that the holes have holes. 

Hold up each item of clothing and decide if it sparks joy. We understand that this exercise might spark annoyance, but just stick with us. You’ll naturally know if you have an affinity for an item of clothing. If you haven’t worn it in the past year, you should probably donate or trash it. 

One by one sort the items into keep, donate, or trash piles until you’ve worked your way through your entire closet. Then hang the keepers back up in color-coded fashion. You will probably unearth old gems you totally forgot you had.

Give yourself a Queer Eye style makeover and do a little photoshoot to celebrate.

Day Three: Detox Your Diet

Now that your phone and closet are cleaned out, we can’t put it off any longer. It’s time to go straight for the gut. 

What you put into your body has a direct link to how you feel. If you’re pumping your body with toxins and artificial ingredients, you’re going to feel terrible. 

Take time today to clean out your kitchen of unhealthy foods. Throw away things with tons of ingredients you can’t pronounce and double-check those expiration dates. Then head to the grocery store and buy whole, nutritious foods. Center your diet around fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and of course good tea. 

Treat yourself to some cleanse and detox teas that help your body speed up its natural detoxification process.

Day Four: Detox Your Goals

Remember those New Year’s resolutions you made 3,000 years ago, aka January 1, 2020? Yeah, your life probably looks a lot different now than it did then. 

A global pandemic has likely put a damper on many of your goals and it’s time to refresh that list. 

Instead of focusing on everything that’s impossible now, start a new list of things that CAN be done in your current circumstances. Make a list of goals you can crush remotely and give yourself a time frame. 

Having a new list of things to achieve will make you feel totally rejuvenated. 

Day Five: Detox Your Exercise Routine

Exercise is important for any fitness routine, but the exercise you do has to serve you.

Take today to reevaluate your routine and get rid of any exercise you absolutely dread doing. You’re less likely to stick to an exercise routine if you hate it. For instance, if you're not a runner, stop forcing yourself to lace up those Nikes and hit the pavement.

Find exercises that you actually like to do. There are so many options from yoga to kickboxing to just dancing with your favorite playlist on. 

Anything that gets you sweating works for detox. 

Day Six: Detox Your Relationships 

It’s a fact of life that the people around you can be far more toxic than any food you put in your mouth. 

Take time today to think carefully about your relationships. Take stock of who you’re investing your time in. If there’s someone, whether a friend or relative, who constantly makes you question your self worth they’re probably toxic for you. 

Look out for people in your life who are always taking but never giving. Look for people who make you feel like a burden just for existing. Pay attention to how you feel around your friends and family, and only surround yourself with people who make you feel happy and comfortable. 

It’s very difficult to purge yourself of toxic people, but it’s essential for your mental and physical health. Go through a list in your head of the people you interact with. If there’s someone whose company you always leave feeling worse than when you arrived, start cutting them out. 

Put up boundaries between you and these toxic characters. 

Day Seven: Detox Your Mind

You’ve made it through six days of detoxing your whole damn life, congrats!

At this point, you should have a phone with plenty of storage space, an organized closet, some detox tea in your cupboard, a new list of goals, a revamped exercise routine, and a refreshed friends list. But before we end this seven days of cleansing, we have to focus on our minds.

Take time today to connect with your thoughts. Do some writing in a journal to empty your brain and pinpoint what it is exactly you’re fixating on. Just do a free-write for half an hour and see what comes out. Read your thoughts without judgment. 

Practice acknowledging your thoughts without punishing yourself. If you have a negative thought, that’s ok. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Accept the thought for what it is, just a thought. Practice intentionally thinking positively. Set a timer for just five minutes and use that time to think of little things you love about yourself and your life. 

You can even use an app like Calm to practice meditation, mindfulness, and better sleep. The important thing is that you’re starting to train your mind to find good things in every day. 

Now Go Start Your Detox!

Ridding your life of toxins in the new year is totally possible! All it takes is commitment and a plan.

Want a nudge in the right direction? Our Get Fit Starter Kit has enough Cleanse and Detox teas to last you for the first six weeks of your detox journey!