Green clean
>> Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Green Clean: The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home by Linda Mason HunterMy review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
Towards the beginning of this book, the author says:
"A simple rule of thumb for your cabinet clean-up: If something makes your eyes tear, your nose crinkle or your skin itch, get ride of it. Almost every cleaning product can be replaced with a nontoxic, environmentally friendly alternative..."
I think this is a wake-up call to most Americans like me, who practically coat the house in toilet bowl cleaners, oven cleaners and glass spray.
With that said - this is officially my favorite reference for green cleaning. It's simple to understand and full of helpful tips.
What I appreciate about this book:
- It isn't copy heavy. It's almost formatted like a magazine, which makes it much easier to read.
- The author speaks in everyday language.
- Instead of having information about the chemicals throughout the book, the author discusses the problems with chemicals in the first chapter. This is perfect for me, because I've already read about these in other books. And, for those who haven't, they get it all up front. This makes the entire book easier to digest.
- Much of the information is formatted in tables or checklists. I especially loved the checklists in every chapter, which gave specifics on what and how to clean every area of your house, and how often. This is a perfect book to begin a cleaning schedule.
- The back of the book is filled with recipes for make-it-yourself green cleaners. This is precisely what I was looking for, the specific measurements for different non-toxic home cleaners. This is the best book I have found for these recipes. She also discusses where to find the ingredients, in case they aren't available in the grocery store or supercenter.
Overall, this is a book that is meant to be a reference. When I ran out of carpet cleaner today, this book gave me a simple recipe for a nontoxic carpet cleaner. I will definitely get lots of use out of the recipes in the book. This alone makes it a must-read for anyone looking to de-toxify their cleaning.
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5 people have something to say:
I always just buy the cleaners at Target, but I bet I could save a lot of money honey if I made them. I might need recipes for homemade cleaner!!
I'm glad to hear this isn't "copy heavy." It makes it so difficult for me to read sometimes. I have been thinking about changing out to green cleaning products, so I will definitely have to give this a read. I love that there is recipes in the back of the book. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the review. I just added this to my library list.
Nice review. I make my own laundry detergent and my own all-purpose window/glass cleaner. But the weird thing is- that I need to wear gloves when I use my glass cleaner (I blogged about it- it is just water and vinegar). I need the gloves because the vinegar irritates my skin. I guess my point is that maybe we shouldn't throw out everything that makes us crinkle our noses or makes us wear gloves. But making your own is really cheap and kinda fun. = ) I have never made carpet cleaner before.
I'm excited you are getting into green cleaning...I've slowly been trying to turn all my cleaning over to all-natural. This book sounds like something I should get...did you order it on amazon? or just get it at the bookstore?
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