Clean and Green
by Annie Berhold Bond, Annie Berthold-Bond
List Price:
Our Price: $5.97
You Save: $3.98 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Annie Berhold Bond, Annie Berthold-BondEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1994-10
ISBN: 1886101019
Number of pages: 162
Publisher: Ceres Press
Book Reviews of Clean and Green
Book Review: Life without bleach! Amen. Amen.
Summary: 5 Stars
[I'm amending my review because I recently read the following in the summer '08 "Wise Traditions" journal: "Beware of suggestions that you keep it simple and natural by using Borax. Never expose yourself to boron-containing solutions repeatedly or for extended periods of time. People have died from overexposure to boric acid..." It should be noted that many of the recipes in this book rely on Borax, and though I have not researched Borax toxicity, it's worth noting; also, I don't recall any suggestions on avoiding skin contact when using the pure 'n natural cleaning solutions, though it's been awhile since I've read the book.]
You need this book, even if-like me-you really don't clean much at all, because you spend all your time with your intense, mess-creating toddler instead. If you're pregnant or have small children at home, this is the book you've been looking for. If you employ a cleaning service, you still need this book. If, like me, you say to yourself-why do I need to make my own cleaning products when I can now buy earth-friendly toilet bowl cleaner at my local discount chain store?-you still need this book.
I love this book. What I like best about the book is Annie Berthold-Bond's aesthetic sensibility; one can tell that (prior to pesticide exposure and her new activist role) she was an artist. She writes lovingly of how using her favorite furniture polish (1/8 cup linseed oil, 1/8 cup vinegar, ¼ cup lemon juice) induces daydreams of favorite 19th century novels. Berthold-Bond's excellent little book makes me daydream of novels, too, the type where the fortunate heroine hires some worthy, stout-hearted local matron to keep house and always returns to a freshly-scrubbed kitchen and a pot of boiling hot tea. Uh-huh.
The other day I had one of those days where the toddler didn't nap and I never got a break, but somehow I managed to mix olive oil, vinegar and a drop of essential oil and polish the kitchen table (lovingly-believe it or not-with a great leopard-print rag made from an old dress), all the while talking to the toddler and her puppets. The polish felt good on my hands. That same day I did a load of laundry in castile soap and strong rosemary tea, which smelled divine. Secret indulgences of the at-home mom! The book tempts me into philosophical reveries about the sacramental possibilities in routine tasks-to a point, and then my feminist ire rises, since house-cleaning has always been one of those knotty war-of-the-sexes issues in my marriage, which we've generally solved by not cleaning at all. But if the lion's share of cleaning is mine, that's OK, because my husband's Calvinist upbringing means he'd not easily relinquish toxic petrochemicals. (Oh the irony of an inherently messy and Dionysian man who inoculates grape juice with yeast for a living but fears microbes like sin.)
Another point: I realized after reading this book that I really never knew how to clean a house. Berthold-Bond discusses procedures that have never occurred to me in ten years of marriage, like washing walls and cleaning metals or routine drain maintenance. I've never been the green "type," which I associate with dreadlocks and ugly shoes and a kill-joy lifestyle, but having a child put me in touch with certain life-giving instincts. I bought the book after seeing it in a Montessori catalogue (all those little kids polishing metal-just shy of exploitation-just kidding) and thought I'd give it a try. It's wonderful.
Summary of Clean and Green
485 ways to clean, polish, disinfect, deodorize, launder, remove stains, even wash your car, without harming yourself or the environment. Recipes based on harmless, nonpolluting, renewable ingredients. 160 pages, recycled paper/vegetable ink, paperback.Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating Books
The Organizing Sourcebook : Nine Strategies for Simplifying Your Lifeby Kathy Waddill
McGraw-Hill; Published: 2001-07-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.92
Price in other shops:
Cleaning: History Mysteriesby Gill Tanner, Tim Wood
A & C Black; Published: 1994-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.95
The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Lifeby Lorie Marrero
Lorie Marrero; Reason Press; Published: 2009-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.19
Price in other shops:
Organizing Do-It-Yourself For Dummiesby Sandra Munson
For Dummies; Published: 2009-08-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.11
Price in other shops:
Clean Your House and Everything in Itby Eugenia Chapman, Bill Major
Grosset & Dunlap; Published: 1982-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $129.86
How to Moveby Sheri Steiner
Dell; Published: 1996-02-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.74
Price in other shops:
Home Freeby Guilfoyle Ann
W. W. Norton and Company, Inc.; Published: 1980-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.95
Complete Home Storageby Sunset Books
Sunset Pub Co; Published: 1989-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.99
Price in other shops:
The Sunday Telegraph Guide to Looking After Your Property: Everything You Need to Know About Maintaining Your Homeby Jeff Howell
Macmillan UK; Published: 2002-03-01; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
Biting the Dust: The Joys of Houseworkby Margaret Horsfield
Palgrave Macmillan; Published: 1999-04-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.75
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Green Cleaning For Dummiesby Elizabeth B. Goldsmith, Betsy Sheldon
For Dummies; Published: 2008-11-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops:
The Green Kitchen Handbook: Practical Advice, References, & Sources for Transforming the Center of Your Home into a Healthy, Livable Placeby Annie Berthold-Bond
Harper Perennial; Published: 1997-03-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $49.43
Home Enlightenment: Create a Nurturing, Healthy, and Toxin-Free Homeby Annie B. Bond
Rodale Books; Published: 2008-08-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.82
Price in other shops:
Vinegar: Over 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You've Probably Never Thought Ofby Vicki Lansky
Book Peddlers, The; Published: 2003-11-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.14
Price in other shops:
Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun, and Frugal Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of (Lansky, Vicki)by Vicki Lansky
Book Peddlers, The; Published: 2003-11-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.38
Price in other shops:
Green Housekeepingby Ellen Sandbeck
Scribner; Published: 2008-01-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.97
Price in other shops:
GREEN CLEAN: The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Homeby Linda Mason Hunter, Mikki Halpin
Melcher Media; Published: 2005-05-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
The Naturally Clean Home: 150 Super-Easy Herbal Formulas for Green Cleaningby Karyn Siegel-Maier
Storey Publishing, LLC; Published: 2008-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops:
Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Livingby Annie Berthold-Bond
Clarkson Potter; Published: 1999-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.97
Price in other shops:
Clean House Clean Planetby Karen Logan
Gallery Books; Published: 1997-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.07
Price in other shops: