Reviews
"Throughout this book, Ellen Sandbeck's deep concern for the health of our Earth and its citizens is obvious. She demonstrates how to help and protect ourselves by compiling an amazing number of ways we can live our life in a healthier, more organized and less expensive manner. It's a book you can read straight through because it is so entertaining and helpful. I give it my eco-green thumbs up!!" -- Tessa Hill, Chair, Children's Health Environmental Coalition and President, Kids for Saving Earth, "Ellen Sandbeck's Organic Housekeeping is a lighthearted take on taming the house monster, written by a kindred spirit who would rather be outdoors." -- Barbara Damrosch, author of The Garden Primer, "Organic Housekeepingis uncommon good sense for protecting our health and the planet. It's sustainability with style. Read this book and save yourself and your pocketbook too. All hail the Nontoxic Avenger!!"-- John de Graaf, coauthor ofAffluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic, "This book has everything! From clearing your clutter to protecting the health and well-being of your family. Further, everyone wants to make a difference, and the ideas inOrganic Housekeepingmake a difference for our fragile, endangered planet."-- Cecile Andrews, author ofThe Circle of Simplicity, "This wonderful book is about far more than how to remove cooked-on grime from skillets without poisoning yourself in the process (although it does that, too). It's about tending a home in the way one tends a garden. The result is harmony, serenity, and less work. Really. I took a long time to readOrganic Housekeepingbecause I kept leaping up mid-chapter to go off and execute another brilliant suggestion. Thank you, Ellen Sandbeck."-- Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., author ofLiving Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancerand theEnvironment and Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood, "Throughout this book, Ellen Sandbeck's deep concern for the health of our Earth and its citizens is obvious. She demonstrates how to help and protect ourselves by compiling an amazing number of ways we can live our life in a healthier, more organized and less expensive manner. It's a book you can read straight through because it is so entertaining and helpful. I give it my eco-green thumbs up!!"-- Tessa Hill, Chair, Children's Health Environmental Coalition and President, Kids for Saving Earth, "Organic Housekeeping is authoritative, clear, and very useful. Readers of the book will be better equipped to protect themselves from the deluge of synthetic chemicals which surround us." -- Herbert L Needleman M.D., coauthor of Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World, "For anything and everything you want to know about how to keep your house truly clean, this guide likely has the answer. Keep a copy stashed where you store your ecofriendly cleaning supplies so it'll always be handy with the simple solution for any cleaning dilemma." -- Danny Seo, author of Simply Green Parties and Simply Green Giving, "Organic Housekeeping is uncommon good sense for protecting our health and the planet. It's sustainability with style. Read this book and save yourself and your pocketbook too. All hail the Nontoxic Avenger!!" -- John de Graaf, coauthor of Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic, "Organic Housekeepingis authoritative, clear, and very useful. Readers of the book will be better equipped to protect themselves from the deluge of synthetic chemicals which surround us."-- Herbert L Needleman M.D., coauthor ofRaising Healthy Children in a Toxic World, "Ellen Sandbeck once and for all provides a practical, commonsense guide to cleaning up our messes -- the clutter and disorganization that keeps us from thriving, and more important the toxins in our homes that negatively impact our health and well-being. In a world inundated with toxins on the one hand, and an unreasonable desire for sterility on the other, Sandbeck gives us refreshing insight into how to live in balance, challenging us to recognize that the oversterilization of our environment has contributed to the pandemic of allergic and autoimmune disorders. She also guides us on how to improve our homes and our health without constant exposure to household chemicals."-- Dr. Mark Hyman, coauthor ofUltrapreventionand author ofUltraMetabolism, "As simple as it gets! Sandbeck presents some surprising solutions to age-old cleaning challenges, complete with the 'whys' as well as the 'how-tos.'" -- Donna Smallin, author of Cleaning Plain & Simple, "For anything and everything you want to know about how to keep your house truly clean, this guide likely has the answer. Keep a copy stashed where you store your ecofriendly cleaning supplies so it'll always be handy with the simple solution for any cleaning dilemma."-- Danny Seo, author ofSimply Green PartiesandSimply Green Giving, "As simple as it gets! Sandbeck presents some surprising solutions to age-old cleaning challenges, complete with the 'whys' as well as the 'how-tos.'"-- Donna Smallin, author ofCleaning Plain & Simple, "Ellen Sandbeck has provided the public with a fabulous catalog of useful information that will help all of us protect our health and our environment." -- Mary Gant, Program Analyst, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, "This wonderful book is about far more than how to remove cooked-on grime from skillets without poisoning yourself in the process (although it does that, too). It's about tending a home in the way one tends a garden. The result is harmony, serenity, and less work. Really. I took a long time to read Organic Housekeeping because I kept leaping up mid-chapter to go off and execute another brilliant suggestion. Thank you, Ellen Sandbeck." -- Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., author of Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment and Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood, "This book has everything! From clearing your clutter to protecting the health and well-being of your family. Further, everyone wants to make a difference, and the ideas in Organic Housekeeping make a difference for our fragile, endangered planet." -- Cecile Andrews, author of The Circle of Simplicity, "Ellen Sandbeck once and for all provides a practical, commonsense guide to cleaning up our messes -- the clutter and disorganization that keeps us from thriving, and more important the toxins in our homes that negatively impact our health and well-being. In a world inundated with toxins on the one hand, and an unreasonable desire for sterility on the other, Sandbeck gives us refreshing insight into how to live in balance, challenging us to recognize that the oversterilization of our environment has contributed to the pandemic of allergic and autoimmune disorders. She also guides us on how to improve our homes and our health without constant exposure to household chemicals." -- Dr. Mark Hyman, coauthor of Ultraprevention and author of UltraMetabolism, "Ellen Sandbeck has provided the public with a fabulous catalog of useful information that will help all of us protect our health and our environment."-- Mary Gant, Program Analyst, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health
Table of Content
Contents IntroductionChapter One: First Things FirstModeration in All ThingsOrganizingA Place for EverythingIf You Can't Find It, You Might as Well Not Own ItHome Maintenance ProtocolsLabeling ToolsJunk Drawers and Miscellaneous StorageAbsentmindednessToo Much StuffPhotosSorting PapersIf You Ask Them, They Will ComeBanishing ChaosHiring HelpCleaning Outbuildings and Extremely Chaotic HousesPost-Clutterectomy CareStorage ProtocolHabitsYou Are What You Do; You Are What You ThinkSetting Orderly HabitsLiving Lightly and HappilyWaste PreventionReuseRecycling: Reducing Things to Their Basic ElementsThe FutureKeep MovingChapter Two: The Kitchen: You Are What You EatKitchens R UsOrganic CleaningWhat Is Clean?The ProductsCleaning ToolsWham, Bam, Thank You Ma'amMopping UpGet SteamedSteaming Floors and CountersEnvironmentally Friendly DishwashingDishwashing SuppliesDishwasher TechniqueWashing Dishes by Hand, Saving WaterKitchen OdorsEliminate OdorsAdd Better SmellsGrowing Clean AirSink CleaningStainless-Steel CarePorcelain Enamel SinksArtificial Stone, Corian, or Acrylic SinksFaucetsDown the DrainDrain SnakeChoosing a RefrigeratorFridge MaintenanceClean, Clean the RangeOven Grime PreventionSafer Oven CleaningCleaning the Oven by HandSteam Cleaning the OvenThe StovetopCleaning the StovetopThe Range HoodThe MicrowaveGeneral CleaningToasterShock PreventionFire PreventionPolishingCoffee Makers, Teapots, and KettlesWhy Buy Organic Food?Save Your Health and Your MoneyPreventing Food PoisoningReal Cleaning for Real KitchensThe Really Scary BacteriaOily PoisonCarnivore's Food SafetySafe Meat HandlingUnderstanding the EnemyFashionable DiseasesParasitesChoosing FishPutrescine, Cadaverine, and Histamine -- The Rotten Meat SistersFending Off SpoilageNot So Raw, PleaseAntibiotics, Breakfast of ChampionsProbiotics for PeopleFood ChoicesClean CookingImplementing a Domestic Spray ProgramIt's Mostly in the TimingClean and DryKitchen LaundryChoosing CookwareFlexible BakewareCaring for Stovetop CookwareUnsafe at Any HeatSilver CareMicrowaveable ContainersFood PackagingChapter Three: The Low-Maintenance BathroomDesigning a Low-Maintenance Bathroom from the Bottom UpFloorsWalls and CeilingStorageSoft vs. Hard WaterHot WaterMaterialsColors and FinishesChoosing HardwareGrime Prevention and Cleaning TechniquesToolsBath TowelsChoosing a Scum Free SoapCleaning the Shower While ShoweringToilet Grime PreventionProper Toilet EtiquetteClog BustingNontoxic, Timesaving Cleaning TechniquesCleaning MethodsRoutine CleaningSpecial Circumstances CleaningSmellsDefine CleanPersonal Care ProductsSome Dangerous Common Ingredients in Synthetic Beauty ProductsHomegrown BeautyChapter Four: The BedroomCleaning PillowsMaintaining Down-Filled Comforters, Quilts, and FeatherbedsHow Often Should the Bed Linens Be Changed?Blankets and ComfortersBlanket MaintenanceMattressesFire "Safe" but Still DangerousUnstained Yet UnhealthyChoosing a MattressMattress FlippingStain PreventionOdor EradicationWell-Preserved but UnhealthySheets and PillowcasesClean Air ChoicesChapter Five: LaundryGreat-Grandma's WashdayThe Beauty of the Lowered StandardChoosing the EquipmentA Few Words About LintWater and Energy UseSortingBy Color, Three Degrees of SeparationBy Sturdiness, Two Degrees of SeparationBy Dirtiness, Four Degrees of SeparationHampering Rips, Tears, Stains, and Broken ZippersInside OutWashing FrequencySoap vs. DetergentAnything but White...Laundry Ball
