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Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living (Paperback)
by Annie Berthold-Bond
| Category:
Toxicology, Safety at home, Safe living, Nontoxic living, Health |
| Market price: ¥ 210.00
MSL price:
¥ 178.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Probably the best read on nontoxic living, or green living. |
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Author: Annie Berthold-Bond
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Pub. in: June, 1999
ISBN: 0609803255
Pages: 352
Measurements: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA01539
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0609803257
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Rate this product:
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- Awards & Credential -
An all-time international bestseller on the topic of toxicology. |
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- MSL Picks -
When I first bought this book it was very hard to put down. Most of the recipes are very easy to follow and are inexpensive. My favorite recipe for "soft scrubber" contains ingredients that I already add to my bathwater anyway, so it's nice to take a bath without worrying about any leftover chemical residue lingering in the tub with you. Another plus is the gentle, caring manner in which it's written. The author explains the benefits of going green without coming across as condescending or judgmental.
Keeping in mind that I think this is a wonderful book, and well worth the cost, there are a few things I'd like to point out. I found that a lot of the skincare recipes were geared for people with dry skin. This is understandable considering the author's dry/sensitive skin, but I wanted to let other readers know to expect this. I tried many of the basic lotion, cream, and soap formulas and found that many of them felt way too greasy for my skin-especially if they contained beeswax. There is a small section with recipes for people with oily skin. That was helpful, but the skincare recipes in general are probably a little more suited for dry skin.
I also found that some of the yields seem a little off. (This is more so for the skincare recipes than the cleaning recipes.) I follow all of the instructions very carefully, but still end up with yields that are sometimes significantly off. You can tell just by reading some of the recipes that it's unlikely they could yield what they say. Also, some of the recipes for the cleaning products seemed a little repetitive. (Not a significant enough difference between some of them to warrant separate recipes.)
One very important point that needs to be mentioned is that in the instructions for soapmaking, the author suggests adding water to the container after the lye. Almost every soapmaking resource I've used suggests just the opposite. (Doing this step improperly can cause an almost volcano-like reaction.) While I'm very grateful that this book introduced me to soapmaking, I would strongly suggest that beginners read a book dedicated to soapmaking rather than start with the soap recipe in this book. There are a few helpful pieces of information missing from her soapmaking instructions.
Lastly, a lot of these recipes work great and are wonderful replacements for the commercial items you buy in stores. However, a few of them simply do not work as well no matter how much I want them to. I prefer to use natural methods anyway, but there may be some readers who will still want to resort to an occasional commercial cleaner from time to time. It's still such a payoff to use as many of these natural recipes as you see fit. Great book overall!
(From quoting S. Sleigh, USA)
Target readers:
Anyone who cares about safe living and health.
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- Better with -
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For nearly twenty years - in books, articles, and as an editor - Annie Berthold-Bond has been researching and writing about the connections between the environment, personal health and well-being, and has become a leading authority.
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From Publisher
These days, more and more people are saying no to "better living through chemistry" and yes to a lifestyle that is less toxic and more environmentally friendly. This trend toward a more natural lifestyle has become something of a crusade for Annie Berthold-Bond, author of Better Basics for the Home. After developing hypersensitivity to even very low concentrations of chemicals, Berthold-Bond was forced to rid her life of as many toxins as possible. "It wasn't until I had to be away from chemicals that I began to realize how many we lived with. The extent of the contamination is startling - from hair spray and floor wax to dandelion killers and plastic shower curtains and other products that line our hardware stores and supermarket shelves."
This book represents the culmination of her search for a more sustainable lifestyle. Taking her cue from an earlier time, Berthold-Bond, former editor in chief of Green Alternatives for Health and Environment, offers more than 800 simple and practical alternatives to common household toxins, covering everything from skin care to gardening. And the good news is that adopting her suggestions and formulas isn't hard at all. "Mixing up face creams or wood stain isn't much different than cleaning the windows with vinegar, soap, and water instead of using Brand Name X, or making a cake with flour, eggs and milk instead of buying a mix," see asserts. "With a few simple staples we can clean our houses, wash our hair, rid the dog's bed of fleas, and do many other things as well." If you have your doubts, here is her formula for metal polish:
3 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon flour, and enough white distilled vinegar to make a paste. Scoop the paste onto a clean sponge, and polish the metal clean. Rinse with hot water and buff dry.
Sure, these days it's literally impossible to lead a life that is completely toxin-free. But you can significantly reduce your exposure, and picking up a copy Better Basics for the Home is a great way to get started.
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The Commonsense Rule of Thumb
It is a great relief to establish a healthy home. Two-thirds of us cite healthy air and water as an extremely important local priority, second only to safety from crime, according to Roper Starch Worldwide. National Wildlife Federation research has noted that up to 80 percent of us are concerned about how pesticides and indoor air pollution affect our health. Other polls show that a natural lifestyle is one that women, mothers in particular, overwhelmingly want because it protects the health of their families.
Yet polls ever since Earth Day 1990 consistently show a significant gap between wanting a more healthful environment and knowing how to create it. We are realizing that the government doesn't fully protect us from toxic products, leaving an uneasy and pervasive feeling that we have to take charge of safeguarding our families' health. The stumbling blocks seem insurmountable.
Having lived in a healthy home for more than a decade, I've learned that after some initial adjustment, the way to establish such a home is quite simple. The most important guideline for choosing safe materials is to follow this basic rule of thumb: Use only materials that have been around so long, and been used by people without harm for so long, that they are "generally regarded as safe" (GRAS for short), otherwise they would have long since been abandoned. Using only GRAS substances will take us back to the time before plastics and forward to new technology using old and safe materials. It will introduce us to plants and healing herbs; minerals such as baking soda, borax, and washing soda; and products from animals and insects such as milk, honey, shellac, and royal jelly. We may not have realized that these natural materials could clean, disinfect, moisturize, or make paint. This discovery will open up a new way of looking at our world.
Our alternative is to get a combined degree in toxicology and environmental studies in order to do a simple risk analysis of bathtub cleansers that won't cause harm, or to go shopping armed with research files. That's a stretch for even the most well intentioned among us.
Help also comes from something we all already have, even if we need to clear out cobwebs to find it, and that is our common sense. If the choice for polishing furniture is between polish in a can that reads "fatal if swallowed" or using a simple but effective recipe of lemon juice and raw linseed oil, common sense and the GRAS rule guide us to the lemon and raw linseed oil.
Mixing up face creams or wood stain isn't much different than cleaning the windows with vinegar, soap, and water instead of using Brand Name X, or making a cake with flour, eggs, and milk instead of buying a mix. And it seems amazing, although true, that we can make paint ourselves using milk and lime. With a few simple staples we can clean our houses, wash our hair, rid the dog's bed of fleas, and do many other things too.
Looking for cause and effect is another way of choosing safe products. Sometimes I wonder if we've allowed consumer products to deplete the earth's resources or to be so toxic because the products don't look like the raw materials used to make them. We don't see the connections. A can of pretty robin's-egg blue paint in a hardware store isn't visibly connected to its ingredients of fungicides and petroleum or to the smokestacks of the factory where it was made. Seeing the loss and damage that occurs in its creation might incline us to purchase a more ecological brand or to buy a little less. Or having access to the old-timers' recipe for milk paint might inspire us to try it out ourselves.
Just because a formula is old, or its ingredients are natural, doesn't mean it is safe, of course. Some old paint recipes call for white lead. A musty-smelling 1951 housekeeping book I found recently at a yard sale recommended using DDT paint on screens and windows. DDT paint! For those of you not familiar with DDT, it is a pesticide, now banned, that is symbolic of the worst of the industrial age's impact on the environment. Natural materials such as turpentine, citrus solvents, and tung oil can cause health problems for many. Needless to say, we need to look at the old recipes with a discerning eye. The key is to integrate the best of the old-the simplest, most wholesome ingredients and methods-with the best of the new-information about the effect of poisons on our collective health, and how to replace them with safe alternatives.
Signal Words
Besides choosing GRAS materials, the next best way to protect yourself and the world at large from toxic products is to read labels and pay particular attention to "signal words." They are placed on products by order of the federal government, with the primary purpose of protecting you, but sometimes to tell you about the products' potential impact on the environment. POISON/DANGER means some-thing very toxic; only a few drops could kill you. WARNING means moderately toxic; as little as a teaspoonful can kill. CAUTION denotes a product that is less toxic; two tablespoons to a cup could kill you. There are a few others, such as strong sensitizer, which means the product can cause multiple allergies. I'd suggest that everyone get over the "it will never happen to me" way of thinking and read labels, believe them, and simply avoid toxic products. Calamity might not happen to you, but it could happen to a child, or a neighbor, or a fish or a dog.
Putting Better Basics into Practice
Most people have some practical concerns about living without toxic chemicals. Just how much of a change is it going to be? Does living this way take more time? Is it more expensive? How do I begin? My answers to these legitimate questions follow. But basically, I suggest you just jump in and try it. I've never once had a person tell me they've regretted it. Some people want to switch to less toxic living on the spot; others stop restocking toxic cleansers as they run out, learning about the alternatives as they go along. Most start switching to natural body care gradually. Choose any way that will work for you. To make it easier to start the process of changing over, I have placed an icon (#) at particularly easy recipes, hoping this will offer you the encouragement you need to give Better Basics for the Home a try. |
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A guest reviewer (MSL quote), USA
<2008-11-05 00:00>
I love this book. It starts out explaining what is so bad with all the chemicals we are using, how the natural products are effective and then the recipes are short, easy to look up,and easy to follow. I like that recipes use the same basic ingredients but there are all sorts of variations and other more exotic recipes if you want to be a little fancy or creative. This book covers every thing that ever needs to be cleaned. I've already used a lot of recipes and have had success. Vinegar really does take hard water build up off metal. My complaint would be that some cleaners need to be rinsed off, which I haven't gotten used to. The author is enthusiastic about her recipes but the borax in the toilet didn't whiten as easily as she claimed. Still, it's better than chemicals. I was expecting things to be a lot more difficult and expensive. It's so neat to know the exact ingredients that you use to make a scrub or disinfectant. I love that. This book leaves room for personalizing cleaning. I feel thrifty, environmentally conscious, health conscious, inventive, and tidy, just by replacing bleaches with vinegar and baking soda and learning about the uses of essential oils. I get to choose what is put into the air in my house. These ingredients kill bacteria and germs but don't harm our intricate body. This book is one step closer to protecting ourself and our earth. |
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