Organic Housekeeping

Longing for a kinder, gentler world? As the old saying goes, everything begins at home, and odds are, if you live in the all-American household, the air inside is more toxic than the air outside, even if you live in the most polluted of cities. You regularly handle the filthiest object in your home -- the kitchen sponge -- and put the same chemicals on your face that are used in brake fluid and antifreeze. The cleaning agents and personal care products commonly marketed to and used in American homes contain not only some very dangerous, toxic chemicals, but they also create an "overly clean," chemically bombed-out house that compromises immune systems. And with more than fifty million Americans suffering from allergies and other autoimmune diseases -- not to mention the developing and fragile immune systems of children and seniors -- large numbers of people are actually being made sicker and sicker by their homes. Learn to live a clean, healthy, more economical way with Ellen Sandbeck, the nontoxic avenger. In this must-have book for the twenty-first- century home, this passionate, witty advocate of all things organic will teach you how to maintain every part of the home -- from living room to septic tank, kitchen floor to bathroom sink -- using safe, simple cleansers and quick preventative measures as well as the most effective organic products on the market to get the job done. Learn time-saving, preventative housekeeping, such as taking thirty seconds to clean the shower while you shower. Take care of bathroom stains with baking soda and vinegar rather than commercial, toxic bathroom "bombs" peddled to you with such force by manufacturers. Need whiter whites? There is no bleaching power on earth stronger than the sun. Snow clean your fine rugs. Choose fruits and vegetables from the relatively pesticide residue-free list. Clean felt-tipped pen stains with vodka. Make furniture shine with olive oil and lemon. Your house will also smell as great as it looks.

Ellen Sandbeck

Introduction Chapter One: First Things First Moderation in All Things Organizing A Place for Everything If You Can't Find It, You Might as Well Not Own It Home Maintenance Protocols Labeling Tools Junk Drawers and Miscellaneous Storage Absentmindedness Too Much Stuff Photos Sorting Papers If You Ask Them, They Will Come Banishing Chaos Hiring Help Cleaning Outbuildings and Extremely Chaotic Houses Post-Clutterectomy Care Storage Protocol Habits You Are What You Do; You Are What You Think Setting Orderly Habits Living Lightly and Happily Waste Prevention Reuse Recycling: Reducing Things to Their Basic Elements The Future Keep Moving Chapter Two: The Kitchen: You Are What You Eat Kitchens R Us Organic Cleaning What Is Clean? The Products Cleaning Tools Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma'am Mopping Up Get Steamed Steaming Floors and Counters Environmentally Friendly Dishwashing Dishwashing Supplies Dishwasher Technique Washing Dishes by Hand, Saving Water Kitchen Odors Eliminate Odors Add Better Smells Growing Clean Air Sink Cleaning Stainless-Steel Care Porcelain Enamel Sinks Artificial Stone, Corian, or Acrylic Sinks Faucets Down the Drain Drain Snake Choosing a Refrigerator Fridge Maintenance Clean, Clean the Range Oven Grime Prevention Safer Oven Cleaning Cleaning the Oven by Hand Steam Cleaning the Oven The Stovetop Cleaning the Stovetop The Range Hood The Microwave General Cleaning Toaster Shock Prevention Fire Prevention Polishing Coffee Makers, Teapots, and Kettles Why Buy Organic Food? Save Your Health and Your Money Preventing Food Poisoning Real Cleaning for Real Kitchens The Really Scary Bacteria Oily Poison Carnivore's Food Safety Safe Meat Handling Understanding the Enemy Fashionable Diseases Parasites Choosing Fish Putrescine, Cadaverine, and Histamine -- The Rotten Meat Sisters Fending Off Spoilage Not So Raw, Please Antibiotics, Breakfast of Champions Probiotics for People Food Choices Clean Cooking Implementing a Domestic Spray Program It's Mostly in the Timing Clean and Dry Kitchen Laundry Choosing Cookware Flexible Bakeware Caring for Stovetop Cookware Unsafe at Any Heat Silver Care Microwaveable Containers Food Packaging Chapter Three: The Low-Maintenance Bathroom Designing a Low-Maintenance Bathroom from the Bottom Up Floors Walls and Ceiling Storage Soft vs. Hard Water Hot Water Materials Colors and Finishes Choosing Hardware Grime Prevention and Cleaning Techniques Tools Bath Towels Choosing a Scum Free Soap Cleaning the Shower While Showering Toilet Grime Prevention Proper Toilet Etiquette Clog Busting Nontoxic, Timesaving Cleaning Techniques Cleaning Methods Routine Cleaning Special Circumstances Cleaning Smells Define Clean Personal Care Products Some Dangerous Common Ingredients in Synthetic Beauty Products Homegrown Beauty Chapter Four: The Bedroom Cleaning Pillows Maintaining Down-Filled Comforters, Quilts, and Featherbeds How Often Should the Bed Linens Be Changed? Blankets and Comforters Blanket Maintenance Mattresses Fire "Safe" but Still Dangerous Unstained Yet Unhealthy Choosing a Mattress Mattress Flipping Stain Prevention Odor Eradication Well-Preserved but Unhealthy Sheets and Pillowcases Clean Air Choices Chapter Five: Laundry Great-Grandma's Washday The Beauty of the Lowered Standard Choosing the Equipment A Few Words About Lint Water and Energy Use Sorting By Color, Three Degrees of Separation By Sturdiness, Two Degrees of Separation By Dirtiness, Four Degrees of Separation Hampering Rips, Tears, Stains, and Broken Zippers Inside Out Washing Frequency Soap vs. Detergent Anything but White... Laundry Balls and Discs, the Handy Little Devices that Clean Out Your Wallet and Leave Your Laundry Dirty General Whitening Recommended Laundry Aids Borax Washing Soda Distilled Vinegar Bluing Fabric Softeners Stain Removal Protein-Based Stains Sweat Stains Oil-Based Stains Vegetable-Pigment (Tannin) Stains Dye Stains Pencil Paint Rust Dry Cleaning Dry Cleaning Comparisons Fabric Care Synthetic Fibers Plant Fibers Animal Fibers Rain Washing Letting the Rain Blow through Your Clothes Snow Cleaning To Snow-Clean Woolen Garments Storing Woolens Bedding Down Maintenance Drying Techniques Preferred Equipment Outdoor Line Drying Indoor Line Drying Stretched Trousers Ironing Do Not Iron, Do Not Starch A Message from the Department of Redundancy Department Roughing It Grime Prevention for Sleeping Bags It All Comes Out in the Wash... Chapter Six: General Cleaning The Well-Tempered House Healthy Decor Carpeting and Rugs Carpet Choices Location, Location, Location The Carpeting Solution Window Coverings Window Blinds Building Materials and Furniture Choosing Upholstery and Drapery Fabrics Harmonizing Annoying Building Syndrome Cleaning Methods Rug and Carpet Care, with a Little Upholstery Thrown In Walls and Ceilings Washing Windows Dusting Dusting, Cleaning, Oiling, and Polishing Wooden Furniture Computers Computer Care Computer Spills Creative Tension Chapter Seven: Indoor Air Quality Domestic Odor Control Animal Odors Indoor Air Pollutants Gaseous Pollutants Indoor Pollution Control Out with the Old Air, In with the New Removal or Filtering Watery Air Preventing Fungi, Mold, and Mildew Home Maintenance Routine Housework Circulation Vanquish Evil Dampness with Dehumidifiers or Air Conditioners Humidifiers Alternative Humidifiers and Air Cleaners The Air Scouts Chapter Eight: Hazardous Materials, Fire Safety, Home Maintenance, Automotive Care Hazardous Materials Some Advice from a Guy Who Picks Up the Pieces Hazardous Materials Disaster Prevention Hazardous Materials Disposal Programs Read the Label, Then You Won't Need to Weep Age-Induced Instability Repacking for the Trip When to Call for Help Fire Safety Arise! Awake! Fire 101 From Small Sparks, Huge Fires Grow The Grand Prize Fire Starter Cooking Up an Ounce of Prevention Microwave Fire Prevention Barbeque The Next Biggest Fire Thing Carbon Monoxide Electrical Fires Lighting Safety Spontaneity Is Not Always a Good Thing... What Firefighters Want You to Know The Firefighters' "Perfect" Dream Home When Prevention Fails A Quenching Shower Water, Mother Nature's Fire Control Money Makes the World Go Around Home Maintenance Paint Purchasing Aerosol Paints Watch Out for That Can! Safe Cleanup Paint Pollution Removing Old Wallpaper Cleaning Wooden Decks Killing Moss on Wooden Shingles Digging Outside Ice and Snow The Nuts and Bolts of Rust Removal Automotive Care No Fires, No Floods, No Explosions -- and They Lived Happily Ever After Chapter Nine: In and Around the Garden Reducing Toxic Runoff Home Treatment Building a Rain Garden Rain Barrels: Saving for a Dry Day Permeable Pavement Contaminated Soil Compost Vermicomposting Mulch The Value of Trees Controlling Global Warming Controlling Local Warming Lawns Lawn Alternatives Mowing Safe Garden Hoses Weed Control Evicting Itchy and Scratchy Pickled Weeds Poisonous Plants Warm Climate or Houseplants Decorative Outside Garden Pest Control: Of Mice and Men We Are All Siblings Under the Skin, Exoskeleton, or Bark A Clean Safe Kill Don't Judge by Appearances Insect Control with Backbone Pickled Slugs and Snails Garbage Can Security Indoor/Outdoor Pests Being Chased by the Furies Ants Indoors Ants Outdoors Cockroaches Infested Food Mice, Rats, and Squirrels Flies Termites Clothes Moths Bloodsuckers Mosquitoes From the Counterproductive Department: Mosquito Attractants Ticks Fleas Pet Care Ear Mites Cleaning Up Pet Hair Cat Litter Boxes Pet Safety Pet Birds Baby-Proofing Protecting the House from the Children Cleaning Tricks Lice Closing the Circle Bibliography Index