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52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring & Essential--the book I've wished existed for years!!, April 1, 2008
This review is from: Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home (Paperback)
Every day I have questions about how to have a healthier household and family--how do I choose sunblock, do my laundry, be a responsible home owner, feed my children, choose a shampoo, a car, carpet, sheets....?? Phew, it is endless. But Renee Loux, in her book Easy Green Living, presents you with all of the information and choices so you can make the most informed decision possible. Nobody wants to expose their children to toxic chemicals or dump toxins into the ocean, for example, but unwittingly, we continuously do. While reading Easy Green Living, instead of inciting a major freak-out (in me!) or sounding didactic, Loux takes a heartfelt, gentle, and passionate approach--encouraging baby steps (and grand leaps, if possible) of change towards a healthy, vitality-filled life.
I have already changed my household cleaning products and rituals. (My children now lovingly wipe the counters with citrus-smelling spray, because they like the smell.) And I am so motivated to change the other things in my life that are possible to change. Loux covers everything from linens and face cream, where to dump old cell phones to retrofitting toilets, safe cookware to curbing waste, deodorant, plastics, and energy efficient appliances.
Easy Green Living truly is an encyclopedia of knowledge, soundly researched (30+ pages of footnotes..Yikes!) that will stay in my kitchen for quick reference, when it's not on my bedside table for devouring before bed.
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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comprehensive and Well Researched, April 1, 2008
This review is from: Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home (Paperback)
Easy Green Living, by Renee Loux is an exhaustive guide to eco-friendly living for the home and person. Each chapter reveals the hazardous products to avoid, complete with detailed findings from research. Next, green products to use instead of dangerous ones are described. Finally, each chapter provides resources to find green products.
I like that the introduction included the following, with explanations:
Being green is not black and white
Consider the life cycle of a product
Start small
Green living is a process
The first chapter includes a basic introduction to green living and hazardous materials to avoid.
Chapter two covers the basics of green cleaning; what to avoid, 6 basic ingredients to use for cleaning and recipes and resources for purchasing green cleaning supplies.
Chapter three continues on the cleaning theme, for the kitchen and chapter four covers the bathroom.
Chapter five is about personal care products. In addition to makeup and body cleaning products to avoid and use, Loux presents the hazards of conventional antiperspirants, tampons and hair dye and more and provides
safe alternatives.
Chapter six discusses how to have an eco-friendly laundry.
Chapter seven covers green bedding and chapter 8, lightbulbs.
Chapter nine discusses furnishings and materials, including paint, flooring and carpeting, kitchen and bath counters, cabinets and candles. Of all chapters, this could be more comprehensive--however, as Loux explains in the introduction, understanding the life cycle of products should make it easy to determine how green any product is.
This guidebook will leave few questions about basic green living unanswered, particularly green cleaning.
By the author of the award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet.
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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty basic..., June 6, 2009
This review is from: Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home (Paperback)
I bought this book because I was looking for recipes for homemade cleaning products. It does have a few of those, but far more pages are devoted to product listings. That would be OK, except the author basically repeats information that is on the manufacturer's website - no actual reviews or opinions are given. A large part of the book seems to be ads for Seventh Generation - I like their stuff too, but I didn't need a book to tell me so. I find I'm spending a lot at the natural foods store on cleaning products, and my attempts to concoct my own from vinegar and lemon juice often come out scary. I really just wanted some advice on cleaning the old-fashioned way, but the author clearly favors buying expensive, pre-made products from suppliers who probably sponsor her.
The book spans a wide range of topics - including beauty products, cleaning products, linens and mattresses, and home improvement. If you are going to make any large-scale eco-friendly investments (on-demand water heater, organic mattress, hybrid car, solar panels) you're going to need to do much more research than what is in this book. If you're just looking for a primer covering a lot of topics and don't mind it when it states the obvious (bring your own bags to the store, recycle your trash) or hawks products, then you might find this book useful.
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