Home Enlightenment: Practical, Earth-Friendly Advice for Creating a Nurturing, Healthy, and Toxin-Free Home and Lifestyle [Hardcover]

Annie B. Bond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 2005

A comprehensive guide to creating a toxin-free, environmentally friendly home-with an eye toward bringing health and harmony to those living there and those on the earth as a whole.

Recent studies show that nearly one-third of American adults, or 63 million consumers, care deeply about health and environmental issues and the realization of human potential through a unity of mind, body, and spirit. Appealing directly to the Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) market, this informative and practical guide helps readers tend to their living spaces in ecologically sound ways that protect the health and safety of their families and the world around them.

From selecting weekly produce to purchasing a water-filtration system, from using a steam cleaner or non-toxic pest controls to adjusting the energy in a home with crystals and aromatherapy, Home Enlightenment examines the environmental impact of choices a consumer makes, and helps readers establish day-to-day practices and a lifestyle that bring healing and natural spirituality into their homes.

The author, host of Annie's Healthy Living Network online, is one of the most trusted names in the health and environmental awareness field. Twice poisoned by chemicals as a young adult, Annie has become one of the champions of toxin-free living. Here she shares her story of recovery, renewal, and transformation as a guide for living in a healthier home environment.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Once relegated to the status of 1960s hippies, New Age journalists are just now coming into their own--and being listened to. Credit Rodale Press, in part, for generating the genuineness and trust that today pervade the words natural and organic, among other adjectives and nouns. In fact, Bond (Better Basics for the Home, 1999) covers the proverbial waterfront, with chapters devoted to fire, earth, water, and air to healthy alternatives for indoor pesticides (try the safe sugar ant hotel). Every page includes at least one clue or tip about natural choices; in the dining-living-family room section, for instance, Bond discusses pet care and the reduction of lead risks while taking a virtual tour of this space. The biggest issue? How best to locate all of Bond's ideas, recipes, recommendations, and techniques in a text layout that's alarmingly placid and without enough differentiating call-outs? Speaking from the heart (her central nervous system is permanently damaged because of pesticides), she gives hundreds of reasons to start infiltrating a bit of health into our homes. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

ANNIE B. BOND is the executive producer of Care2.com Healthy Living Channel and the web host of Annie's Healthy Living Network. She edits six e-newsletters that are sent to 1.8 million subscribers, writes an ongoing column for Body & Soul magazine, and is the author of Better Basics for the Home, The Green Kitchen Handbook, and Clean & Green. She lives in Rhinebeck, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 600 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (September 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579548113
• ISBN-13: 978-1579548117
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Green Housecleaning

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Helpful, November 6, 2005

By 

Shirley Priscilla Johnson "Author/Reviewer -... (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Home Enlightenment: Practical, Earth-Friendly Advice for Creating a Nurturing, Healthy, and Toxin-Free Home and Lifestyle (Hardcover)

In this book you will find information on creating a toxin-free living environment, and also information on bringing harmony between yourself and the earth you live in. Interesting and thought provoking to say the least.
Ms. Bond is not slack in her information giving us vital details on life changing suggestions for healthy living. She covers a myriad of subjects from skin and beauty to cleaning products, showing us the dangers that may be incurred from the toxic elements in them to our body and environment. She also gives us alternative methods to use that I found fascinating. The author does not stop there, she goes on to show how to bring peace and harmony in our home. I particularly liked the section where she tells which colors to use to bring about feelings of peace or joy in our home decorating. Wait, there is more, she continues on with helpful tips on ways to fight head-lice , repel insects and keep our outside environment as clean as possible all in a non-toxic way. Great!
I can't think of a topic that this author did not cover and she includes questions for you to check your own situation and gives an entire section to community resources where you can turn for help.
If you are serious about healthier living in body, home and surroundings you simply must own this book. Ms. Bond has done all the research and work for you; all you have to do is read,learn and apply. A wonderful, helpful read bringing hope for your health and harmony in life.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for body & spirit, October 14, 2005

By 

William E. Marks "water researcher/writer/spe... (Martha's Vineyard, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Home Enlightenment: Practical, Earth-Friendly Advice for Creating a Nurturing, Healthy, and Toxin-Free Home and Lifestyle (Hardcover)

Annie B. Bond, gives us a wonderful guide book on how to live in a world of our own making during these challenging times. Yes, it may be difficult for us to avoid exposure to the ever increasing pervasiveness of toxic chemicals - but we can substantially reduce, or, in some cases eliminate our exposure, through conscious living.
Information about taking care and being aware of our skin health; various rooms in our homes; our yards and in-home materials; the food we eat; our pets; the materials of the clothes we wear and how we wash them; connecting with the elements and the living world; exercise; bathing; breathing; wise buying choices for our health as well as the Earth's health; perfumes; types of candles; mattress, pillows, and other bedroom items; cookware; electricity exposure; attending to the wild birds that visit us in our yards; connecting with and conserving trees; managing our trash - the list is all-inclusive.
Because of her own health survival due to toxin exposure, we learn from Annie B. Bond some of the most important information for ourselves; our children; pets, and the living world surrounding us. To put it another way, this is a very entertaining book filled with wisdom for enjoying and surviving our every-day existence.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love this book!, February 21, 2006

By 

J. A Beilharz (Defiance, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Home Enlightenment: Practical, Earth-Friendly Advice for Creating a Nurturing, Healthy, and Toxin-Free Home and Lifestyle (Hardcover)

This book is terrific! Annie B. Bond has such a lovely way of writing and she pulls and lulls you into this book with her writing style. I loved every topic in her book and have so many pages bookmarked so I won't have to hunt for them later. I'm all for healthy, toxin-free living and this book hits the mark exquisitely. She gives you great receipes for natural, safe cleaning products and takes you through-out your home with great suggestions for its care. She ends her book with addresses of govenment or company names to find information or products of all the items she covers in this book. The is a book that will always be close at hand for me to refer to. Thanks Annie!