The Complete Book of Natural Housekeeping: 95 Pure & Simple Recipes to Clean, Polish & Freshen Your Home (Paperback)

by Casey Kellar (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Save money, avoid harsh chemicals, custom-clean problem areas, and enhance your home's beauty--the natural way! To have a bright and sparkling house, jettison the abrasive commercial substances and depend on nature's gifts instead. Such kind-to-the-environment (and your health) "cleansers" as fresh-cut lemons, vinegar, glycerine, baking soda, wheat-germ oil, and fragrant herbs will polish wood floors and furniture to gleaming; remove stubborn stains from laundry, upholstery, and carpeting; and tackle dirt and grime in kitchens and bathrooms. Quick-to-make recipes include a carpet cleaner with vanilla to remove odors and peppermint or wintergreen to disinfect; handy-dandy pine wash for tile and vinyl floors; non-streak window clarifier; scouring cleanser for plastic, tile, fiberglass, and ceramic surfaces; pre-treating spray for delicate clothes; and gold polisher from liquid castile soap. There's even something for the car! Filled with helpful hints and clever solutions.


About the Author
Scappoose, OR

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Lark Books (June 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579902294
• ISBN-13: 978-1579902292
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,659,244 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and useful, June 23, 2002

By A Customer

I found this book to be a valuable resource. I've made a few of the 'recipes' for cleaners in the book and they've all proven both effective and less irritating than some commercial products I've used. I have 3 sons, 2 of them still in diapers, and they all have extremely sensitive skin. Add to that a mildly brain damaged cats who tends to pee on things, and a book like this comes in quite handy. I think the author my have gone a bit out of her depth with some of the car cleaning recipes, and she does start to channel Martha Stewart a bit too much in some parts, but aside from those two shortcomings I thought this was a worthwhile addition to my reference shelf.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars in response, July 3, 2004

By A Customer

I am writing in response to a misinformed and clearly uneducated reviewer. Let me start by saying of course the author uses lye in her recipies, what do you think soap is made of? It is the combining of an alkaline solution (lye and water) with fats and or oils, this process is called saponification. Secondly it is true that lye is corrosive in it's pure form but I'm sure the author expects you to show the same caution you would with many other household products such as bleach or oven cleaner. I assure your end product will be safe and natural. Lastly I would like to suggest that perhaps this reviewer's time might be better spent reading books on grammer ("such which").

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Tips, December 21, 2008

By	Sarah Formhals "Lizzy" (Mansfield, OH USA) - See all my reviews

Casey Kellar shares some great tips and easy recipes for everyday housekeeping. Some recipes call for chemicals that I prefer not to use, like ammonia, but most of them are simple and natural using products like lemon juice, vinegar, baking soda, essential oils, etc. I borrowed this book from my local library and couldn't put it down. I copied several of the recipes to keep on hand for future needs. I feel confident that I should never have to purchase another chemical-filled product from a local store shelf.