Green Clean by Hunter and Halpin

Synopsis: An all encompassing guide to cleaning/housekeeping in a totally environmentally healthy way. The book outlines not only how commercial cleaning products are harmful, but the science behind how natural cleaners work and a step-by-step process for cleaning your home. Green Clean also includes a chapter full of recipes to make your own green cleansers - everything from all purpose cleaners to carpet cleaners to pesticides.

Opinion: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was much more than I expected. Over the past year or so my husband and I have been venturing further into whole and organic foods - this has led to a desire to clean my home in a natural and safe way. My motivation for checking this out from the library was to get recipes so I could make my own cleaning solutions. I am so pleased to say I got an education from this book too. I'll admit it has some very tree-hugger under tones, and that's okay. I'm not making this change to save the planet - my motivation is to make a safer environment for my family. That is only briefly addressed in the book, their main focus is the planet.

The first part of the book had me wondering how any human beings have survived since the 1930's when this plethora of chemicals was first introduced into our cleaning arsenal. But at the same time, the authors acknowledge that an immediate total overhaul of our cleaning way of life is all but impossible. They encourage the reader to take baby steps, making one small change at a time - like getting rid of your toilet bowl cleaner or dishwasher detergent and replacing it with a natural substitute. I appreciated that although it is very clear that the authors are green zealots, they aren't judging us for not being as fully committed as they are...yet.

I really found the book to be so informative, an easy read, and empowering. I got a lesson in chemistry, I found out how to safely dispose of my hazardous cleaning products, how to make safe and natural replacements (which are much cheaper, by the way), and tips on cleaning and housekeeping too. I finished reading it feeling excited to make some really positive changes that will make our home a safer place for us and especially our daughter. I highly recommend this, I'm going to be purchasing my own copy when I have to give this back to the library. I'm giving Green Clean a 4 out of 5 - I really liked it.