Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home

by Renée Loux

Book Overview

We are what we eat, but we also are what we use to clean our homes, pamper our skin, and decorate our rooms, according to Rene e Loux, accomplished raw food chef, award-winning author, and host of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594867925
• ISBN13: 9781594867927
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Rodale Books
• Length: 396 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.5" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

My First Review

I have never been motivated enough by any book to spend time and thought writing a review but this book is the exception. The book is unusually thorough, covering its subject matter in depth and breadth. We should all read it cover to cover but its simple and compact organization invites us to browse and still get lots of ideas. Though I'm not into cosmetics, I found even that section interesting. The book is well written and an easy read. Technical readers will find it a pleasant experience with good sentence structure and enjoyable phrasing. Renee makes her ideas clear without preachiness or hysteria. She believes we can live the good life and do the right thing (read sustainable, healthy, thoughtful) at the same time. Life on this planet is short; we should make it as good as possible. This book helps define some ways to improve the experience. You might try one of Renee's receipies from her other books. She thinks and cooks -wow. My favorite writer is Louise Erdrich and now in second place is Renee Loux. That's a strange pairing but I guess it's that they both talk about things important to the world.

Green your whole life!!!

Greening your life seems to be a process. It's not something that you can do in one day. It's taken me a few years to slowly get rid of the things that weren't good for me, especially cleansers, beauty products, and food. Not only will using green products help you and your body, but they can help the earth as well! This woman really did her homework. She not only stated where she received the abundance of information she wrote about, but she gave tons of resources as well!! Even if you don't want to give up your everyday products, like: fabric softener, oven cleaner, and makeup, you don't have to!! There are many more natural and healthy substitutes you can use, by buying better products, or making them yourself!! Greening your life is not as hard as you would think! Recommended!

Wonderful reference book

It's easy being green... if you know where to begin. None of us consciously make the decision to harm the planet, yet many of our day to day household choices do exactly that. Easy Green Living points out the reasons why we need to change, and gets us going in the right direction. Many common household cleaners contain chemicals that not only hurt the environment, but can do considerable harm to our bodies. The exact nature of these chemicals is explained, and alternative products are suggested that can do the job in a safer manner. And if you're into "do it yourself" cleaning products, there are recipes to make almost anything out of simple and safe ingredients like white vinegar and baking soda. The author also focuses on other common household products like cosmetics, bedding and furniture, which contain harmful chemicals, and provides safe alternative choices to those toxic items. And using energy efficient light bulbs and appliances is encouraged, so we can all use less natural resources. Although I've been semi-green for more than ten years now, there were many things Renee Loux pointed out that were new to me. After reading Easy Green Living, I'm now totally convinced that I can't continue being partially committed to this lifestyle, and I'll be using this book as a reference in making the switch. Our health and Mother Earth's depend on us all going green. Reviewer: Alice Berger Bergers Book Reviews

Inspiring & Essential--the book I've wished existed for years!!

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.

Comprehensive and Well Researched

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.