review: Green Clean & recipe

In my ongoing research for safe, effective and yes, natural ways to clean my home, I found a book at the library (love the library - how thrifty AND green!?) called Green Clean: The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home and found it intriguing enough to pick up. First, the form factor: an eco-friendly book printed on a non-recycled paper?! Whaaaa? Well yeah. It's actually printed on a synthetic paper that makes it waterproof, stainproof and therefore infinitely durable. It's also resistant to tearing (shhh, yes, I checked). It's called a DuraBook™ in fact, which seams to suit the material perfectly. I like this concept quite a lot, particularly considering the abuse softcover books tend to take in library environments. Long live the library!

Anyway, I found the book to be a straightforward, helpful guide. There was some excellent reference and educational information, some basic housecleaning tips turned green, and lots of recipes. This probably isn't a book for an already-educated, hard core green household, but an excellent starting point if you're just beginning this phase in your life. And, as the book describes, you can just store it right in your cleaning bucket next to your products. It won't fall apart under the pressure!

Here's a recipe I'm going to try...(directly quoting from the book)

Vinegar of the Four Theives
Legend has it that grave robbers during a plague outbreak rubbed this on themselves to prevent illness.

2 quarts organic apple cider vinegar
Small handfuls of dried lavendar, rosemary, sage, rue, mint
Large jar (about 2 quarts) with a screw-top lid

Mix all ingredients in a jar and cover tightly. Let sit for at least four weeks and strain out the herbs. Pour into a spray bottle. Spray anywhere that's ripe for germs - such as places where lots of hands have touched, or in a sick room.