BETTER BASICS FOR THE HOME(ISBN=) 英文原版

　　The Commonsense Rule of Thumb
　　It is a great relief to establish a healthy home. Two-thirds of
us cite healthy air and water as an extremely important local
priority, second only to safety from crime, according to Roper
Starch Worldwide. National Wildlife Federation research has noted
that up to 80 percent of us are concerned about how pesticides and
indoor air pollution affect our health. Other polls show that a
natural lifestyle is one that women, mothers in particular,
overwhelmingly want because it protects the health of their
families.
　　Yet polls ever since Earth Day 1990 consistently show a
significant gap between wanting a more healthful environment and
knowing how to create it. We are realizing that the government
doesn’t fully protect us from toxic products, leaving an uneasy and
pervasive feeling that we have to take charge of safeguarding our
families’ health. The stumbling blocks seem insurmountable.
　　Having lived in a healthy home for more than a decade, I’ve
learned that after some initial adjustment, the way to establish
such a home is quite simple. The most important guideline for
choosing safe materials is to follow this basic rule of thumb: Use
only materials that have been around so long, and been used by
people without harm for so long, that they are “generally regarded
as safe” (GRAS for short), otherwise they would have long since
been abandoned. Using only GRAS substances will take us back to the
time before plastics and forward to new technology using old and
safe materials. It will introduce us to plants and healing herbs;
minerals such as baking soda, borax, and washing soda; and products
from animals and insects such as milk, honey, shellac, and royal
jelly. We may not have realized that these natural materials could
clean, disinfect, moisturize, or make paint. This discovery will
open up a new way of looking at our world.
　　Our alternative is to get a combined degree in toxicology and
environmental studies in order to do a simple risk analysis of
bathtub cleansers that won’t cause harm, or to go shopping armed
with research files. That’s a stretch for even the most well
intentioned among us.
　　Help also comes from something we all already have, even if we
need to clear out cobwebs to find it, and that is our common sense.
If the choice for polishing furniture is between polish in a can
that reads “fatal if swallowed” or using a simple but effective
recipe of lemon juice and raw linseed oil, common sense and the
GRAS rule guide us to the lemon and raw linseed oil.
　　Mixing up face creams or wood stain isn’t much different than
cleaning the windows with vinegar, soap, and water instead of using
Brand Name X, or making a cake with flour, eggs, and milk instead
of buying a mix. And it seems amazing, although true, that we can
make paint ourselves using milk and lime. With a few simple staples
we can clean our houses, wash our hair, rid the dog’s bed of fleas,
and do many other things too.
　　Looking for cause and effect is another way of choosing safe
products. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve allowed consumer products to
deplete the earth’s resources or to be so toxic because the
products don’t look like the raw materials used to make them. We
don’t see the connections. A can of pretty robin’s-egg blue paint
in a hardware store isn’t visibly connected to its ingredients of
fungicides and petroleum or to the smokestacks of the factory where
it was made. Seeing the loss and damage that occurs in its creation
might incline us to purchase a more ecological brand or to buy a
little less. Or having access to the old-timers’ recipe for milk
paint might inspire us to try it out ourselves.
　　Just because a formula is old, or its ingredients are natural,
doesn’t mean it is safe, of course. Some old paint recipes call for
white lead. A musty-smelling 1951 housekeeping book I found
recently at a yard sale recommended using DDT paint on screens and
windows. DDT paint! For those of you not familiar with DDT, it is a
pesticide, now banned, that is symbolic of the worst of the
industrial age’s impact on the environment. Natural materials such
as turpentine, citrus solvents, and tung oil can cause health
problems for many. Needless to say, we need to look at the old
recipes with a discerning eye. The key is to integrate the best of
the old-the simplest, most wholesome ingredients and methods-with
the best of the new-information about the effect of poisons on our
collective health, and how to replace them with safe
alternatives.
　　Signal Words
　　Besides choosing GRAS materials, the next best way to protect
yourself and the world at large from toxic products is to read
labels and pay particular attention to “signal words.” They are
placed on products by order of the federal government, with the
primary purpose of protecting you, but sometimes to tell you about
the products’ potential impact on the environment. POISON/DANGER
means some-thing very toxic; only a few drops could kill you.
WARNING means moderately toxic; as little as a teaspoonful can
kill. CAUTION denotes a product that is less toxic; two tablespoons
to a cup could kill you. There are a few others, such as strong
sensitizer, which means the product can cause multiple allergies.
I’d suggest that everyone get over the “it will never happen to me”
way of thinking and read labels, believe them, and simply avoid
toxic products. Calamity might not happen to you, but it could
happen to a child, or a neighbor, or a fish or a dog.
　　Putting Better Basics into Practice
　　Most people have some practical concerns about living without
toxic chemicals. Just how much of a change is it going to be? Does
living this way take more time? Is it more expensive? How do I
begin? My answers to these legitimate questions follow. But
basically, I suggest you just jump in and try it. I’ve never once
had a person tell me they’ve regretted it. Some people want to
switch to less toxic living on the spot; others stop restocking
toxic cleansers as they run out, learning about the alternatives as
they go along. Most start switching to natural body care gradually.
Choose any way that will work for you. To make it easier to start
the process of changing over, I have placed an icon (#) at
particularly easy recipes, hoping this will offer you the
encouragement you need to give Better Basics for the Home a
try.
　　……