ContentsIntroduction
Chapter One: First Things First
Moderation in All Things
Organizing
A Place for Everything
If You Can't Find It, You Might as Well Not Own It
Home Maintenance Protocols
Labeling Tools
Junk Drawers and Miscellaneous Storage
Absentmindedness
Too Much Stuff
Photos
Sorting Papers
If You Ask Them, They Will Come
Banishing Chaos
Hiring Help
Cleaning Outbuildings and Extremely Chaotic Houses
Post-Clutterectomy Care
Storage Protocol
Habits
You Are What You Do; You Are What You Think
Setting Orderly Habits
Living Lightly and Happily
Waste Prevention
Reuse
Recycling: Reducing Things to Their Basic Elements
The Future
Keep Moving
Chapter Two: The Kitchen: You Are What You Eat
Kitchens R Us
Organic Cleaning
What Is Clean?
The Products
Cleaning Tools
Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma'am
Mopping Up
Get Steamed
Steaming Floors and Counters
Environmentally Friendly Dishwashing
Dishwashing Supplies
Dishwasher Technique
Washing Dishes by Hand, Saving Water
Kitchen Odors
Eliminate Odors
Add Better Smells
Growing Clean Air
Sink Cleaning
Stainless-Steel Care
Porcelain Enamel Sinks
Artificial Stone, Corian, or Acrylic Sinks
Faucets
Down the Drain
Drain Snake
Choosing a Refrigerator
Fridge Maintenance
Clean, Clean the Range
Oven Grime Prevention
Safer Oven Cleaning
Cleaning the Oven by Hand
Steam Cleaning the Oven
The Stovetop
Cleaning the Stovetop
The Range Hood
The Microwave
General Cleaning
Toaster
Shock Prevention
Fire Prevention
Polishing
Coffee Makers, Teapots, and Kettles
Why Buy Organic Food?
Save Your Health and Your Money
Preventing Food Poisoning
Real Cleaning for Real Kitchens
The Really Scary Bacteria
Oily Poison
Carnivore's Food Safety
Safe Meat Handling
Understanding the Enemy
Fashionable Diseases
Parasites
Choosing Fish
Putrescine, Cadaverine, and Histamine -- The Rotten Meat Sisters
Fending Off Spoilage
Not So Raw, Please
Antibiotics, Breakfast of Champions
Probiotics for People
Food Choices
Clean Cooking
Implementing a Domestic Spray Program
It's Mostly in the Timing
Clean and Dry
Kitchen Laundry
Choosing Cookware
Flexible Bakeware
Caring for Stovetop Cookware
Unsafe at Any Heat
Silver Care
Microwaveable Containers
Food Packaging
Chapter Three: The Low-Maintenance Bathroom
Designing a Low-Maintenance Bathroom from the Bottom Up
Floors
Walls and Ceiling
Storage
Soft vs. Hard Water
Hot Water
Materials
Colors and Finishes
Choosing Hardware
Grime Prevention and Cleaning Techniques
Tools
Bath Towels
Choosing a Scum Free Soap
Cleaning the Shower While Showering
Toilet Grime Prevention
Proper Toilet Etiquette
Clog Busting
Nontoxic, Timesaving Cleaning Techniques
Cleaning Methods
Routine Cleaning
Special Circumstances Cleaning
Smells
Define Clean
Personal Care Products
Some Dangerous Common Ingredients in Synthetic Beauty Products
Homegrown Beauty
Chapter Four: The Bedroom
Cleaning Pillows
Maintaining Down-Filled Comforters, Quilts, and Featherbeds
How Often Should the Bed Linens Be Changed?
Blankets and Comforters
Blanket Maintenance
Mattresses
Fire "Safe" but Still Dangerous
Unstained Yet Unhealthy
Choosing a Mattress
Mattress Flipping
Stain Prevention
Odor Eradication
Well-Preserved but Unhealthy
Sheets and Pillowcases
Clean Air Choices
Chapter Five: Laundry
Great-Grandma's Washday
The Beauty of the Lowered Standard
Choosing the Equipment
A Few Words About Lint
Water and Energy Use
Sorting
By Color, Three Degrees of Separation
By Sturdiness, Two Degrees of Separation
By Dirtiness, Four Degrees of Separation
Hampering Rips, Tears, Stains, and Broken Zippers
Inside Out
Washing Frequency
Soap vs. Detergent
Anything but White...
Laundry Balls and Discs, the Handy Little Devices that Clean Out Your Wallet and Leave Your Laundry Dirty
General Whitening
Recommended Laundry Aids
Borax
Washing Soda
Distilled Vinegar
Bluing
Fabric Softeners
Stain Removal
Protein-Based Stains
Sweat Stains
Oil-Based Stains
Vegetable-Pigment (Tannin) Stains
Dye Stains
Pencil
Paint
Rust
Dry Cleaning
Dry Cleaning Comparisons
Fabric Care
Synthetic Fibers
Plant Fibers
Animal Fibers
Rain Washing
Letting the Rain Blow through Your Clothes
Snow Cleaning
To Snow-Clean Woolen Garments
Storing Woolens
Bedding
Down Maintenance
Drying Techniques
Preferred Equipment
Outdoor Line Drying
Indoor Line Drying
Stretched Trousers
Ironing
Do Not Iron, Do Not Starch
A Message from the Department of Redundancy Department
Roughing It
Grime Prevention for Sleeping Bags
It All Comes Out in the Wash...
Chapter Six: General Cleaning
The Well-Tempered House
Healthy Decor
Carpeting and Rugs
Carpet Choices
Location, Location, Location
The Carpeting Solution
Window Coverings
Window Blinds
Building Materials and Furniture
Choosing Upholstery and Drapery Fabrics
Harmonizing
Annoying Building Syndrome
Cleaning Methods
Rug and Carpet Care, with a Little Upholstery Thrown In
Walls and Ceilings
Washing Windows
Dusting
Dusting, Cleaning, Oiling, and Polishing Wooden Furniture
Computers
Computer Care
Computer Spills
Creative Tension
Chapter Seven: Indoor Air Quality
Domestic Odor Control
Animal Odors
Indoor Air Pollutants
Gaseous Pollutants
Indoor Pollution Control
Out with the Old Air, In with the New
Removal or Filtering
Watery Air
Preventing Fungi, Mold, and Mildew
Home Maintenance
Routine Housework
Circulation
Vanquish Evil Dampness with Dehumidifiers or Air Conditioners
Humidifiers
Alternative Humidifiers and Air Cleaners
The Air Scouts
Chapter Eight: Hazardous Materials, Fire Safety, Home Maintenance, Automotive Care
Hazardous Materials
Some Advice from a Guy Who Picks Up the Pieces
Hazardous Materials Disaster Prevention
Hazardous Materials Disposal Programs
Read the Label, Then You Won't Need to Weep
Age-Induced Instability
Repacking for the Trip
When to Call for Help
Fire Safety
Arise! Awake!
Fire 101
From Small Sparks, Huge Fires Grow
The Grand Prize Fire Starter
Cooking Up an Ounce of Prevention
Microwave Fire Prevention
Barbeque
The Next Biggest Fire Thing
Carbon Monoxide
Electrical Fires
Lighting Safety
Spontaneity Is Not Always a Good Thing...
What Firefighters Want You to Know
The Firefighters' "Perfect" Dream Home
When Prevention Fails
A Quenching Shower
Water, Mother Nature's Fire Control
Money Makes the World Go Around
Home Maintenance
Paint Purchasing
Aerosol Paints
Watch Out for That Can!
Safe Cleanup
Paint Pollution
Removing Old Wallpaper
Cleaning Wooden Decks
Killing Moss on Wooden Shingles
Digging Outside
Ice and Snow
The Nuts and Bolts of Rust Removal
Automotive Care
No Fires, No Floods, No Explosions -- and They Lived Happily Ever After
Chapter Nine: In and Around the Garden
Reducing Toxic Runoff
Home Treatment
Building a Rain Garden
Rain Barrels: Saving for a Dry Day Permeable Pavement
Contaminated Soil
Compost
Vermicomposting
Mulch
The Value of Trees
Controlling Global Warming
Controlling Local Warming
Lawns
Lawn Alternatives
Mowing
Safe Garden Hoses
Weed Control
Evicting Itchy and Scratchy
Pickled Weeds
Poisonous Plants
Warm Climate or Houseplants
Decorative
Outside
Garden Pest Control: Of Mice and Men
We Are All Siblings Under the Skin, Exoskeleton, or Bark
A Clean Safe Kill
Don't Judge by Appearances
Insect Control with Backbone
Pickled Slugs and Snails
Garbage Can Security
Indoor/Outdoor Pests
Being Chased by the Furies
Ants Indoors
Ants Outdoors
Cockroaches
Infested Food
Mice, Rats, and Squirrels
Flies
Termites
Clothes Moths
Bloodsuckers
Mosquitoes
From the Counterproductive Department: Mosquito Attractants
Ticks
Fleas
Pet Care
Ear Mites
Cleaning Up Pet Hair
Cat Litter Boxes
Pet Safety
Pet Birds
Baby-Proofing
Protecting the House from the Children
Cleaning Tricks
Lice
Closing the Circle
Bibliography
Index