Three Rules of Thumb for Nontoxic Living

By Annie B. Bond, author of Home Enlightenment,
(Rodale Press, 2005).

Annie says: "I was poisoned in 1979 and 1980, two back-to-back exposures �?one to a gas leak and another to pesticides �?and developed permanent central nervous system damage resulting in extreme sensitivity to most synthetic chemicals.

"The result is that I’ve learned to live without toxic chemicals in my home for 25 years. I did this without getting a Ph.D. in chemistry. What I used were these rules of thumb, based on common sense. Try these guides for your life: your health and the environment will be happier for it:

1. Buy the most inert materials that you can find.

These are materials that have low odour if any odour at all. One good way to identify them if the material doesn’t smell much, such as polycarbonate, is to realize that you would smell chemicals if they are burned.

Examples of inert ingredients would be those made of stone or wood.

2. Buy ingredients with no label with a stronger “signal word�?than “caution.�?/STRONG>