Book Review: The Modern Organic Home

The Modern Organic Home by Natalie Wise

One sentence summary: Replace toxic chemical cleaners with safe ingredients from your kitchen like baking soda and vinegar. 

Favorite Quote: ”Cleaning has also become a stressor in this day and age. Mainstream cleaning products do nothing to help alleviate this, and in fact, contain ingredients known to affect our hormones and nerves. Natural, organic products have no ill effects and usually contain natural aromatherapeutic elements to bring calm to your cleaning routine.”

What I liked: I appreciated that the ingredients used in Natalie's cleaning products were very normal (mostly things I already owned) and not crazy or hard to find. I loved how thorough the book was, covering the usuals like bathroom and kitchen cleaners, but also so many other things from DIY dry cleaning to removing stains from outdoor sidewalks to disinfecting your kids stuffed animals. I also liked the handy reference page on what the different “organic” labels on products mean, as well as the tips on being “body aware” while cleaning to help avoid straining, fatigue and back pain.

What I didn't like: One person I recommended the book to reported feeling overwhelmed by the amount of things this book makes you feel like you have to clean. How recently have you scrubbed the baseboards? Cleaned your pet’s collar? Cleaned your iron? Ran a cleaning cycle through your coffee maker? Your dishwasher? Your washing machine? I would definitely say that this book should be used as a reference to swap out cleaners you currently use, but please don’t take it as a “you must clean everything I show you how to clean” manual.

Drink I would pair with this book: An aperol spritz, and here's why: Any drink that is clear or tastes anything like lemon is going to get mixed up with all the rubbing alcohol and lemon juice and other ingredients you’ve pulled out to whip up batches of your very own cleaning products. Plus, it would make cleaning so much more fun and relaxing. Who doesn't want to feel like a chill Italian woman scrubbing away in her sunny little villa. Does life get better than that? (Wait, are aperol spitzes organic?....)

Sort of person I would recommend this book to: People interested in getting some of the chemicals out of their life, especially if they seem to cause headaches, or if you’re worried about their effects on your small children. People who like to clean. Or people who don’t like to clean - Natalie does try to convince her readers that cleaning can be very calming and therapeutic, especially with the aromatherapy benefits of the essential oils you choose to use in your products.

What I learned from reading this book: That you can clean your stovetop with baking soda and vinegar instead of that special stuff from the store. Actually. I tried it. And it works way better.

How I felt about this book: Honestly, I didn’t get overwhelmed by this book, because I don’t feel the need to use all of it. But I really appreciated how simple and straightforward it was, and how it really covered any natural cleaning products you could want, as well as extras like self care products and organizing tips. 

Further reading it inspired: It actually discouraged any further reading - in this field anyway - but for a good reason. I checked this book out from my local library during my clean cleaning phase (which I am still very much in the middle of), but this book made me want to go buy a copy and not bother reading any other DIY cleaning book, because really, could anyone else say it more simply and comprehensively?