By Irene Conlan -
Anyone who is the slightest bit concerned about the environment as well as anyone who wants to save money should read this book. If you want to save the environment AND money, this book is a must. I thought I was pretty savvy about money-saving tricks but Niemann has me beat by quite a lot.
One of the great things about this book is that it isn’t “crazy making.” Some books on being “green” give you directions for things that make you shake your head and think to yourself, “There’s no way I’m going to do that (or eat that, or go there).
The book covers almost every area of your life from personal care products to food to entertainment and transportation with more in between. I will definitely try her chemical-free personal care products because they sound great and I believe she has used them all and knows what she’s talking about. Her chapter on food has recipes that I definitely want to try out—several of her breads, the bean spreads, and her raspberry pear crisp. (And no, I’m not really “into” cooking). When I finished her section on canning I determined NOT to eat any more canned soup because of the PBAs (and because I make killer soup without PBAs—killer meaning delicious. She writes about canning and I remembered the wonderful jams my mom made when I was a child. This summer I am determined to make a few jars of strawberry and a few jars of peach jam because she makes it sound so easy and I know how we would love it. Hmmm. Maybe the book IS crazy making. (I’m not a cook. Remember)
She has wonderful ideas for saving money like driving at speeds that save you gasoline, buying used items instead of new, belonging to groups like Freecycle, and many, many more. Page after page throughout the book has boxes with money saving ideas for that category and they all make sense and seem doable.
It’s not only an easy read but it’s a fun read. While it has many tips that work primarily in the country, there as certainly enough money and environment saving ideas for city dwellers as well. This could be a lovely addition to your library and you can even get it as an e-book and save a tree.
