For nearly twenty years--in books, articles, and as an editor--Annie Berthold Bond has been researching and writing about the connections between the environment, personal health and well-being, and has become a leading authority. She is the author of three books: Better Basics For The Home, Clean and Green, and The Green Kitchen Handbook (with Mothers & Others; foreword by Meryl Streep), and wrote the chapter on cleaning in The Healthy School Handbook. She was founder and editor-in-chief of Green Alternatives for Health and the Environment, the national consumer magazine designed to provide a community to the emerging environmental health field, and the founding editor of The Green Guide (a publication of Mothers & Others), an Utne Reader Alternative Press award recipient for general excellence in newsletters. She is currently associate editor of News on Earth newsletter. Annie is also the author of dozens of articles, the editor and designer of her own website betterbasics.com, and she authors a popular column, " Ask Annie," most notably found on the wholefoods.com, ecomall.com, and greenmarketplace.com websites. Dubbed "The Green Heloise" by Library Journal, Annie has been featured in many magazines and newspapers (including the New York Times and Martha Stewart Living), and is a frequent guest on radio and television. Her greatest passion, outside of her family, is packaging information for the consumer on how to practice conscious harmlessness.

on a more personal note...

Annie’s northern New England roots of independence of spirit, thrift, care for the environment, self-reliance, and Yankee ingenuity have all contributed to her longstanding fascination with folk remedies and formulas that are based on natural materials rather than chemicals. This interest was heightened when her own health was compromised and she developed chemical sensitivity. Turning her kitchen into an informal lab, and filling her bookshelves with nineteenth century formula books, she has spent years learning about herbs and testing and researching natural solutions for everyday problems such as carpenter ants, lip balm, and cleaning the bathtub. She lives in upstate New York with her husband and daughter.

• Create a "fantastic" cleaner and a "soft scrubber"
• Clean produce effectively
• Eliminate mold without disinfectants
• Discover the cleaning power of lemon, rhubarb and other plants
• Use little-known cleaning agents like pumice and zeolite
• Make your own car wax, rust inhibitor and engine degreaser
• Rediscover gentle disinfectants like pine oil and borax
• Create a healthier environment with air-filtering houseplants
• Preserve bulk cleaning formulas naturally
• Wash floors with a flea-fighting soap
• Personalize homemade cleaners with your favorite natural fragrance