I found the book "What's in this Stuff?" by Patrica Thomas, to be highly Informative about generally the chemicals we experience everyday.  It is concise and easy to understand without being a chemist.  Yet it does go into basic details about chemicals.  And gives simple alternatives to the use of chemicals in our environment.  It also has a glossary of chemicals which is nice.

What I learned the most is just how widespread chemicals are in our lives.  This is scary yes, but I believe if we eliminate as much as possible in our own homes, what we can control, our total chemical load is lessened to what is hopefully an ok level.

What most people do not realize is the chemicals that are approved by the FDA as safe are with the intent of individual low dose of that particular chemical.  But as this book addresses, little is known what happens when an individual uses a particular chemical more often then is anticipated when figuring the safe level of a chemical, and what about the cocktail effect?  How do these chemicals react when mixed together?

The more I read about chemicals the more I feel like we are more lab rats, because we don't know so much.  There is only so much research done.  And not nearly enough to really know fully what we are exposed to.  The problem is that it is hard to pin point cause and effect of side affects and chronic deadly diseases.  Is it just hereditary?  Or is it environmental?  In this book it talks about how toxins are stored in our fat and show up long after exposure.  So it is hard to say.

Me personally I think why take the risk?  If there is an alternative to something that can possibly be say carcinogenic?  If so why take the risk?  Go for the alternative.  Because we are nothing without our health.

What I am Doing To Avoid Chemicals:

• Use all natural personal bath and body products
• Use only all natural cleaning and laundry products
• No VOC paint
• Making as much of my own non perishable products as possible, by making 2 to 3 times what is needed and using canning and freezing methods to preserve the extra.
• Growing lots of our own food using organic methods or buying organic fruits and veggies
• Switching my cat to a natural litter.
• Buying meat that has a higher standard of raising livestock then factory farms
• Getting rid of as much unnecessary plastic as possible, especially that touches food 
• we replaced plastic utensils, with stainless steel
• we are replacing our non stick pans (teflon coated) with stainless steel pans
• we replaced our plastic food storage containers with pryex, which is made from glass and PBA free plastic lids it can be cooked and frozen as well

It's not that hard really!  You can do it too!  

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