Showing posts with label Household hints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Household hints. Show all posts

1/18/2010

Review of The Complete Home Organizer (Paperback)

After reading this book from cover to cover aproximately 1 year ago.... I was inspired to start my own professional organizing business. The tips, questions lists and reccommendations are how I conduct my eval's of aclients home when attempting to get them organized.On a more personallevel... I have used this book to organize my home and IT WORKS!Theauthor has been so gracious on several occasions to talk with me about mybusiness and has generously given non-failing advice on how to improve it.I highly reccommend this book to anyone wanting to get organized. Italso makes a great gift to clients upon completion of their organizingprojects.

Product Description
This volume includes space planning and storage suggestions for each room of the house, emphasizing functionality and easy access to needed items.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Complete Home Organizer (Paperback)

12/23/2009

Review of Laundry: The Spirit of Keeping Home (Hardcover)

I really liked this book. It's short and simple, and inspires me to try and enjoy doing the laundry, rather than making it such a tedious chore. There is nothing really innovative in this book, but it's a nice and easy read for those looking for a little motivation and something to inspire. I like the idea of the "Spirit of Homekeeping", especially since I am a 20 something year old woman who grew up "hanging out" and watching too much television! Now that I have a family of my own, I love the old fashioned ideas of keeping home, and making the daily grind a little more enjoyable.

Product Description
In grandmother's day, the fibers were natural, the suds were simple, and the clothes dryer wasa line stretched across the backyard. Today the parade of products and fabrics seems endless. But author Monica Nassif knows the secrets behind this satisfying ritual. Laundry lays them out-from sorting and soaking to fluffing and folding, here are tips and techniques that make doing the wash a true pleasure.

About the Author
Monica Nassif is founder and CEO of The Caldrea Company, which specializes in natural cleaning products. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two daughters.Patrick Fox is a Minneapolis-based photographer who spends time away from the camera flying a bush plane and tending 160 forested acres around his cabin in Northern Wisconsin.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Laundry: The Spirit of Keeping Home (Hardcover)

12/09/2009

Review of Herbal Home Hints (Rodale's Essential Herbal Handbooks) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

Louise Gruenberg's Herbal Home Hints is incredibly useful and well written. Her formulas are wonderful tools for cleaning naturally with herbs. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in herbalism and natural cleaning and home beautification ideas.

Product Description
From polishing furniture with lemon balm to repelling moths with tansy sachets, this guide offers natural, herbal solutions for dozens of common household cleaning, laundering, and decorating dilemmas.It begins with an illustrated list of essential cleaning herbs covering everything from the qualities and useable parts of each herb to the herbal household formulas you can create.It moves on to a detailed gardening section with information on planting and cultivating herbs.Then, learn the basic methods, essential nonherbal ingredients, standard equipment, and essential oils needed to make your own cleaning products.A resource list of herbal product suppliers and a fabulous room-by-room herbal cleaning solutions chart make this a practical and environment-friendly resource.

About the Author
Louise Gruenberg, a member of the American Herbalists Guild and the American Herb Association, is the author of Potpourri: The Art of Fragrance Crafting (Frontier Cooperative Herbs) and many articles for The Herb CompanionShe lives n Oak Park, Illinois.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Herbal Home Hints (Rodale's Essential Herbal Handbooks) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

12/08/2009

Review of Home Comforts : The Art and Science of Keeping House (Hardcover)

I bought this book without knowing anything about it. As a thirtysomething single man who just bought his first house, I've been looking for thepractical information that I never got growing up (more my fault thanmom's), and after idly flipping through this book in the store, I wasconvinced that I'd found it. The amount of venom contained in many of thereviews here was frankly astonishing to me, and for a moment I wondered ifI'd wandered onto the wrong page by mistake.

Home Comforts is not"the fascists guide to spotless houses at the expense of friends,family, career, and joy". Indeed, the author repeatedly stresses thather methods and schedules are suggestions, nothing more, and goes to greatlengths to explain why each task should be done in the first place, and howto balance the effort against the benefits. I found nothing in it tosuggest that I, living alone in my brand-new house, should be forced intohours of weekly drudgery in order to meet an irrational white-glovestandard; what I found was a set of clear explanations that would allow meto make informed choices on how to set my own standards and keep up withthem in a reasonable and realistic way.

Attempting to read it from coverto cover in one sitting is indeed overwhelming, and I can see why it leftsome people feeling inadequate or with the false impression that the authorwas looking down her nose at the readers. I didn't know most of thosethings either, and much of what I thought I knew was wrong.

Some aspectsthat others find off-putting added to the charm for me. Who but a lawyerwould, when faced with the complications of laundry care labels, reachimmediately for the federal regulations governing them? The book gets a bitchatty, but if I didn't know what sort of person the author was, how wouldI know what motivated her advice in a particular area? I don't think I'dreached page seven before I was wondering "if there were any more athome like her", and not because I wanted to hire one as a full-timehousekeeper; Mendelson is a "rational romantic", mixing equalparts of enthusiasm and sensibility into her writing.

As for omissions,I'm hard-pressed to find any significant ones. Doesn't say anything aboutdoing your own plumbing or electrical work? Why should it? The informationit does supply is geared to living in a home, not repairing or renovatingone. For those who choose to do more in that area, she makes a point ofrecommending other sources. Personally, the only thing I've noticed so farthat it doesn't say anything specific about is getting stains out ofconcrete floors, something I'm willing to research on my own, since she'ssaved me the trouble for pretty much every other kind of floor and wallcovering I'm likely to encounter.

Oh, and I bought Mom a copy. Hopefullyshe'll take it the right way...

-j



Click Here to see more reviews about: Home Comforts : The Art and Science of Keeping House (Hardcover)

12/07/2009

Review of The Confederate Housewife: Receipts & Remedies, Together with Sundry Suggestions for Garden, Farm, & Plantation (Paperback)

This compilation of contemporary Civil War advice for home and farm is anexcellent source of information on how the South "made do" duringthose hard times.

While Mary Elizabeth Massey's "Ersatz in theConfederacy," republished in the last few years by the University ofSouth Carolina Press, is a worthwhile history of home life during thosetimes, "The Confederate Housewife" goes further by quoting theexact recipes and nuggets of advice that appeared in newspapers andperiodicals like "Field and Fireside," "SouthernCultivator" and "Clarke's Confederate Household Almanac."

Reading these pages is like going back in time, when advice is needed torestore tainted meat ("take it out of the pickle. Wash so as tocleanse it of the offensive pickle . . . As you re-pack your pieces, itwould be well to rub each piece with salt."), get rid of mosquitoes("put a couple of generous pieces of beef on plates near your bed atnight, and you will sleep untroubled by these pests.") or dealing withbloated cattle ("a dose of thoroughwort with a little tansey willafford immediately relief.")

If nothing else, it will make yougrateful for indoor plumbing, air conditioning and refrigerators.

Product Description
Combination cookbook and "how-to-do-it" guide, this receipt book provides for the first time a comprehensive, grass roots picture of what many Confederate housewives faces during those tumultuous years. Substitutes abound, as do ways to preserve food, care for crops and animals, make straw hats and squirrel-skin shoes, and cure everything from cancer to small pox to ingrown toenails. Half of the nearly six hundred entries here -- all published in journals or newspapers during the Civil War -- relate to the preparation and cooking of food and encompass both substitutes and standard fare, everything from snow corn cakes and cracker pie to walnut catsup and secession rice bread. Also included is advice on measuring land, estimating hay, and collecting opium for home use. "Some of these recipes may seem strange by today's standards others horrific (cures for cancer that use turkey figs, sheep sorrel, and dock root). Still others are helpful even today." -- Civil War Times

About the Author
John Hammond Moore is a former news reporter and history teacher. He is the author of sixteen books, eight of which deal with South Carolina where he makes his home.



Click Here to see more reviews about: The Confederate Housewife: Receipts & Remedies, Together with Sundry Suggestions for Garden, Farm, & Plantation (Paperback)

12/03/2009

Review of Living Organized: Proven Steps for a Clutter-Free and Beautiful Home (Paperback)

Being merely an updated version of the Messies Superguide, I was a bit disappointed when I started reading this, since I wasn't aware of that fact before I purchased it.The book is fine, but I already had a copy of the superguide, and so I felt a bit ornery about it.

Nevertheless, the ideas in this book are sound, and have helped me to slowly start organizing my own house.Heavy on theory, and rather light on examples, "Living Organized" spends most of its time reassuring you that no, you're not a horrible person because you can't keep your house clean, and yes, there are solutions to your problems.It does take a rather traditional view towards housework (referring to the "motherly" jobs of keeping "husband and children" organized, etc), but if you're able to take it with a grain of salt, then you should be fine.

Product Description
The Organizer Lady™ makes it easy for readers to develop strategies for mess-free living. Author of the best-selling Messies Manual, Sandra Felton shares her insight on the best ways to bring out the hidden beauty in messy houses. Included in this comprehensive guide to "cleaner living" are 100 little-known housekeeping tips, inspiring testimonies from recovering Messies, strategies for living with a disorganized people, and action plans to help win the clutter war. With enthusiasm and humor, Felton makes housekeeping easier and less overwhelming for the organizationally challenged.

From the Back Cover
Develop strategies for mess-free living! Everyone wants a beautiful home--one that welcomes visitors gracefully and provides a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. But as we go through life we acquire all sorts of stuff that clutters up our lives and our houses. And a beautiful home is just not possible if every nook and cranny is considered fair game for storage!Now you can win the clutter war. Sandra Felton, The Organizer Lady, shares her insight on the best ways to bring out the hidden beauty in messy houses. She makes housekeeping less overwhelming for the organizationally challenged with-interior design tips-inspiring stories from the organizing trenches-advice for coping with a messy spouse or childDon't settle for a messy house. Learn the strategies you need to get organized and stay organized. Who knows? The house of your dreams could be right under your nose.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Living Organized: Proven Steps for a Clutter-Free and Beautiful Home (Paperback)

11/23/2009

Review of The Naturally Clean Home (Paperback)

This book has a lot of recipes that use essential oils in the mixtures. It is up to date(2008).I will refer to it often to create new cleaning recipes.It also makes a great gift book especially when one becomes aware of all the toxins in cleaning items now on the market.

Product Description
It's time to "green" that cleaning routine! Millions of Americans are replacing harsh chemical cleansers with ecofriendly alternatives. Unfortunately, most commercial green cleaners are expensive, and they often come with dubious environmental claims.

Effective, nontoxic alternatives can be mixed up easily from kitchen staples - baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, herbs, and borax - plus a handful of easy-to-find essential oils. In the second edition of The Naturally Clean Home, Karyn Siegel-Maier offers 150 all-natural recipes for cleaning every area of the home - from bathrooms to bedding, and from carpets to cabinetry.

Siegel-Maier, a writer specializing in complementary therapies whose work is featured in such publications as Mother Earth News and Natural Living Today, presents quick recipes for cleansers that are nontoxic, biodegradable, and freshsmelling. Formulas are so simple that even a novice can make them, yet they are as effective as the commercial options. Best of all, these recipes are much less expensive than commercial cleaners; most can be made for mere pennies per use.

With the second edition of this popular book comes a host of hard-working new recipes, including Rosemary-Geranium Floor Wipes for electrostatic floor mops, Thyme to Make Your Own Carpet Steamer, Weekend Warrior Wicker Wash, Telephone Dirty Talk Tamer, Clear the Air Room Spritzer, and Lavender Lift Automatic Dishwasher Soap.

Siegel-Maier also offers recipes for outdoor spaces - like Shoo-Fly Shake to keep flies away from your backyard barbecue - and covers areas less commonly considered in the cleaning routine: garden, houseplants, computer, even the septic tank!

Whether scrubbing or scouring, degreasing or dusting, The Naturally Clean Home makes it fun to mix up chemical-free products that are easy on home and planet!

About the Author
Karyn Siegel-Maier is a freelance writer specializing in herbs, alternative medicine, and health. She has written for many magazines, including Let's Live, Natural Living Today, Real Woman, Mother Earth News, Delicious!, and Better Nutrition. Visit her at www.herbmusings.com.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Naturally Clean Home (Paperback)

11/16/2009

Review of The Cleaning Bible: Kim and Aggie's Complete Guide to Modern Household Management (Paperback)

I love their tv show--and this book! It was amazing to learn how much dirt and bacteria can lurk in an uncleaned house!

The "Cleaning Bible" is full of how-tos for easy cleaning, and recipes for making your own inexpensive, organic, & non-toxic cleaning supplies. I've actually tried lots of their ideas and they've all worked well. The only drawback to the book is the rather inefficient indexing. You have to take the time to familiarize yourself with what's in the book if you hope to be able to find information when you REALLY need it.

This book will become my new standard wedding or housewarming gift for new house-keepers! The Cleaning Bible: Kim and Aggie's Complete Guide to Modern Household Management

Product Description
You watched the TV programme and you bought the book but is your house still a bit dull round the edges? It is time to get Kim and Aggie round to do the spring cleaning - their ultimate "Cleaning Bible" is the only helping hand you need for all tasks of a domestic nature. Every tip and trick from their combined cleaning experience of about half a century is included, and they always use natural products where possible so even your conscience will be clean. Make a space next to Delia and Jamie and welcome Kim and Aggie to your domestic bookshelf!

About the Author
Aggie MacKenzie has worked on many national magazines, and was associate editor at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where all the latest appliances, cleaning products and gadgets are tested. She now writes a column for The Times. Kim Woodburn is a professional cleaning lady, and has kept house for Hollywood moguls and even a sheik in Kent.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Cleaning Bible: Kim and Aggie's Complete Guide to Modern Household Management (Paperback)

11/13/2009

Review of Field Guide to Stains: How to Identify and Remove Virtually Every Stain Know to Man (Paperback)

If you have ever had to actually toss out a perfectly good garment that you loved with lots of more life left in it just because of a stain that resisted every attempt to dissolve it, this is most definitely the book for you.

Packed with information and illustrations, The Field Guide to Stainswill help you remove more than 100 different types of stains, and the information is divided up into sections by type for easy research while preparing laundry.

The Field Guide to Stains: How to Identify and Remove Virtually Every Stain Known to Man is well-worth the investment, because potentially it will save you a fortune on even one favorite garment that you won't have to needlessly replace.

I love this book!

Product Description
At last, a field guide to identifying and doing battle with more than 100 stains, from tomato juice and tar to avocado and urine!

Field Guide to Stains is divided into handy sections for easy access to information about stain removal when time is of the essence: Fruits and Vegetables, Sauces and Condiments, Garage and Yard, Office and School Products, and more. But readers will learn more than just areas of occurrence, plus other essential information.

A full-color insert features 100 photographs for easy identification, and each photograph is cross-referenced to the stain's in-depth description and step-by-step removal advice.

This hilarious handbook is essential reading for everyone about to venture out into the wild, to the kitchen, or to a night on the town!

About the Author
Virginia M. Friedman, Melissa Wagner, and Nancy Armstrong are freelance writers living in Philadelphia. They have been studying stains in their natural environment for the last 12 years.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Field Guide to Stains: How to Identify and Remove Virtually Every Stain Know to Man (Paperback)

11/02/2009

Review of Feather Your Nest: The Complete Guide to Outfitting, Cleaning, Organizing, and Caring for Your Home (Paperback)

I know the title may not sound that exciting but this is a really useful book. Ever had a stain on a favorite piece of clothing you didn't know how to get rid of? This book will help. Ever spilt red wine on the carpet and frantically worried what to do? This book will help.

Two parts old fashioned remedies (your grandparents will be impressed with some of the solutions here) and two parts modern career woman sensibility, this book would make an ideal leaving home gift for son or daughter or a great engagement present.

Product Description
Keeping house is an art that many of us have lost. With more of us working long hours outside the home and spending less time within it-mainly chasing after kids or crashing out on the couch-we don't have time to make the bed, let alone polish the silver. And yet we love our homes and want them to be comfortable, clean, and safe-we just need someone to tell us how.

Cerentha Harris, herself a harried working mom, offers practical, stylish strategies for cleaning and caring for the home. She understands the concerns of today's readers. Her tips are time saving and easy to follow, and whenever possible they're environmentally sound: Instead of relying on expensive, and perhaps harmful, chemicals, Harris shows us how to tackle the toughest of home tasks with earth-friendly cleansers and a bit of ingenuity and elbow grease.

For anyone who has ever wondered how to decorate on a budget; wash a feather-filled duvet; baby-proof, pet-proof, or burglarproof; sanitize the kitchen and deter pests; clean textured wallpaper (bread works best); or otherwise make their home stylish, cozy, and truly their own, Feather Your Nest is an indispensable, delightful companion.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Feather Your Nest: The Complete Guide to Outfitting, Cleaning, Organizing, and Caring for Your Home (Paperback)

10/22/2009

Review of Organizing for Your Brain Type: Finding Your Own Solution to Managing Time, Paper, and Stuff (Paperback)

As the reviews say the book consists of looking at how we organize our life using 4 brains types.There is the Prioritizing type, the Maintaining type, the Innovating type, and Harmonizing type.Overall I found the book well written and enjoyed how the author looked at how each brain type functions overall.She talks about ways each brain type can: use a calendar more effectively, use storage space, deal with paperwork, organize your home and office space, and organize your environment.Also, at the end of each brain type chapter, she gives a nice bullet point summary of key points so that you don't have to go back and re-read in detail.

My only problem with the book was the testing method in helping to find your brain type. The test was 50 questions (too long) and many of the questions where things I had problems relating to. For example some questions asked:

You are reminded about going to the opera when:
1.Check your planner a day in advance
2.Notice post-its over the house
3.Friends shows up at door step
4.Your Palm Pilot's alarm goes off 15 before you are toleave

While Typing, you notice your dog is looking at you with those huge hungry eyes you:
1.Tell him you feed him at the same time
2.Your dog never looks hungry there food on the floor all the times
3.Throw him your half-eaten doughnut form breakfast this morning
4.Tell him to lie down and wait until you are done

You normally try to avoid conversations that:
1.Involve the future
2.That go into great detail
3.That deal with figures
4.That is too touch-feely


For me these questions (and some others) depend on situations. I may talk touch-feely at one time, and depending on the day or my mood, I might feed the dog now or wait. The test would have been more effective had it dealt with typical situations. My guess is she was trying to offer something different than the other books out there on organization that gives tests using every day situations, but her test did not work for me. Also, by her own admission, she says some of the test questions "seemed a little over the top" and what I found was because some of the questions were over the top, I scored in a different brain type category (Prioritizing style) when after reading the other brain types, I am clearly a Maintainingtype.

My only suggestion would be is to take the test, but make sure you read the other types to see if they don't fit you better. The the book is arranged in a way that you can scan the other brain types easily.Overall the book is very good and offers good tips and info.


Product Description
Get---and stay---organized!

Let your natural inclinations guide you toward gaining control of your environment and learn to live life on your own terms. Drawing on the science of brain function and her experience as a professional organizer, Lanna Nakone offers tailored and specific advice that will actually work to help you tame your desk, unclutter your closet, manage your time, and save your sanity.

Take the Brain Style quiz to determine which of the four parts of the brain you rely on the most to process information, and which organizing style complements your brain function. If you rely on the

*Posterior left section of your brain, you're a Maintaining Style. You develop and follow routines well and adhere to traditional organizing methods.

*Frontal right section of your brain, you're an Innovating Style. Artistically creative, you have a unique stacking system that no one else understands.

*Posterior right section of your brain, you're a Harmonizing Style. Valuing interconnectedness with your family or coworkers, youneed to be organized enough to keep your environment peaceful.

*Frontal left section of your brain, you're a Prioritizing Style. Adept at analyzing data, you prefer to delegate organizing.

Chapters specific to each type offer practical tips and strategies for implementing an organizing system, maintaining your system, and coexisting with different brain styles.

Insightful and understanding, Organizing for Your Brain Type turns the task of managing your life into an enjoyable experience.


About the Author
Lanna Nakone is a professional organizer and consultant. Her business, Organized World, boasts clients from corporations and busy executives to homemakers. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), she runs workshops and does extensive lecturing for The Executive Committee Worldwide (T.E.C.). She lives in St. Helena, California.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Organizing for Your Brain Type: Finding Your Own Solution to Managing Time, Paper, and Stuff (Paperback)

10/19/2009

Review of Knack Clean Home, Green Home: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Eco-Friendly Homekeeping (Knack: Make It easy) (Paperback)

This book is so awesome!I can't say I've read a lot of these types of books, but this was so beautifully laid out, covered so much, and really gave a good foundation for those who want to detox their home and personal use products.I found it to be very practical without being over the top.Because of it, I have totally changed the products I use in my home and on my body.In fact, now I make many of my own cleaning and personalcare products with very simple, money-saving ingredients, and I'm having fun doing it!I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to make their house a safe, green home!

Product Description

Toxin-free techniquesand time-saving tips to makecleaning easier for you and less harmful to the planet.



From the Back Cover
MAKE IT EASY!Cleaning your home without harsh toxic chemicals is rapidly becoming the new standard. Knack Clean Home, Green Home is a quick-reading, picture-driven guide that shows you all the best ideas for getting your home fresh and naturally clean, efficiently and effectively. The first such reference created for visual learners, this book shows what you really need to do to get rid of germs with both safety and the environment in mind. Step-by-step full-color photo sequences and information-packed, clearly worded text make this the definitive resource on green homekeeping.
More than 450 photos
Room-by-room advice:
kitchens, baths, bedrooms
Green quick-cleaning techniques
Cleaning product recipes



Click Here to see more reviews about: Knack Clean Home, Green Home: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Eco-Friendly Homekeeping (Knack: Make It easy) (Paperback)

10/14/2009

Review of Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan (Paperback)

Everyone knows how to cure the hic-ups, or to get wine stains out of white clothing right?There are all sorts of little household tricks and tips handed down via word of mouth, or from a helpful friend or parent in a time of need.The Japanese term for these is "urawaza", a word with a sly feel to it meaning a little secret that only you know about, something you discovered about a product that the producers didn't intend for you to know. Its main use is with videogames, referring to cheat codes left in by programmers who never intended them to become public knowledge.

This book is full of urawaza's, little "cheat codes" for common household objects like potatoes and old sales receipts, things that would normally never be used for more than their intended purposes.For example, magically clearing up a stuffy nose by shoving the white root section of a scallion in your nostrils, or rubbing a little egg white on your glasses to prevent them from fogging.Each tip is accompanied by a short explanation of why the process works, showing the molecules and process involved that accompany the magic.

The strange thing is, the tips actually work.I haven't tried all of them, but the ones I have given a shot work just as advertised.You might feel a bit strange at first rubbing a cut potato across your bathroom mirrors to make them fog-free, but you can't argue with the results.Want to know how to keep your bathwater from going cold using only orange peels, or how to make your dull hair glossy?"Urawaza" has what you need.

The only disappointment with this book is the lack of any real Japanese connection, aside from the title. There are a few little asides at the start of each chapter talking about the author's personal history or a few cultural notes, but that is about it.There was a good opportunity to include some Japanese vocabulary for each entry,just a few words here and there relating to the subject, and make this a language-learner along with its helpful and fun tips. Unfortunately they didn't go that route, but if you aren't studying Japanese and just want a cool and useful little book, then that isn't really an issue.


Product Description
Japan has a way of thinking that is just . . . different. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Tokyo-born journalist Lisa Katayama's collection of urawaza (a Japanese word for secret lifestyle tricks and techniques). Want to turbocharge your sled? Spray the bottom with nonstick cooking spray. Can't find someone to water your plants while you're away? Place the plant on a water-soaked diaper, so it slowly absorbs water over time. The subject of popular TV shows and numerous books in Japan, these unusually clever solutions to everyday problems have never before been published in English until now! Urawaza collects more than 100 once-secret tricks, offering step-by-step directions and explanations in an eye-catching package as unconventional as its contents.

About the Author
Lisa Katayama has written for Wired, Giant Robot, and Glamour, and is an editor at Planet magazine. She lives in San Francisco.

Joel Holland's illustrations have appeared in Holiday Hero as well as in Rolling Stone, Newsweek, and the New York Times. He lives in New York.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan (Paperback)

10/13/2009

Review of Good Things (Best of Martha Stewart Living) (Paperback)

In the introduction to this book, Martha Stewart defines what she and her staff consider a "good thing". It must be uncomplicated, useful, aesthetically pleasing, interesting, pertinent, unusual, and done with materials that are easily found. I would say that about 75% of the projects in this book meet those criteria as I would apply them.

The book is well organized into seven sections: entertaining, cooking, celebrating, giving, gardening, decorating, and homekeeping. I found useful ideas in each section - some sections were better than others for me - but even the ones of lesser interest to me were still lovely to look at. At the end of the book, Stewart includes a source guide for most of the materials used in this book.

I especially liked the kitchen tips (in the cooking section); the easy instruction for handmade soaps; tole painting on tin buckets; and the organizing hints which included record-keeping.

Some of the ideas did not appeal to me at all (like gluing live ivy leaves along the edges of a tablecloth, making a linen table-sized mat, making linen basket liners, and constructing wraps for bottles) but then again, they were fun to look at!

The beautiful arrangement of this book and its photos made it worth buying.

Product Description
Culled from the best of the "Good Things" columns in Martha Stewart Living magazine, this book offers a varied selection of wonderful crafts projects, recipes, hints for home decorating, organizing, and gift-giving. 200 color photos.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Good Things (Best of Martha Stewart Living) (Paperback)

10/12/2009

Review of Clean It Fast, Clean It Right: The Ultimate Guide to Making Absolutely Everything You Own Sparkle & Shine (Paperback)

If you have just started your own home and you feel that you are standing at the bottom of a mountain not knowing where to start cleaning from, then you should get this book. I wish I had this book when I first moved to myown house. It would save me time and also I wouldn't be so much stressedeverytime I needed to clean (that's excausting myself twice a week).

Thebook begins with instructions as to how to organize your cleaning schedule,what should your priority be, and what should be the last thing to do.Andclean it like a pro, fast & right! Also, how to get rid of your clutteronce and for all. It gives you advise as to what kind of detergents youshould use,which cleaners are hazardous, which ones you should avoid andwhy. What I liked here, is How to hunt microbes (!)

In part two, it hasan A-Z reference with everything you can find in a house, and how to cleanit, so when you have a problem with a particular item, you don't justscroll up and down to find it, the A-Z makes it so easy.

Part three,again it's an A-Z rundown of everything you will need to know about.Inthis part, it gives further and more detailed information about cleaners aswell as tools for cleaning.

Product Description
This book does for cleaning what Joy of Cooking did for food preparation. More than 250 experts tell you precisely how to clean more than 300 common items in and around your home. Not only will you get your carpets, countertops, windows, dishes, and laundry into pristine shape, you'll also learn how to clean:

CAMERAS from the dean of the New York Institute of Photography

DOLLS from a co-owner of the Denver Doll Hospital

FISHING GEAR from TV's Mark Sosin, host of Mark Sosin's Saltwater Journal

SHOES from the editor of Shoe Service Magazine

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS from top musicians for the New York Philharmonic

BICYCLES from the technical editor for Bicycling magazine

PAINTINGS from a conservator at the Guggenheim Museum

FLOORS from the clean-up crew for the Los Angeles Lakers

EVEN TAXIDERMY from Roy Rogers Jr., who cares for that famous steed Trigger

AND EVERYTHING ELSE YOU OWN! from world authorities on fast and effective cleaning

What's more, you'll learn how to: Cut your cleaning time in half with secret shortcuts. Kill millions of germs you never knew were lurking. Conquer clutter. Protect your valuables from aging. Relieve allergies. And make powerful, Earth-friendly cleaning solutions that cost only pennies. A special bonus section tells you everything you need to know about buying and using more than 60 kinds of cleaning tools and chemicals.

Keep Clean It Fast, Clean It Right on an easy-access shelf in your home-- because you'll consult it frequently for decades to come!




Click Here to see more reviews about: Clean It Fast, Clean It Right: The Ultimate Guide to Making Absolutely Everything You Own Sparkle & Shine (Paperback)

9/25/2009

Review of Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live (Hardcover)

As a designer, I like to read books on home and garden design and remodeling. Not So Big Remodeling, by Sarah Susanka and Marc Vessallo was wonderful.

This book is weighty, and beautifully laid out. It has tons of photographs, diagrams, and floor plans. And, it is simply loaded with information.

Not So Big Remodeling is also great because it shows how small--and inexpensive remodels--can yield big results.

In the introduction, Susanka writes: "It is my fervent hope that you'll discover that the house of your dreams is actually hiding right where you live today." That's what this book is all about--customizing your home so that it fits your needs exactly. You may still need the help of experts, but this book teaches you to ask the right questions, to figure out your needs and then address them.

The book begins with the remodeling jobs Susanka did in her home.

The book covers remodeling jobs for every room in the house. I like the "Questions to ask yourself," found throughout the book, and the many useful bulleted lists.

The chapter on green remodeling was a great addition. Here again, Susanka shares what eco-friendly upgrades she has done in her home.

I highly recommend this book before you do any remodeling.

If you are interested in this topic, you may also like an award winningbook on improving and greening the interior design of your home--HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT: BEAUTIFY, DETOXIFY & ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE, YOUR HOME & YOUR PLANET is great for that. For the outside, I recommend both Susanka's OUTSIDE THE NOT SO BIG HOUSEand COMPLETE HOME LANDSCAPING givespractical advice for the property.



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9/12/2009

Review of Flanagan's Smart Home: The 98 Essentials for Starting Out, Starting Over, Scaling Back (Paperback)

Like eco-friendly? Like buying things that are built to last? Useful? Non-cluttering?

That's what drew me to this book, I'm very into decluttering and I love having things that are built to last.

For each of her picks she gives a little history, and some background into why she chose what she did. She gives a review at the end of each chapter with a price range for each item and if she has a brand name she likes she lists that too.

Ideas I liked:
Some new spins on things I'd never thought about before, and she has a few of them. For instance:

A lamp timer instead of an alarm clock. Brilliant in my eyes, alarm clocks scare me in the morning.

A pop-up mesh clothes hamper.

One that I wasn't so sure about but now seems really cool is using a salad spinner for more than just spinning salad - if you buy a good one.

And there's more, such as getting rid of non-stick pans and going to cast iron, which lasts for ever!

I like that she doesn't skimp. Buy the best that you can, but be wise in what you buy. And you know, most things really aren't that expensive. That to me is something I really enjoyed about this book.

Cons:
There wasn't anything bad, but I'd want to research some of her ideas out myself before buying. There were a couple that made me go `eh':

A saltcellar, it's like one of those things Alton Brown uses to get salt from on his show `Good Eats'. If you don't have any kids then I can see having one; personally I think they're cool. But if you do have kids I can see salt flung here and there and little dirty hands reaching into it, ick, and she really downplays salt and pepper shakers which I guess is a personal thing.

Some that were personal preference, like an electric blanket. She has a sound advice in buying one, but I've never really wanted to own one so I don't see how it's essential other than lowering the heat at night but I have warm blankets that can do that without electricity.

I have to say it was a nice read, she has humor, she has her research, and she has sound advice. It makes you think.


Product Description
Purge the clutter. Outfit your home with care: The 34 essential kitchen tools. The 9 essential cleaning and fixing products. The 13, and only 13, things a bedroom needs to make it a haven of rest and privacy. Each item has been field-tested and rated for its environmental, social, and aesthetic impact. There is high-tech: the miraculous microfiber mop, the low voltage electric blanket, the truly responsive iron. And there is low-tech: the French press coffeemaker, the can opener, and the feather duster. Practical, entertaining, opinionated, Flanagan's Smart Home is a timely remedy for the age of excess. Above all, it's necessary. Behind the bath mat, soupspoon, sofa, and lamp lies a far deeper question: how to live.




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9/09/2009

Review of Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home, and Planet--One Room at a Time (Paperback)

Have you ever gone to the grocery store and heard someone complain about the expense of an organic food?You might run into them a few minutes later in the meat department selecting a 12-ounce T-bone steak with a price tag well over $10.00.Obviously, they aren't thinking about what they are getting for their money or they'd toss that steak back and buy the organic spinach.

Most of us have grown up making the wrong choices . . . water in plastic bottles, packaged foods with long lists of unidentifiable ingredients, and cleaning supplies strong enough to take the paint off the wall.

If you care about your health and the health of those you love, you will want to buy this book and then read it cover to cover.Inside this book is well-founded information which can help us avoid many of the toxic chemicals we can't see or taste, which are putting our health at risk for diseases and even death.If you're over 40, you probably have noticed (like I have) that you know many more people who are dying of cancer than when you were younger.There is a reason for that, my friends, and the toxic chemicals in our food and home is a definite contributor to our demise.

Beth Greer has become a well-known expert in this topic, and every page of her book tells us something we didn't already know.Would you have imagined that most of our garlic comes from China, and that it is whitened with bleach and injected with growth inhibitors to prevent sprouting?Don't look the other way . . . buy this book, get smart, and get healthy!

Lynette Fleming, Coauthor of Lunch Buddies: Buddy Up for a Better Diet


Product Description
Beth Greer had been living what she considered a healthy lifestyle when a medical crisis prompted her to reevaluate everything-from the food she ate to the personal-care products she used and the environment she lived in. Now, in Super Natural Home, she shows the alarming extent of the dangerous chemicals we unwittingly expose ourselves to every day. As she did in her own life, she invites readers to put their lives under a microscope-to scrutinize what Americans put in and on their bodies and bring into their homes-and to make personal choices that will enable them to "live clean" in a toxic world. The straightforward, solutions-based approach of Super Natural Home-complete with quizzes to help identify and correct potential toxic hot zones-speaks directly to what environment-conscious consumers really need: ultra-practical advice on what they can do right now to limit exposure to the poisons that are endangering them and their children. At a time when impeccable scientific research points to an alarming correlation between common chemical compounds and cancers, allergies, psychiatric disorders, and birth defects, among other serious health concerns, Super Natural Home gives consumers the tools to start protecting themselves and their families.



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