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Books > Health, Home & Family > Home & house maintenance > Household hints
Celebrate each season with styling inspiration and simple DIY projects for a festive and cozy home every month of the year. Join Steffy Degreff as she invites you on a year-long tour of her thoughtfully designed living spaces—an A-frame cabin in the Catskill Mountains and a Cape style home in Long Beach, New York. You’ll learn how to use decorative elements to create a home that feels warm and inviting. For each month, Steffy shares styling tips to reflect the seasonal changes and showcase your personal aesthetic, from the addition of whimsical vintage pieces to a spring table setting or mini pumpkins placed around a room in creative ways for fall. Enhance both the interior and exterior of your home with:
Whether you live in a cabin in the woods, a high-rise in the city, or a duplex in the burbs, A Home for Every Season provides inspiration and guidance for making your space festive year-round. Welcome home.
Ever wondered how to fit the ironing into an already overcrowded schedule? Or needed advice on how to deal with house guests whose political opinions you abhor?In this charming guide, Her Ladyship dons the mantle of a modern Mrs Beeton to provide the answers to these pressing domestic questions, and many more. In her trademark lightly humorous but always elegant style, she discusses important issues such as day-to-day housekeeping and routines (exactly how clean do you need to keep your house?), dealing effectively but graciously with 'staff' (cleaners, au pairs, gardeners), how to avoid committing social faux pas when entertaining, and useful ideas for getting the children to help with the housework.The book is not aimed solely at people who live in large country houses, like Her Ladyship, but at anyone who feels in need of a bit of gentle guidance on running a home properly, whatever its size or type, while still coping with the demands of work, childcare and all the other perils of modern life.
The Queen of Clean really spells things out for you: Question It's a foolproof sorting system for even the most devoted packrat: Question the best possible use of a room, a closet, a drawer...Unpack all of your clutter to get a sense of what you have (and what you need to do with it)...Evaluate each and every item you own...Eliminate unwanted possessions without guilt or regrets...and Neaten up your belongings in their newly decluttered space. You'll find your home and your life organized like never before as you conquer clutter in the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, attic, basement -- even the garage! The key, says the Queen, is to start small...and soon you'll be revved up and ready to straighten out every nook and cranny of your home. Her down-to-earth clutter-busting advice is built for speed; in a flash she sorts through and tidies up wallets, purses, drawers, closets, pantries, clothes, shoes, cosmetics, junk mail, linens, toys, books, videos, photos, collectibles, and much, much more! The Queen makes even the most dreaded organizing tasks a breeze with hundreds of easy and practical tips! Find out how good it feels to be a savvy manager of all that threatens to invade your orderly domain with these simple and effective strategies from America's #1 housekeeping expert, the Queen of Clean®.
How to Weed Your Attic: Getting Rid of Junk without Destroying History provides answers to the question: when someone dies or it's time to move --- or just clean out the attic, garage, or basement, what papers and other things should we save for the sake of history and what can we safely toss? After reading this clearly written book by a retired archivist and a retired museum curator, you can comfortably clean out your attic - or office, garage, basement, cupboards - with confidence that you're not tossing out historically valuable (or invaluable) things, and that you will not ask your local museum to take things that really belong in a thrift store, junk yard, or recycle center. The book first describes how to identify historically important documents and artifacts. The authors explain a few simple rules: 1) a complete or long collection has more value than a partial one; 2) emotive material provides a richer picture than factual material; 3) unique usually has more value than mass produced; 4) documents and objects carry more information than they intend to; and 5) a 25-year rule exists without our consciously recognizing it. They then apply the rules and assess the probable historical value of four different types of materials: mass produced (from books to vehicles), individually created (from art work to toys), business materials (from governance documents to uniforms), and commemorative materials (from awards to wedding dresses). The book includes a brief description of the basics for preserving materials the reader wants to keep and references sources for more detail. It also recognizes that the reader may not want to keep stuff that clearly has historical value. For those readers, the authors describe how to donate materials to a cultural repository. In broad strokes, they explain how repositories differ, what the repository will want to know about the stuff you're offering, where an appraiser and/or tax advisor fits into the process, and what the reader can expect the repository to do and not do. Finally, the book addresses unexpected issues that may arise around questions of legal ownership and privacy. Throughout the book, the authors illustrate their points using photographs and vignettes.
This new book explores the seemingly endless applications of these wondrous substances, looking at their fascinating properties, the vast range of types available and their uses as valued ingredients in recipes, medicinal treatments, household cleaners, beauty treatments and aromatherapy. The first half of the volume covers the history, folklore and science of vinegar, together with a comprehensive guide to its many varieties. Blend relishes and vinaigrettes and create classic salads and pasta dishes with 30 simple, straightforward recipes. Find out how to treat bruises, sore throats, insect stings and arthritis, as well as many other common ailments, then discover how to care for your skin and hair before learning how to mix your own natural pesticides, limescale removers and furniture restorers. The second half of the book takes a look at the long history and remarkable traditions surrounding oil and its production. After reading about over twenty types of oil, discover how it can act as a massage and aromatherapy aid, as well as protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer, treat dry skin and hair, polish furniture and fix creaky hinges. In the kitchen, find out how to make the best use of the many distinctive types of oil in a variety of culinary techniques and recipes. This beautifully photographed volume explores the properties and uses of both vinegar and oil in the home, combining in-depth advice with easy-to-follow recipes and instructions.
Everyone has baking soda on hand to help cookies rise and keep the pantry smelling fresh. But this simple compound also has dozens of other applications for health, cleaning, gardening and even crafting. In The Baking Soda Companion, Suzy Scherr explains just how useful this all-natural pantry staple can be. Make extra-fluffy scrambled eggs, clean the coffee pot, soothe bug bites, mix up toothpaste and shampoo, remove stubborn grass stains, repel garden pests, and more. This is a straightforward, informative guide for anyone who wants to incorporate simple, affordable and natural solutions into their day-to-day routine.
Aphra Behn is usually described as England's first professional woman writer, but her contemporary Hannah Woolley (Wooley or Wolley) ran her close, though recipes not bodice-rippers were her speciality (mixed with some judicious teaching, housekeeping and medical marketing). It seems amazing, therefore, that apart from a slight compendium, nothing of hers is available today - when women's studies have so strong a following. Her output is confusing and disputed, even the portrait in this second edition of her book is not of her but one Sarah Gilly, but all is made clearer by the long introduction by Caterina Albano, who has studied women's domestic literature for this period, and who urged us to produce this new, unabridged setting of the book (it is not a facsimile). The Companion is a conduct- as well as cookery-book (the recipes are mainly derived from her earlier works). It also contains an autobiography of the author. In truth it is a rank, but captivating, miscellany, including recipes, medical prescriptions, advice to servants and governesses, hints on upbringing, cosmetics and education, rules of social comportment and conduct, instructions and model letters for correspondence (mainly for young ladies), and 'Pleasant Discourses and Witty Dialogues' between gentlemen and ladies. Great bedtime reading. The editor puts it all in long perspective.
A comprehensive, upbeat guide to help you survive the moving process from start to finish, filled with fresh strategies and checklists for timing and supplies, choosing which items to toss and which to keep, determining the best place to live, saying farewell and looking forward to hello. Moving is a major life change-time consuming, expensive, often overwhelming, and sometimes scary. But it doesn't have to be! Instead of looking at it as a burdensome chore, consider it a new adventure. Ali Wenzke and her husband moved ten times in eleven years, living in seven states across the U.S. She created her popular blog, The Art of Happy Moving, to help others build a happier life before, during, and after a move. Infused with her infectious optimistic spirit, The Art of Happy Moving builds on her blog, offering step-by-step guidance, much-needed comfort, practical information, and welcome advice on every step of the process, including: How to stage your home for prospective buyers How to choose your next neighborhood How to discard your belongings and organize your packing How to say goodbye to your friends How to make the transition easier for your kids How to decorate your new home How to build a new community And so much more. Ali shares invaluable personal anecdotes from her many moves, and packs each chapter with a wealth of information and ingenious tips (Did you know that if you have an extra-large welcome mat at the entrance of your home, it's more likely to sell?). Ali also includes checklists for packing and staging, and agendas for the big moving day. Whether you're a relocating professional, newly married, a family with kids and pets, or a retiree looking to downsize, The Art of Happy Moving will help you discover ways to help make your transition an easier one-and be even happier than you were before.
An easy-to-read, idea-packed guide for anyone who wants to be more
organized and who doesn't? "
Hints on difficult decorating decisions and a quick reference for repairs, cooking techniques and sewing skills.
How to Go Waste Free is the easy guide to disposing of waste from your life. 100 tips provide insight, practical advice and a painless approach to joining the zero-waste revolution. Every year, humankind dumps over 2 billion tons of waste. This either goes into landfill, is incinerated, or goes into our oceans - doing untold damage to the environment, wildlife and to our own bodies. What can we do, as individuals, to stem this tide of trash?
Created by an assembly of leading designers, architects, and bloggers, these 57 unique and innovative designs will show you the limits of what is possible. All of the designs include beautiful full-colour photos along with floor plans and building tips; 15 of them include flushed-out concept sketches; and five include step-by-step building plans. You'll also find guidelines on building with recycled and salvaged materials, plus techniques for making your small space comfortable and easy to inhabit.
Home cures, recipes, everyday hints and tips. It is a celebration of one of nature's most powerful ingredients and how to use it for health, cleaning and in cooking. How to use bicarbonate of soda - or baking soda - as a cheap, natural cleaning product around the home, and for medicinal purposes. It includes delicious culinary ideas, with recipes for tasty main dishes, delightful desserts, perfect muffins and breads, and fizzing lemonades. An incredibly versatile substance, bicarbonate of soda - also known as baking soda - has an enormous variety of practical uses. It is a valuable commodity in the world of glass and soap manufacturing, it is a necessary ingredient in the making of gingerbread, and the Ancient Egyptians used it in the preparation of their mummies. This book sets out to pull together a number of facts - some whimsical, some serious - about bicarbonate of soda. It includes a chapter on the uses of bicarbonate of soda throughout history, from cleaning cuts and making toothpaste to leavening bread and creating fizzy drinks.There are helpful suggestions concerning how best to consume bicarbonate of soda, whether used as an ingredient in a recipe or for medicinal purposes. It can also be used for cleaning - in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry and outdoors - and for deodorizing pet smells and controlling household pests. With the help of this book, you will be surprised just how versatile bicarbonate of soda really is.
"An inspiring read for anyone wanting to downsize, finally park the car in the garage, or just clear out a few closets." -Rachel Jonat, TheMinimalistMom.com Having less stuff is the key to happiness: Do you ever feel overwhelmed, instead of overjoyed, by all your possessions? Do you secretly wish a gale force wind would blow the clutter from your home? If so, it's time to simplify your life! The Joy of Less is a fun, lighthearted guide to minimalist living: * Part One provides an inspirational pep talk on the joys and rewards of paring down. * Part Two presents the STREAMLINE method: ten easy steps to rid your house of clutter. * Part Three goes room by room, outlining specific ways to tackle each one. * Part Four helps you get your family on board and live more lightly and gracefully on the earth. Ready to sweep away the clutter? Just open this book, and you'll be on your way to a simpler, more streamlined, and more serene life. Francine has helped hundreds of thousands of people declutter their homes and simplify their lives with her bestselling book, The Joy of Less. Her advice has been featured widely in the media, including on CNN, BBC, Today, and in The New York Times, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, The Financial Times, Forbes, The Huffington Post, Le Parisien, ELLE Espana, House Beautiful, Woman's World, Dr. Oz The Good Life, and others. The Joy of Less, a beautiful minimalism book, makes an ideal gift for any loved one on a mission to simplify their life.
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER The Organised Mum Method is THE housekeeping bible that will completely revolutionise your home. Say goodbye to mess, clutter and weekends spent tidying and cleaning! Gemma Bray (a.k.a The Organised Mum) is a firm believer that there is more to life than housework, and over the last decade she has perfected The Organised Mum Method (TOMM).* The Organised Mum Method is a structured, manageable and ultra-efficient cleaning routine that ensures all areas of the home are taken care of. It's easy to follow, effective and ensures that everything gets done in just 30 minutes a day, Monday to Friday ... and you get weekends off! Perfect for existing fans of TOMM or anyone looking for ways to fit cleaning around a busy lifestyle, The Organised Mum Method includes life-changing tips, tricks, cleaning schedules, shopping lists, meal plans and quick recipes that will help you get your housework done fast. *Don't worry dads -- it works for you too.
Do you aspire to live a green or zero-waste life, but just don't know where to begin? Green Living is here to guide you to an eco-friendly lifestyle through approachable, easy-to-implement strategies. Authored by the successful GreenMatters.com website, which is dedicated to making news and topics across sustainability and innovation accessible to everyone, this indispensable resource is packed with suggestions and ideas to implement sustainable living in all areas of your life and home. You'll be inspired to dive deeper into green living and feel empowered by your choice to help the environment and create a healthier household. Learn not just the "why" of going green, but the "how," with quick-and-easy tips to substitute unsustainable and unhealthy products with greener options. Each chapter has Seed, Sprout, and Tree steps to help meet you where you're at and develop your green practices in a way that works with your lifestyle. With additional micro-actions and tips throughout as well as definitions for commonly used green terminology, this book is for people just getting started or those looking to learn more eco-friendly hacks. Save money (and the planet) with easy steps like switching to single-use alternatives like reusable straws and cloth shopping totes. Also, find resources to help you get creative and reuse materials you already have for a new purpose, from DIY pet toys to home decor, minimizing what you buy and preventing materials from going into the landfill. Other topics covered: Recycling and composting Eco-friendly cleaning Minimalist organizing Green beauty Sustainable fashion This comprehensive guide to green will take a permanent place on your bookshelf as you return to it again and again on your journey to sustainability.
Spring clean your life with this practical, achievable guide to decluttering from the British Marie Kondo Wardrobes bursting with unworn clothes. Boxes full of obsolete chargers and neglected children's toys. A dresser jammed full of mismatched socks. . . Sound familiar? Many of us feel increasingly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff packed into our homes. Being organised at home doesn't just mean always knowing where you left the remote; it means being able to face the world with a clear mind and increased energy. It all starts at home. But where? When the problem is so vast and we are all so busy, how do you even begin to tackle the clutter mountain? Professional organiser Vicky Silverthorn has the simple answer: start with your sock drawer. Using tried-and-tested methods, Vicky will guide you through practical, bite-sized tasks that will help you achieve a friendly level of organisation throughout your home and a life-changing clarity of mind. With Vicky's help, you can banish clutter and turn your home into a sanctuary. Perfect for fans of the Netflix series Tidying up with Marie Kondo and followers of Mrs Hinch. Readers love Start With Your Sock Drawer: 'Full of useful tips' 'Great advice in this concise book, which will get you on your way to better organisation and leading an uncluttered life' 'As a professional declutterer, this is the only book I regularly recommended to my clients' 'Informative and practical' 'Excellent, sensible advice'
Originally published as 24 newspaper columns from 1859 to 1861, Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management was at first a guide to managing a household. Today it is a fascinating look at the past and a guide to forgotten skills that can be used today. Beeton wrote, "As with the commander of an army, or the leader of any enterprise, so is it with the mistress of a house." Running an extravagant household was a monumental task and a responsibility not to be taken lightly. It meant supervising every employee, from the butler to the laundry-maid to the footman and the wet nurse. It meant managing the safety, happiness, comfort, and well-being of the family. Chapters include: The Housekeeper Arrangement and Economy of the Kitchen Introduction to Cooker General Directions for Making Soup Recipes: Fish Recipes: Pork and Ham Recipes: Poultry and Rabbit And much more! In addition to offering advice on a wide range of domestic topics, this abridged edition of Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management contains hundreds of original recipes. A compendium of practical information about everything from animal husbandry to child care, this Victorian classic is both fascinating and still useful. Sarah A. Chrisman, author of Victorian Secrets and This Victorian Life provides the foreword, reflecting on how she uses Mrs. Beeton's advice on a daily basis.
The Scent of Lemon and Rosemary is a fabulous book of magical spells, crafts, and recipes for your house and home. Based on the powerful energy and mythos of the goddess Hestia, the magical activities and workings in this book can be practiced by anyone, regardless of spiritual orientation. Magic themes and techniques abound for each room of your home love and transformation in the kitchen, communication and friendship in the living room, purification and health in the bathroom, prosperity and sleep in the bedroom, and protection in the threshold. You will discover recipes for food magic as well as tips for creating your own green cleaning supplies and tying your cleaning tasks to the lunar phase. Author Raechel Henderson also includes hands-on exercises for connecting with Hestia as a deity of bodily autonomy, racial equity, and social justice. Creating a harmonious environment that fosters feelings of acceptance, safety, and abundance is possible. With tools like visualization, centring, grounding, and raising power as well as crystals, essential oils, meditations, and rituals, this book guides you in balancing the energy of each room and turning your entire home into a sacred space.
Whether your home is a city apartment, country cottage or large and rambling house, it is your space and should be well cared for. The secret is managing the upkeep without feeling overwhelmed. As a hotelier, Francis Brennan has gathered unparalleled expertise in home maintenance and care, and this year, once again, he has compiled his Homekeeper's Diary to help you manage household tasks month by month. From getting organised to gardening, cookery and a whole host of useful tips, it's a practical bible which you can delve into daily to discover all the information you need to keep your home looking its best.
Find your focus with this transformative guide from an organizational psychologist and Marie Kondo, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying and star of the Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. Marie Kondo's first book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, sparked a new wave of publishing and became an international bestseller. Now, for the first time, you will be guided through the process of tidying up your work life - digitally and physically. Whether you're working at home, in the office, or a combination of the two, if you properly simplify and organize your work life once, you'll never have to do it again. In Joy at Work, KonMari method pioneer Marie Kondo and organizational psychologist Scott Sonenshein will help you to refocus your mind on what's important at work, and as their examples show, the results can be truly life-changing. With advice on how to improve the way you work, the book features advice on problem areas including fundamentals like how to organize your digital and physical desktop, finally get through your emails and find balance by ditching distractions and focusing on what sparks joy.
Did you know that: i our demand for electricity grows by about 3% every year? i just lowering the temperature of your thermostat by 1 degree Celcius can reduce your energy bill by 10%? i energy-efficient light bulbs last about 12 times longer than ordinary bulbs, and each one will save you about GBP7 a year? i almost 40% of all the heat that we buy to warm up our rooms escapes through our walls and roof space if theyire not insulated? i if we didnit leave our TVs and other gadgets on stand-by, we could shut down two power stations? Weire all using more and more energy: charging up our mobiles and laptops, keeping our rooms so hot that we walk around in short sleeves in the winter, or leaving lights on all day and night whether we are using the rooms or not. But the consequences of using so much so freely is causing our climate to change, and our energy bills to rise. There are many small things we can do which cost nothing but can make a difference. This book gives you over 100 tips for saving energy, money and the environment, ideas for taking it a bit further with solar installation or wind turbines, plus facts about our energy use and its impact on our climate. |
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