ABOUT THE BOOK:
Containing household hints and full-color vintage art, this book provides information ranging from cleaning and organizing to buying and handling food. It includes hints and instruction on picking avocados, picking the freshest eggs from the store, removing floor wax, and more.
Classic Household Hints: Over 500 Old and New Tips for a Happier Home by Susan WaggonerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Classic Household Hints: Over 500 Old and New Tips for a Happier Home by Susan and Waggoner is a 2007 Harry N. Abrams publication.
This little book is just chock full of little bits of trivia, tons of ideas, and helpful hints, tips, and advice about household cleaners, tools, and devices, all designed to make your life easier and help save you money, while keeping your house clean and organized.
The book is divided into segments, ranging from organization and clutter to food tips. The author takes readers through the entire house, even the basement, and suggests ways to clean every room in the house from top to bottom and keep it that way.
Many of these ideas are great and work just as well in the modern household as they did in the past. Some of them, of course, are not as economical to use today, and some hints may not work with the latest appliances without changing the formula up a little.
The vintage photos are fantastic and the history of when certain mainstay cleaning products and tools came on the market was fascinating! Toilet Paper, wire hangers, Hoover vacuum cleaners, cheese slicers, gas stoves etc.
There is also a funny segment about some old cleaning advice from the past that didn’t quite work out- such as a 1950’s era book claiming that an inexpensive way to clean upholstery began with a loaf of bread. ?????
Trivia, nostalgia and humor aside, this is indeed a very helpful little book. Did I try any of these tips? As a matter of fact, yes, I did. During the pandemic, like so many other people, we baked our own bread. To keep it fresh, I followed the instructions in this book and found it to be most effective. I tried several other things, that today we might call 'hacks', and plan to experiment here and there with some other tips in the book.
This was a great find, especially at a time when we are much more mindful of keeping our homes safe and clean. But, the book was much more than I had anticipated. My husband and I had a blast thumbing through it, looking at the old pictures and discussing the products our parents used back in the day, and many that we still use in one form or another today.
Although many of the tips are 'classic' ones, there are 'current' tips too, but these may seem a little old fashioned too, because a lot has transpired in the thirteen years since this book was originally published.
But, overall, this little gem has many timeless and ageless remedies, and often employs common, easy to find, economical items that work just as well as buying expensive products. I’m glad I stumbled across this book!
GRAB YOUR COPY HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Household-Hints-Over-Happier-ebook/dp/B00P1VOU7M/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/classic-household-hints-susan-waggoner/1008217261
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Susan Waggoner was born in Iowa, grew up in the Minneapolis suburbs, and received degrees from the University of Iowa. She now lives and writes in New York City.
