Posts Tagged ‘book review’

Stop Throwing Money Away Book Review

Aug 25, 2010 Eco Friendly Home

I can be a pretty disorganized person. I’m getting better at repurposing things I already have, but it would be nice to do better.

That’s where Stop Throwing Money Away comes in. It’s about organizing, repurposing and shopping in your own home when you need things. And it encourages you to take action, not just read the book and ignore the advice given.

One of the amazing things is how many things you will discover that you can reuse, sell or trade with someone else to get something you need.

“Shopping at home” is what Jaime Novak calls it when you go through the things you already have to find what you need. It’s too true that many people don’t realize how much they already have, and buy a new version of something they already own because they can’t find it.

She also notes how many things people hold onto that they’ll never use but don’t think they can part with for one reason or another. Often these things can be sold for money needed elsewhere. Given how tight times are for many families, this is a great tip.

She’s a great fan of repurposing. The glass jar that gets thrown into the recycle bin is one of her examples as something that can easily be reused. I really get this one, as I already repurpose my glass spaghetti jars, keeping several on hand so that when I need one, it’s there. Organized, not clutter, though. They have a place that’s not in the way of anything else around here.

You’ll learn about the “one in, two out” rule that can really help you decrease clutter. This is a great way to decrease the number of things you own and is a huge help in decluttering.

This book will help you to get organized without telling you to buy new stuff to organize the old stuff. More repurposing comes from figuring out which items can be stored in which containers you already own. It doesn’t need to be fancy, it needs to work.

I have to love how she discourages storing things in a rental unit. If you need something so little that you can store it away from your home is a point I’m very much on board with. Once in a while you’ll wish you could have something back you got rid of for lack of space, but not that often, and the savings on storage fees will make up the expense of replacing most things.

If you’re suffering from clutter, Stop Throwing Money Away is very much worth checking out. I think you’ll enjoy it.

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Healthy Child Healthy World Review

Apr 21, 2009 Going Green

I was recently contacted by a publicist for Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home to see if I would like to review the book. What could I say except “yes”? Talk about a pet topic of mine!

They very kindly sent me out a copy to read, and I recently finished it. I very much so enjoyed the read.

The book is separated into sections of related things you can do, such as preparing for baby, natural body care, pet care and so forth. Each section has a range of tips on how you can do these things in a way that is better for your family and the environment.

Of course, some of the things suggested I do already, but there were some good ideas I hadn’t thought of either.

One of the things I really appreciated was the suggestion in the book that you do not need to try to do everything right away. You can work your way through the things you are ready for and make progress at your own pace. I think that’s a very important thing to remember. Going green doesn’t have to be an instant or frustrating solution.

It also got me thinking about things I hadn’t before, such as how lead gets into soil around older homes. We’re renting a home that I believe is of an age to have such a problem, so I know it is potentially relevant. As a renter I don’t know that I can do much about it aside from being aware of the potential for a problem. It’s a topic my husband and I have discussed before, because he didn’t see why kids would chew on paint chips, and now I can explain to him how it really works. See page 164 if you need to know.

The section on food (chapter 3) is one I think I need to bring up with a friend of mine who I had been discussing organic produce with the other day. She wasn’t sure what she needed to buy organic versus conventional to avoid pesticides (page 36). I’ve seen the same list online, but it’s nice to have a physical copy of the list.

There’s a great section at the back of the book on Healthy Resources. You can find out where to learn more on your favorite topics or learn about some of the products they recommend.

Of course, every parent reading this will have their own favorite sections, depending on what they need to learn. I do strongly recommend you get this book. Check your library if it’s not in the budget, but with all the resources it provides, you’re probably going to want to buy your own copy to keep referring back to.

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