Review - Home-Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living

 I wish I had taken Home-Ec in high school. It was not a popular class to take though, and I was focused on college prep classes. I do cook, and most cleaning tips I have learned from friends or painful trial and error. Not everyone has parents around to teach them the basics of cooking, cleaning or how to keep up a household, and for all of them, Home-Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living is the perfect book to help.

The four sections; Clean it, Wash it, Fix it, and Cook it, cover all the basics. Easy to read and extremely helpful, I think this book would be perfect for the college student leaving home, clueless bachelor, new wife or stay-at-home-mom. Anyone hoping to keep a clean and organized house and save money by doing it themselves will benefit. Being self-sufficient is a real confidence booster.

The book has a kitschy-retro look reminiscent of an era when people were more DIY savvy. Moms worked inside the home as a jack-of-all-trades for keeping their homes running smoothly. I have to admit I wouldn't mind channeling some of that knowledge into my own home.

This book listed some of my favorite cleaning tricks, like vinegar and water to clean the microwave and listed all my favorite kitchen tools for outfitting a usable kitchen. My favorite section was Clean it.  I loved the simple instructions for top to bottom cleaning and making a cleaning schedule in order to not get overwhelmed. Even though I consider myself a homemaking pro, I still think I could organize my cleaning time better if I followed a simple schedule like this one.

I also love that the author, Heather Solos, is a blogger who created home-ec101.com in 2007. Her site took off and she has been featured in national publications like, Woman's Day Magazine, and on sites like Blissfully Domestic and Type A Mom. Now she has pooled all her info into this book to share with the greater population.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever faced domestic challenges. Who doesn't want a cleaner home? Who doesn't want to be a confident cook? And wouldn't we all love to take care of those small projects around the home ourselves? Pick up your own copy of  Home-Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living  now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your own favorite bookstore.

*Disclaimer - I was provided a copy of this book through the One2One Network in order to write my review. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are my own.