Be Thrifty: How to Live Better with Less


Pia Catton - 2009
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Houseplants for All: A Guide to Becoming a Perfect Plant Parent


Danae Horst - 2020
    Instead of picking up whatever catches your eye at the store and hoping that it'll survive your home and lifestyle, use the plant profile quiz to easily find your perfect match. Whether you're always busy and can't remember to water, get unobstructed natural light all day, or live in the shadow of a skyscraper, live in a tropical oasis or arid winter-land, there is a plant that'll thrive with you. After finding the right plants for your home, this book will help you to master plant care, complete with projects and tips for which containers work best, the best plants for small places, how to live together with pets and plants, and solutions to problems like pests, root rot, and lack of nutrients. Whether you're an experienced plant parent or have never owned anything other than a fake ficus, this book is the perfect guide for happy plants in your home.

The Western Guide to Feng Shui--Room by Room


Terah Kathryn Collins - 1999
    Terah covers every room in great detail--including your living room, dining room, bedrooms and bathrooms, home office, kitchen, family room, and storage areas. She also explores the attitudinal and spiritual work--the inner Feng Shui--that complements and strengthens your outer Feng Shui enhancements. Includes a 16-page insert of color photos to emphasize the author's points.

The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making


Alana Chernila - 2012
    Come on in, but be prepared—it might not be quite what you expect. There is flour on the counter, oats that overflowed onto the floor, chocolate-encrusted spoons in the sink. There is Joey, the husband, exhausted by the thirty-five preschoolers who were hanging on him all day, and he is stuffing granola into his mouth to ease his five o’clock starvation. There are two little girls trying to show me cartwheels in that miniscule space between the refrigerator and the counter where I really need to be.” In her debut cookbook, Alana Chernila inspires you to step inside your kitchen, take a look around, and change the way you relate to food. The Homemade Pantry was born of a tight budget, Alana’s love for sharing recipes with her farmers’ market customers, and a desire to enjoy a happy cooking and eating life with her young family. On a mission to kick their packaged-food habit, she learned that with a little determination, anything she could buy at the store could be made in her kitchen, and her homemade versions were more satisfying, easier to make than she expected, and tastier.              Here are her very approachable recipes for 101 everyday staples, organized by supermarket aisle—from crackers to cheese, pesto to sauerkraut, and mayonnaise to toaster pastries. The Homemade Pantry is a celebration of food made by hand—warm mozzarella that is stretched, thick lasagna noodles rolled from flour and egg, fresh tomato sauce that bubbles on the stove. Whether you are trying a recipe for butter, potato chips, spice mixes, or ketchup, you will discover the magic and thrill that comes with the homemade pantry.            Alana captures the humor and messiness of everyday family life, too. A true friend to the home cook, she shares her “tense moments” to help you get through your own. With stories offering patient, humble advice, tips for storing the homemade foods, and rich four-color photography throughout, The Homemade Pantry will quickly become the go-to source for how to make delicious staples in your home kitchen.

Beautiful: All-American Decorating and Timeless Style


Mark D. Sikes - 2016
    Sikes is a celebration of American style today, showcasing chic and accessible ideas for every home. Modern and unfussy, Mark D. Sikes's interiors are classic takes on California indoor/outdoor living, with natural fibers and crisp coloration, informed and influenced by the fashion world where he began his career. In eight chapters, he explores approachable, stylish looks, from Blue and White Forever, which features indigos, stripes, batiks, and wicker in casual rooms such as porches and pool houses; to Timeless Neutrals, presenting semiformal rooms filled with chinoiserie, gilt, glass, mirrors, banquettes, and French chairs; to Garden Greens, featuring happy, casual family rooms and kitchens inspired by the garden with treillage woodwork, rattan, and cotton. There are also Beautiful Brights, colorful rooms that are eclectic, layered, and fun, with chintz, florals, and Middle Eastern influences; and Sun Faded Hues, rustic coastal rooms with weathered fabrics and furniture. Each chapter presents light-filled images of the designer's looks and offers the reader inspiration and advice. As famed film director Nancy Meyers writes in the book's foreword, this is a book that shows design lovers how classic can look fresh, how style and comfort go hand-in-hand.

Organize for a Fresh Start: Embrace Your Next Chapter in Life


Susan Fay West - 2011
    Changes and life transitions often leave people with unbalanced schedules and homes full of obsolete items. Certified Professional Organizer® Susan Fay West shows you how to make room for your new interests and responsibilities while honoring your past.Inside you’ll find: Step-by-step advice for decluttering and reorganizing every room in the home Specific tips for where to start and how to stay motivated Reflective questions and exercises to help you make “no-regrets”decisions Time-management strategies to create and maintain a regular schedule

Secrets of an Organized Mom: How to Declutter and Streamline Your Home for a Happier Family


Barbara Reich - 2013
    

The Complete Tightwad Gazette


Amy Dacyczyn - 1998
    Now The Complete Tightwad Gazette brings together all of her best ideas and thriftiest thinking into one volume, along with new articles never published before in book format. Dacyczyn describes this collection as "the book I wish I'd had when I began my adult life." Packed with humor, creativity, and insight, The Complete Tightwad Gazette includes hundreds of tips and topics, such as:Travel for tightwads¸ How to transform old blue jeans into potholders and quilts¸ Ten painless ways to save $100 this year¸ Picture-framing for pennies¸ A comparison of painting versus re-siding your house¸ Halloween costumes from scrounged materials¸ Thrifty window treatments¸ Ways to dry up dry-cleaning costs¸ Inexpensive gifts¸ Creative fundraisers for kids¸ Slashing your electric bill¸ Frugal fix-its¸ Cutting the cost of college¸ Moving for less¸ Saving on groceries¸ Gift-wrapping for tightwads¸ Furniture-fusion fundamentals¸ Cheap breakfast cereals¸ Avoiding credit card debt¸ Using items you were about to throw away (milk jugs, plastic meat trays, and more!)¸ Recipes galore, from penny-pinching pizza to toaster pastries¸ And much much more . . .

The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Your Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff


Julie Hall - 2008
    From preparation while the parent is still living through compassionately helping them empty the family home, The Estate Lady® gives invaluable tips on negotiating the inevitable disputes, avoiding exploitation from scam artists, and eventually closing the chapter of their lives in a way that preserves relationships and maximizes value of assets.

Big Design, Small Budget: Create a Glamorous Home in Nine Thrifty Steps


Betsy Helmuth - 2014
    With the lingering recession, many of us have less to work with but still long to live in style. Big Design, Small Budget makes luxury an affordable reality. In this DIY home decorating handbook, Helmuth reveals insider tips and her tried-and-tested methods for designing on a budget.In the past year, Helmuth has shared her affordable design advice and step-by-step approaches with millions through live teaching workshops, guest columns, television appearances, and interviews. Now, she has distilled her expertise into this practical guide. The chapters follow her secret design formula and include creating a design budget, mapping out floor plans, selecting a color palette, and accessorizing like a stylist.It’s time to start living in the home of your dreams without maxing out your credit cards. Learn how with Helmuth’s Big Design, Small Budget!

Early Retirement Extreme: A Philosophical and Practical Guide to Financial Independence


Jacob Lund Fisker - 2010
    Early Retirement Extreme shows how I did it and how anyone can formulate their own plan for financial independence. The book provides the principles and framework for a systems theoretical strategy for attaining that independence in 5-10 years. It teaches how a shift in focus from consuming to producing can help people out of the consumer trap, and offers a path to achieving the freedom necessary to pursue interests other than working for a living. The principles in Early Retirement Extreme show how to break the financial chains that hold people back from doing what they truly want to do. The framework has been used by many people over the last few years to accomplish a variety of goals. It provides people a means to achieve almost any goal, whether it's debt-free living, extended travel, a sabbatical, a career change, time off to raise a child, a traditional retirement, or simply a desire for a more resilient and self-sufficient lifestyle. The book was initially written for people in their 20s and 30s, but its ideas aren't limited to early retirees. Middle-aged people in the grips of consumerism can use the principles to take back control of their lives. People closer to retirement age who don't feel adequately prepared can use it to set themselves up for a comfortable retirement in a relatively short period of time. Anyone worried about their financial future can use the principles in Early Retirement Extreme to make their future more secure.

American Cozy: Hygge-Inspired Ways to Create Comfort Happiness


Stephanie Pedersen - 2018
        With their overscheduled lifestyles, Americans can’t always find time for the people and things they love. Enter American Cozy, which uses the Danish phenomenon of hygge—comfort, togetherness, and well-being—to bring coziness and ease to readers’ homes, work, and lives. Filled with charming four-color illustrations, it explores organization and home décor, entertaining, cooking, creating a happier, more productive work life, de-cluttering, and slowing down.

Total Cat Mojo: Everything You Need to Know to Care for Your Favorite Feline Friend


Jackson Galaxy - 2017
    Cat Mojo is the confidence that cats exhibit when they are at ease in their environment and in touch with their natural instincts--to hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, and sleep. Problems such as litter box avoidance and aggression arise when cats lack this confidence. Jackson Galaxy's number one piece of advice to his clients is to help their cats harness their mojo. This book is his most comprehensive guide yet to cat behavior and basic cat care, rooted in understanding cats better. From getting kittens off to the right start socially, to taking care of cats in their senior years, and everything in between, this book addresses the head-to-toe physical and emotional needs of cats--whether related to grooming, nutrition, play, or stress-free trips to the vet.

Get It Together!: An Interior Designer's Guide to Creating Your Best Life


Orlando Soria - 2018
    

Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living


Linnea Dunne - 2017
     The Swedish concept of Lagom (pronounced "lah-gom") roughly translates to "not too little, not too much, just right." This charming book introduces readers to a new way of balanced living that promises happiness and sustainability in work and in life. Lagom provides simple solutions to juggle everyday priorities, reduce stress, eat well, and save money, with lessons on the importance of downtime, being outdoors, and Sweden's coffee break culture. Tips on removing clutter and creating a capsule wardrobe help readers achieve Sweden's famously clean and functional design aesthetic, while advice on going green and growing food gets their hands dirty. With seemingly endless financial, emotional, and environmental benefits, Lagom presents an accessible and all-encompassing lifestyle that is sure to inspire mindfulness, wellbeing, and contentment.