Better House and Planet: Over 500 Tips for Efficient Housekeeping

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

In response to the markets created by the environmental movement,
publishers have released “green editions” of many kinds of books.
This is the “green” version of the household hints book. About
eighty of the more than five hundred hints have been marked with green
house-shaped icons to indicate that they are “ecologically safe”
alternatives. Many of the marked hints are not new. For example, “use
a flyswatter” is flagged as an ecologically safe alternative.

In keeping with the reuse/recycle theme, this volume contains mainly
recycled ideas. In fairness to the author, there is not much new in the
field of household hints. The volume contains the usual information on
stain removal, cleaners, safety, cookery, and so forth. It also contains
some eclectic information that one would not normally think of as
household hints. For example, instructions for the tying of a bow tie,
though not a standard tie, are included. There is also a brief entry on
invitations, a subject to which etiquette manuals dedicate chapters. A
cover note indicates that only those hints that actually work have been
included.

Overall, this volume is much like other household hints books. It is
organized alphabetically and is well indexed, so information is easy to
find. For anyone buying a household hints book, this one is as good as
any other. However, in keeping with the green movement, anyone in the
market for a household hints volume could do as well by going to a
second-hand bookstore and purchasing a recycled one.

This volume would be a useful addition to a public-library collection.