The Good Housekeeping team delivers in this impressive handbook hundreds of ideas and tips for 'how to home better.' The advice comes in six sections: Prep & Cook covers must-have kitchen equipment, pantry stocking tips, and easy recipe substitutions; Clean & Organize features a bathroom-tidying checklist and DIY cleaning solution recipes; Decorate & Renovate teaches readers how to brighten their kitchen and cozy up their living room; and Maintain & Repair offers tricks for fixing appliances and getting rid of indoor allergens. Enjoy the Outdoors, meanwhile, takes on yard care and gardening (with a nontoxic weed killer recipe), and Entertain & Celebrate, considers less-glamorous aspects of party planning: make taking out the garbage during and after easier by lining a trash bin with several bags, the authors advise, and turn the thermostat down before guests arrive, as the crowd will warm things up. The advice on outfitting ones kitchen and building pantry meals is excellent, but its the extras that set this apart: each chapter includes clever new twists, such as repurposing a shoe rack as a vertical herb planter and using toothpaste to clean silver. This thorough home companion will reward readers over and over. Publishers Weekly, starred review
