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An illustrated guide to dating your house, recognising styles and selecting the right fittings when renovating.

Extending your home? New kitchen or bathroom? Planning to decorate? With guidance on all your home improvement projects, this book tells you: the time the job will take; the costs of the materials; how difficult it's going to be; and what a professional is going to charge to do it for you; make sure you get value for money; and more.

Opens a window on the experiences of urban people living through one of Africa's most dramatic economic declines in the postcolonial era by focusing on such broad themes as household dynamics, gender politics, and informal economy in Mtendere.

Buildings are the greatest energy wasters and for those of us concerned about the environment, and household bills, this book presents the key design changes that we can implement to our own homes to remedy energy loss. It covers a range of design changes. It is intended for architects, designers and homeowners.

Helps owners, builders and construction professionals make the decisions that are right for old buildings. This book illustrates the long term benefits of using more traditional solutions on older houses rather than modern materials like cement based mortars, sealants or impervious paints.

Explains the nature of dampness in buildings, how to diagnose a dampness problem before it gets out of hand and how to deal with it. This book covers the problems of rising dampness and condensation. It is aimed at surveyors, architects, builders, housing managers and health inspectors.

Offers over 50 of the most useful essential oil recipes for tackling every mom's daily needsAs a mother, you are always looking for ways to make your family safer, happier and healthier. This book shows how essential oils can help you achieve all those things. And you'll save money!An easy-to-use handbook for creating natural solutions, green cleaners, and toxin-free personal care items, the Smart Mom's Guide to Essential Oils provides pure and potent recipes, including:*; Peppermint and Grapefruit energizing air diffusion*; Fennel and Eucalyptus respiratory relief rub*; Citrus-infused cleaning spray and scrub*; Lavender and Melaleuca skin-soothing salve*; Chamomile and Vetiver stress reliever*; Spearmint-powered digestive aidYour family's wellness starts with you. That's why this helpful handbook also features a powerful regimen to reduce stress, increase energy and sustain your own personal vitality.

The original Japanese edition of The Art of Discarding, titled Suteru! Gijutsu, was published in 2000 and became an overnight sensation - selling a million copies in six months and inspiring a young Marie Kondo. The book has since become a multimillion-copy international bestseller, but it has never been translated into English, until now. In this guide to living a calmer, more ordered life, renowned author Nagisa Tatsumi teaches us how letting go of unwanted things will transform our day-to-day happiness. The book offers practical advice and techniques to help readers learn to let go of stuff that is holding them back, as well as tips for acquiring less in the first place.It's time to live with less.

Spring clean your life with this practical, achievable guide to decluttering from the British Marie Kondo Wardrobes bursting with unworn clothes.Boxes full of obsolete chargers and neglected children's toys. A dresser jammed full of mismatched socks. . . Sound familiar? Many of us feel increasingly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff packed into our homes. Being organised at home doesn't just mean always knowing where you left the remote; it means being able to face the world with a clear mind and increased energy. It all starts at home. But where? When the problem is so vast and we are all so busy, how do you even begin to tackle the clutter mountain? Professional organiser Vicky Silverthorn has the simple answer: start with your sock drawer. Using tried-and-tested methods, Vicky will guide you through practical, bite-sized tasks that will help you achieve a friendly level of organisation throughout your home and a life-changing clarity of mind. With Vicky's help, you can banish clutter and turn your home into a sanctuary. Perfect for fans of the Netflix series Tidying up with Marie Kondo and followers of Mrs Hinch. Readers love Start With Your Sock Drawer: 'Full of useful tips' 'Great advice in this concise book, which will get you on your way to better organisation and leading an uncluttered life' 'As a professional declutterer, this is the only book I regularly recommended to my clients''Informative and practical' 'Excellent, sensible advice'

Few of us enjoy cleaning: it often feels like a thankless, repetitive task which we force ourselves to do. Linda Thomas is an expert, professional cleaner who ran her own ecological cleaning company for over twenty years. In this unique book, she explores her passion for cleaning, and argues that cleaning can have a profound effect not just on the spaces we care for, but on our own wellbeing and personal development. This lively and readable book is full of anecdotes, practical examples and ecological cleaning tips from Linda's decades of cleaning experience. Ultimately she argues that if we raise our understanding of cleaning, we might even begin to enjoy it!

The cleaning industry is worth billions each year. There is plenty of money to be made, and you don't require any specific qualifications to get started. What you do need is a range of key skills, and a personal determination to succeed.This book will give you insider knowledge of the world of office and domestic cleaning. It will provide you with all the practical tools you need to succeed in a competitive but rewarding industry.- The basics required to set up your business and the services you can offer.- How to develop sales, and how to find - and keep - satisfied clients.- How to find good staff, train them, and deal with problems.- How to maintain the quality of your service provision as you grow.- Managing the legal, health & safety, and insurance requirements.- How to develop your brand and grow your company.- Book keeping, debt control and finance- How to develop further lucrative services to offer your client base.

An engine coffee table - the first thing every petrolhead needs for their home.They make great talking points, and are surely one of the most useful ways to recycle an old engine. This book gives you the best advice for building your own table, with photos, clear instructions, and concise descriptions of all the work required.

With today's hectic lifestyles the last thing you want to do after a busy day is clean the house. But Speed Cleaning is here to provide the answers for everyone who wants a clean house but doesn't have the time to spend hours with cloth and duster in hand. Shannon Lush and Jennifer Fleming show how in just 15 minutes a day their sure-fire systems and ingenious methods are all you need to achieve a spotless house without the hard work. Filled with brilliant and practical advice, non-toxic cleaning methods and good old-fashioned common sense, this book shows how to clean your house top to bottom, room by room as well as providing handy hints and tips for yearly Spring and Autumn cleaning and organisational dos and don'ts for everyday routines. A must-have for anyone who wants a spotless house with limited time and minimum effort.

It's Not Easy Being Green follows Dick Strawbridge and his family as they leave their comfortable home in the Midlands to tackle a remarkable self-sufficiency project - New House Farm in Cornwall. Their main objective is to have as little negative impact on the planet as possible by producing no waste and removing their dependency upon fossil fuels - all without compromising on their comfortable, modern 21st-century lifestyles. It's a laudable aim, but they are definitely not eco-warriors!With his hands-on, flamboyant approach, Dick offers practical tips on everything, from constructing water wheels, gadgets and greenhouses, to the trials of living with animals and knocking up 'proper' wholesome food. Packed with information about the cost of power, sourcing building materials, taking up permaculture and finding transport alternatives, It's Not Easy Being Green highlights the small steps that can change your life and is a simple, inspirational guide for everyone considering the path to green living.

Realistic and useful, Chores Without Wars (Practical Press [self-pub], then Prima; total sales 20,000) includes what the family needs to "e;turn housework into teamwork."e; Instead of family members falling into stereotypes, such as the super-mom and the spoiled child, this book suggests that a family built on the principles of reciprocity and teamwork can overcome the drudgeries of housework and lead children to value life skills necessary for their futures. Through chores, skills such as cooperation, planning ahead, managing money, and contribution are learned. More than 30% new material will appear in this 2nd ed.

Modern living offers convenience, and as parents we need all the help we can get. Food is produced in abundance, and clothes are cheap enough for us to use and then discard. But is it necessary to be so wasteful? And is this really how we want to raise our children?Homemade Kids is full of top tips, inspirational ideas and practical advice that will help you to: make your home a more healthy, energy-efficient environment create toys and fun activities for your baby decide whether reusuable nappies are the right choice for you consider the best feeding and transport solutions for your familyRaising a healthy, happy child doesn't need to be a complicated process that puts a strain on the planet and your wallet. Homemade Kids takes you back to basics and reminds you of the simple pleasures of parenting.

Why is it that even the most disorganised person never seems to lose their toothbrush? How can this simple fact solve all our clutter problems?The Toothbrush Principle is a simple yet inspired approach to de-cluttering your home. Whether you live in a mansion or a bedsit, this book will show you how to: organise according to the unconscious blueprint that naturally tidy people have, so that getting and staying organised is easy; know what to throw away with confidence; set up your wardrobe so you get much more use out of the clothes you have; work from home productively in a clear, designated space; tame your inbox!Step-by-step, room-by-room, you'll soon find that you hardly ever lose things, massive clear outs become a thing of the past and you never spend more than 10 minutes a day tidying up.So stop drowning in piles of clutter, learn how to be organised and start creating space to live out the life of your dreams!

Is it really a good idea to install that expensive cappuccino maker when you haven't fitted a good working boiler or decent flooring? And what about the value added by sprucing up the bathroom (and losing that avocado suite with gold taps)? Will it be worth spending a fortune on expensive fittings or will B&Q do the job?In the complicated world of home improvements, it is every bit as important to know what not to do, as it is what to do, when planning where to focus your energies and spend your budget. Not everything adds value in cash terms, but some ideas could make your house easier to sell. Phil Spencer's Adding Value to Your Home is about both making your property a better place for you to live, and enhancing the value of your principal asset should you decide to sell. In a competitive property market it is crucial to get this right, and no one can help more than property guru Phil Spencer. Showing you how to attract the most attention from buyers and what will make your house sell quicker and for more cash, this book is packed full of practical advice, clear information and real-life case studies.From simple DIY projects or insulating the loft, to coming up with a well-planned and well-executed extension, Adding Value to Your Home is here to help you understand what could work best for you, and what will make the overall feel of your house more valuable in the eyes of a potential buyer.

In a handy and easy to use format Spotless provides encylcopediac answers to all kinds of domestic disasters - from how to repair scratches to removing stains and other disfigurements. An essential book for the kitchen bookshelf, each chapter addresses the stains, cleaning and household problems that may come about in each room of the house: the kitchen, laundry, bathroom, bedroom, children's room and even outdoors on a deck or patio. Filled with easy, do-it-yourself cleaning solutions, handy hints and examples Spotless is a domestic bible that will be referred to again and again.

Hundreds of solutions to all your housekeeping needs! Banish those stains and transform your home into a palace of sparkling surfaces, clutter-free cupboards and carpets to be proud of. From ovens to fridges to bathrooms, red wine rings, and foul smelling microwaves - Aggie has all the answers to any cleaning question you can think of. From top to bottom, inside and outside, you'll find oodles of nifty ideas to take the drudgery out of cleaning. Erase each and every one of your domestic nightmares - after all, nobody knows housekeeping quite like Aggie!

At a time when work and home life are becoming increasingly blurred, and modern technology brings the realm of the public into what used to be a personal and private space, Ed Hollis looks at what it means to make a home in today's world. Exploring the meaning of private and public space, the importance we place on physical objects and the demands we make of our home environment, How to Make a Home challenges us to re-imagine the concept of home and hearth.

The books in this bite-sized new series contain no complicated techniques or tricky materials, making them ideal for the busy, the time-pressured or the merely curious. Essential DIY Projects is a short, simple and to-the-point guide to that will teach you a number of essential projects around the house in just 96 pages. Suitable even for those who've never picked up a hammer, this is an ideal starting point for the new home-owner or tentative DIY-er.

Master Basic DIY explains all the basic tasks and gives you all the information you need to undertake essential decorating and maintenance in an informed and sensible manner. It offers insight into complex options and methods, and is full of practical information and indispensable tips to enable you to quickly see the results reflected in your DIY projects.NOT GOT MUCH TIME?One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.AUTHOR INSIGHTSLots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.TEST YOURSELFTests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGEExtra online articles at www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of basic DIY.FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBERQuick refreshers to help you remember the key facts.TRY THISInnovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.

This fourth edition is fully updated with photo's and construction illustrations for one of the UK's most unique homes. Tony shares his many years of experience, skills and techniques used to build this unique and affordable low impact home. Always witty and inspiring, the author explains the process of visualising and designing a house through to the practical side of lifting the living roof, infilling the walls, laying out rooms and adding renewable, autonomous technology. Building A Low Impact Roundhouse has become a classic text sold all over the world. Tony's home and lifestyle have attracted much media interest and he and his partner continue to inspire many individuals and communities to seek out ways of living more sustainably. Now in its third edition, with a fascinating 10 year update including a major new section on the couple's marvellous strawbale den, Tony also includes sections on the physical design and he writes about the lifestyle required for living in a roundhouse. He offers advice on roofs, floors, walls, compost toilets, wood stoves, kitchens, windows and on planning permission. There are additional photographs of life in and around the dwelling and illustrations from the construction plans for one of the UK's most unique of homes. This true and captivating story covers the realising of a lifetime's dream as well as being a practical 'how to' manual for anyone who loves the idea of low impact living and wants to self-build an affordable, organic home.

In 2003 Ben Law captivated the nation by building his woodland house on Channel 4's Grand Designs programme - the home was later voted the most popular Grand Design ever by viewers. The presenter, Kevin McCloud, loved the project so much that he has written the foreword to this book! A Grand Designs Revisited programme was aired on British TV in October 2005. Full of stunning colour photographs, The Woodland House is a visual guide to how Ben built his outstandingly beautiful home in the woods. It is also a practical manual, and the story of a man realising a lifetime's dream to build one of the most sustainable and beautiful homes in Britain. The Woodland House gives details of the evolving design process, the identifying of materials, costings, project management and the actual building. It proves that low cost, low impact and high aesthetics can go hand in hand and that it is possible to build green and affordably. As the pre-eminent UK example of building with wood and renewable materials this will also appeal to the growing number of people with environmental and green interests, as well as to the building community.

"e;What decides why things go well one day and badly another? The events are the same, the homemaker is the same, yet on one occasion nothing works out for her and on another everything seems miraculously to fall into place. Is there a special ingredient within us that we can tap into and cultivate to generate the longed-for equilibrium?"e; Veronika van Duin began her career as a homemaker forty years ago. Setting out with love, enthusiasm and idealism, she soon discovered that she had no idea of the magnitude of the task, feeling herself to be 'very, very wanting'. As she writes: "e;...I felt guilty, pressurised and inadequate much of the time. I became increasingly conscious of my personal shortcomings. I also felt very alone, and sometimes lonely too..."e; It is from such humbling feelings that van Duin writes, offering support and hope for fellow homemakers. She reveals the discoveries that have provided her, and many others she has taught in workshops and courses, with the basic life tools for overcoming personal hindrances. In this wonderfully uplifting book, van Duin gives exercises for restoring balance, maintaining equilibrium, discovering understanding, creating joy, validating feeling, maintaining vitality and drive, developing insight, finding freedom, and much more.

"e;Are You Ready To Rid Your Basement of Mold, Mildew & Water Damage?"e; "e;Ready to diagnose problems in your basement quickly?"e; "e;Ready to learn how to properly waterproof your basement?"e; If you are interested in discovering how you can diagnose basement problems and resolve those problems via waterproofing your basement, then you will want to get your hands on this information. Believe it or not, there are fundamental and effective strategies on ways to keep your basement dry and usable. And I give them all to you within this guide. You will finally learn how to: Quickly assess your basement waterproofing needs and quickly draw up a plan to eliminate water.

Books are written about recipes all the time, but "e;Natural Cleaning Recipes"e; is a bit different. This book focuses on cleaning recipes that can be used to sanitize not only the home, but anywhere else that needs cleaning as well. What most people don't realize is that a lot of simple ingredients that they have in the kitchen can safely help to clean up a mess and kill germs. Protecting yourself from breathing in harsh chemicals while cleaning is very important! In this book the author explains what the process of natural cleaning is, and also how various products can be used to clean a number of different things. The book is ideal for anyone seeking to be more environmentally conscious. The cleaning products that you can make from these recipes can not only be used in the home, but may be used in the office as well. There are even recipes that will help you clean your car! If a stronger cleaning solution is required, then suggestions are made for chemical based alternatives that are not extremely hazardous. This simple book will help you take care of the majority of your cleaning needs naturally and safely.

Somehow, no matter how hard some people try to change their messy habits, they just can't seem to keep their homes in any kind of order. Magazines and books and television shows offer all kinds of advice and tactics for keeping a house organized and neat and livable. But what some people need is not more advice but a change in their mindsets.Organizing for Life helps readers understand why they seem to be inherently messy people, exposing the lies they tell themselves and introducing the truth about how they really can have a clean, inviting home. Felton helps readers focus on overcoming the roadblocks that keep them in a permanently messy state in order to change their habits for good.