Customer Reviews

The Accidental Housewife: How to Overcome Housekeeping Hysteria One Task at a Time

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is my first negative review to write. I do not like being critical or sounding mean, but I want to save another housewife from wasting time and money on this book. The most accidental thing about this book is that it was actually published. This is something that should have been printed out on a home computer and given to family at reunions. I cannot stress enough that this book contains the most basic, most obvious advice, such as do not overstuff the washer/dryer or treat a stain while it is fresh. It does not contain any useful tips that anyone over the age of 14 has not already heard. This is a short book, and it could have been even shorter if the author had not interjected so many lame jokes. 50% of this book is attempted humor. The other 50% is obvious info that no housewife needs to be told!! I am sorry to sound so negative, the author is probably a nice person. But this book should be placed in the humor section, because it contains no "help" whatsoever.

The perfect mom-at-home manual... as long as you identify with "Mrs X" of the Nanny Diaries. This book assumes that you have infinite funds and didn't really want to keep your own house anyway. Her biggest suggestion is to hire a "Domestic Assistant" to do all your housework, watch your kids and cook your meals for you. If you really feel that you must, or it's your nanny's day off, you can pull on your fashionable pink rubber gloves with inlaid pearls and drop an alka-seltzer tablet in your toilet - congratulations! You're cleaning!
On a fascinating side note, she has a wine pairing for every task - from dusting to yoga.

One can only hope that most of this book was meant as a joke.

I really really hated this book it has no useful information in it whatsoever.Also the auther thinks she is funny,she is not.Her idea's seem a little sad to me things like teach your children to cook so you don't have to.Also I find her baby like talk to be very off putting.It is one of the first books I have had trouble finishing because it was so very boring and useless.There are much better books on the subject,I only wish that I could have given negative stars.

A friend of mind told me about this new book that I had to read. I LOVED it. From the title, I assumed that it would be funny - which it is. But I didn't think I would find so many great tips on how to be better at all those tasks we all have to do, but don't particularily put much thought into. What I took for a light summer read, turns out to be a really helpful how-to book for meal prep & planning, laundry, home organizing & cleaning. Anyway, I just bought 3 more copies to give to friends for upcoming birthdays & a hostess present.

If I cared more, I would actually go through and count how many times this book includes the word "disposable." Take into account that this book was published recently (in 2006) and you should understand my dismay. This woman is completely out of touch with any sort of reality. Disposables are ridiculous, wasteful, and shockingly selfish. The irony here is that on her website, under the "about moi" heading, one can find the following quote: "I set out to discover just enough shortcuts to maintain a clean enough home...keep our planet green and our manicures in tact." This lady's manicure might look great, but I imagine her contribution to the local landfill is a tragedy of epic proportions. The general advice was, like other reviewers have pointed out, recycled from other sources that are easily found on the Internet. So, useless. I am VERY glad I had the good sense to check it out from the library instead of wasting $13. Also, recommending that people hire a Domestic Assistant is the dumbest thing I have EVER read. I'll give her a little pass on this, as it was published pre-recession. A little pass. Suggesting a housekeeper in a housekeeping book is like writing a cookbook and recommending a personal chef. Or a diy home-repair book and suggesting that one hire a contractor. Also, being nit-picky, the front of the book contains a paragraph describing the idyllic 1950's housewife. Someone might want to give Ms. Edelman a history lesson. Can anyone say, "Martinis and Valium?"

I was looking forward to some helpful household hints,and there were some, but why wasn't an index included?. The author tries to be funny in a "cute" sort of way. I am sure there are better books around on this subject.

The author made a HUGE error on KLG & Hoda this morning! She referred to Indian Meal Moths as mealybugs!! Whoa!! Two entirely different critters. Mealybugs are a houseplant/garden pest, NOT a moth! And yes, you can remove them with a Q-tip dipped in alcohol. Her advice for Indian Meal Moths is way off the mark too - they'll get thru sealed ziploc bags, and wiping your cabinets with alcohol won't help either; they'll breed elsewhere. What *really* works is pheromone-baited "sticky traps", I get them mailorder from Gardens Alive but you can probably find them in stores. Another bad one - above in the "description" she recommends feather dusters. Wrong - unless you spray them with something, they'll just scatter the dust but "swiffer" type dusters are *awesome*! I don't like to be unkind, but I suspect the author was hoping to sell enough books to hire household help. Unfortunately, she seems to have no real experience, and hasn't gotten gotten much advice from mom, yakking with friends, or reading the "greats" of the past - like Heloise!

Bought this for my daughter in law and hope she thinks it is as cute and helpful as I found it.

I loved this book because it addresses all women, even those of us that stay home full-time. Most books deal primarly with women working outside of the home. Forgetting the old debate, working is working. However, I really did find this book quite funny. It made me realize that we all must do these things to have a decent home. For now, unfortuantly most visitors to the home, still beleive that what they see and smell are a relection on how well the women keeps the home. I know this stinks, but for my generation age 48, this is for the most part true. Hopefully, the next generation gets better at sharing!

I bought the book on impulse, intrigued by the title. It was well worth it. The book is informative while treating the subjects irreverently and humorously. The tongue-in-cheek advise appears, at times, so genuine, that you read it aloud several times, asking: Does she mean it?