Family Manager's Guide for Working Moms [Paperback]

Kathy Peel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 1997

"It's not two jobs. It's a life . . . Ours to shape as we will."
--Kathy Peel

If you're a working wife and mother who's about ready for crash-and-burnout, hang on. There's good news from family-management expert Kathy Peel, who shows you in this book how to use systems and skills from the office to bring order out of your domestic chaos. In short, she transforms you into a resourceful family manager in charge of a relaxed, comfortable, and orderly home. Inside you'll learn how to


Involve the whole family in planning and teamwork
Set long- and short-term priorities and goals
Establish routines and delegate responsibility
Manage food, finances, property, and social life
Work smarter, using Kathy's hundreds of time-saving ideas, everything from organizing the freezer to using the Internet
Prepare for the unexpected
Balance your one and only life so that you can be there for yourself as well as for others

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

What a wonderful book! I worked on the production but kept stopping to read the fabulous tips and ideas Kathy Peel has to offer. I sent a copy to a friend, who apparently had a bit of a battle to keep her hands on it--everyone in her office wanted it, too. I'm not a mom, but it doesn't matter. These tips are great for any working person: organize your time, your home, your work, your life!

Eileen Gaffney, Associate Managing Editor

From the Inside Flap

"It's not two jobs. It's a life . . . Ours to shape as we will."
--Kathy Peel

If you're a working wife and mother who's about ready for crash-and-burnout, hang on. There's good news from family-management expert Kathy Peel, who shows you in this book how to use systems and skills from the office to bring order out of your domestic chaos. In short, she transforms you into a resourceful family manager in charge of a relaxed, comfortable, and orderly home. Inside you'll learn how to


Involve the whole family in planning and teamwork
Set long- and short-term priorities and goals
Establish routines and delegate responsibility
Manage food, finances, property, and social life
Work smarter, using Kathy's hundreds of time-saving ideas, everything from organizing the freezer to using the Internet
Prepare for the unexpected
Balance your one and only life so that you can be there for yourself as well as for others

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (July 8, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345413113
• ISBN-13: 978-0345413116
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,331,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kathy Peel is CEO of Family Manager Inc., a company that trains women in the art of family management. She has written 21 books, selling more than 2 million copies. Her latest works are The Busy Couple's Guide to Sharing the Work & the Joy, The Busy Mom's Guide to a Happy, Organized Home (winner of the 2009 Gold Mom's Choice Award) and Desperate Households. She is AOL's Kids & Family Coach, and she contributes to many publications, including FamilyFun, Parents, Woman's World, Family Circle, HomeLife, and ParentDish. A popular speaker and media personality with repeat appearances on programs such as Oprah, The Early Show, The Today Show, and HGTV.

Visit Kathy Peel's Web site: www.familymanager.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Martha Stewart she ain't--thank heavens!, June 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Family Manager's Guide for Working Moms (Paperback)

I've read several of Kathy's books and what I like about her is that she's refreshingly normal. It's packed full of so many tips on so many topics that I will never buy another book on home management. This book, like the original Family Manager book, deals with real issues, such as how you run a home when you can't really afford to hire help (by getting your family to work as a team--and she talks about how you do that). She talks about business concepts and models and how to apply them to your home life in language you're more likely to hear from a friend than a high-powered business consultant. (I especially like the section where she transfers business skills to home life, and vice versa--but I guess that's just the career counselor in me:) Plus, you have permission not to have a "picture perfect" house if doing so means that you'd drive your family crazy, to stop comparing yourself to the lady down the street and either ask her to be a mentor to you or discover that your priorities are different and that's OK. But best of all is the sentence on page 180, where she says, "my hunch is that children of two-career moms learn more independent living skills sooner because two-career moms need help with. . .everything. . ." If you're working for the right reasons and motives, then this can be good for your kids. And I like that.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A major disappointment, May 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Family Manager's Guide for Working Moms (Paperback)

I bought this book because I was hoping to pick up tons of practical tips that I could apply to my everyday life as a working mom, but I found that it merely rehashed things I've read in every woman's magazine time and time again: plan ahead, make casseroles for the freezer, delegate, etc. etc. I much preferred Working Mothers 101.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Yes, disappointing., July 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Family Manager's Guide for Working Moms (Paperback)

I too was disappointed with this book. I am a full-time mother, so I could not relate to her perspective as a "dual-career" mom. Much of what she wrote about was just not helpful, and I really can't imaging it being helpful for a "working" mom either. I cannot recommend this book.