Customer Reviews

Haley's Hints: A Compilation

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I hate cleaning, and must admit I'm not very good at it. Part of my dislike is wrought out of ignorance. I simply do not know what I'm doing. Cooking is also not a skill I have. I need help.

Haley's Hints teaches me to cheat my way though a lot of household problems. He covers cleaning and cooking tips, but that's just the beginning.

Like the old "Hints from Heloise" I read in the newspaper as a kid, Haley presents very do-able solutions to everyday problems. Unlike Martha Stewart's ideas, which seem unreasonable in the average income family, Haley seems to have considered the practicality of his hints quite aptly.

Whether is it is hiding food odors, discouraging ants or his various methods of removing gum from things, he has a trick to it here in his well organized book.

The guy is thorough. The sheer number of pages will provide plenty of ideas for your home. Besides making a great read for extended bathroom visits, it serves best as a reference. HThe index is impressive and easy to use.

I fully recommend "Haley's Hints: A Compilation" by Graham Haley.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

This an excellent book to keep handy at all times. Furniture, carpets and countertops can be saved with just normal household items. It also includes tricks for making everyday tasks easier and faster. Anyone of any age will find this book extremely useful. Great gift.

I received Haley's Hints as a gift from my soon to be sister-in-law. Even though it's not meant to be read cover-to-cover, I did anyway, just because the hints are so fabulous! So far, I've removed impossible burnt-on stains from the drip trays on my stove (Haley's Hint: baking soda and water combined with a little "elbow grease") and saved my favourite shirt from a tomato sauce stain down the front of it (Haley's Hint: Shaving cream and a little scrubbing with a toothbrush), among other things.

This book has saved me a ton of money by letting me use stuff around the house (baking soda, bleach, cream of tartar, shaving cream, etc.) instead of buying those expensive store-bought cleaners. It is organized with a great index that let's the reader find exactly what he's looking for and quickly (important when stains are the issue!).

Just a few generations back it was common for children to be handed down the combined knowledge of years of experience by their parents and grandparents. This knowledge generally included hundreds of tips on how to do everything from making wilted lettuce crisp again to removing odors to making stiff jeans pliable and many, many others. These days that knowledge does not seem to be passed along. If you missed out on all the hints that make life easier "Haley's Hints" comes to the rescue. "Haley's Hints" is a collection of hints gathered from multiple sources and compiled into a single volume. The coverage is truly amazing as you read through tip after tip and learn how to resolve problem after problem.

The only way to indicate the breadth of the coverage is to give you a taste of the table of contents. The contents include:
Tips to make life in the kitchen a breeze
Organizing and cleaning everything around the house
Hints to delight even the most experienced launderer
Sewing, mending and knitting hints
Ideas for infants, toddlers, school kids and especially moms
Tips to make life easier for those in their golden years
Tips and information to help you do-it-yourself
Tips your pets will love you for
Getting rid of what's bugging you
All you want to know about cars but were afraid to ask
Wonderful ways to improve a garden
Tips when camping, picnicking, or entertaining in the backyard
Taking care of your sporting equipment
Hints for the third of your life you spend at the office
Tips to pamper you, relax you, and keep you looking and feeling great
Hints for every occasion
Charts on measurements, metric and substitutes

This is a very highly recommended book that should be in every home. It makes a great gift for any occasion and is one of the most useful books I have in my personal collection.

I believe I used several of the "hints" within one week of receiving this book. I received it as a gift, and now am giving it as a gift to others. Everyone should have a copy of this book.

I bought this book because I've really enjoyed seeing Haley demonstrate his tips on PBS, but I have to agree with the reviewer who said there is too much common knowledge thrown in here along with the truly useful hints.

In the home office section, he tells you that if you don't have an answering service then you should get a reliable answering machine. (Oh, I might have bought an unreliable one!) You should record your message in a concise, polite, professional manner, without being cutesy or clever. (Whew, that tip really saved me!)

In the same section, he says you should store papers, etc, that you don't use very often in the attic or in a dry basement, and to make sure everything is well catalogued and accessible. (Gee, none of that would ever have occurred to me.)

He also has a lot of tips that start out with phrases like "Some say that it works to do such-and-such." Couldn't he try these things out before putting them in the book, so he could definitively say whether to do them or not?

Despite these criticisms, there are some good tips interspersed with all the filler. There's probably a good 100-page book of hints hiding within these 400 pages.

After seeing Haley on PBS I couldn't wait to order his book, if only to encourage him to continue proposing solutions to cleaning problems that don't harm the planet and our health. My other cleaning books are so full of chemicals that I have never been able to apply the suggestions. Haley recommends safe everyday products that we have around the house and after using several of them I know how well they work. It's worth the price of the book just for the hint on how to remove pet (and human) hair from carpets and upholstery. (Just put on a rubber glove and rub - it's absolutely magical!). Thanks Mr. Haley!

No doubt about it,this book has ideas that can save you a lot of time aqs well as a lot of money..If you need a gadget and don't want to to run out and buy something for the purpose,this book will show you how to come up with something you already have around the house that will do the job as well,if not better.If you are one who is inclined to improvise,you may have 'invented' many of the same things suggested in the book;or even alternate ways to do the same thing.Some may think that the simple idea of putting a plastic bag over a paint tray is mundane,but it's not if you've never thought of it or seen someone else do it.Never mind the fact that it extends the life of the tray,it saves money spent on cleaners 'and on top of that,look at the time it saves;all by using a bag you'd probably throw away.now let me just tell you about something I do.I savedd baby food jars,coffee and juice jars,nailed the lids on a long board,then screwed that to the joists in the basement near my workbench.I now have about 60 various xized containers to keep all sorts of nails,screws washers,etc.,etc.I can't imagine all the time I've saved having these things inat arms lendth and not taking up any usable space.The whole idea of a book like this is,in my thinking to get you thinking about an easier and cheaper and better ways to do things.The ideas in the book about uding wire coat hangers,is only the tip of the iceberg.I have used them for so many things I can't remember.When you get right down to it,I can't imagine a thing that isn't useful for a second purpose,once it has finished its first use.That goes for containers,spatulas,cutlery,bottles,both plastic and glass,rags,you name it.What you got to do is read the book,then get your imagination in gear,and improvise .There is always a better way to do anything than the way you have done it before.You'll amaze yourself with what you come up with;and most importantly,look at the time and money you'll save.
So the next time you see someone discarding paint trays and he says he can't be bothered with all the mess and fuss of cleaning them,just think,by using a few bags ,he culld buy a 6-pack.

This book is chock-full of ideas for the perplexed at home. Out of tomato paste? Not sure what potatoes to buy? And what the heck is the difference between baking powder and baking soda and does anyone even care> This book is especially valuable for the section on substitutes, like allspice berries or ground allspice. You can use a mix of nutmeg and cinnamon in a pinch. Well, I love jerk seasoning and it does require allspice, a member of the pepper family but if you don't want to run to the store and pony up four bucks for a small jar of it, I'm right with you and Mr. Haley on that. Haley has recommendations on homemade cleansers in the companion book by Haley on cleaning hints, but there are a few ideas here. Mostly, this is a basic home ec book. This is like Heloise's Hints for the Hopelessly He-Man. For guys who want to learn to keep house, this is a fine book. I'd recommend both as a set for anyone setting up house.

I must admit I have no clue about most of the stuff out there (I just learned how to cook recently). I took this book out of curiosity from our college library and found it very useful. For someone like me, its a life saver.. This book has tons of useful new and old hints. It is true some of the hints are from the past or based on common sense, but not everyone knows it (hello, this book said hints not new hints and not everyone knows everything). After reading this book I've decided to buy it for myself and my friends.