Customer Reviews

Make Your Place: Affordable & Sustainable Nesting Skills

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In July 2009, I demonstrated various urban sustainability projects at a festival in Baltimore City. This book was part of my natural, homemade cleaning supplies display. Dozens of people picked up the book and were very curious to know where I got it. They all wanted to purchase it right then and there. I wished I had contacted Raleigh or Microcosm Publishing to become a distributor!

Throughout the day, many people asked me for natural ways to get rid of pests, clean different types of surfaces, etc. and I often picked up the book and turned right to Raleigh's very detailed Table of Contents. How to get rid of fleas? Clean wood floors? Make liquid dish soap? It's all right there.

From gardening to essential oils, Raleigh included it all! Not to mention the fact that the book is beautifully handwritten and illustrated. I often get my tips from the internet, but Raleigh's book is wonderful to leave in the kitchen or bathroom as an instant recipe book and guide.

A definite must-have starting guide for anyone interested in living a more sustainable lifestyle.

I love books, and have collected quite a library of volumes relating to my varied interests. Some of those interests are natural/herbal health care, natural body care, "green" household cleaning, and urban homesteading. All of those books in my library have one or more of the same ideas contained in this little volume. Yet for some reason, I absolutely love this book. It may be the awkward but adorable handwriting complete with heart-dotted i's, reminding me of my middle school diary. It could be the cute illustrations, with flowers that talk and bubble letter titles, or the little flowers and stars that emphasize the text. I have rarely read a book of this type that uses words like "nast" and "barf", or describes how to deal with crabs or yeast infections with such aplomb. And really, while it may contain recipes and ideas I have found in many other places, it also has some very new ideas that I enjoyed with surprise. All in all, I have the strangest feeling that this book will see more use in my house than several other more comprehensive volumes in my library, and I know that I will have fun in the process.

Some skills are just good to have. "Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable, Nesting Skills" is a collection of simple and effective skills to improve one's life around the house. The skills range from dealing with the simple messes, to the injuries one faces in life, to dealing with menstrual-cycle induced bad moods. "Make Your Place" is a fine and recommended read for anyone who wants to make their life a little smoother and more enjoyable.

It does have useful information. But, I was under the impression you would be taught to make things by your own hand. I was surprised so many things were so dependent on Castile Soap. I was also taken aback but finding swear words sprinkled through out. I guess it makes it conversational? It was ok, and had some good home remedy things in their too and how to use different herbs and teas, but I guess I thought it would explain more on how to acquire, where to start and such. It does have many things to make such as soft scrub with everyday items and homemade bleach ect. So useful, just wish it has pictures and where to start to get things that you may not have heard of yet.

For anybody who is wondering, this book was published by Microcosm Publishing, a DIY and punk rock publishing house. Keep this in mind when coming across "offensive" terms and phrases. Quite frankly though, I found none. I did however find this book to be extensively useful and reader friendly.
The articles are all hand written in very neat penmanship, all the illustrations are hand drawn, and everything in the book has been tried out first by the author. There are three sections in the book Health and First Aid, Nontoxic Cleaning and Body Care, and Gardening. The first section includes directions on how to make tinctures and salves, a list of herbs that are antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antiviral, and also a list of which herbs and essential oils to avoid if pregnant. More useful than you know. The second section is a combination of replacements for bleach, Clorox and the like, and then recipes for herbal shampoos and whatever else you might call body care. The last section is pretty self explanatory. Gardening without choking up the ground with a jug of Wal-Mart bought chemicals. Chapters include composting, space managing and fertilizing.
I personally found the First Aid section most useful, and most tailored to my needs. This book is very informative and well worth the money. It doesn't take up a load of space (roughly 7 x 5 inches and half an inch thick, 125 pages), it goes over personal safety at the beginning of the book and includes a further reading section (more DIY punk rock goodness) at the back.

It isn't lofty or pompous, or some 100% organic and natural twerpy, skinny assed vegan kid preaching some rhetoric they heard in their college dorm. I think it is well written and friendly, there isn't any political commentary slipped in between instructions on how to turn crunchy dried things into medicinal liquid (which is more rare than you would believe). It's a good book if you are interested in an alternative way to keep yourself and your home healthy and clean.

This book is a little smaller than I expected but that's not a bad thing -- it's a portable size to keep handy when you need to look something up. It's got three (all handwritten & hand-drawn) sections, one on health/beauty, one for household cleaning, and one on gardening/composting. I found the gardening/composting section most helpful with all its detailed tips and really practical hints. Trellising, sprouting, and good garden-buddies to plant together or in rotation. I was really impressed with the depth of the information in this section.

I didn't get much out of the other two sections, but I'm already pretty into making my own cleaning supplies and don't keep around near as many ingredients as this book's recipes call for (so many different essential oils, for example). So it wasn't the make-me-a-better-housewife book I expected in that regard -- mostly just cream, spray, etc. recipes. But, if you don't already have your favorite recipes for, say, a window cleaner, or an ointment for a cut, you can get them here, and they look good too!

This book is full of interesting and helpful ideas. How to mix almost every household item you would ever need.
And, in the long run, it may be cheaper than buying these things. That is after you have made the first purchases of all of the herbs, essential oils and other things you will need to make these concoctions. But there is a part of the book dedicated to gardening (a very good section!) that explains how you can grow many of these things yourself. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in replacing the chemicals in their home with more natural ingredients. But read her warnings on allergies carefully!

This book is wonderful, it's packed with useful information as well as recipes. It's a great introduction to using herbs medicinally and could be understood by even the most basic of beginners. The recipes are all easy and well written, even if the ingredients aren't always readily available. A lot of the recipes are based on Castile Soap and Essential Oils or Oils and Essential Oils. Basically, if you don't have, or aren't willing to invest in what can be a lengthy list of Essential Oils, you won't be able to complete a lot of the recipes as stated. The layout is handwritten, and not always the easiest to skim. The only way to look things up is the table of contents (which I have found is not all inclusive), really this book needs to be read cover to cover.

You're probably wondering why I gave the book 5 stars after all that. The medicinal section of the book is wonderful and packed with information in a non-overwhelming way. She covers many common concerns and gives practical advice that most people could follow easily follow. I have found myself referring to this more than a large book of home remedies I have. There are wonderful tables that lay out which Essential Oils have what properties and what skin types they are recommended for. Overall, I love this book dearly, even if it's a little messy to look through sometimes. It's like talking to a friend when you read it, she really does a wonderful job of keeping it from feeling like 'research'.

This book has been a nice guide in helping us limit the toxic chemicals we use in and around our home. I purchased it mainly for house cleaner recipes but have also found the healthcare and hygiene recipes to be quite useful. In addition, there is a wonderful chapter that covers the how-to's of gardening. Great for someone interested in\or new to organic gardening. I enjoy the handwritten text....it gives a fun, simple, organic feel to this handly little book.

"Make Your Place" is way cool. I've already crafted a good number of the items in the book. It might also be beneficial to get a wild-crafting book, as stated by the author. Some of the items may be pricey to get - the dark bottles and essential oils. I used a lot of empty jars from my kitchen for most things, though. This is absolutely a good buy, and I'll always have this book on my shelf!