Customer Reviews

Yankee Magazine's Practical Problem Solver: 1,001 Ingenious Solutions to Everyday Dilemmas

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Earl Proulux is famous for his fascinating and useful column in Yankee Magazine. Don't have time to search over hundreds of past issues to try to solve a problem? This book is a compilation of helpful advice from the master of ingenious answers. It is divided into appropriate sections such as cleaning, animal pests, cooking, household repairs and many others. Each section can be a great read by itself but it is also useful as a reference since it has a thorough index to quickly locate the solution to any problem. Whether it is getting rid of an odor, cleaning an unusual stain or fixing a creaking floorboard, there are simple solutions here for almost any problem. Some will leave you wondering who tried it first and why (like rubbing table salt and a piece aluminum flatware in your hand to remove onion and garlic odors from your hands), but the end result is the same, it works. Get the book and keep it someplace where you can grab it in a hurry, you never know when you will need it.

that were at one time common knowledge. Having read Proulx's column in Yankee magazine for years, it's exciting to find a compilation of his wit and wisdom. Proulx has an amazing and encyclopedic range of knowledge of the repair or reconditioning of almost anything, and also provides information on where to acquire the necessary ingredients and pitfalls to avoid when performing the task. He lends his voice of experience to the reader and many times, after reading about a commonsensical but not generally used method described by Proulx, I am amazed and left wondering, "how in the world did he know that?" This book fills a gap left due to the shortage of craftsmen today -- Yankee ingenuity at its best!