Home-Ec 101: A Book Review & Giveaway

*** This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for stopping by! ***

Don't you love a great book with which you can curl up and feel like the author is speaking directly to you? Well, Home-Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living by Heather Solos isn't really like that. It does have a fabulous conversational tone, which I love because I've actually met Heather and hung out with her on several occasions. But it's not a curl-up-and-enjoy book.

 This is a book that motivates me. Or sparks my obsessive-compulsive tendancies. Whichever.

There are four sections to the book, just like the website Home-Ec 101 that Heather founded in 2007. Clean It. Fix It. Cook It. Wash It. Everything that you should have learned when you were growing up, or did learn and forgot, is in this book.

Basic chemistry lessons like don't mix ammonia and bleach. (I've blogged about that!) How to remove stains and odors in your clothes. Basic kitchen utensils. Yeah, it really DOES have a name other than "thing-a-ma-jig." Tips for reusing or re-purposing instead of throwing away. Menu planning advice.

All with Heather's wit and humor.

This book makes a great home reference for every one, including newlyweds and recent college grads. Unless they LIKE living like a slob. (And some do!) You can buy the book at Amazon, and it's also available for Kindle.

My only criticism of the book Home-Ec 101 is that I couldn't sit down and enjoy a leisurely read. Every time I opened the book, it made me realize that I SHOULD be cleaning, or doing laundry, or fixing something instead. (Back to those obsessive-compulsive tendancies.)

In all seriousness, Heather's book is a must-have. And courtesy of F+W Media, one of my lucky readers will win their very own copy!  Here's how to enter:

MANDATORY ENTRY: Leave a comment telling me in which area you need the most help: Clean It, Fix It, Cook It, or Wash It.

Additional Entries:
1. Sign up for the Home-Ec 101 newsletter. (This newsletter is not an RSS feed but notification of author appearances, sales & future publications.) Leave a comment telling me that you signed up for the newsletter.

2. Become a fan of Home-Ec 101 on Facebook. Leave a comment telling me that you did.

3. Become a fan of this blog Not a DIY Life on Facebook. Leave a comment telling me that you did.

4. Tweet about the giveaway. Copy & paste the following: "I just entered to win my very own copy of @HomeEc101 at Not a DIY Life @notdiyheather http://bit.ly/jULOEB"
Leave a comment including the URL of your tweet. You can tweet once per day for additional entries.

Make sure your Twitter ID or e-mail is in each comment.

This giveaway is open until Saturday, May 7, 2011 at 9:00 am Eastern time and is open for everyone (US, Canada, UK, & beyond!). The winner will be contacted on Saturday, May 7, 2011 and will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.

Disclaimer: F+W Media provided this blogger with a free copy of Home-Ec 101 for the purposes of sharing my honest opinion. All opinions are my own. F+W Media is also providing an additional copy of Home-Ec 101 for one of my readers to enjoy.