Dad's Own Housekeeping Book: 137 Bright Ideas

By David Bowers

Just because you're born with a "Y" chromosome doesn't excuse you from cleaning the bathroom, especially in this day and age when time's at a premium and partners have to be, well, partners. To help men step up to the plate (and wash it) is DAD'S OWN HOUSEKEEPING BOOK, the book of everything your mother never taught you about taking care of a house. Written by a real guy, in a real guy's voice and with a direct guy-to-guy point of view, DAD'S OWN HOUSEKEEPING BOOK--in the spirit of Dad's Own Cookbook , with 270,000 copies in print--takes even the most Swiffer-challenged dad and shows him that housekeeping is no different from yard work, that if you can organize your shop you can organize a kitchen, and if you can load a trunk you can load a dishwasher. From laundry room to attic storage, from the "Five- Minute Attack Plan: Bathroom" to the all-out assault of spring cleaning (it really does make a big difference), from mold to stains to picking-up-after-the-kids-without-driving-yourself-crazy, this is the comprehensive crash course. Here's how to do the laundry without dulling colors. Stock the pantry to make weekday meals infinitely easier. How to get mildew off the shower tiles. How to make a bed--in one minute. How to be best friends with baking soda--just one of the many tips the author gives for saving money. And what you can do in thirty minutes to make your house completely presentable for your mother-in-law. Sorry, no more excuses.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761136673
• ISBN13: 9780761136675
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 0.6" x 4.5"

Customer Reviews

For dads who do housework.

The idea of a housekeeping book written just for dads may seem unnecessary or even condescending, yet David Bowers has written an extremely useful guide that speaks directly to dad sensibilities. Bowers' main idea is that men - especially fathers - want to take a "no frills" approach to housekeeping, doing what's absolutely necessary in the quickest, easiest way possible. He says it best right in the first chapter of the book: "Spotless perfection can't be achieved in a house where kids live, and even if it can, it's not worth it. When your children grow up, they'll remember with fondness that you read to them, helped them with their math homework, and had time to play with them, rather that the beds were made with hospital corners or the laundry folded with military precision." Bowers devotes almost an entire introductory chapter, "A Man Around the House: Getting Psyched Up", to negotiating expectations and managing responsibilities between men and their spouses. It has helpful sidebars such as What We Want Women to Know About Our Housekeeping including, for example, "We don't expect you to do things our way. Don't expect us to do things the way you do". In addition, each individual chapter also includes additional advice on how to handle "the changing of the guard" for various household chores. This is useful advice for any household no matter what your family looks like, and one of the features that distinguishes this book from the many other housekeeping books out there. The book is broken down into chapters which cover every aspect of keeping house, from cooking meals to cleaning to doing laundry. Bowers gives advice on how to manage each room at three general cleaning levels: Lick-and-a-Promise Clean, Average-Guy Clean, and Felix-Unger Clean. There are also additional chapters devoted to spaces such as the home office and the attic and basement. While the many helpful tricks and tips (on such topics as stain removal and the many uses of baking soda) alone are worth the price of this book, it is in speaking directly to fathers and our ways of thinking that Bowers really shines. Dad's Own Housekeeping Book shows that a father can run a home without having to turn into Mr. Mom.

Yes, Dad's Do Housework Too

The Orlando Sentinel tipped me off to this guide. They described it as, "a funny but practical guide for men on vacuuming, cooking, cleaning, spot-removal, decluttering and more." This would make a great gift for the single guys you know or any stay-at-home dads. It ranks jobs by how important they are and how frequently they should be tackled. It aims to streamline housekeeping so it fits with the male style of management. The author points out that women learn housekeeping gradually as they grow up, but men might need a crash course (like this book). He gives many chores in five minute or ten minute clean ups, so it fits with the minimalist approach that suits most men. They want a system.