Shameless Shortcuts: 1,027 Tips and Techniques That Help You Save Time, Save Money, and Save Work Every Day!

by Fern Marshall Bradley (Editor)

Ingenious ways to save precious minutes and hours on daily tasks and household routines
Short on time but long on chores? If your housework is driving you crazy, you need to get shameless. Shameless Shortcuts, that is. This clever book gives you the secrets you need to do the job you want--while saving time, money, and effort.

In Shameless Shortcuts you will
o The top 10 shortcuts for the 5 worst time-wasters
o Strategic ways to use email to save time
o 5 simple tax return shortcuts that save you time--and money
o Fast fixes for clogged toilets, blocked drains, and faulty faucets
o Gift ideas that take 2 minutes

The editors of Yankee magazine have collected the most ingenious, most effective ideas for snipping minutes from the activities of daily life. Time-pressured readers will appreciate the no-nonsense every shortcut is explained in 200 words or less. Just 2 minutes of reading translates into practical knowledge that can free time immediately, whether it's a cooking tip that saves 5 minutes per meal prepared, a shopping shortcut that shears 10 minutes a trip when running errands, or a daily yard-scouting ritual that reduces yard work by up to 2 hours a week. After a single 30-minute session reading Shameless Shortcuts, you can save as much as 30 minutes a day--every day! And that time is yours to use--any way you like!

Genres: Nonfiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Sarah]

Solutions to problems I don’t have. A lot of the tips use disposable plastic though to be fair a lot of the tips involve up cycling.

[Sam]

I kind of felt like this was just an updated version of the Tightwad's Gazette from the '90s. Not that it was bad, but just not quite what I was expecting. Also, some of their tips could actually be kind of dangerous. Instead of buying your kid a six-pack of water and refilling them, buy a reusable water bottle in the same size for a buck at your local Dollar Tree or WalMart! Reusing plastic water bottles has actually been linked to some cases of poisoning as an element of the plastic (...I forget what, I'm sorry) leeches into the water. My BFF has actually yelled at me repeatedly for doing it and so I am now fully stocked up on reusable bottles. I'm sure others have noticed some not-so-great tips in here as well, but that was one that really popped out at me while I was perusing.

[Kelly Knapp]

This is a great book to give to your son or daughter before they leave for college or get their own place. The ideas and hints in this book can help shave time and money off house work leaving more time for study and more money for meals. New mothers will find this book helpful as well. For those not into creating their own cleaners, the book makes suggestions of a few excellent products on the market. In addition to cleaning, the book gives hints on everyday shortcuts to save time in every area of yor life.

[Denise]

I read this book in less than 1 day. It does have over 1,000 tips, but most of them, I already do. In the whole book, I marked 11 tips worth noting for the future. It is easy to go through as the tips are by topic and titled, so easy to read or move on. If it had more new ideas to offer, I would have given it a better rating. Unless your home and life is a disorganized mess, it's OK to skip this book.

[Jenny]

This is a very useful, helpful book!!!!! I found things throughout the book that I can use to make life simpler from erasing stains on leather furniture to ways to save water around the house to homemade gifts and crafts....you name it and it is PROBABLY in there!

5 stars to this one!!

[Andrea]

Complete waste of time, and resources. The main answer was using disposable versions, this is not an answer with today's changing world. The other items were all half way and needed more to make them truly time saving. Pass, nothing good or new.

[Nicole]

Some of the tips are helpful, but 1,027 of them is a lot to read through. Trying to read cover to cover is too dry, not to mention overwhelming. It's better to look up a specific area you'd like to improve in, rather than trying to absorb all of the information at once.

[Ashley]

an expansion on the daily "dear heloise"

[Debra]

I was a little disappointed. I suppose that at my age, having lived frugally with time and money, there is very little that I see as new. I did glean some interesting tidbits.

[J Crossley]

There are over 1,000 shortcuts presented in this book.

[Robin]

Good tips to save you time and money--and sanity!