The Ultimate Guide to Cleanliness! (The Cleaning Bible - Kim Woodburn)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	The Cleaning Bible - Kim Woodburn
Date:	30/07/09 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Realistic, fun and simple advice in how to clean your home, your life, even your hands!

Disadvantages: Some confusing sections, different prices.

Received as a gift many moons ago when I officially left home, this is the ideal book I take everywhere with me whenever I have to stay in rented properties. This isn't just a Guidebook in its clearest sense; this is the book that sits with my well-thumbed copy of Delia Smith cookery and that it has been written for people like me who love to clean it is much more than a cleaning guide. I've since purchased two copies for friends in the last couple of years.


"The Cleaning Bible: Kim and Aggie's Complete Guide to Modern Household Management," isn't all about the stories and glories of cleaning although there are some wonderful short examples of real life situations both these cleaning Gurus have survived. Those who are trying to save money instead of polluting their home and families with chemicals will adore the idea of this book not only showing you ways of what to do in terms of home insurance but ensuring you have a clean home along the way. Short of recording the entire TV series or trying to get the DVD's the tips here are worth their weight in gold if you are prepared to use home cleaning methods or not afraid to use real elbow grease in the making. Originally my book cost £16-99, published by Michael Joseph/Penguin and apart from Woodburn and MacKenzie the book is co-written with Jerry Foulkes. Current prices for the paper back on Amazon are now £6-99!


I have the first hardback edition and there have been paperback copies released in later years. With constant flicking it has nearly rendered the hard spine useless. It goes without saying that whilst it is a reference book of 320 pages there is more to this book than meets the eye although it is not the most practical based and those looking for wipe clean pages better think again!


As the two battle in daily life with the very famous television series, "How Clean Is Your House?" Kim Woodburn and Aggie Mackenzie take turns in offering advice and time honoured methods with many aspects of modern household management. The book begins with a very personal introduction, paragraph by paragraph per writer and the shortness of each is welcome as each writer takes on their own view and projects it as time honoured advice to the reader. As such you won't find the instant tips of cleaning baking soda and lemon juice quite straight away; the two constituents that are famous in the Channel 4 series but rather an outward view of cleaning. This stems from cleaning out your home right down to your personal life whilst very helpful advice about hiring decorators to renting and letting your home is mentioned and even how to host a dinner party, which for a bloke is one of the first things to learn as a bachelor!


There are five main sections to this book starting with issues that most people face when it comes to clearing out their personal space; "Conquer The Clutter," and a befitting title at that, tells it all in how to manage your life without mess. Certainly as a reference book, this section deals with coping with clutter in many different aspects from bereavement to normal clutter and then some! The "daily ten minute tidy," "the weekly tidy," and "the Ongoing Tidy," are amongst the many simple to read bullet pointed lists that appear endlessly in this book if you can't get past all the text script all the while blessed by some previous past tales inserted to keep momentum amongst the tips and advice. Of course latterly some of the lists are very much dictorial in their approach but again as a reference book you can either take on the advice, or some of it or totally ignore it at your own peril and if you have witnessed any of the programs the cleaning gurus have done, you'll be able to imagine Kim waggling a finger at you in disgust!


"Safety and Hygiene," tells it like it is, highlighting home safety, maintenance, coping with household pests and other very handy sections including a very handy section for the budding scientists in all of us grabbing onto the tails of Aggie's white coat! "The Chemistry of Cleaning," illustrates the use of alkaline and acidic cleaning agents in the home as well as showing potions to making up your own home grown cleaning potions if the shop bought products are too expensive or toxic for you.


Then the broader tips of cleaning begin to flow as soon as you have learnt how to make your own potions. Don't think that all of this advice is geared to inanimate subjects though; there's even a section dedicated to how to wash your hands!


The next section of the book deals with "Room by room," charting all the rooms in a home that need cleaned, followed by "General Maintenance," "Household Maintenance," and lastly the "Appendix" section which has a few bonus inserts of info with removing stains from fabrics, how to relax and stockists of the products/goods/services that have been noted and outlined throughout this book.


In short for anyone who has never lived away from home, or simply needs a complete change in his or her household life, Kim and Aggie's book here is well worth purchasing. What I love about this book is that for the most part, the tips and advice given with most of the broad subjects on offer take less than five minutes to do. Students who like to be organized and tidy will immediately identify well with this book! Personally there isn't one section in this book I dislike; the best advice I've read concerns writing a home journal for example that allows you to remember curtain measurements, carpet sizes and so forth. I never really considered that before I read this book for example, and it is certainly not something my parents ever advised me to do.


Whilst the introductory paragraphs of experience are welcome and some of the pages contain delightful hand drawn cartoons to add a little fun into the experience, there are some sections within the index that can be confusing. As a reference book, the whole concept is spot on but finding a solution in a jiffy can be time consuming if you're the kind of buyer who will buy the book and never read it unless you reach for it in dire emergencies. I will say this now and will not say it again; although this is a reference book at heart it does not have linked pages, nor does it have eaves that fold out where you can easily flip and clip the sections you want thus it is not another "Readers Digest: What To Do In An Emergency," in its layout or worded content. It has one single purple ribbon that will allow you to mark your favourite chapter however!


Indeed the more you read about the personal stories and escapades that MacKenzie and Woodburn have got up to, the more I'm inclined to take a little rest in between the mammoth tips and lists of things to do! Perhaps the injection of light humour has been added psychologically to remember the tips instead of constant referencing and in some ways I find it does work to remember certain tips and advice offered.


The writing style is comparatively different between the two hosts and it is almost as if Kim is with you whilst reading, not just in a personal style but with her utmost old country style charm of "deary," and "lovey," expressions against the scientific and stern outlook held by Aggie. The two of them couldn't be any different from their highly trained cleaning approach; certainly if they were the same, I don't think the book would be that interesting on what essentially is a guide. In terms of comparison to many manuals I've read from my mum's books and books handed down through the years like the dreaded door stop that qualifies as the Good Housekeeping Guide, Kim and Aggie's book here serves up the same amount of detail in what appears to be half the size and in half the time. Gone are scientific jargon and titles designed to confuse, replaced by some very excellent and well-explained reasons made to appeal to everyone and in a format that anyone could easily read and understand. As the finishing paragraph states in the introduction:


"...When you tackle a stain, scratch or sticky mark, it'll be just as though we're there advising you..." This statement couldn't be any truer! The only difference is Kim and Aggie won't be turning up in a Nissan 4x4 and banging on the door demanding a clean house; that is entirely up to you but at least you won't be on you own anymore with this book! Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2009


The Cleaning Bible: Kim and Aggie's Complete Guide to Modern Household Management
Printed by Penguin/Michael Joseph ltd
First published 2006
ISBN: 0-718-14906-8

www.penguin.com

Summary: This was a gift to me and its one of the best used books in my kitchen!