Synopses & Reviews
Hundreds of Ideas for Healthy, Happy and Fabulously Frugal HomekeepingBursting with ways to downshift, simplify, preserve resources, and honor the planet, Lemons and Lavender will give you tools to reclaim a purer, tastier, healthier and less expensive way of life. Sharp shares her radical common sense and revolutionary "freeconomics" approach to budgeting in this step-by-step guide to the good life.
Creative ideas inside Lemons and Lavender:
and#149; Garden-to-table recipes for every meal
and#149; Eco-deco ideas for furnishing your home
and#149; Recipes for nontoxic cleaners, house paint and more
and#149; Start a seed sharing garden with your neighbors
and#149; Easy-to-make gifts with handcrafted gift wrap
and#149; Grow your own cup of delicious herbal tea
and#149; Learn to use organic sea salts, skin scrubs and detox bath therapies
Review
"There are seven chapters crammed full of ideas to fix things, grow things, and more. Each time I thought I had discovered a favorite chapter I read a little further and discovered another gem."
Just Like June
Review
"Enthusiastic, friendly, and confidant that everyone can live better, Sharp has written a great guidebook to a greener life."
and#151;Ianna Works, Anna Jedrziewski
"Lemons and Lavender is an inspiring and instructive guide to living the handmade life by consuming less and creating more."
and#151;Eco Child's Play
"There is a bounty of information crammed into all the pages of this eco guide to better homekeeping that you will spend hours reading highlighting and taking notes."
and#151;Grandma Bonnie's Closet
"There is EVERYTHING in this book from basic plumbing tips, circuit box know how, repairing holes in your walls, remote control repair to what to do when you drop your cell phone in the water."
and#151;My Journey with Candida
Lemons and Lavender hails itself as and#147;the eco guide to better homekeeping.and#8221; However, Billee Sharp takes this topic way beyond what I know as homekeeping. She begins the book by addressing the need to do something you love rather than working just to earn a paycheck. She shares her individual journey to find meaning in her work and challenges the reader to do the same. Sharp also covers taking control of your budget by knowing what your financial goals are and being thrifty by finding things that are free, selling what you donand#8217;t use, and bartering the rest. Sharp believes in an organic lifestyle and writes extensively about a healthy pantry and detoxifying your diet. She suggests medicinal cures that already exist in your kitchen cabinet, as well as creating non-toxic cleaners with natural household items. This book also recommends fixing things yourself and gives remedies for plugged drains, holes in walls and even wet cell phones! Other chapters cover growing a garden, recipes and homemade holidays. Frankly there is not much that Billee Sharp did not cover in her 260+ page book. Sharp does offer good ideas, a wealth of resources and an interesting story."
and#150;Portland Book Review
"Simplifying your life is as easy as simplifying your home. When our homes are clean and organized, we tend to feel better; more relaxed. When you have an amazing book like Lemons and Lavender, homekeeping is simple and easy. In this book Lemons and Lavender, you will find a ton of ways to save moneyusing creative ideas to clean your house and create gifts for others. Savingmoney and being eco-friendly go hand in hand. Whoever said that you had to have a cleaner for every single different thing your cleaning? YOU donand#8217;t! There IS a better way than spending so much money on cleaning products."
and#151;Made.By.Jess
"There are a ton of GREAT tips in this book."
and#151;Mi Saving Mama
"The book has a lot of suggestions on cheap ways to clean house, simple eco friendly cleaners that donand#8217;t cost much, easy recipes, and lots of advice."
and#151;Simple Wyrdings
"Lemons and Lavender would make a nice addition to any gift that you might give to a newly married couple. Not only will they enjoy the money saving, environmentally friendly tips this book offers, but also the recipes and words of wisdom from the author. I would recommend this book to anyone who is new to a green lifestyle, is looking to create less waste and reduce the negative impact that their life has on the environment. Overall the book was an entertaining and interesting. I believe I will reference the tips and recipes included in Lemons and Lavender many times over the years!"
and#151;Sweepstakes Love Blog
"There are seven chapters crammed full of ideas to fix things, grow things, and more. Each time I thought I had discovered a favorite chapter I read a little further and discovered another gem."
and#151;Just Like June
"This book is bursting with ways to downshift, simplify, preserve resources and honor the planet, and will give you tools to reclaim a purer, tastier, healthier and less expensive way of life."
and#151;Arizona Networking News
Synopsis
Author Billee Sharp shares her freecycling, budget-savvy, barter-better wisdom in this step-by-step handbook to revolutionizing your spending habits and reclaiming your quality of life.
Lemons and Lavenderis an inspiring and instructive guide to living the handmade life by consuming less and creating more. Practical and profound, this handy how-to covers every area of life and offers easy-to-do tips, recipes, and advice on saving money and the planet. You and your family can live more joyfully and far more creatively, all on a dime. The best things in life are free-- or if they aren't, you can have a lot of fun making them.
Learn how to:
- Ditch the lawn and raise organic veggies
- Cook healthy meals for pennies
- Eco-clean your house with lemons and lavender
- Cure minor maladies from the kitchen cabinet
- Join a seed sharing community garden
- Save big dollars with small repairs
- Organize a free market
- Put the "happy" back in your holidays
"Billee Sharp describes herself as ' a committed daydreamer.' But if self-reliance, independence, and the saving of oodles of cash is the result, then the president should appoint a daydreaming czar. I know whom I'd nominate." -Anneli Rufus, from the Introduction
"My copy of It is filled with highlights, post-its, and dog-eared pages marking the cool things I want to do. Even a life-long cheapskate like me learned a lot of ways to live fabulously frugal!" -Lara Starr, co-author of The Frugal Foodie Cookbook
Synopsis
Author Billee Sharp shares her freecycling, budget-savvy, barter-better wisdom in this step-by-step handbook for revolutionizing spending habits and reclaiming quality of life.
Lemons and Lavender is an inspiring and instructive guide to living the handmade life by consuming less and creating more. Practical and profound, this handy how-to covers every area of life and offers easy-to-do tips, recipes, and advice for saving money and the planet. Learn how to ditch your lawn and raise organic vegetables, cook healthy meals for pennies, cure minor maladies from the kitchen cabinet, save big dollars with small repairs, and eco-clean your house with lemons and lavender. With this guide, families can live more joyfully and far more creatively, all on a dime.
About the Author
Billee Sharp was born and raised in a little village in Dorset, England, where she spent a lot of time at the garden gate waving to passersby. She studied anthropology and ancient history at University College London. Billee went on to style herself a career as a contemporary art curator and gallerist. Working with Damien Hirst and others, she opened Building One, a huge gallery in an old biscuit factory, and mounted a series of group shows which contributed to the emergence of the YBAs. Quickly disenchanted with the art world, she turned her interest to the underground house music scene flourishing in London. Not long afterward, Billee moved to California. In 1993, she took up residence in San Francisco and started both a family and record label with Scotsman Jonah Sharp, a pioneering electronic musician. The birthplace of counterculture has been a wellspring of inspiration for her life and her creative writing.