Avoiding Everyday Disasters: Stop Murdering Your Houseplants, reheat leftovers without ruining them, don't owe your arm and leg in credit card debt, and dodge 500 other common pitfalls of adulting

Laura Lee

Dec 2017 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Learning from failure is an effective—and entertaining—way to make information stick. This fun and engaging guide showcases tons of common screw-ups and how to avoid them.

Do you know how to tie your shoe? Or do you just think you do but you’ve actually been screwing it up for decades like most people have?

This witty, light book takes a fresh spin on all the mistakes we make everyday that end up costing us big in our wallets, our health, our homes, and beyond. Topics covered are Yourself (appearance, skills, all things you), Your Home, Your Cooking, Your Money, Your Relationships & Family, and Your Health. This perfect combination of humor and wisdom entertains readers as they learn how to make their lives better by avoiding and remedying common screw-ups.

Things we all mess up:

*Using chopsticks as spears because you just can’t figure them out (Yourself)

*Throwing Frisbees behind you, sucking at horseshoes, and other game/sporting fouls (Yourself)

*Getting your sofa stuck on moving day (Your Home)

*Gluing your fingers together (Your Home)

*Turning your brown sugar into a brick (Your Cooking)

*Breaking the yolk every time you flip an egg (Your Cooking)

*Your taxes. Argh. (Your Money)

*Overdrawing your account and paying a fee even though you have overdraft protection (Your Money)

*Cracking someone’s ribs in the Heimlich maneuver (Your Health)

*Inability to make a Band-Aid stick or get a Band-Aid off without tearing out your hair (Your Health)

*Forgetting your loved ones’ birthdays year after year (Your Relationships & Family)

*Embarrassing yourself on a date because you don’t understand the French menu or the 90-page wine list (Your Relationships & Family)

The ways in which we flub and flounder are infinite, and this book taps into that boundless fountain of foul ups in a way that will entertain and enlighten readers of all kinds.

Ratings and reviews

Easier said

About the author

Laura Lee is the author of fourteen books including fiction, children's literature, and poetry. Her nonfiction work covers a wide range of topics including how weather has changed the course of history (Blame it on the Rain), the science behind annoying things (The Pocket Encyclopedia of Aggravation), avoiding everyday dangers (100 Most Dangerous Things in Everyday Life. The San Francisco Chronicle said, "Lee's dry, humorous tone makes her a charming companion. . . . She has a penchant for wordplay that is irresistible."

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