There are two approaches to living in an old house. You can buy it and spend the next twelve months scrambling around to remedy its most obvious defects. You will either spend a bundle or fall off a ladder, sprain both knees, and not be able to play tennis for a year. The other approach is to sneak up on problems. Get used to being easygoing about repairs. What is in clear need of attention won’t necessarily get any worse by next week or next month. You may have to change the floats in your toilet tanks (unless you’re lucky enough to have an outhouse), but beyond that, relaxation is the key to enjoyment. No need to worry about what the neighbors think, either. They all know that houses are overpriced these days. They will not expect you to have any money left to pay for lumber, paint, or shingles. If things get so bad, however, that you can’t even nap comfortably in the afternoon without feeling guilty, Joan Webber has some good ideas about how to do things the easy way. Everything from roofs and chimneys to mice in the cellar. Her revolutionary Theory of Selective Neglect may bring more comfort to the owners of old houses than a five-foot shelf of home-repair volumes. It is all here in this slim little book—with drawings, in case you’re so busy relaxing you’re not up to reading. Mrs. Webber has had vast experience with old houses and presently lives in a truly remarkable specimen in Lexington, Massachusetts.