Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House
by Cheryl Mendelson

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Book Summary Information

• Detailed information for cleaning your home.

• Woolite Dry Cleaner's Secret Dry Cleaning Cloths, 14-Count Box

Book Reviews of Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House

Book Review: I have owned this book for a year and I refer to it often!
Summary: 5 Stars

(...)I love "Home Comforts." This book is organized into a very logical and easy to read format. It covers in detail every aspect of planning for, running, and organizing a home. It does not matter if you are renting an apartment, own a house, live in a mobile home, studio apartment or on a boat, you will find something you can use in this book. I think "Home Comforts" is an ideal gift for people who are setting up house on their own for the first time, are newly married, or for someone (like me) who just really needed a guide and some effort to get their house in order. Housekeeping is a very personal thing, indeed, and you will find that Ms. Mendelson is very good at making suggestions on how to fit daily, weekly, and monthly routines into your own schedule without sounding bossy. I have also found that this book really inspired me to make the most out of my surroundings. Even on my limited budget, turning my house into a home has become my favorite ongoing project since I've owned this book.

With that said, I want you to know that "Home Comforts" is not just a "housecleaning how-to" manual. It is indeed full of very useful information on all aspects of maintaining a home, from the day-to-day tasks which we all do, such as laundry, cooking, dishes and neatening. However, the book also contains indepth information on planning meals, marketing, fiber care and stain removal, the care of natural and man-made materials, and a detailed discourse on traditional home skills like basic home sewing and caring for fine china and silver.

(...)

Several chapters of this book deal with the jobs that nobody wants to do: unclogging a stopped up drain or toilet, how to clean moldy ceilings, and how to deal with the unwelcome infestation of lice, nits or fleas in the home and in your child's bedding. The chapter on stain removal has been a blessing to me, as I'm an avid connoisseur of red wine, but have chosen to decorate my home in with cream-colored furniture and light colored carpeting!

I have referred to chapter 6 of this book time and time again, and have found it not only interesting but endlessly useful. The chapter is titled "Serving Meals" and covers how to serve food graciously, in a style that would have Miss Manners beaming appreciatively. This chapter has directly influenced me in my selection of a proper set of china, silver service and crystal, and also covers the mysterious art of proper table settings. As a person who likes to hold dinner parties, I have also found this chapter imminently useful as a guide on how to serve meals with elegance and grace.

There are two very important sections in "Home Comforts" which contain invaluable knowledge: the sections titled "Safe shelter" and "Formalities" discuss being prepared for anything. Chapters on home safety, fire prevention, electrical safety measures, home records (insurance papers and wills), and valuable papers and jewelry all inspired me to make sure I had everything in order. The sections on domestic employment laws and regulations and state labor laws might keep you out of trouble later on if you have a large household that requires additional hands to keep it running smoothly.

One of the last sections in "Home Comforts," titled "Notes," is a really good reference section in which Ms. Mendelson gives further information and other sources that she recommends to use for all subjects dealing with the home.

There isn't enough space here to write about all the useful subjects contained in this book. You'll just have to buy it for yourself. I have given a rating of 5 stars, but I strongly feel that it deserves more. Anyone who is aspiring to make a proper home should have a copy. This book unashamedly celebrates the art and effort that goes into making a home in a time when these efforts are sometimes looked down upon. I proudly display this book on my coffee table, and as a single working woman of 26 years of age, I sometimes get odd looks from my contemporaries when they see it. But I'm not ashamed to be a budding homemaker - I feel there should be no stigma attached to someone who is working hard to make a comfortable place for themselves in the world.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about making a home. I deeply feel that a "house" is just a building, but a "home" is someplace that you feel nourished, protected and loved. Even if you live alone, you can make a home for yourself. This book details in many ways the special touches and routines which you can use to start the traditions that will make any house, apartment, mobile home or small studio a home. I feel this book is worth every penny, and every time I refer to it in my own home, its value increases to me. - Theresa Amelia Sweeny

Summary of Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House

Home Comforts is something new. For the first time in nearly a century, a sole author has written a comprehensive book about housekeeping. This is not a dry how-to manual, nor a collection of odd tips and hints, a cleaning book, a history book, or an arid encyclopedia compiled by a committee or an institute. Home Comforts is a readable explanation for both beginners and experts of all the domestic arts -- choosing fabrics, keeping the piano in tune, caring for books, making a good fire in the fireplace and avoiding chimney fires, ironing and folding, setting up a good reading light, keeping surfaces free of food pathogens, and everything else that modern people might want to do for themselves in their homes. But this reliable and thorough book on the practicalities of housekeeping is also an argument for the importance of private life and the comforts offered by housekeeping.

Cheryl Mendelson is a philosopher, lawyer, sometime professor, and a homemaker, wife, and mother. Home Comforts is based on her domestic education, which she acquired while growing up on a farm in the hills of Greene County, in southwestern Pennsylvania, from her grandmothers, aunts, and mother. Learning from the distinct domestic styles of her native Appalachian relatives and her Italian immigrant relatives, she appreciated early on how important domestic customs are to a sense of comfort and identity in life. She writes out of love and respect for her subject, and hopes to inspire others to develop the affection and respect for home life and housework she was fortunate to have learned.

Mendelson addresses the meanings as well as the methods of housekeeping with a keen sense of the history and values involved. The result is a warm, good-humored, engagingly written book with a message and a point of view, one that is overflowing with useful reflections and information. The clarity, breadth, and depth of the information collected here are unparalleled. You can read Home Comforts for thoughtful entertainment or use its ample index to help you find the answers to practical domestic questions. There is nothing quite like it.

Among this book's unique features:

· A skeptical discussion of the excessive use of disinfectants in the home. · How to iron a dress shirt and how to fold sheets. · How to make up a bed with hospital corners. · How to do all basic sewing stitches. · How to choose proper sizes for sheets, tablecloths, and other household linens. · How to set the table for informal and formal meals. · Expert recommendations for safe food storage. · The most exhaustive and reliable information on fabrics, textile fibers, and their laundering, drying, and other care that exists for nonprofessionals. · A thorough explanation of care labels and why and how you should often (carefully) disregard them. · Housekeeping guidelines for people with pets or with allergies. · What to do about dust mites. · How to clean and care for wood, china and crystal, jewelry, ceramic tile, metals, and more. · Guides to stain and spot removal. · Extensive recommendations for improving home safety. · A summary of laws applicable to the home, including privacy, accident liability, contracts, and domestic employees.·

· 200 Elegant, Clear Drawings ·

Mendelson, a homemaker, lawyer, and mother, learned about housekeeping from an early age from her grandmothers, one Appalachian, the other Italian. The two grandmothers taught her that although different ways of keeping house can be appropriate, there are generally smarter, faster, and more creative ways of housekeeping that make it less of a chore and more of an art. In a practical, authoritative tone, Mendelson discusses the ins and outs of homemaking, such as washing dishes, recommended cleaning methods for various surfaces, housekeeping for those with pets or allergies, and emergency preparedness and safety procedures.

Mendelson's well-researched book includes meticulous sections on food (for example, which foods belong in the fridge versus the pantry, food storage times, picking the freshest fruits and vegetables, and keeping your kitchen and food sanitary) as well as laundry (caring for various fabrics, how to read--and read between the lines of--clothing care labels, and removing stains). Mendelson covers a lot of ground, and as she herself points out, readers shouldn't feel required to do everything mentioned in the book--simply pick the activities that seem appropriate for your particular home. This is a comprehensive reference book that should serve homemakers well and induce a greater appreciation for the effort and specialized knowledge that go into keeping house. --Kris Law

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