Dimensions
183 x 238 x 48mm
This is a lucid, well-written and entertaining explanation of all the domestic arts for beginners and experts - from choosing fabric, keeping the piano in tune, caring for books and making a good fire in the fireplace to ironing and folding, setting up a reading light, keeping surfaces free of bacteria and everything else that modern people might want to do for themselves in their homes.
Not only does this reliable and thorough book focus on the practicalities of housekeeping, it also argues for the importance of private life and the comforts offered by good housekeeping. 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-humoured, engagingly written book with a message and a point of view, one that is overflowing with useful reflections and information.
Features:
- How to devise a daily, weekly and monthly cleaning routine and why
- A comprehensive guide to stain and spot removal
- How to clean and care for wood, china and crystal, jewellery, ceramic tiles, metals and more
- How to make up a bed with hospital corners
- How to choose the proper sizes for sheets, tablecloths and other household linens
- How to iron and fold a dress shirt, plus how to pack
- How to do all the basic sewing stitches
- How to set the table for informal and formal meals
- Expert recommendations for safe food storage
- Housekeeping guidelines for people with pets or with allergies
- What to do about dust mites
