In 'How To Be A Domestic Goddess', Nigella Lawson shows that that there can be more pleasure in turning out a tray of muffins or baking a spongecake than in almost any other kind of cooking - and that it's not that difficult to do.

Do you know how to sew and knit, can you fix a zipper or hem trousers? Can you arrive home fresh from the board meeting to organise dinner for eight with an hour’s notice, make your man’s favourite cookies while doing the ironing? Can you look pristine and calm even when the soufflé has sunk, the dog across the road is chewing your washing, your man is flirting with the younger woman next door, and your party guests have arrived an hour early? Thought no. Well, don’t despair, here is all the information a wife needs to become a doyen of domesticity and perform these vital tasks with precision and effortless finesse. How to be a Domestic Goddess is a handbook to becoming the new superwoman. The well-selected, straightforward lessons presented here will smooth the transition, even for the sloppiest novice housewife to domestic goddess status.

Here are Mrs Ross's handy tips on every aspect of household management: skincare, fashion and beauty, children, dealing with blackened ovenware*, leftovers** and freezing***. And here is useful advice on how to get a 'lifestyle' if you suspect you don't have a proper one. Some people have fabulous bodies and accomplished kids and amazing parenting skills and ideal jobs and harmonious marital relationships. This book is not for them. It is for the rest of us: we, the 99 per cent of the population who are not so blessed and cannot decide whether to laugh or cry. Answer: laugh. *soak, soak, soak, then throw away when nobody is looking. **decant carefully into Tupperware, place in fridge, leave for a week then throw out when nobody is looking. ***leave for a decade, then throw out when nobody is looking.

Ever thought of cleaning your toilet with nothing but baking soda and vinegar? Making fly spray out of black tea? Or painting your nails with henna? Writer, broadcaster, wife, mum and grandma Wendyl Nissen knows just how difficult it is to juggle family and career, while saving the planet and living within your means. After lots of research and trial and error, Wendyl has compiled this user-friendly guide to saving time and money without losing your sense of style - or your sense of humour. Domestic Goddess on a Budgetincludes: tried and true recipes for environmentally friendly cleaning products tips on how to de-clutter, reduce waste and save money on your food bill recipes for money-saving natural beauty products how to slow down, stop being perfect and find the right work/life balance for you Is there a domestic goddess lurking in you?