It is intended that women be happy and successful in their homemaking. Being a homemaker is a divine appointment and is a woman’s greatest calling. It should be rich in the rewards of joy, satisfaction and accomplishment. All too often, however, women feel confused, distraught or bored with their role as homemakers. They frequently dread each day, live for the time when their children will be raised so they can be released from it all, or they escape from their responsibilities to their home and family and return to the business world. Other women do enjoy their homemaking activities but find their work consumes most of their day and there is little time for other interests. Many women are wonderful homemakers and managers but are eager for new ideas and skills to make their homemaking even more effective and satisfying. To all of these women, this book offers a practical guide to happier homemaking. It recalls to mind the significance of homemaking and gives their attitude a lift. When the suggestions concerning order and efficiency, methods and approaches are applied, coupled with the workable plan which systematizes the routine duties, women will find their interest in homemaking greatly increasing and that there will be time to get their work done and enjoy creative activities, family fun and personal development. This is not just a book on how to keep house; it offers a way of life which will bring joy and satisfaction to the homemaker and rich, happy experiences to every family member.

In recent years, social and economic pressures have combined to affect the traditional role of the homemaker. With emphasis being placed on the world of work as opposed to the life of home, many people now struggle to fulfil several functions simultaneously. This increasingly busy and hectic climate has led to an apparent downgrading of the work of the homemaker. Taking a spiritual perspective inspired by the work of Rudolf Steiner, Veronika van Duin suggests that homemaking needs to be undertaken consciously as an honoured and valued task - as nothing less than a 'social art'. If we are to enjoy happy and contented family and home lives, the role of homemaker ought to be regarded highly. Without claiming that there is a blueprint for perfect homemaking, the author offers principles and observations based on a study of the seven 'life processes' and how they work on us. She addresses the significance of rhythm, relationships, artistic environment, caring, self development, and much more besides in this invaluable book.

A classic bestselling resource for every household, Home Comforts helps you manage everyday chores, find creative solutions to domestic dilemmas, and enhance the experience of life at home. “Home Comforts is to the house what Joy of Cooking is to food.” —USA TODAY Home Comforts is an engaging and comprehensive book about housekeeping. It is a lively and readable guide for both beginners and experts in all the domestic arts. From keeping surfaces free of germs, watering plants, removing stains, folding a fitted sheet, cleaning china, tuning a piano, lighting a fire, setting the dining room table—this guide covers everything that people might want to do for themselves in their homes. Further topics include: making up a bed with hospital corners, expert recommendations for safe food storage, reading care labels (and sometimes carefully disregarding them), keeping your home free of dust mites and other allergens, this is a practical, good-humored, philosophical guidebook to the art and science of household management.

Home decorating will never be the same. Close your curtains! Throw away your summery linens! Forget about those white eyelet pillow covers! And for Goth's sake, buy some black lights! Voltaire is here to help you with your home decorating dilemmas, guide you through the hardware stores and decorating centers (which are so difficult for Goths to navigate), and lay it all out on the line about which shade of black goes with which shade of black. Who knows?! One day soon he might have his own decorating line at a discount store. In this world of pastels and plaids, it's so hard for Goths to find anything aesthetically appealing. You go in search of Edward Gorey and wind up with an eyeful of Eddie Bauer. With Voltaire's Paint It Black you can turn the unbearably mundane into the delightfully macabre with little more than a touch of creativity and a can of black spray paint.

Organized around the author's experiences, this book sensitively addresses stay-at-home mothers' needs for encouragement, recognition & mentorship, & explores what a Christ-centered home is like.

Lavishly illustrated with over 300 photographs, Making Your House a Home includes chapters on Chaos to Calm, Making the Most of What You've Got, and Be a More Considered Shopper, plus expert advice on how to avoid needless stress and expense.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-294) and index.