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Summary: You too, can have a fulfilling domestic life!
Review: The scorn of domesticity that I detect in several reviews of this book dates back to Ancient Greece, at which place and time the home and all things associated with it were considered to be much less important than public matters--not of any concern to people who "have a life". Why? Because that was the realm of the woman. So, there is an inherent sexism in thinking that work traditionally done by women is, by nature, lesser. Rather than scorn what has traditionally been "woman's work", why not elevate such projects to their rightful place of importance? Mendelson is an educated professional with an understanding and passion for the domestic side of life. HOME COMFORTS is written in the spirit of a true academic. It is comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and clearly and engagingly written. Brava!
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Summary: great REFERENCE book
Review: Personally, I don't understand all the fiercely negative reviews about this book, unless the reviewers are simply lashing out because they suddenly feel inadequate and personally attacked after reading this book. Please, don't take this book literally! I cannot, nor do I have any inkling, to do half of what the author suggests -- airing out your bed for 30 minutes everyday? Thorough spring and fall cleanings where EVERY ITEM is taken out of drawers and cupboards? No way! However, it is nice to know that this book is available on my shelf if I ever want to do such a thing. It's a great general reference book. I don't read it as a guide for day-to-day living -- rather, it a tool I can use to find out whether I really can wash my goose-down pillows, the best way to clean granite countertops and stone floors, which fabrics don't actually need to be dry-cleaned (those dry clean labels don't mean everything has to be taken to the cleaners; in fact, some of my dry-clean-only clothes are *much* cleaner now that I've just thrown them in the wash), etc. Yes, I would love to live in a home that was spotless and where the sheets were freshly washed and ironed every single day, but I can't and I don't let this book make me feel as if I should be a slave to housecleaning in order to live properly.
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Summary: I really like the IDEA of this book...
Review: but in practice it's way too detailed, to the point of tedium. It's a wonderful reference, but a terrible read. If I followed only 10% of what this woman has to say about keeping a house, I'd still have no time left for anything else. I wanted it to be friendlier than it is. Disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Home Comforts
Review: After reading the reviews on this book I felt I had to comment. I was very insulted by one writers comment who said something about having a wounderfull full life, and how this(taking home making this seriously) was for some one who does not have one. What is more importand than a pleasent home! If we have children its were they come home. I hope my children look forward to coming home. No one will if its not being taken care of. We dont need to feel we must do all of the things that are written about in this book that was not the intent. I have a very full life, my children and my home are the best part of my life. Keeping a home was at one time an art somthing to be proud of and not an unimportand job for people with nothing better to do. We say our family is importand maybe we should act like we belive it. I really dont belive our children will grow up someday and say Mom you really spent to much time at home. My children can benifit from my company as I am keeping my home. In fact it is a great way to be together.
Rating: 
Summary: A good reference book -- if you are a maid
Review: Sorry, guys, but I cannot agree with those who like this book. I'm passing mine along to a local library. If you have a husband, children, and a career, and, together, you ALL manage to keep your house in decent shape, then forget this book and get on with your life. If I want crisply ironed sheets and dress shirts, I send them to the laundry, for heaven's sake. Of all the do-it-yourself projects for which I'd like to find time, keeping house is not even on the list. This book probably is a good reference book, which is why mine is going to our library, but if you are among the people today who are trying to simplify their lives in order to find time and space for what is really important (i.e. people, activities, life), then forget this book. When you get to your final days, will you want to look back and say, "Oh, yes, I dusted well and ironed all my kids' sheets," or, "Didn't we all have good times together? Didn't I always make time for those I loved? Didn't I make time to prepare wonderful meals? Didn't we have FUN?"
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Summary: What you get out of it depends on what you read into it
Review: I bought this book without knowing anything about it. As a thirtysomething single man who just bought his first house, I've been looking for the practical information that I never got growing up (more my fault than mom's), and after idly flipping through this book in the store, I was convinced that I'd found it. The amount of venom contained in many of the reviews here was frankly astonishing to me, and for a moment I wondered if I'd wandered onto the wrong page by mistake. Home Comforts is not "the fascists guide to spotless houses at the expense of friends, family, career, and joy". Indeed, the author repeatedly stresses that her methods and schedules are suggestions, nothing more, and goes to great lengths to explain why each task should be done in the first place, and how to balance the effort against the benefits. I found nothing in it to suggest that I, living alone in my brand-new house, should be forced into hours of weekly drudgery in order to meet an irrational white-glove standard; what I found was a set of clear explanations that would allow me to make informed choices on how to set my own standards and keep up with them in a reasonable and realistic way. Attempting to read it from cover to cover in one sitting is indeed overwhelming, and I can see why it left some people feeling inadequate or with the false impression that the author was looking down her nose at the readers. I didn't know most of those things either, and much of what I thought I knew was wrong. Some aspects that others find off-putting added to the charm for me. Who but a lawyer would, when faced with the complications of laundry care labels, reach immediately for the federal regulations governing them? The book gets a bit chatty, but if I didn't know what sort of person the author was, how would I know what motivated her advice in a particular area? I don't think I'd reached page seven before I was wondering "if there were any more at home like her", and not because I wanted to hire one as a full-time housekeeper; Mendelson is a "rational romantic", mixing equal parts of enthusiasm and sensibility into her writing. As for omissions, I'm hard-pressed to find any significant ones. Doesn't say anything about doing your own plumbing or electrical work? Why should it? The information it does supply is geared to living in a home, not repairing or renovating one. For those who choose to do more in that area, she makes a point of recommending other sources. Personally, the only thing I've noticed so far that it doesn't say anything specific about is getting stains out of concrete floors, something I'm willing to research on my own, since she's saved me the trouble for pretty much every other kind of floor and wall covering I'm likely to encounter. Oh, and I bought Mom a copy. Hopefully she'll take it the right way... -j
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Summary: Just call me Suzy
Review: So maybe I am Suzy homemaker? Many of my friends children don't clean their own rooms or make their beds. They don't understand WHY beds are made. They have no chores. They do not know how to hold a broom. When my friends children leave home the phone rings off the wall because they don't know how to wash their clothes, cook, set up their kitchen,(not that they are going to eat there), or get beer out of the carpet! This book is a FABULOUS TEACHING tool! Yes, it can teach them how to iron their own shirts.It puts domestic skills where they belong. In the art department. I am homeschooling my teenagers this year and this book will be used for home economics ! Poor kids right ? Well when my husband was in the hospital I sent my 16 year old to do the grocery shopping What a great book ! A great investment for parents! Oh and keep it handy for yourself because you can save money too.
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Summary: I AGREE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO LIKE AND DISLIKE THIS BOOK...
Review: I READ ABOUT HALF OF THIS BOOK STRAIGHT THRU BUT AROUND THE POINT THE AUTHOR STARTED DISCUSSING FABRIC WEAVES ( IN EXCRUIATING DETAIL) MY EYES STARTED TO GLAZE OVER. FROM THAT POINT ON I SKIPPED AROUND FROM SUBJECT TO SUBJECT. I AGREE WITH THE REVIEWERS WHO SAY THIS IS A WOMAN WITH POSSIBLY TO MUCH TIME ON HER HANDS...WHO MAKES MARTHA STEWART LOOK DOWNRIGHT "CASUAL" COMPARED TO HER. I AGREE THAT MOST WOMAN COLDNT POSSIBLY DO ( OR EVEN WANT TO DO ) A FRACTION OF THE THINGS IN THIS BOOK. ON THE OTHER HAND...THIS BOOK SHOULD BE LOOKED AT LIKE ANYOTHER 'REFERENCE" BOOK (IE DICTIONARY ENCYCLOPEDIA) MUCH OF THE INFORMATION WILL BE USED RARELY BUT HAVING IT, AND HAVING IT ALL IN ONE PLACE IS INVALUABLE. I LEARNED MANY THINGS OF IMPORTANCE WITH REGARDS TO FOOD SAFTY THAT WERE VERY HELPFUL... AND EVEN THOUGH NOT ALL OF THE INFORMATION ON FABRIC WEAVES,DUSTING OR ORDER TO TACKLE CLEANING JOBS MAY NOT BE CURRENTLY RELEVENT I HAVE NO DOUBT I WILL FIND IT USEFUL IN THE FUTURE. TO ALL THE CRITICS....LIGHTEN UP! I DON'T PLAN TO USE EVERY TIP IN THIS BOOK ANY MORE THAN I PLAN TO USE EVERY WORD IN A DICTIONARY... THAR DOESNT MEAN I AM NOT PLEASED AS PUNCH TO HAVE THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE WHEN I NEED IT!
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Summary: Excellent gift book for type-A personalities
Review: I have purchased five copies of this great book, one for myself and four as gifts. My four friends are all type-A personalities, stressed out, successful working women with families. None are, including myself, any better than average housekeepers. As a group, none of us have time to do all the detail housework described in this book. But we certainly like to know the correct methods, and would tackle our housekeeping with the same zeal as our careers if we had the time and energy. I love this book. It includes tasks and techniques my working mother never taught me, and her working mother never taught her. Reading it, and accomplishing a task or two, makes me feel good.
Rating: 
Summary: SO glad I'm not alone
Review: I feel emboldened by some recent customer reviews that were less than favorable. I was disappointed in and frustrated by this book and thought I was the only person who felt that way. There is nothing comforting about this "home comforts" book, which is all about tedium and elbow grease. My family would rather have time with me, and if our home isn't ready for inspection every day, so be it. To be honest, the book made me angry and a more than a little stressed. If you're in training to be a Merry Maid, fine, but if you are a real person with a rich and wonderful life, then give your house a once-over every week or so and get on with your life. Just forget this book, because it won't leave you time for a life.
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