Never Done begins by describing the household chores of nineteenth-century America: cooking at fireplaces and on cast-iron stoves, laundry done with boilers and flatirons, endless water-hauling and fire-tending, and so on. Strasser goes on to explain and explore how industrialization transformed the nature of women's work. Easing some tasks and eliminating others, new commercial processes inexorably altered women's daily lives and relationships—with each other and with those they served.

    The work of Edward S. Morse, a groundbreaking and imaginative inventor, academic, author and museum curator, this edition of Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings features an introduction by David and Michiko Young placing the book in its historical context and explaining its continued relevance.Containing over 300 detailed illustrations and revealing important historical and cultural sources, Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings is a time-tested resource for architects and landscape designers alike. Chapters include:House ConstructionCarpenters' Tools and AppliancesCity and Country HousesTearoomsPortable ScreensHousehold ShrinesVestibule and HallFlowersBridgesViews of Private GardensHouses of the Aino

    If you want to declutter and experience the freedom of living with less—but if you somehow never make real progress toward your goal—this book will teach you why and will empower and equip you to make lasting change.In The Truth About Clutter, you’ll find these truths (and more):• Clutter has been linked to anxiety and depression.• There’s a dark side to donating—and it can motivate you to live differently.• Many of us shop to escape our feelings.• Eventually someone will have to decide what to do with every item you own. (Don’t pass this burden on.)Once you understand and internalize the nine truths in The Truth About Clutter, you'll finally be ready to let go and live free.

    Whether it's to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace, or to find personal fulfillment, people are looking to develop their capacity for creative and innovative thinking in business and daily life. Many have turned to the growing literature of creativity to shed the shackles of conventionality and discover new ways of doing things. Now comes THE CREATIVITY CATALOG, a fresh and original take on the pursuit of innovation. Rather than start with the premise that creativity originates largely from within our minds, THE CREATIVITY CATALOG looks outward to the things we surround ourselves with in our home and work environments to uncover a trove of products deliberately designed to cultivate our mental faculties through hands-on experience. Among the products featured are furnishings, accessories, shelving, cookware, jewelry, and children's playthings. Pieces are attractively presented with 550 high-quality photographs and explanatory text, and supplemented by an introduction by author, educator and architect Donald Rattner on the history and future of interactive, touch-based design. Profiles of the designers and brands represented, and a list of further resources, round out this distinctive book.

    Discover not only the best ways to declutter and organize, but also how to create a positive growth mindset that will keep you motivated and solution-focused. Learn to plan for obstacles and stay resilient throughout the organizing process, all while moving through it with self-compassion and a newfound vision of what’s possible.   Included in this easy-to-read handbook are sections that discuss pertinent topics such as:  Setting Manageable GoalsSorting Through Your BelongingsCreating AssociationsManaging Your SpaceFinishing the Task!Defining Different Types of ClutterAnd more!  Using eight simple but powerful principles coupled with the science of positive psychology, the authors, founders of Organize Me! of NY, LLC, a New York-based organization consulting company, help you to declutter and organize effectively. With an empowering and non-judgmental approach, they demonstrate how organization (and disorganization) impacts our home, relationships, quality of life and overall wellbeing. With this guide, you will discover how each principle saves you time, money, space and energy, giving you more to spend on family and activities you love. There are many reasons why people become disorganized and have cluttered spaces. However, none of them have to stop you from getting your home, your office, or any other aspect of your life sorted out and headed back in the right direction. With these newfound skills, you’ll be empowered to go “beyond tidy” to create a home and life you love!

    You don't need a sock drawer that brings you joy or a kitchen from a design magazine; what you do need is to be organized enough to feel in control and serene. Organized Enough offers a ground–breaking, science–driven method for maintaining organization: it addresses not just the steps of decluttering but also of developing the habits to stay clutter–free. Amanda Sullivan shares the method that has brought great success to her clients—from celebrities to hoarders. With seven concepts to help you define your goals and seven essential habits to keep chaos and clutter at bay, you will learn to reframe how you think about your space, your stuff, and your life.

    We keep stacks of it on the kitchen counter, stash it in drawers, and store file cabinets full of documents that we never even look at. Studies show that fully 85 percent of the paper in our lives can be tossed--but which 85 percent? And how do we organize and manage the 15 percent that remains? With The Paper Solution, founder of Organize365 Lisa Woodruff delivers a proven, step-by-step guide for what to shred, what to save, and how to sort what's left behind. With her method, you'll learn:   •  What documents you must absolutely hold on to  •  Which papers you can dispose of today  •  How to ditch your bulky filing cabinets and make your vital documents accessible and portable And at the heart of it all is the Sunday Basket: a box that sits on your counter and corrals those stray bills, forms, coupons, and scraps into an easy-to-use paper-management system. The Sunday Basket will become your new weekly habit--one that leads to less paper, less stress, and more time to spend on the things (and people) that matter most.

    In this vibrant book, he shares forty small, cool spaces that will change your thinking forever. These apartments and houses demonstrate hundreds of inventive solutions for creating more space in your home, and for making it more comfortable. Leading us through entrances, living rooms, kitchens and dining rooms, bedrooms, home offices, and kids’ rooms, Apartment Therapy’s Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces is brimming with ingenious tips and ideas, such as: •   Shifting the sense of scale through contrasting colors•   Adding airiness by using transparent collections •   Utilizing the area under a loft bed for a kitchen and mini-bar •   Tucking an office with chic vintage doors into an unused bedroom corner  In each dwelling Maxwell points out what makes the layout work and what adds style. Most of the “therapy” involves minor tweaks that can be accomplished on a limited budget, such as dividing a room with sheer curtains, turning a door into a desk, or disguising electrical boxes with art displays. An extensive resource guide, including Maxwell’s favorite websites for buying desks, open storage solutions, and much more, will help you turn even the tiniest residence into a place you are always happy to come home to.

    Clear out your emotional clutter for lasting decluttering of your home in this follow-up to the Wall Street Journal bestseller What Your Clutter Is Trying to Tell You.What causes the clutter in your home? Too little time and not enough space are common enough culprits, but are they actually the root sources?In the follow-up to her Wall Street Journal best-selling book What Your Clutter Is Trying to Tell You, decluttering expert, lifestyle designer, and coach Kerri Richardson helps you to: - Address limiting beliefs and behaviors that can manifest into specific types of clutter, - Clear out your emotional obstacles in order to reclaim your personal space, and - Manifest your newfound mental clarity into physical reality through practical, actionable exercises.From tackling perfectionism to procrastination to toxic relationships, Richardson's straightforward advice will help you to finally clear those stubborn stacks and piles, providing a clean start for you to transform both your home and your life.

    

    For beginner and experienced makers, Lily Fulop's guide to mending and upcycling is your colorful companion to ditching fast fashion and extending the lifecycle of all your favorite clothes.Fulop's vibrant step-by-step illustrations make mending easier than every, demystifying techniques and displaying unique ways to show off your personality. And when your mending possibilities run out, she has simple yet striking solutions to repurpose fabric, including braided rugs, crocheted pillows, and more. Say hello to sustainable inspiration.

       With Justina’s expert guidance, learn how to rearrange, paint, prop, and plant your way to a home that’s fresh and inspiring. Uncover your “spirit environment” and learn how to use color and scent to enhance mood, productivity, and relaxation. Revel in Justina’s encouraging advice (“you got this!”), and easily and affordably turn any dwelling into a personal sanctuary. Packed with hundreds of ideas for bringing positive energy to your home, the book features exercises and activities for thinking about rooms in new ways.

    Although some people regard fetish fashion as exploitative and misogynistic, others interpret it as a positive Amazonian statement--couture Catwoman. But the connection between fashion and fetishism goes far beyond a few couture collections. For the past thirty years, the iconography of sexual fetishism has been increasingly assimilated into popular culture. Before Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, there was Mrs. Peel, heroine of the 1960s television show "The Avengers," who wore a black leather catsuit modeled on a real fetish costume. Street styles like punk and the gay "leatherman" look also testify to the influence of fetishism.The concept of fetishism has recently assumed a growing importance in critical thinking about the cultural construction of sexuality. Yet until now no scholar with an in-depth knowledge of fashion history has studied the actual clothing fetishes themselves. Nor has there been a serious exploration of the historical relationship between fashion and fetishism, although erotic styles have changed significantly and "sexual chic" has become increasingly conspicuous.Cultural historian Valerie Steele has devoted much of her career to the study of the relationship between clothing and sexuality, and is uniquely qualified to write this book. Marshalling a dazzling array of evidence from pornography, psychology, and history, as well as interviews with individuals involved in sexual fetishism, sadomasochism, and cross-dressing, Steele illuminates the complex relationship between appearance and identity. Based on years of research, her book Fetish: Fashion, Sex & Power explains how a paradigm shift in attitudes toward sex and gender has given rise to the phenomenon of fetish fashion."Steele is to fetish dressing what Anne Rice is to vampires," writes Christa Worthington of Elle magazine, "the intellectual interpreter of...wishes beyond our ken." According to Steele, fetishism shows how human sexuality is never just a matter of doing what comes naturally; fantasy always plays an important role. Steele provides provocative answers to such questions as: Why is black regarded as the sexiest color? Is fetishizing the norm for males? Does fetish fashion reflect a fear of AIDS? And why do so many people love shoes?

    It's full of physical pleasures -- the look of favorite clothes restored to freshness and beauty, the tactile satisfaction of crisp linens in beautifully folded stacks. Good laundering preserves things you love and protects your pocket book. It doesn't take much time or effort. What it takes is knowledge, and Laundry is the comprehensive, entertaining, and inspiring new book on the art of laundering.Culled from the bestselling Home Comforts, with revised and updated information and a new introduction, Laundry is an indispensable guide to caring for all the cloth in one's home: from kitchen rags to bedding, hand-washables, and baby clothes to vintage linens. Mendelson offers detailed guidance on when to disregard labels, removing stains, making environmentally informed choices, sewing, and storing clothing and fabrics. A much-needed antidote to the standard-issue how-to manual, Laundry celebrates the satisfactions of ironing, folding, and caring for clothes and linens. Both pragmatic and eloquent, Mendelson provides beginning and veteran homemakers with a seamless combination of reliable instruction, time-tested advice, and fascinating personal narrative.As a farm girl in Pennsylvania, Mendelson -- who is a philosopher, lawyer, and professor, as well as a homemaker, wife, and mother -- received a classic domestic education from her grandmothers, aunts, and mother. Laundry combines the best of the traditional lore they taught her with the latest in technical and scientific information. Writing with infectious love and respect for her subject, Mendelson is sure to instill in readers a newfound affection and appreciation for the art of laundering.

    Even after living in Tokyo for decades and running two ramen shops that earned him international renown, he remained a gaijin.Fortunately, being a lifelong outsider has made Orkin a more curious, open, and studious chef. In The Gaijin Cookbook, he condenses his experiences into approachable recipes for every occasion, including weeknights with picky kids, boozy weekends, and celebrations. Everyday dishes like Pork and Miso-Ginger Stew, Stir-Fried Udon, and Japanese Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce are what keep the Orkin family connected to Japan. For more festive dinners, he suggests a Temaki Party, where guests assemble their own sushi from cooked and fresh fillings. And recipes for Bagels with Shiso Gravlax and Tofu Coney Island (fried tofu with mushroom chili) reveal the eclectic spirit of Ivan's cooking.