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We were heartened to read that the newly nesting Maggie Gyllenhaal (who, arguably, has dethroned fellow Brooklynite Michelle Williams as the hottest hipster homemaker) needed to call for backup to bone up on her cleaning skills.

Maggie told New York magazine that she's been reading "Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House," saying, "Honestly, I grew up with a mom who was a writer and her mom was a doctor, and I wasn't handed down a lot of housekeeping tips."

We'll toast to that.

So we popped over to Amazon to check out the Cheryl Mendelson tome to see what it can teach us about taming our dustbunnies. An editorial review says "Comforts" offers "smarter, faster and more creative ways of housekeeping that make it less of a chore and more of an art."

Hmm. There are no fewer than fifteen chapters devoted to the fine art of doing laundry (a fact anyone who's accidentally shrunk a beloved sweater down to Barbie-size might appreciate.) However, chapters with titles like "Understanding Your Castle" and "Peaceful Coexistence With Microbes" are more likely to drive us to drink.

Then again, if 2010 inspires you to break out the Lemon Pledge in search of a new lease on life, here are a few of Mendelson's gems we dug up that may make you a better -- or at least savvier -- domestic goddess.

1. Cake Mix Is a Thoroughly Modern Ruse: Convenience foods sometimes offer spurious inconvenience. The first cake mixes offered on the market were formulated so that the cook needed to do nothing more than add water (and bake the thing), but many buyers refused to use them because doing so made them feel useless. The manufacturers then reformulated the mixes to require the addition of an egg and milk just so that the cook could feel useful and creative.

2. Wine Decanters Are Not Compulsory: Contrary to what Crate and Barrel would have us believe, "Decanting -- pouring the wine out of its bottle into a decanter or pitcher -- hastens the breathing process by exposing a larger surface area to the air. It is really necessary only when sediment has collected or when you wish to hasten breathing; otherwise it is perfectly all right to pour wine from its bottle.

3. Thread Counts Are a Pseudoscience: Do not be deceived into thinking that the higher the thread count, the better the sheet. This is an oversimplified and mistaken idea that is frequently purveyed by merchandisers and fashion writers. It may lead you into paying far more money for a sheet that will not last as long, feel as good, or launder as well as one with a lower thread count. My favorite type of sheet for ordinary home use is a resin-free, all-combed-cotton percale with a thread count of 200 to 250 and a care label that says merely "machine wash."

4. "Lukewarm" Is Your Laundry's Archenemy: For the best laundering results, but not necessarily the most energy-efficient results, choose the hottest wash temperature the fabrics will bear without shrinking, fading or suffering other damage. The hotter the wash temperature, the better any laundry or soap or detergent will work. Warm or cool water, rather than hot, however, keeps many colors brighter.

5. And, Finally, a Little Domestic-Goddess Gospel: If there is a care label that says "dry-clean only," obey it.










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