Q: I recently got married and moved into a new apartment. This is the first time I am running my own household and I don’t seem to have a single domestic goddess bone in my body. Any advice on how to get started?

A: I can think of no better way to help you get started than to steer you in the direction of the formidable and fascinating Martha Stewart, the American lifestyle guru who has authored a whole arsenal of how-to manuals detailing delicious and nutritious meals, the perfect cupcake and so on.

For your purposes, I recommend the very heavy volume titled Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook: The Essential Guide To Caring For Everything In Your Home ($75.34 from Books Kinokuniya).

True to her meticulous reputation, this tome is chock-full of tips on how to maintain an organised household and takes you through all you need to know room by room.

Another useful guide is Home Comforts: The Art And Science Of Keeping House ($34.07, from Books Kinokuniya), a critically acclaimed housekeeping manual by American Cheryl Mendelson (a former philosophy professor, no less).

This covers everything from how to dust to how to organise your laundry routine. Good luck, and may your new home be a well-run one.

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times.

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