Down & Dirty

It took a book entitled My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag . . . and Other Things You Can’t Ask Martha to get us excited about cleaning.

Described as the hipster guide to cleaning house, Jolie Kerr’s housekeeping handbook goes beyond washing the kitchen floor (which is included regardless) to sanitizing a kitchen sponge (wet and place it in the microwave on high for a minute), cleaning your eyeliner sharpener in the dishwasher (bet it’s never been scrubbed!) and using hairspray to get pen stains out of fabric and suede. The book also lives up to its title in covering more awkward cleaning situations, like disinfecting your, err, “toys,” and getting bong water out of the rug—you know, the kinds of things you just can’t turn to Martha (or your housekeeper) about.

Gross title, good advice. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag … And Other Things You Can’t Ask Martha by Jolie Kerr, $12.27 on Amazon.ca