Homemaking with Babs: Tips and Tricks for Making a House a Home

by Barbara Costello

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the beloved author of Every Day with Babs, comes Babs’ life-tested advice and tricks for setting up, cleaning, and maintaining an organized, happy, and healthy home.

Everyone’s favorite grandma is back with a comprehensive guide to caring for the home, whether you live in a house or apartment. Through their decades of experience as homeowners, Babs and her husband—aka Mr. Babs—have figured out the most efficient way to manage a home with ease. From daily routines to seasonal cleaning, organizing, and home maintenance, Babs shares her innovative methods and family traditions that make homemaking simple and enjoyable.

Perfect for renters and homeowners alike, Homemaking with Babs also includes DIY solutions for natural cleaning and pest control, making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to create a peaceful and well-maintained home. With more than 150 full-color photographs, this book offers advice and tips

Clean in 15: Practical routines for morning and nighttime that you can do in no time, along with daily, weekly, and monthly reminders to keep the home running smoothly.Seasonal cleaning and Detailed checklists and tips for spring, summer, fall, and winter, including specific tasks for each area of the home.Home Guidance on maintaining home systems, planning for repairs, and creating a home maintenance fund.Natural DIY recipes for natural cleaners, pest deterrents, and seasonal simmer pots to keep the home fresh and healthy.Get everyone Tips for getting everyone in the household involved in homemaking tasks, from kids to adults.
With more than 100 easy home hacks, practical tips, and seasonal checklists to help readers manage their homes with ease, Homemaking with Babs makes managing the home feel, well, manageable!

Genres: Nonfiction, Cooking, Cookbooks, Design

272 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2026

Reviews

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll take Babs over Martha Stewart any day (no offense Martha Stewart fans). This book has beautiful photos and tips that work for regular families. While reading though, you can't help but notice that there are many suggested cleaning and organizing rhythms that may get ignored (all the time!) It will either inspire you to try new things or may feel frustrating. Either way, lots of good content in this book

[Mary Kate Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

“My wish for you is that you come to see yourself as the incredible person you are, and your home as the lovely world where you belong….don’t compare yourself to the perfect homes and people you see online. Your home is the one that matters, and you are the person your loved ones need in their lives right now. I love these words from Mother Teresa: ‘Do small things with great love.’ That’s what homemaking is - so keep doing all the little things with all the love you’ve got, because love is our legacy.” - page 263

I love this so much! Not only is it a gorgeous coffee table style book but it’s also so helpful with natural recipes and very simply methods and suggestions for keeping a clean, warm, inviting and cozy home. Plus Babs is a fellow Catholic so of course I love her even more.

[Hope Labutis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be great as a wedding shower gift with some cleaning supplies in a basket. Might be my new go to.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a lovely soul and an even lovelier book.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has so many great tips and I can personally attest that her Coffee Mug Cleaner on page 151 performs miracles on grimy coffee cups. And her laundry symbols chart on page 93 finally solves the mystery of what all those damn symbols on clothes means. I will buy anything Babs writes.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a physician’s desk reference for the astute house manager. Great practical guide full of useful tips, tricks, recipes, homemade cleaners, and checklists.

[Jen Osborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nesting got me bad this week. Nice to see a cleaning plan and tips all in one place - I’ll take my favorite ideas and leave the rest. Beautiful illustrations as well.

[Liv · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many great recipes and organizations tips. I’ve been following babs on Instagram for years and it was really cool to see all of her life advice compiled into one book. We have been following the methods she teaches and I’ve found it’s been so much easier to keep the house clean! Her natural mosquito repellent recipe was also a life safe during August!

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would be esp helpful if I was new to housecleaning and such. Natural and homemade cleaning product recipes. I don't really have as much time to do deep cleaning as she suggests, and aspirational of this book can be stressful.

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twenty-something me could have really benefitted from this book. It’s full of practicality, wisdom and anyone can do it type of advise.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Babs! There isn’t anything life changing in this book (for me, at least thanks to my mom and Martha Stewart) but I can see how it would be really helpful for someone who gets overwhelmed with house work. It would make a nice present for a newly married couple.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comforting and warm home making resource.

[Aleesia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for Babs and I loved this ❤️

[Julie Trapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone’s favorite grandma is back with a comprehensive guide to caring for the home, whether you live in a house or apartment. Through their decades of experience as homeowners, Babs and her husband—aka Mr. Babs—have figured out the most efficient way to manage a home with ease. From daily routines to seasonal cleaning, organizing, and home maintenance, Babs shares her innovative methods and family traditions that make homemaking simple and enjoyable. Perfect for renters and homeowners alike, Homemaking with Babs also includes DIY solutions for natural cleaning and pest control, making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to create a peaceful and well-maintained home. With more than 150 full-color photographs, this book offers advice and tips. [amazon synopsis]

Well organized with many tips and hints. I like her "recipes" for things to simmer on the stove to make the home smell good.

[Valerie Reid · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Barbara Costello, better known as “Babs” on social media, has compiled a huge amount of valuable information in a beautiful coffee table book. It includes everything from everyday habits to keep your home tidy, information about how to clean virtually everything, seasonal lists of things to do around the house, and an extensive chapter on home maintenance and repair. She has compiled ‘recipes’ for natural cleaners, including things like baking soda, rubbing alcohol, white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide.

Earlier in her career she was a preschool teacher, and all of her organizational skills can be seen in the way that this book is arranged, cross-referenced, and indexed! There are plenty of pictures of her home, her grandchildren, and her husband, “Mr. Babs.” There are take-aways in this book for everyone, at every stage of their lives, and I highly recommend it!

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.

[Taylor Cantwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Babs! This reminded me to be appreciative that I have a beautiful home to care for. Even more it made me remember to be thankful that I have a husband and dog to clean up after. Lots of great tips and tricks that I can’t wait to implement.

“My home is my foundation. It’s where I live out the daily routines that keep me going and bring me peace. No matter where life takes you-the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful-it feels good to come back home.”

[Jenna Hetmansperger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Babs! This book is so full of practical tips of all kinds. I especially appreciated the last chapter that had lots of things young adults might not know or think about, but her and her husband wanted to pass down their experience and be "honorary grandparents" to help us out.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photos, excellent tips. There are several recipes in here for natural cleaning products, and the tea bombs are excellent. I hoped for a few more things like that in here, but this is a perfect gift for a new home owner.

[Hannah Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a coffee table book, but it is made to be read! I loved all the tips and wisdom and have been recommending it to all my friends. I honestly can’t say enough good things about it. I love Babs. :’)

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous book. I checked it out from the library, but definitely worth the money to purchase and I may do so. Lots of great tips, recipes, and ideas. Easy to follow and implement without overwhelming oneself.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written book by Babs, so many great ideas and recipes.

[Esther Ereneta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I <3 Babs.

[Susan White-Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to read, look at the pictures, some useful tips too

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Babs