Includes bibliographical references and index.

"This is a book primarily about housework and childcare, and its omission from most conversations about the future of work, and in particular in discussions about a 'post-work' future. It encompasses a history of the evolution of work within the home, of cultural standards around cleanliness, hygiene and parenting, and of single-family dwellings and their various short-lived utopian alternatives. It draws from both the actual history of work within the home and from the abandoned ideas of anti-housework visionaries of the twentieth century to sketch out a path towards real freedom and free time for the future"--,Provided by publisher.