As someone who works part-time and writes in most other times, I struggle to have a clean house. I know I’m not alone. How to Keep House While Drowning was written by a mother who was suffering from COVID lockdown and postpartum depression after the birth of her second child, whose husband worked full-time, seven days a week. She, too, struggled, until she found a new way of looking at the process. Her secret? (Well, one of many…) The cleanliness or functionality of your house is not a moral issue. There is no reason to feel guilty or ashamed if you can’t get all of it done and still have time to rest.
Instead of cleanliness, she focuses on functionality, on making your living space work for you, not the other way ‘round. Most of her little suggestions and tips/tricks were mind-blowing for me simply because I’d not thought of them that way. Of course, a simple shift of perspective is only the beginning; it takes practical action, too, for a shift toward real-life functionality in the home. Things like using baskets to organize, putting laundry and waste baskets in every room, and cleaning a room in categories – prioritizing for health and safety first. For example, pick up trash first, dirty dishes second, since those can carry bacteria, germs, etc. Then pick up trip hazards and carry on from there. So many great ideas can be found in this little book!
But this book applies to more than just cleaning house. It’s about doing the best you can do in a particular circumstance, a rough day, or even a specific moment. It’s about giving yourself permission to not feel guilty if your efforts don’t measure up to absolute perfection in every little detail, in every area of your own personal world. Since finishing How to Keep House, I’ve found myself applying KC’s attitudes and permissions in other areas of my life too—like my schedule—and it’s really helped.
In addition, Author KC Davis worked to make the book accessible for readers with reading challenges. Fonts and formatting style were selected specifically because they help to facilitate reading for those with ADHD, dyslexia, and more. Chapters are short, simple, easy to follow, and to-the-point. (Do note that the ebook, which is the format I purchased, doesn’t hold to that font style, but that is almost impossible to do for an e-reader device.)
How to Keep House While Drowning is billed as a book for anyone feeling overwhelmed in their life. I know it’s definitely a worthwhile resource to have on hand. Even after reading it once, you may want to skim back through it to refresh your memory on different ideas and suggestions. Enjoyable, kind, useful, and ingenious. Definitely recommended.
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Popular Highlights in this book
Although it looks like a lot, there are actually only five things in any room: (1) trash, (2) dishes, (3) laundry, (4) things that have a place and are not in their place, and (5) things that do not have a place.Highlighted by 6,350 Kindle readers- When I viewed getting my life together as a way for trying to atone for the sin of falling apart, I stayed stuck in a shame-fueled cycle of performance, perfectionism, and failure.Highlighted by 3,455 Kindle readers
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Just got this and I already feel a difference
I just got this book today and I'm about a quarter into it and I feel the difference in this compared to other self help advice books. I struggle with ADHD and OCD and while many might think OCD would make me a clean freak it does not. Instead it just burdens me with immense shame and guilt that make completing tasks like basic cleaning very difficult. This book is very good in how it's written to make it easy for neurodivergent minds to understand. Simple phrasing and even using of sans font, bold for the most important parts, and small sections that get to the point which I really appreciate since it's very hard with ADHD to keep my attention and understand what is being said otherwise. This book is not a strict guide on how you should clean, instead it's more about how you can rethink cleaning and manage what you can when you can. So often do self help guides neglect those of us who are struggling the most but this one doesn't. If you're looking for a guide for how to have an immaculate and "perfect" home this isn't it. This is for those of us who are genuinely struggling with the things that come easy to others. The principals in this book can be broadened to other parts of our lives and discovering what we actually need versus what others say we should be achieving. I am very thankful for all the understanding and kindness in this book.
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- Kindle-KundeReviewed in Germany on February 28, 2025
The book everyone needs in their life
- D. CumingReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 22, 2023
An absolute life saver
