I'm generally not a self-help book type of person but Housework Blues: A Survival Guide really intrigued me. I may not hate housework, but I do suffer from the housework blues from time to time.
Do you ever stop yourself, as you crouch down to pick up yet another sock/toy/crayon off the floor and think "I haven't made this mess, why am I cleaning it up?". Or have you ever faced that huge pile of laundry/dishes in the sink and thought, "I'm too tired and unmotivated to do anything about this"? Do you ever think, "this is a waste of my brain and talents"? If you answered yes to any of these, you would do well to read this book.
There are things in this book that I already embrace (picking battles, for one) but there was still plenty of inspiration, simple suggestions and other good, no-nonsense advice that make this book worth reading and re-reading. This isn't a housework manual. You won't find many cleaning tips but you will find what you need to cope with the repetition, the injustice, the futility and all the other mental and physical challenges of housework.
My laundry, by the way: washed and folded. My house: neat and tidy. The book: read cover to cover. Me? Relaxed, refreshed and ready for more housework. How did I do it? The secret's in the book.
A few of my close friends and family have often called me OCD. I can't help it, I just LOVE coming home to a clean house! But as the years have passed, I am no longer living alone in a pristine apartment with my one basset hound and pudgey kitty; I have since acquired a husband, two additional "fur kids" a full bred boxer and pit/boxer mix, two snakes (unfortunately my kitty lost her battle to cancer) and currently helping a good friend out by letting him live with us until he can get back on his feet (children are further down the list of life but this book will be my bible then as well!). So keeping a clean house these days has become a bit of a challenge, to say the least . Especially, while I am in the pursuit of a more than full time career; the last thing I want to do after working a twelve hour day is walk into the house and see empty cans of soda on the coffee table, a sink full of dishes and what appears to be a nice layer of "carpet" upon the floor our all tile house (three dogs tend to shed A LOT!). Oh, the frustrations, the resentment and the thoughts of smothering my spouse with a pillow in the middle of the night! Kidding!...mostly. ;-) Soon the thought of cleaning (something I actually did enjoy! I'm weird...I know) angered me, overwhelmed me and soon started to depress me! Where do I start? Why should I bother it is only going to last for five minutes, if I am lucky? Why does no one else seem to notice the messes I do? By no means is this book a "how to clean" type of book, it is defiantly a "how to DEAL with cleaning" type of book. As I was reading through the book, not only does the author's quirky sense of humor make it a fun read, but it helps you pinpoint the issues that are holding you back. The issues that fester on your anger and resentment towards "the others"; the one's whom you truly do love and would do anything in the world for. These days, the house is cleaned almost on a daily basis (15 minutes is all you really need or maybe 25 if you have three dogs and need to vacuum on a daily basis), "the other's" have their own delegated chores for the nights I am stuck in the office late. Now I no longer see three shades of red when a lonely forgotten soda is left on the coffee table, because I simply look around at the rest of my home and smile. And within two seconds that forgotten mess is cleaned up, even though it was not my mess to clean. So if you are contemplating duct taping your spouse, children, roommates or pets to the couch just so they simply cannot move and therefore cannot create a mess; I suggest you take a read through this book, you will save yourself all the wasted energy on resentment and use it towards actually enjoying time with your family, all while maintaining a clean home. Ah, the thought of harmony in your household, a fantastic thought, isn't it?
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As the author of Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing, Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself and Clean Cures: The Humble Art of Zen-Curing Yourself I find Danielle Raines' "Housework Blues A Survival Guide" to be loaded with mountains of insight and incentive. It offers delightful motivation to the housekeeper who typically stands frozen by thoughts of tidying the crisper, Hoover-ing the hallway or even folding their honey's undies.
A swell yet breezy read!
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This book isn't about how to clean--it's about your attitude and how you feel about doing housework. I'm really not sure there really are those out there that do like to clean house, but our environment influences in many ways that most of us really don't understand. There's more to just handling the safety and hygiene areas; how our families see their world is influenced by the environment they are raised in. I was raised in a "clutterholic" household and was amazed to realize that every one of my significant family or friends households were all like this too. This book is good thoughtful reading, with probably several "reads" over time. What didn't seem to be a good idea on one read may be just what you are looking for the next time...I'm already on my third "read" and have picked up ideas each time....Can't say I like to clean, but my attitude is making some adjustments.
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This is an in depth book that will help you with about anything that is bugging you about housework. As I read through it, I kept thinking of all the people I know that this would help. It helped me!
