Take a photo of a barcode or cover
363 reviews for:
How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House's Dirty Little Secrets
Dana K. White
4.1 AVERAGE
363 reviews for:
How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House's Dirty Little Secrets
Dana K. White
4.1 AVERAGE
Full of workable, practical ideas. I like this different approach to a common problem.
Listen, if you’re a minimalist cleaning your home with carefully divided tasks for each day of the week and you have the monthly/quarterly/yearly chores on a spreadsheet ready to check off, then this book is not for you. If you’ve never run through the house minutes before company was due with a laundry hamper throwing miscellaneous items in (that will ultimately get lost for the next 18 months) then you can move right along!
This book is for the rest of us! Those that invite company over so we will be forced to clean up! Those of us that stop seeing clutter because it becomes part of the background.
This woman is a genius! I literally read this book and constantly thought “how in the world did she figure that out? I’ve been trying to work through that for 49 years!”
Do yourself a favor and buy this one! And when you’ve read it, tell me what your favorite tip was!
This book is for the rest of us! Those that invite company over so we will be forced to clean up! Those of us that stop seeing clutter because it becomes part of the background.
This woman is a genius! I literally read this book and constantly thought “how in the world did she figure that out? I’ve been trying to work through that for 49 years!”
Do yourself a favor and buy this one! And when you’ve read it, tell me what your favorite tip was!
This book is such a great read if you are not an organized person. First off, she’s a self proclaimed slob and her writing is endearing and funny. Second, her solutions are helpful and actually realistic. For example, looking at each space as a container. When the container is full, it’s time to get rid of things. And starting with simple things such as just doing the dishes each day and looking at the room from a visitor’s perspective. I really have enjoyed reading her books!
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Just like with the other book from this author I've read, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, it's a valuable resource, yet I'm honestly really relieved I borrowed it instead of buying it, for a few reasons:
1) It's repetitive as heck. Just like the other book.
2) Once you take away a few core values from the book (like setting a specific day each week for laundry and not budging from that), it's a lot of filler material and anecdotes for no reason. The "meat" of this book could easily be fit into 50pg or less.
3) If you haven't read Decluttering at the Speed of Life yet, SKIP IT and read this instead. No joke, about 80pg of this book covers literally THE ENTIRE OTHER BOOK. If you saw my review for Decluttering, you might remember me complaining that the entire second half of the book was the same guidelines being rephrased over and over for each specific room in your home? Yeah, well, that was proven by the fact that another 200+pg. book could be fit into only 80pg of this book.
I dunno, y'all... I'm so torn. This book and Decluttering both truly did give me tips that have already helped me and my spouse TREMENDOUSLY with our house, but at the same time, these books feel so gimmicky and unnecessary that I cannot in good conscience recommend them to you unless you can borrow them, find them at a great price, or have a lot more spare book-buying cash laying around than I do (because I'd frankly be mad as hell if I'd spent $16.99USD each on these books).
1) It's repetitive as heck. Just like the other book.
2) Once you take away a few core values from the book (like setting a specific day each week for laundry and not budging from that), it's a lot of filler material and anecdotes for no reason. The "meat" of this book could easily be fit into 50pg or less.
3) If you haven't read Decluttering at the Speed of Life yet, SKIP IT and read this instead. No joke, about 80pg of this book covers literally THE ENTIRE OTHER BOOK. If you saw my review for Decluttering, you might remember me complaining that the entire second half of the book was the same guidelines being rephrased over and over for each specific room in your home? Yeah, well, that was proven by the fact that another 200+pg. book could be fit into only 80pg of this book.
I dunno, y'all... I'm so torn. This book and Decluttering both truly did give me tips that have already helped me and my spouse TREMENDOUSLY with our house, but at the same time, these books feel so gimmicky and unnecessary that I cannot in good conscience recommend them to you unless you can borrow them, find them at a great price, or have a lot more spare book-buying cash laying around than I do (because I'd frankly be mad as hell if I'd spent $16.99USD each on these books).
Though I don't have any kids yet, I've found this book really relatable. I can totally see myself as a slob when it comes to homemaking: keep committing to decluttering but keep taking more stuff home then feel overwhelmed and frustrated. Her methods seem pretty practical and I'm ready to make progress by starting with visible small clutters!
Way to repetitive. I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know. Disappointed because I was hoping for some good tips.
3.5 stars - I give half the book 4 stars - I found myself constantly nodding from relatability - but then there’s a big section in the middle I didn’t relate as well to and would give 3. Overall, definitely implementing the routines she introduces!
I would self-describe as "average" in the neat category, which put me in the "this book is not for you" description by the blogger-become-author of A Slob Comes Clean.
But I think White sells herself and her book WAY short if she thinks there isn't something for EVERYONE in this book, even people who have Marie Kondo-ed their running drawers and who already clean the kitchen before bed every night.
This book is so logical, heart-warming, and honest. It feels so refreshing to read about an idea for a system and have an author fully and openly describe the pros and cons of the solution and just admit that there isn't a perfect or fun way to do certain household tasks.
White's methods and ideas are compatible with a busy life - no emptying every single content of a closet onto the floor, making things worse, and running out of time to complete the project. She has great suggestions for how to decide whether to keep something, where to put it if you do and what to do when there isn't room in that spot (WITHOUT emptying the entire closet onto your floor).
I've read Gretchen Rubin's book on clutter, Marie Kondo, and a handful of books about minimalism in general. This goes to the top of the list in terms of practicality, and with such a warm humor and lack of judgment that it's easier to read than other books with overwhelming first steps.
Highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who wants a less painful way to live an uncluttered life.
But I think White sells herself and her book WAY short if she thinks there isn't something for EVERYONE in this book, even people who have Marie Kondo-ed their running drawers and who already clean the kitchen before bed every night.
This book is so logical, heart-warming, and honest. It feels so refreshing to read about an idea for a system and have an author fully and openly describe the pros and cons of the solution and just admit that there isn't a perfect or fun way to do certain household tasks.
White's methods and ideas are compatible with a busy life - no emptying every single content of a closet onto the floor, making things worse, and running out of time to complete the project. She has great suggestions for how to decide whether to keep something, where to put it if you do and what to do when there isn't room in that spot (WITHOUT emptying the entire closet onto your floor).
I've read Gretchen Rubin's book on clutter, Marie Kondo, and a handful of books about minimalism in general. This goes to the top of the list in terms of practicality, and with such a warm humor and lack of judgment that it's easier to read than other books with overwhelming first steps.
Highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who wants a less painful way to live an uncluttered life.
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced