A review by thenovelmaura
How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by K.C. Davis

informative fast-paced

5.0

I realize I am not the target audience for this book, but I really appreciated the overarching themes and the entire concept of Davis' "gentle approach." The primary audience seems to be neurodivergent and/or disabled individuals who struggle to meet and often feel shamed by societal standards for a clean home. So I loved Davis' use of straightforward language, short chapters, and instructions for which chapters readers could skip over while still grasping the key concepts. The way she explained each metaphor that she used in literal terms gave me a new understanding of what accessible writing could look like, and I hope we see more nonfiction books written this way in the coming years.

Although I don't currently struggle with routine care tasks, I acknowledge that I am coming from a place a privilege and that my circumstances will change as I get older. For now, I'll highlight a few of Davis' guiding principles that most resonated with me while reading:

• Your space exists to serve you and not the other way around;
• Do not assign moral value to care tasks;
• The care tasks that you do today are meant to be a gift to your future self;
• Division of labor in a household should be based on each partner receiving an equal amount of fulfilling rest (i.e. restorative time away from the pressure to perform care tasks).

All that to say, I gave this book a high rating because I think anyone can benefit from reading it! I understand why I've heard nothing but good things before picking it up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Grief