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A review by toniclark
How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House's Dirty Little Secrets by Dana K. White
Yes, I admit it, I read this. I know, I know . . . I think books on tidying and decluttering are silly. I actively dislike clean freaks and the entire Kondo project seems to me an obsessive compulsive disorder disguised as a “Japanese art” in order to make a whole lot of money. To me, obsessive tidying is a problem — not a talent, skill, or a moral imperative. Not something to be proud of or sanctimonious about. Ditto for considering the feelings of inanimate objects in your house. That’s just nutty. Isn’t it? Better to address mindless consumerism than to throw out all the possessions you’ve just spent your money on. I like my stuff. To tell the truth, it sparks joy. So yes, it’s amazing that I read this book. Granted, it was $1.99 and I wouldn’t have spent a penny more, but I read it. Most of it, anyway. I skimmed the chapters about laundry and skipped the parts addressed to busy moms.
This book is not for neatniks or Kondo enthusiasts. (Nor does White ever once mention Kondo.) It’s for people who are completely stressed out and discouraged by an inability to achieve even some rudimentary order in their homes, for those whose sinks are always filled with dirty dishes to the point where they’re eating breakfast cereal out of measuring cups because those are the only clean containers. I’m not in that group either — truly. But I was curious about what kind of advice the author had to offer. Burn the house down? See a therapist? No, she really does have a sensible, effective, and easy-to-follow program, one that will give hope to the hopeless and helpless. One that starts with steps so small, it should be almost completely painless. There is an amazing amount of redundancy in this book. Maybe some people need that. At any rate, it did inspire me to put down my book, get up from the sofa, and put away everything that did not need to be on the kitchen table during supper. Today, perhaps I’ll dust — unless I’m lost in a good book.
This book is not for neatniks or Kondo enthusiasts. (Nor does White ever once mention Kondo.) It’s for people who are completely stressed out and discouraged by an inability to achieve even some rudimentary order in their homes, for those whose sinks are always filled with dirty dishes to the point where they’re eating breakfast cereal out of measuring cups because those are the only clean containers. I’m not in that group either — truly. But I was curious about what kind of advice the author had to offer. Burn the house down? See a therapist? No, she really does have a sensible, effective, and easy-to-follow program, one that will give hope to the hopeless and helpless. One that starts with steps so small, it should be almost completely painless. There is an amazing amount of redundancy in this book. Maybe some people need that. At any rate, it did inspire me to put down my book, get up from the sofa, and put away everything that did not need to be on the kitchen table during supper. Today, perhaps I’ll dust — unless I’m lost in a good book.