Smart Housekeeping
The No-Nonsense Guide to Decluttering, Organizing, and Cleaning Your Home, or Keys to Making Your Home Suit Yourself with No Help from Fads, Fanatics, or Other Foolishness
by Anne L. Watson
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date Sep 06 2016 | Archive Date Mar 04 2017
Description
There's no shortage of experts to cheerfully advise you on how to declutter, organize, and clean your home. But do they know what YOU want and need? Or are they only pushing rigid, quirky systems that ignore people's differences and how we really live?
With insight, wit, and common sense, "Smart Housekeeping" cuts through the clutter of questionable and often silly advice to offer practical keys to reclaiming and maintaining your home.
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Anne L. Watson is the author of a variety of works, including literary novels, soapmaking manuals, and a cookie cookbook. She is also retired from a long and honored career as a historic preservation architecture consultant. Anne "lives apart together" with her husband, fellow author, and publisher, Aaron Shepard, in Friday Harbor, Washington.
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CONTENTS
Getting Started
A Decluttering Tale
Keys to Decluttering
Step-by-Step Decluttering
Clutter Control
Keys to Organizing
Keys to Cleaning
Sharing the Load
A Few Final Keys
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BISAC SUBJECTS
HOM019000 HOUSE & HOME / Cleaning, Caretaking & Organizing
SEL044000 SELF-HELP / Self-Management / General
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FROM THE INTRODUCTION:
This book is a collection of tips on housekeeping and household organization -- on making your home easier to live in. It's a take-as-needed cafeteria of suggestions to adopt or expand on. Some ideas will trigger "aha" moments for one person, while not at all appealing to another. Most of what I suggest will fit easily within a small budget -- and if you're a renter, it won't make you lose your damage deposit!
The book can help if . . .
* You're distressed by your home's disorder, and you just don't know how to fix it.
* You're downsizing or moving to a new home.
* You run around every morning looking for keys, papers, or articles of clothing.
* You buy duplicates of things because you can't find the ones you have.
* You wish you could have guests but don't want anyone to see the mess.
* You spend time cleaning, but things don't get as clean as you'd like.
* You want your family or roommates to pitch in more with household chores, but they're not on board.
So, now that you have an idea what this book is, let's talk about what it's not.
* It is not a jump onto the latest cure-all bandwagon. If any fad could truly solve all housekeeping problems, why would new fads keep appearing?
* It is not a tract. Smart housekeeping is not a path to nirvana or salvation, and I won't pretend it is.
* It is not a marketing lure. Sure, you can organize beautifully while going into debt for fashionable matched shelving and organizers at a specialty store. That store probably even has consultants to help you spend your money. So, if that's your preference, you don't need a book!
* It is not a remodeling plan. I shudder to see articles prescribing home renovation for organization woes. Don't get me wrong. I spent thirty years myself in the design end of the construction business, and I don't deny that remodeling may eventually be worth the money, stress, and craziness. But it is not a solution for people looking for results in less than a year or so. And construction advice is irrelevant for renters and for people with little extra space.
* It is not therapy. Yes, you might avoid some stress if you can find things without searching for hours. But no book on housekeeping will solve big personal problems like a compulsion to shop or hoard. If housekeeping and decluttering were the life changers some books claim, janitors would earn as much as therapists.
* This book is not a substitute for wading in and doing the work. I wish I had some kind of magic formula to just make it happen. I don't. But if you're ready to make the effort, this book should provide some direction.
A Note From the Publisher
Available in paperback and on Kindle.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9780938497714 |
| PRICE | $10.00 (USD) |
Links
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 277376
Good ideas in this self help book. However the same as many books on the market. Eye catching cover.
jc C, Educator
This is a no nonsense, sensible approach to housekeeping. It does not romanticise it or convince you that you will wake up every morning excited to be doing it. It is a roadmap for the quickest, most direct approach to just getting on with it. There are some excellent tips on managing it long term such as keeping permanent sorting boxes. It is definitely the old school approach, the one your Grandma would recommend. Written in a down to earth manner with a little tongue in cheek fun poked at the best selling Fad systems currently on the market.
Debbie B, Educator
I really like Anne Watson. I would be interested in reading much more by this author.
Lexi R, Reviewer
Having worked my way through several other de-cluttering processes, I was curious to see what would be different in this approach. I confess that it actually didn’t leave me with an urge to get started on throwing out everything in my house, BUT the point is that this could be just the right conclusion for me.
In fact I found the book entertaining and surprisingly reassuring. I suspect it is unlikely that "entertaining and reassuring" was what you were expecting when you purchased a de-cluttering book, but really the clue is in the title – this is Smart Housekeeping, not De-cluttering.
The (fictional-ish) expert interview are hilarious. I laughed out loud at the one about using a frying pan as a hammer … but I won’t spoil the punchline for you.
This has a sensible approach as to what you really need, and frequently reiterates that the glossy magazine minimalist image is simply unrealistic. As a quick and enjoyable read with a few handy tips, this is a useful book.
Irene M, Bookseller
Down to earth and realistic, Anne Watson provides a common sense approach to housekeeping (and clutter). No expensive systems, storage items, cleaners, etc to buy to make it work. You take what is useful to you and do not worry about the rest. Humorous interviews with "experts" add to the enjoyment.
Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for opportunity to preview the book.
Librarian 65579
'm not sure the world needs yet another book on decluttering, but I'm always open to new tips! This is more of a booklet than a book, but humorous in poking fun at the 'minimalist' lifestyle, and sensible in its no-nonsense approach to organising stuff. Not sure I learned anything new, but entertaining nonetheless, and it did inspire me to get up and tidy for 20 minutes!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Ilana W, Reviewer
This book is for independent people, able to use their own mind and set their priorities, but in need of a good advice about how to improve the house management, step-by-step, one corner at a time. Smart Housekeeping is the intelligent answer tailored to a lot of practical approaches and I strongly recommend it to anyone whose NYE resolutions are to have a friendlier and clutter-free house.
Annamarie S, Reviewer
I received a copy of this book for free to read and review through Netgalley. This is a straightforward, to the point book with a wide range of tips to help you keep your house in order. I found it helpful in helping me to de-clutter my home.
The book is to help you find a comfortable solution that you will use to help reorder your home as different things help different people. There are also tips on how to get the whole hose involved. It gives good advice about how to improve the house management, step-by-step.
This is a quick read and has some valuable tips for anyone who feels like getting their home under control is a daunting task. The book did not make me want to do some housekeeping, but it did have excellent tips.
Lisa S, Reviewer
This is a great book, especially for those who want to declutter. Anne Watson provides excellent advice, such as to start with small projects and keep your goal in mind. She also advises readers to forget perfection and not to be too hard on themselves.
This book will actually make you feel energised and ready to begin! I also like the amusing dialogues with imaginary perfectionists and the cute animal figures on her helpful website.
I received this ebook from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
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