
By KC Davis, LPC
© April 26, 2022, S&S/Simon Element
B09JPHQZQZ
156 pages
As someone who works part-time and writes in most other times, I struggle to have a clean house. I know I’m not alone. How to Keep House While Drowning was written by a mother who was suffering from COVID lockdown and postpartum depression after the birth of her second child, whose husband worked full-time, seven days a week. She, too, struggled, until she found a new way of looking at the process. Her secret? (Well, one of many…) The cleanliness or functionality of your house is not a moral issue. There is no reason to feel guilty or ashamed if you can’t get all of it done and still have time to rest.
Instead of cleanliness, she focuses on functionality, on making your living space work for you, not the other way ‘round. Most of her little suggestions and tips/tricks were mind-blowing for me simply because I’d not thought of them that way. Of course, a simple shift of perspective is only the beginning; it takes practical action, too, for a shift toward real-life functionality in the home. Things like using baskets to organize, putting laundry and waste baskets in every room, and cleaning a room in categories – prioritizing for health and safety first. For example, pick up trash first, dirty dishes second, since those can carry bacteria, germs, etc. Then pick up trip hazards and carry on from there. So many great ideas can be found in this little book!
But this book applies to more than just cleaning house. It’s about doing the best you can do in a particular circumstance, a rough day, or even a specific moment. It’s about giving yourself permission to not feel guilty if your efforts don’t measure up to absolute perfection in every little detail, in every area of your own personal world. Since finishing How to Keep House, I’ve found myself applying KC’s attitudes and permissions in other areas of my life too—like my schedule—and it’s really helped.
In addition, Author KC Davis worked to make the book accessible for readers with reading challenges. Fonts and formatting style were selected specifically because they help to facilitate reading for those with ADHD, dyslexia, and more. Chapters are short, simple, easy to follow, and to-the-point. (Do note that the ebook, which is the format I purchased, doesn’t hold to that font style, but that is almost impossible to do for an e-reader device.)
How to Keep House While Drowning is billed as a book for anyone feeling overwhelmed in their life. I know it’s definitely a worthwhile resource to have on hand. Even after reading it once, you may want to skim back through it to refresh your memory on different ideas and suggestions. Enjoyable, kind, useful, and ingenious. Definitely recommended.