annieb123
Written on Oct 11, 2020
Clean Mama's Guide to a Peaceful Home is a meticulously organized specific guide to creating an oasis (in this insanely upside-down world) and getting control of the everyday tasks which always seem to spiral out of control too easily (at least in my experience). Due out 29th Dec 2020 from Harper Collins on their HarperOne imprint, it's 240 pages (print version) and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
I've always struggled to stay organized at home. I don't seem to have the same challenges at work, but for my home life, making lists and staying on time and on task has been really challenging for most of my adult life. My pattern has been that I wind up letting some things slide, they snowball, and then the tasks seem daunting to get "caught up" and wind up taking even MORE time than if I'd stayed on top of them all along.
This book is a practical instruction manual for getting a handle on those tasks: figuring out what they are, figuring out how to perform them, breaking them down into manageable individual smaller tasks, doing them, and staying on top of them in future.
The book has a very logical and accessible layout. The introduction provides a capsule survey of why getting organized leads to less stress overall and other benefits and leads into sections: finding time and creating routines, and implementing these lists and routings in specific areas of the home.
This book is absolutely *full* of workbook samples for filling out (I recommend either printing them out from the electronic copy, or copying the standard forms from the print copy - I confess that I'm not sure how the audio format will coordinate). There are schedules and checklists for every room in the house; for meal planning, bathroom, office +paperwork, the dreaded garage/storage, vehicles, cleaning routines and tips, and a lot lot more.
The appendices contain a lot of useful recipes for cleaning products for different surfaces and a cross-referenced index. There are so many good immediately usable tips in this book that even people (like me) who need to take baby steps can find things to utilize immediately.
Five stars - maybe a little intimidating, but really solid organizational tips and routines.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.