Monday, July 31, 2023

How to Keep House While Drowning

By KC Davis
Simon Element, 2022. 151 pgs. Nonfiction

KC Davis is a therapist and has found popularity on TikTok and Instagram after posting videos of her messy house. She wrote this book as a way to teach simple strategies to handle everyday responsibilities when they sometimes feel impossible. The first thing is to change the way we think about chores and instead call them "Care Tasks".  She proposes that if you make the everyday care tasks easier, you can improve mental health faster. 
Some of the things she teaches include:
Care tasks are morally neutral
Rest is a right, not a reward
You deserve kindness regardless of your level of functioning
You can’t save the rainforest if you’re depressed
Shame is the enemy of functioning
Good enough is perfect

This book was short, easy to read, and exactly what I needed. Everything KC Davis says makes so much sense to me. It made me look at myself and my responsibilities differently. I love the idea that I can do things that make my life functional and it can look or feel different than someone else. I also like that she made me think about the shame I feel for not getting everything done. Shame gets in the way of so many things in our lives. I highly recommend this book. Her TEDx talk "How to Do Laundry When You're Depressed" is pretty good too!

If you liked How to Keep House While Drowning you may also like: 

By Dana White
Thomas Nelson, 2022, 216pgs. Nonfiction

Dana K. White is a decluttering expert and self-proclaimed recovering slob. She offers sustainable ideas to simplify and manage your home. 

By Rebecca Kennedy
Harper Wave, 2022. 315 pgs. Nonfiction

Dr. Becky Kennedy provides a groundbreaking guide for parents that offers a new approach to interacting with our children. It focuses more on our connections and the premise that we are all good inside, just sometimes we are a good person, having a hard time. This book doesn't have to do with organizing or cleaning, but it does take away a lot of the shame of being a parent. 

By Mindy Starns Clark
Harvest House Publishers, 2013, 239 pgs. Nonfiction

Sometimes you just need to become a detective in your own house and look at your spaces with new eyes. How can you change the space to fit the behavior? Could you change a couple things to create a first impression of clean. This book presents tips and strategies for effective house cleaning and organization. 


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