Thrift Kitchen: No Hassle Housecleaning

House cleaning is a hassle. Period. And no book will ever change that. Period.

That being said, reading No Hassle Housecleaning by Christina Spence left me feeling like  cleaning could be less of a hassle than it currently is.

I’ve been working with the fly lady system of housecleaning for awhile now. I have to admit it’s only semi-working because let’s face it. I’m a slob. I’ll never be a perfectionist cleaner and I think I’m finally okay with that. It’s my nature.

My friend calls my apartment’s general state as “creating in action.” I would have to agree that is true. Jason and I both love making things, so it will never be 100% clutter free. I’m not concerned that every piece of this and that be put away precisely, more that my home meets these main conditions:

1. Doesn’t smell too much like ferrets

2. Have clean clothing to wear at all times

3. Have my kitchen pretty clean

4. My home is not a health hazard: dusted, vacuumed, picked up so I don’t stub my toe on everything

5. I’m not embarrassed to have people over because of the above 4 points

That’s why I’m taking a lesson from the Happy Slob. Christina Spence has a really fun writing style that makes the first half of the book fly by. She writes about low stress cleaning, cranking the music up and dancing it away, and even offers up her favorite homemade cleaning solutions, which is the part I love the most.

She has a whole chapter devoted to homemade cleaning recipes, what they are good for, and how to use them.

The last half of the book is a little bit drier, but you can read it as needed. Cleaning floors today? Look up Chapter 7: the F-word for all the info for getting the job done.

She has her own system of course, which seems to me an abbreviated, less dictator like fly lady system. She’s just more my style–less purple, more retro starburts.

Christina really advocates cleaning for health reasons more than “because that’s what you are supposed to do” or “you aren’t a good wife unless you take care of your husband.” I like that. That makes sense for me. Me spending time cleaning because I’m “supposed to” makes me not want to. Cleaning because it will help with my sinus issues and make my (our) quality of life better. That sounds reasonable to me, which means I’m more likely to stick with it.

I enjoyed reading though the book and have been working on establishing my new routine. I’m always trying new ones to see what works. Maybe by the time I’m 40 I’ll have it figured out. Maybe I just like trying new things. :) Either way, the apartment is, on average, cleaner. Success is mine!

It’s a good source book and has a lot of lasting content (recipes and room specific cleaning methods/ideas) and I’m happily keeping it in my permanent collection of books.

From one happy slob to another,

Kristin

p.s. Yes, that is Superman on my bookmark. I love my library. :)