5 Books to Inspire Your Spring Cleaning
(Audiobooks are your multi-tasking friend.)
Winter is drawing to a close, and that means it’s time for us to come out of our hibernation and clean out our habitats for Spring! While the thought of scrubbing your house top-to-bottom may make you groan a little, the results are worth it. Not only does everyone enjoy a lovely clean home and the feeling of freshness that it brings, but one big clear out helps you keep on top of clutter and tick off all those things that you’ve been meaning to do for a while.
Of course, if you are still slumped moodily on the sofa at the thought of all that… scrubbing… we’re here to help! These ten books will get you in the mood to clean the whole house top to bottom. Or at the very least, they’ll give you an excuse to put it off for just a little bit longer…
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
If you haven’t read this one yet, you have probably heard of it. The Japanese decluttering guide has taken the world by storm, with converts to the KonMari method raving about how clearing their clutter has changed their life. Unlike many other organizational books, this one shifts focus away from arbitrary numbers and asks the reader to consider how the things you own make you feel. Do your possessions “spark joy”, or are they merely taking up space? Beyond that, her approach has an unorthodox process (doing it all at once, and categorizing by use, not space), but a simple and logical one. Extra sections on folding and storing are guaranteed to make you feel as though you suddenly have more space in your home.
Decluttering is a vital part of spring cleaning, and if the book alone doesn’t get you fired up, the reviews from readers will.
The Housekeeper’s Tale by Tessa Boase
Subtitled ‘The Women who really ran the English country house’, this is a perfect read for anyone suffering from Downton Abbey withdrawal along with their cleaning slump. Boase looks into the lives of five different women, largely forgotten by history. A combination of imagination and careful research, each story involves the care of a country house in a different period of history (between the 19th and the mid-20th century).
A look at the scandals and situations of the women themselves as they are about the work they undertook, The Housekeeper’s Tale make your tidying up feel much more manageable in perspective.
To Hell With All That: Loving And Loathing Our Inner Housewife by Caitlin Flanagan
Former staff writer for the New Yorker, Caitlin Flanagan’s collection of essays looks at every aspect of modern housewifery. From marriage to motherhood, the housewives of the ‘50s to the clutter-obsessed organizational specialists today, Flanagan pulls together truth and humor in this witty book. Honest and straightforward, it will have you laughing while you consider angles on womanhood and housekeeping that you may not have thought of before.
Most refreshingly, To Hell With All That addresses something that few other tomes on housework does – hiring help. One to read if you are on the verge of giving up and calling in the professionals.
Life’s Too Short To Fold Fitted Sheets by Lisa Quinn
One for spring cleaners who roll their eyes at the whole idea, Lisa Quinn is here with a fantastic collection of tips and tricks to make any guest think that you’ve done a whole lot more cleaning than you actually have. Quinn recognizes that it’s not just the inclination to scrub that many are missing, it’s the time. Hilarious as well as informative, Life’s Too Short will teach you every shortcut to getting a clean house with minimum effort. After all, who is going to sneak into the bedroom and see if you’ve got hospital corners?
A perfect blend of humor and practical advice, Quinn’s book will inspire even the laziest of us to get the cleaning kit out.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Where would a spring cleaning list be without Cinderella? The ultimate fantasy for everyone stuck in the drudgery of cleaning is to be whisked away to a palace where you never have to clean again. That said, the classic tale is a little outdated, and when you want to take a break from sweeping and put your feet up, Ella Enchanted is a wonderful tale to dive into. In this version, Ella is an obedient servant courtesy of a fairy’s curse, and it takes all her intelligence and attitude to break the curse and save herself a Prince.
A phenomenal twist on the classic story, Ella Enchanted is a great read if you want a little Spring Cleaning themed-reading, without needing too much of a push to get your own done.
