Anne L. Watson’s Housekeeping Page
Resources for Cleaning, Organizing, Decluttering, Furnishing, Maintaining, and Managing Your Home
My Housekeeping Books!
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Housekeeping has gotten a bad rap. Somehow, the subject has shrunk to discussions of clutter control and cleaning, a bit like when your mom told you to pick up your room.
But that's the dull part. Necessary, of course—my book, Smart Housekeeping, is mostly about getting to a state of order. But housekeeping is no more about clutter control than gardening is about weeding. Yes, you have to do some of both—but why stop short of the interesting stuff?
The companion book, Smart Housekeeping Around the Year, goes on to show how to make yourself comfortable in your home, whatever that takes. A lot of housekeeping is about what you do, and why you do it, after you've taken care of the obvious chores. How do you set up a guest room? Unclog a sink? Keep garbage odors out of the kitchen? Arrange toy storage so that the kids will use it on their own? What's the best way to wash a family quilt? To be safe on a ladder? To choose appliances?
Housekeeping isn't just housework—it's setting the stage for your whole life at home—which includes play, enjoyment, and creativity.
Housekeeping Around the Year
A year's worth of advice and explorations in a monthly "magazine."