Best for:
Anyone who has the ability to clean things.

In a nutshell:
Ann Russell, professional cleaner (and TikTok cleaning question answerer) shares a collection of her tips for keeping a clean home.

Worth quoting:
“10-20 minutes every night and 10 minutes before you leave in the morning should keep your space under control.”

“Try to pull furniture out to go under and behind, but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t - decent people don’t check for dust behind your sofa; ask any that do to leave in a hurry.”

Why I chose it:
I thoroughly enjoy Russell’s TikTok contributions, and her tips seem so sensible. Plus she’s do very dry.

Review:
Now, I am a tidy person but I am not always the cleanest person. There is very little ‘mess’ out in our flat, but until fairly recently, if you ran a finger over anything higher than eye level or lower than knee level you’d probably recoil. But in August we found our cats had acquired fleas (they are indoor cats, so we suspect a hitchhiker from our lovely cat sitter), which meant we had to vacuum every bit of floor, carpet, and soft furnishing every day for a week. That eventually switched to every other day, and now twice a week, but I’ve gotten used to a clean home but want to do better. Our flat is very old, and while it was redone probably 20 years ago, there are crevices, cracks, and neglected areas that the previous owners possibly never considered cleaning.

I picked up this book hoping for some quick, reasonable guidance, and that’s exactly what it offers. It is a very quick read, and I found myself underlining quite a lot, making notes of things to try. During my weekly house clean yesterday I tried out her method for dusting (using a fully squeezed out damp cloth) to see if that might pick up and keep more of the cat fur and dander that accumulates throughout the week. Because I do a deep clean of each room on a rotating weekly cycle in addition to the standard dusting and vacuuming (e.g., primary bedroom this week, kitchen next week), I’ll be able to try out some of her suggestions room by room, which is how the book is divided.

She starts off with chapters on products and equipment, which was handy for me, as Russell is from the UK, and some of the words used for things here differ from what I’m used to, so good to get a sense of what things actually are before I try to use them. She then talks about setting up a cleaning routine, before diving into room-by-room suggestions. She also includes a chapter full of tips for those who are renting, which I think is a really nice thing to include, because sometimes (let’s be real - usually) landlords don’t do the upkeep needed, which can result in things like mold and damp that tenants are left to clean up.

The book also includes a surprising amount of fairly dry humor, which one doesn’t necessarily expect from a cleaning book. And Russell is very clearly not judging anyone's level of cleanliness, or the time they have to devote to cleaning. Overall, a very good purchase.

What’s next for this book:
Keep and refer back to regularly. Maybe only recommend if someone asks; otherwise it might sounds like I think they need to improve their cleaning skills. ( )

As a recovered (but still vigilant) hoarder, I'm going through books that might be useful to other hoarders and those who love them.

This is a good primer on establishing realistic cleaning routines. I appreciate how tasks are broken down and the writing comes from a place of empathy with the goal being a home that is livable, rather than Instagrammable. And that is perfect.

If you've already learned house cleaning, you probably won't find much new here, though I did add sugar soap to my arsenal thanks to this book.

I wish the section on soda crystals (not commonly marketed in the US) had more details on using them well - it is very easy to clog a toilet if you just dump a big scoop and let it sit, so fair warning to people new to this product.

Not a book I feel the need to keep after reading, but one I would give someone who is overwhelmed by the thought of keeping house. Amd then perhaps they, too, would pass it on. ( )