Reddit mentions of How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House's Dirty Little Secrets

Honestly, getting rid of stuff is the best advice I can give, despite being someone who loves to hold on to EVERYTHING, just in case.

I know that Marie Kondo doesn't resonate with everyone, but reading her book got me started on the right path. It's easier for me to determine what I really love and want to keep, and what I was holding on to just for the sake of having it.

Then I read this book and I finally felt understood! I have read so many organizing and cleaning books in the past, and nothing ever really stuck. I feel like the author gets me and how my brain works - so between the two books, I at least feel like I'm on the right track. My house is often still a mess, but I look back at old pictures and realize that I've made a ton of progress.

I really like Dana White for this, her Blog: https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/new-here/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Manage-Your-Home-Without-Losing/dp/0718079957?keywords=manage+your+home+mind&qid=1540777399&sr=8-1&ref=sr_1_1

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I would start with the kitchen or bathroom. Preferably kitchen, but if your kitchen is too overwhelming, then bathroom.

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For the kitchen, do the dishes. All of them. Then put them away. If they won't fit in the cabinets, decide what stuff you like the most, keep that, get rid of what won't fit. Put away as much as possible off the counters too, only keep things on the counter that you use everyday. Then everyday from now on, do the dishes and wipe up any spill or crumbs (unless you are single and have a dish washer, in which case you should at least put dirty dishes in the dishwasher everyday, and start it when it's at least 3/4's full). It'll take about 10 minutes everyday, but will stop the kitchen becoming a pit of despair. Do a pantry/fridge/freezer audit, toss the expired and unwanted stuff, take a photo of the rest so you remember what's there, and start meal planning around what needs eating up. I can't overstate the wonder of having a functioning kitchen. Life is so much better when you can find the can opener and have enough counter space to make a meal.

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Then the bathroom.

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The nice thing about both these rooms is that they have defined uses, and you should only store things that are used in those rooms there. Then, everyday, pick up any dirty clothes off the bathroom floor, and if you notice something is grimy, give it a quick wipe.

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Then clothes. Wash all your dirty clothes. Dry them, and put them away. If they won't fit in your closet/dresser, take out stuff you like less and donate/toss it.

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Then the linen closet if you have one. Everything you want to keep has to fit nicely in there. If it doesn't, something has to go.

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Then start sorting through tubs, putting things away or discard (trash or donate) as you go. The important thing to realise is that all your storage space is full already, so you need to trash or donate a volume of stuff equal to the amount of stuff in the tubs. If you have 20 tubs of stuff in the spare room, the 20 tubs of stuff needs to leave the house as donations or trash. If you find something in a tub you want to keep, you need to donate/trash something from a storage space that is about the same size so there is space for it.

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I like flylady but couldn't keep up with it. I read A Slob Comes Clean--she has a book How to Manage your home without losing your mind, blog, and podcasts. I have found that lots of what she says is really useful to me because we tend to think the same way.

How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind by Dana K. White sounds like exactly what you're looking for.

You can get it on Amazon for a few bucks, though the ebook is also on Hoopla (which is free with a library card).

https://www.amazon.com/Manage-Your-Home-Without-Losing/dp/0718079957

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12355255

She has a follow-up which I haven't read yet, as well as a youtube channel. But this book is like a 30-day home reset guide, that begins with the assumption that everything is a disaster and you have no idea where to begin.

Keeping a clean house is a skill, not something you're just born knowing how to do. Don't get down on yourself for not knowing how to do something you weren't taught. Hang in there!