Books

These are just some of the books that I have read, loved, and continually reference on the subject of homemaking and organization. I find them to be especially inspirational and helpful and would strongly encourage you to check them out for yourself!


1. Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley

This book is truly the gold standard for me. I read it as a new bride back in 2009 and it completely revolutionized the way that I look at homemaking and housekeeping (two different things entirely). I love her zone cleaning schedule and have used it in every house we've lived in with great success. I still use my homemaking binder regularly and love her upbeat, encouraging tone throughout the book. One of her favorite sayings is, "You're not behind, just start where you are" gets repeated often by me and is so helpful when things have been allowed to slide a little around here. There's no playing catch up, there's no guilt about what isn't done yet, there's no rebuke for not being perfect - just kindly advice given by a wonderful lady who's been there and wants to help. If you only read one of the books on this list, make this the one you read.


2. Scaling Down: Living Large in a Smaller Space by Marj Decker and Judi Culbertson

This is another book that I read early in my marriage when The Hubs and I were living in a teeny tiny shoe box of a house that had absolutely zero closets. It simply hadn't been built with them, in any room. At all. You can imagine that this presented some difficulties in terms of, say, where to put anything. Even if you aren't dealing with a situation like that or aren't moving into a smaller space, this book is a fantastic resource for figuring out how to let things go, what things it's time to dispose of, how to feel okay about it, and how to store the stuff that you have left in a way that makes sense. I loved the tone of the book and the way that the authors come at this surprisingly sensitive issue in a way that is neither bullying nor condescending.