Are you in the midst of spring cleaning? If you are or if you’re looking for the motivation to start, check out this list of declutter and cleaning books! As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions are provided by the publishers.
A Healthier Home: The Room-by-Room Guide to Make Any Space a Little Less Toxic by Shawna Holman
With all the time spent at home in recent years, you probably realize how much the inside of your home contributes to your mental and physical health, for better or worse. But did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that indoor air is 2–5 times (and occasionally more than 100 times) more polluted than outdoor air?
The good news is that you can control and improve the environment inside your home, and A Healthier Home provides an accessible, room-by-room roadmap for doing just that. Wherever you are on your journey to a healthier home, author and founder of A Little Less Toxic, Shawna Holman, offers realistic steps you can take to maintain a less toxic living environment that aligns with your values. Create a healthy, happy living space with simple swaps and hacks for banning hidden harms in every room:
- Kitchen: Finding the best cookware, helpful tools and gadgets, safe serving ware and food storage, all about supplements, buying cleaning products, DIY cleaning products
- Laundry Room: Washing machine and detergent recommendations, DIY spot treatment, whitening without bleach, treating stains, clotheslines, tips and tricks
- Bathroom: Toiletries, oral hygiene, water (including chlorine and fluoride), self-care, skincare and a few DIY skincare recipes, medicine cabinet, hair training, cleaning (including deep cleaning/going beyond the basics of the kitchen!)
- Bedroom: Mattress shopping, pillows, linens, all about certifications and materials, condoms and lubrication, pregnancy prevention/fertility, sleeping tips, blue light, hacks and tips for cleaning in the bedroom
- Living Room: Indoor air quality, air purifiers, filters, furniture and rugs (materials and more), air fresheners (key swaps, essential oil how-tos, and candle info), mold mindfulness, EMF protection
- Garden: Lawn care, sun protection, insect protection, after-sun care, and grounding
From tackling toxins and revamping your kitchen to making a greener garden and ensuring cleaner laundry, A Healthier Home will aid you in creating a sustainable, safe lifestyle that benefits both your mind and body. Every corner of your home can be made to better serve you and your family—it’s just a matter of getting started! – Fair Winds Press
The Laundry Book: The Definitive Guide to Caring for your Clothes and Linens by Zach Pozniak
Do laundry right the first time with The Laundry Book, the ultimate reference guide for all things laundry.
If you’re like most people, laundry is a never-ending chore that you want to spend as little time, effort, and money on as possible, and no one has ever properly taught you how to tackle this chore. Laundry influencer Zach Pozniak and his father, Jerry Pozniak, owners of the luxury dry-cleaning company Jeeves New York and fabric-care experts break down this tedious task into playful and easily digestible pieces for a straightforward, easy-to-navigate book that can live in the laundry room and make doing laundry even enjoyable.
Zach and Jerry provide authoritative information and advice as third- and fourth-generation dry cleaners on all matters of fabric care, including:
- Science-backed and -tested tips and techniques
- How to save time, money, and the environment by doing laundry correctly
- An A-to-Z stain removal guide
- What ingredients to look for when buying laundry products
- How to read clothing care labels
- How to extend the life of your clothes
- When to call in the professionals
- and much more!
This guide cuts through the noise and educates you on best practices for clean, vibrant, stain-free, and long-lasting results. – Rock Point
Lifestyled: Your Guide to a More Organized & Intentional Life by Shira Gill
Shira Gill has dedicated her career to helping people gain clarity and activate their best selves, even when they are short on time or capacity. When she realized that almost every one of her diverse clients, ranging from students to CEOs, was overextended, overscheduled, and overwhelmed, she used her signature blend of practical minimalism and organization to design a game-changing framework that works with any lifestyle or budget.
Applying the tools found in LifeStyled, you can transform your life, mindset, and schedule with accessible tips and quick wins—little things you can integrate or practice for quick, transformative results. Chapters cover health, home, relationships, career, finance, and personal development, with actionable prompts to help you:
- Learn realistic strategies to optimize your sleep, nutrition, and overall wellness.
- Implement simple habits and routines to create and maintain a home that feels good.
- Cut the relationship clutter and invest in meaningful connections and community.
- Redefine success on your own terms and align your financial strategy with your values.
- Prioritize activities that help you feel energized, engaged, and fully alive.
- Disrupt unproductive thought patterns and create motivating new narratives.
In LifeStyled, Shira shows readers how to achieve more ease, alignment, and freedom, one tiny step at a time. – Ten Speed Press
Making Home Your Happy Place: A Real-Life Guide to Decluttering Without the Overwhelm by Katy Wells
Are you overwhelmed by clutter, constant mess, and the mental load of daily responsibilities? It’s time to break free from the chaos and create a home that works for you—using a fresh approach to decluttering that will simplify your space, reduce stress, and free up your time and energy.
Katy Wells, mom and host of the top-rated The Maximized Minimalist podcast, transformed her stressful, cluttered home into a calm, organized space where she now has time to relax with her family. In Making Home Your Happy Place, she shares the same proven tools that have helped thousands of busy families simplify their routines, regain control, and live with greater ease.
In this step-by-step guide, you’ll discover how to:
- Overcome overwhelm with actionable strategies to break through mental and physical clutter, so you can regain control and start moving forward.
- Declutter with confidence by using proven techniques to tackle your home with clear, actionable steps that will bring immediate results and visible progress.
- Uncover the deeper roots of clutter by identifying the emotional ties, limiting beliefs, and habits that keep you stuck—and learn how to release them with clarity and compassion.
- Create effortless systems to maintain a peaceful home that works for you, making organizing feel natural and sustainable in your everyday life.
You can have the peaceful, joyful home you’ve always wanted—a space where you can breathe easier, think clearer, and finally feel the freedom to enjoy more of what you love. Ready to make it happen? – Thomas Nelson
The NEAT Method Organizing Recipe Book: 70 Simple Projects to Take Your Home from Chaos to Composed by Ashley Murphy
In this one-of-a-kind organizing book, there are smart, stylish solutions for every room in the house, including quick wins that can be accomplished in just twenty minutes and larger overhauls that may take an hour or more, including:
- A “drop zone” for dirty shoes and sports gear at the garage door
- Compartmentalized drawers for everything from kitchen utensils to makeup to socks
- A color-coded bedroom closet
- A playroom kids will actually keep tidy
- And much more!
The end result is transformative: By implementing solutions that emphasize beauty as much as function, you’ll create a home that’s well arranged, a true place of calm and simplicity. – Artisan
Organize First, Decorate Second: How to go from Clutter to Creativity by Whitney English
Organize First, Decorate Second is the ultimate companion to help you embark on a transformative journey towards a more organized, beautiful, and fulfilling life.
Whitney English breaks down the essence of thoughtful design and organization as tools not just for a prettier space but for a better life—one that smoothly adapts to the inevitable shifts we all face. She shares how balancing a neat look with functional living isn’t always a walk in the park, but the payoff is a space that works just as hard as it charms.
Whitney gets into the nitty-gritty with actionable strategies for putting the house in order. She walks readers through evaluating their spaces, marrying storage with style, and zoning rooms for peak performance. She even helps readers pick out furniture that doubles down on organization and gadgets that aren’t just smart, but genius. Whitney underscores the significance of deliberate design and organization to enhance well-being and adapt seamlessly to life’s ever-changing demands.
Organize First, Decorate Second, establishes:
- balance between creativity and organization;
- inspiration coupled with practical advice; and
- efficiency without sacrificing creativity.
With Whitney’s guidance, practical tips, seasoned advice, and her signature humor, you’re set to transform your living spaces into zones of beauty and effectiveness. Each chapter is a mix of heartwarming anecdotes, practical advice, and innovative strategies. This book isn’t just about making your home look good—it’s about making your home a reflection of your best self. Whitney doesn’t just want you to organize, she wants you to celebrate each step, no matter how small, because perfection isn’t the goal—it’s all about the progress. – Thomas Nelson
Tidying the Abyss: A Practical Guide to Cleaning and Organizing while Exhausted and Overwhelmed by Amanda Stuckey Dodson
A gentle, hands-on resource offering mental health-sensitive, disability-informed advice for those who do not have the privilege, bandwidth, or access to keep their home—and life—in a perfectly-ordered state.
Amanda Stuckey Dodson prided herself on her ability to maintain a peaceful, clean home: there wasn’t any mess that couldn’t be fixed by plastic organizing bins, spreadsheets, and a can-do attitude. When her life was upended by chronic illness, leaving her unable to maintain her elaborate cleaning systems, she learned that the hardest part wasn’t becoming organized, it was staying organized. Facing an unusually messy home, she knew she needed a different approach.
Tidying the Abyss is a gentle, step-by-step guide to keeping house when everything around you is falling apart. Dodson, a clinical social worker turned professional organizer, advocates for the abandoning of perfection to make room for creative, livable solutions. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of being chronically ill, neurodivergent, or hopeless at home maintenance, you need more than just organizational tips- you need a practice. Within these pages you’ll find guidance for:
- Managing motivation and overwhelm;
- Addressing your basic needs with systems for trash, kitchen & dishes, and laundry;
- Creating order in your most-used spaces (think bedroom and bathroom); and
- Common life complications like pet-related chaos or managing housework as a caregiver or as a parent
When the dishes, the laundry, and the bills mercilessly persist, piling all around, Tidying theAbyss empowers you to face the chaos and define new standards for your home. With a little bit of compassion and patience, any mess can be cleaned up, one piece at a time. – Balance