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    Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess
    Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess
    Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess
    Audiobook4 hours

    Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess

    Written by Rachel Hoffman

    Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Finally, a housekeeping and organizational system developed for those of us who'd describe our current living situation as a "f*cking mess" that we "really need to get around to fixing one day." Unf*ck Your Habitat is for anyone who has been left behind by traditional aspirational systems—the ones that ignore single people with full-time jobs, people without kids but living with roommates, and people with mental illnesses or physical limitations. Most organizational books are aimed at stay-at-home moms and people who seem to have unimaginable amounts of free time. They assume we all iron our sheets, have linen napkins to match our table runners, and can keep plants alive for longer than a week. Basically, they ignore most of us living here in the real world.



    Interspersed with lists and challenges, this practical, no-nonsense guide helps you develop lifelong habits. It motivates you to embrace a new lifestyle in manageable sections so you can start applying the tactics as you progress. This philosophy is more realistic than aspirational, but the goal is the same: not everyone will have a showcase of a home, but whatever your habitat, you deserve for it to bring you happiness, not stress.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 3, 2017
    ISBN9781515982180
    Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess
    Author

    Rachel Hoffman

    Rachel Hoffman originally launched 'Unf*ck Your Habitat' on Tumblr to motivate people who don't want to live in a messy home anymore but can't quite figure out how to make that happen. Her advice has appeared in publications and websites such as Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Elle, Real Simple, NBC News, Apartment Therapy, Livestrong, House Beautiful, The Times, and Lifehacker. She lives in New England with her husband and two Chihuahuas.

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    Reviews for Unf*ck Your Habitat

    4/5

    183 ratings17 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a fun and relevant guide to cleaning and organizing. It offers basic advice that is do-able for anyone, including those in different living situations. The author's writing style resonates well with many readers, providing tough love while still being inclusive. However, some readers felt that the book lacked insightful advice and focused too much on gender roles. Overall, this book is recommended for its down-to-earth approach and special acknowledgement of people in chronic pain and mental health.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 1/5
      I wanted advice on cleaning and organizing, not a lecture on gender roles (I am a woman FYI). Using the term "heteronormative" is all I needed to hear before I turned it off. I think I'll find another book that doesn't use Newspeak - yes that was a 1984 reference.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Rachel Hoffman writes in a way that I, and many in my generation, respond well to. I loved the way she told it like it was but still left room for those who needed to still feel valid in what they could do--which might not be exactly what she asked. I appreciated the inclusion as well as the "tough love", I guess you could say. I will definitely be recommending this. Oh, and like another reviewer said... if you don't like cussing, well, this book definitely is not for you. Heh.
    • 3/5
      Gets you off you butt to clean, but ultimately there's really nothing magical here besides the 20:10 rule.
    • 5/5
      Down to earth guide to cleaning and decluttering, narrator and author has a sense of humor special acknowledgement for people in chronic pain and mental health.
    • 1/5
      (vulgar) and unlistenable. Couldn't even bear one chapter. Clean up your language.
    • 5/5
      This was fun and relevant! It puts cleaning in a perspective relatable to everyone, including people in any and every type of living situation.
    • 2/5
      Very very very basic advice for ppl who never clean, hoped for more insightful advice
    • 5/5
      So much more “do-able” than most organizing concepts! Must read!
    • 2/5
      Nothing earth-shattering here! I don’t know what it was that I thought might offer more than what has already been said.
    • 4/5
      I listened to this again as I love how the author breaks things down so well in regards to realizing that not everyone with home upkeep issues have families or even houses (and also not necessarily the mental or physical health to deal with it all).
    • 5/5
      The most helpful book on cleaning up your house I've ever read. This book talks a bit about decluttering (mostly in how to approach it but also in how to approach asking for help with it) but also setting a regular cleaning routine. What makes this book remarkable is in acknowledging that there are times where you just can't do a regular cleaning routine because of illness (either physical or mental) and giving you an approach at those times. The mantra that gets re-enforced throughout the book is communicate, do whatever you are capable of doing, and be compassionate with yourself. I'd recommend this book to anyone who needs help.
    • 5/5
      A short light read. Helpful to people like me who need to control the chaotic mess in their lives. I am not completely converted, but I am working on it. This book differs from other books on the same topic in that it tends to be more forgiving. The book provides suggestions while at the same time driving home the fact that it is ok to have a life that is less than perfect.
    • 3/5
      Rachel Hoffman seems to know, throughout this book, that she neither has new information or advice to add to the existing army of clean-up advice books nor enough material (or interest) to fill her own book. The motives are therefore plainly to meet a market demand generated by her to-do list app/blog with a twist. The twist being the use of humorously frank language.

      I'm a sometime reader on the subject, though, and a reader of habit-formation material as well. With a field of works to compare it with, Unfuck Your Habitat feels like what I was afraid it could be: mediocre offering with some fucks thrown in.
    • 4/5
      I'm not usually drawn to self-help books. This doesn't mean that I don't need plenty of help; but books of "simple tips" delivered in a confidently chatty tone by somebody who obviously doesn't feel challenged by things that baffle or overwhelm me just don't do much for me except help me postpone the inevitable: I'm reading about it--isn't that enough for now?

      When I saw this title mentioned in another thread, though, the subtitle grabbed me. Yes, I do think I'm better than my mess. So I downloaded the Kindle version. And read it. (Giving myself a bonus point for not thinking that downloading was enough of a first step and I could do the rest later.)

      This book is a straight-talking, BS-foiling pep talk and practical guide for dealing with household mess and clutter, both ordinary and extraordinary. Its lively, conversational style and I-see-you candor contribute to breaking down resistance.

      Getting started is the hard part, so the author puts a lot of emphasis there. She doesn't waste much time arguing why do it (if we're reading this book, we probably don't need much help with the "why" part) but concentrates on what and how. It all involves effort and motivation, and she delivers a kind, forgiving, but firm and matter-of-fact push.

      Sure, who doesn't know that the way to tackle a big task is to break it down into small parts? and even give ourselves rewards and rest pauses along the way?

      Hoffman is specific about what small parts to break it down into, and how many. No ducking, no excuses: she lays it out. Take five things off that flat surface. Just five.

      And still, if you can't do five, you haven't failed. Do four. Do one. She allows you plenty of leeway to shape your plan into something that you can actually achieve. And she stresses that once you've made a little progress, your success will build on and feed itself.

      I'm happy to note that I'm not her worst case. I don't have dirty dishes scattered around. I don't have laundry lying on the floor. I don't have groceries stacked around in bags with food going bad. But I do have piles of books and papers and miscellaneous clutter in many areas of the house, with a high concentration in one or two spots, and I do find it hard to dig into them.

      Hoffman is like a skilled goalkeeper who anticipates moves and feints and evasions and fends them all off. She sets out a model that a person like me, who always has something she'd rather do, can follow.

      And when it comes to white vinegar, behold, she's made a believer of me. That alone was worth the time and price.


      ----

      P.S. Yup, I did take five things off that corner table. And yes, it felt good. Now to do it again.
    • 4/5
      This is an interesting take on how to get started cleaning up. I definitely see this as an overview. It would need to dig deeper than it does, be longer, perhaps, to do more. The nice thing is it acknowledges that this isn't the old way of doing things and that everyone is responsible. It also acknowledges that not everyone can do the cleaning magazine style look.

      The lighthearted feel of the book, the playful way it's written, makes this an easy read. The narrator does well to stick with that light and playful feel as she reads.

      I learned quite a bit. And now that I've used the ten minutes on writing book reviews, now back to 20 minutes of cleaning.
    • 5/5
      Not for people easily offended by swearing. The section on learned helplessness would be perfect for my husband if I could get him to read it. This is a person who isn't interesting in perfect, they just want non-nasty. Clean without being fussy and also decent living conditions for the average person. It's sensible and doable and I started a minor thing recently where I got two baskets for stuff. Now my husband can't complain that he is afraid of throwing something away that's important to me, if in doubt put it in the basket, if basket remains full for a few days, remind me to deal. Little does he know, this is going to be enforced on him too.

      I liked how it's practical and is about being a non-house-worker and is all about doing little and often rather than impractical. Now I have to work with it a bit to see how it goes. It also deals with how not to beat yourself up if you're ill or in pain.

      A lot of this was stuff I needed to hear. A lot of this is stuff that many late teens/early 20s/messy people need to hear. I found it practical and sensible and less gendered and annoying than many other books of it's type, yes a lot of it is common sense, but sometimes you need to hear it from someone else to reinforce your ideas. Yes there's not a lot of actual how to clean specific things but it is more about motivation than technique.
    • 4/5
      A very useful book. I've been using the app, and following Rachel on Twitter, for quite a while; the book allows her to expand on the _why_ of the challenges she gives us, to get and keep things clean. There are several not-quite-explicit references to Marie Kondo, whose book I also read recently; Rachel's resonates with me a lot better. Marie is very much into minimalism, and the vague "spark joy"; Rachel is very much into "have what you need, no more and no less", and judging things by their utility - though she does say that if something makes you happy - if _having_ something makes you happy - that makes it useful. So the book presents both the philosophy behind UFYH, and some quite detailed plans for dealing with the mess in real-world situations. Several chapters on the process of getting stuff clean/organized/reduced to a reasonable amount, including specific mention that doing a little bit now and taking a break is a much better idea than doing a marathon clean and wearing yourself out. She also specifically points out that this is a job that's never completely done, so building short stints of cleaning (her recommendation is 20 minutes of work and a 10-minute break) into your life is much more efficient on several levels than letting things pile up until you can't stand it and clean _everything_. She also explicitly mentions that if you can't do a 20/10 - if you're physically or mentally unable to muster up the energy for 20 minutes of work - then do what you can, and take a break. Everyone's different; some people may work better with 45/15s, and some may manage 5 minutes in a day. Every bit done is a step in the right direction. Then there's a long chapter on what to do if Person-of-importance (from mother-in-law, through handyman, to landlord) is coming over, how to get the mess under control in minimum time - what to focus on, what to ignore, and what _not_ to get lost in (like reorganizing your bookcase!).
      Kondo's book struck me strongly as based on her experience and situation, and a pattern that wouldn't work for a _lot_ of other people (including most Americans); Rachel's pattern is looser, and therefore fits better (though part of that may be that my experience is probably closer to hers). For me, who is quite familiar with UFYH, the book is a worthwhile addition to the tools. I think it would also be a good introduction to the system, for someone who'd never run across UFYH before. Worth reading and rereading (also quite amusing, in parts!). I got this book from the publisher, through NetGalley.