Breezy and readable, this book is a great gift to someone who needs help with cleaning or as a reference book to which you can return.

Outstanding sense of getting in control of your environment, to feel better immediately. This is just the guide I was hoping for, in a field of many similar titles that can't hold a candle to this one.

I enjoyed this enough! It was an easy read that gave me a lot of information. Do I think I'll use all of it, nah, but definitely some of it, and that's an improvement.

So, you think you know how to clean? You need to meet Melissa Dilkes Pateras, the TikTok star who’s here to teach you how to fold that elusive fitted sheet and maybe even have fun while doing it. Her book, *A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home*, is like getting housekeeping advice from your slightly irreverent, but oh-so-wise best friend—who also happens to know her way around a caulk gun.

If you’ve ever found yourself standing in the cleaning aisle, staring blankly at dryer balls and wondering if you’re missing something crucial, this book is for you. Melissa’s guide is packed with tips, tricks, and hacks that make adulting a little less daunting. From mastering the art of laundry (yes, it’s an art) to transforming your cluttered chaos into a sanctuary, she’s got you covered.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

A Dirty Guide to A Clean Home had me from the very start! Who can argue with logic like,

““Please excuse the mess, we’re making memories.” No, you aren’t—at least not good ones. You’re living in chaos and those are the memories you are making.”

ADGTACH is full of tips and tricks to begin the journey of organizing, decluttering and cleaning your home and simple methods of upkeep and upgrading aspects of your home. The book had helpful step by step processes accompanied by illustrations.

This is a simple to use, well organized and humourous home maintenance guide. The instructions are easy to follow.

A very thorough guide on how to clean your house including tips on what tools are best for what job as well as what you shouldn't do. The author tells you a little bit about their life at the beginning to give you confidence that they know what they're talking about. It helps to know that the author also had ADHD because quite often with self help books, they are written by neurotypical people for neurotypical people. Knowing the author has ADHD gives me more confidence that this book will help me in my daily life. The author is also very down to earth and fun in their writing which helps you feel like you're conversing with a friend instead of just reading a self help book.

Recently I've seen more and more cleaning books for the neuroatypical, and it's a great trend - you'll never learn how to clean from somebody who is naturally clean. Recommended and straightforward.

This was a fun read considering it was about how to clean/maintain your home!

The tips are simple and take a few seconds to minutes!

I learnt so much from this book and I’ve bed. Around for awhile…

If you like “caulk” this is the book for u!

Nicely organized information for those beginning their cleaning quest. Perfect for a high school grad going off to collage in a nice basket of must haves for dorms.

I chose this book because I have trouble keeping my house clean. I was looking for tips and tricks and I did get some. But for the most part, this book would be better suited for younger people, especially those going out into the world on their own for the first time. I'm 45 and have owned my home for 15 years so a lot of the DIY stuff was already familiar to me.

The first part of the book is on housekeeping, then DIY, and specifically laundry. My only complaint with the advice is that it's geared towards a reader who has the emotional and physical capacity to do all these things. I suffer from depression ad nexecutive dysfunction so some days I cannot manage to get things done even when I'm behind. Some gentler advice for people who struggle with housework would have been nice.

Overall this is a well written, useful guide. I just don't think I'm it's target audience.

A DIRTY GUIDE TO A CLEAN HOME by Melissa Dilkes Pateras, known as the Laundry Lesbian online, outlines "Housekeeping Hacks You Can't Live Without" in an irreverent, but useful manner. She begins with encouraging less clutter, noting "your memories are stored within you and not in your stuff." Lists of helpful questions (Do I love it? Would I buy it again today if it broke?) and the big clutter culprits (gifts, mugs, towels and bedding, water bottles...) will have readers smiling and nodding in agreement. Her energetic and encouraging tone will prompt readers to get organized and to take action. As Pateras says, "there are big cleans and little cleans. There are deep cleans and everyday tidies. Sometimes you need one but not the other." She offers a ton of specific suggestions for cleaning bathrooms, kitchens, appliances, floors, etc. and lists a variety of tools and products to use. Another section of her book focuses on fixing and upgrading, or, as she says "things you thought you had to hire a TaskRabbit to do but you can actually do yourself" (like change a shower head, switching doorknobs, or caulking). There's also an entire section on laundry (washing drying, stain removal, ironing) which is followed by one on maintaining appliances. An informative guide.

A witty, informative, helpful, well-written and organized guide to cleaning your home with tips, tricks and Melissa's witty humour all perfectly intertwined. This book helps you feel confident about cleaning and provides excellent tips including using simple products for various different things. Melissa's insightful advice was incredibly helpful in teaching to properly clean, do laundry and fix things around the house. This book has a permanent place on my bookshelf!

I'm not familiar with Melissa's tik tok persona but am intrigued to check her out. I guess she makes a lot of sexual innuendos as this book is full of them. Comprehensive cleaning as well as appliance care.

Like many people, I first came to know Melissa Dilkes Pateras from Tiktok and her laundry videos. As a relatively new homeowner, when I saw this book I thought great - this will be a good opportunity to get some other tips! However right from the introduction I realized we probably weren’t a great fit - when she led off with explaining why you need to keep everything neat and organized I realized this would be the opposite of my favorite housekeeping book (How to Keep House While Drowning). I kept reading for a while but ultimately decided this one isn’t for me and chose to DNF. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook.

I love this book! I am not a TikTok person so I wasn’t familiar with the author from that I just liked the title so reached for it. I also never got into the life changing magic when everyone else was. But this book! This book will change my life at least in relation to how I care for my home. I am breaking it down into segments where I will read a section -actually do it- then go back to read the next section and smiling through both! Highly recommend A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home and bravo to writing your wise approach for all of us!

I was familiar with Melissa Pateras as I follow her on TikTok. This book give excellent information on how to clean, iron, maintain and even fold a fitted sheet. Simple, easy to follow directions with illustrations guide us through the process of maintaining and keeping our cleaning equipment in top condition.

This is the book you don’t know you need. All those things you didn’t know you needed to know and then boom you were an adult and crap you need to know them. How to properly clean, do laundry, fix things around the house. How to sanitize and stain remove in a no guilt and it’s ok you don’t know how to do it way. A funny and encouraging way to get yourself clean and organized and a must have book for those struggling to get things in order!