87 books like The Housekeepers

How to run a house is no longer part of our education system. The only way to learn this vital skill – one that helps make the whole of our lives run more smoothly - is by educating ourselves. This compact book teaches us everything from how to clean a room to how to fold socks to how to descale a shower head. It’s like having your own butler to turn to for advice whenever you need it.

This is one of my favorite books—probably because I was a stressed-out corporate lawyer who definitely can’t iron.

The Undomestic Goddess is the story of a workaholic lawyer who is trying to become a partner at her law firm—only to get fired for an egregious mistake that she can’t believe she made. In her shock, she agrees to become a housekeeper. The only problem is she has no idea how to do any housework, which leads to some hilarious scenes.

I also loved how she figured out the mystery leading to her dismissal. This book made me feel less alone as a stressed-out workaholic lawyer and also made me consider that maybe being a partner at a law firm was not what I really wanted in life.

This book literally saved my marriage and allowed me to take my career to the next level.

Like many women, I was working full time (and was the primary earner) yet was still responsible for the great majority of household and childcare tasks. I was burnt out and resentful. This book gave me a system for getting my time, my life, and my marriage back on track.

Now my relationship is stronger than ever and the reclamation of my time has opened doors to all sorts of personal and professional opportunities I had been missing out on.

The surest way I’ve found to break the cycle of materialism is to develop an aesthetic for less, then face head-on the results of past consumptive behaviors. Marie Kondo’s book is the best there is on this subject. When stepping out of the rat race, many folks have a tendency to hoard as a fear reflex. Kondo’s words and wisdom, even if you can’t bring yourself to follow every last dictum, will help you see and feel the effects of materialism, and naturally shed that compulsion to “have more.”  I was always an “anti-consumer.” But it felt like a strict diet — I was resisting a compulsion to acquire more. 

After this book, then following her recommendations, that compulsion went away for good. I didn’t just think less was better. I felt it down to my core. My savings grew, my house got cleaner (relatively speaking), and I became far… show more.

With its combination of mature, flawed characters, slow-burn romance, and just the right amount of magic and wonder in the world, Swordheart is one of my favorite fantasy romances.

It’s an odd couple: a quirky widow for whom life on the road, and certainly pursuit by all manner of bandits is unfamiliar territory, together with a grumpy warrior imprisoned in an enchanted sword. Yet the two draw closer as they overcome countless obstacles together. 

Lord Lavay is determined to recapture his family’s fortune. His housekeeper is just as determined not to fail her fatherless son. Drama and growth – the best ingredients of the most moving stories.

This novel was the first one I read in the Pennyroyal Green series from this author. I almost gave up writing then and there because she wrote so well, so powerfully that I doubted my ability to become as good as her. This novel now serves as my measure, against which every romance novel is placed – including my own.

The way her characters are drawn on the page, the way they move through their own journeys, and still come together at the end, is seamless. Great characters, flawed and relatable. Excellent plot and pacing, including the world building.

These small, sparsely illustrated books are so charming and quirky! At the surface, there seems to be very little going on, but there is a soothing quality to the simple text that allows you to contemplate the little wonders of life. The naïve artwork works so well with the quiet, short musings by Kuma-Kuma chan and the narrator.

It’s mid-20th century, Budapest, and the narrator, a Hungarian writer named Magda, interviews Emerence about cleaning her house. I fell in love with this book early on, when Emerence makes it clear that she, not Magda, will decide whether she’ll take the job. To this day, Emerence haunts me. She’s a peasant, illiterate, an anti-intellectual, tall, and powerfully built. And she’s a relentless gift giver, a caretaker of the sick, and a tireless worker, sweeping the snowy or leaf-stricken street for the 11 buildings on the block. The contradictions and inconsistencies pile up, which is why she continues to roam around in my brain. And there’s the lovely mystery, which only reveals itself toward the end, as to why she’s never allowed anyone into her house. 

From the cover to its contents, Rachel Aust’s beautifully illustrated book, Less, lives up to its promise of minimalism. It is an excellent introduction to dive into living with less. She is fun and quirky and with her book’s guidance, you’ll be organized and decluttered, physically and mentally, in no time! 

This was the very first book I read after being introduced to the idea of minimalism and it got me off my couch and decluttering my cabinets pronto! Jay breaks down decluttering with her simple streamline method, and since I had no methods of my own at the time, I happily borrowed hers. One of the best tips I learned from this book was to empty spaces that you want to declutter. I’d never done that before and now this is something I ask all my clients to do. I’m so grateful to Francine Jay for getting me started on the minimalist path!