Zen and the Art of Housekeeping: The Path to Finding Meaning in Your Cleaning [Paperback]

Lauren Cassel Brownell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2008

Yes, cleaning can be an enlightening experience. "Zen and the Art of Housekeeping" teaches even the most novice mopper how to find peace while dealing with dust and dirt. Their floors and counters will shine as they become one with their home. From scrubbing the sink to folding laundry, mundane chores become steps on the path to Zen."Zen and the Art of Housekeeping" challenges readers to put more than elbow grease into their daily routine. This book has readers musing over soapy Zen koans like: If the kitchen is the heart of the home, what is the heart of the kitchen? What is the colour of clean? And if the purpose of cleaning is to remove dirt, what is the purpose of dirt?Complete with personal anecdotes, tidying tips, and green mantras to reduce eco-impact, "Zen and the Art of Housekeeping" is a fun read for anyone scrubbing their way to enlightenment - and a spotless sink.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lauren Cassel Brownell (Lubbock, TX) is a graduate of the University of Texas, and has served in advertising and marketing positions at newspapers across the country. Once marriage and motherhood became her top priorities, she perfected her Zen style of house maintenance as a home-based freelance writer and consultant.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598694499
• ISBN-13: 978-1598694499
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #590,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly the book I needed, March 5, 2008

By 

ReadingTurtle (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen and the Art of Housekeeping: The Path to Finding Meaning in Your Cleaning (Paperback)

I have been looking for a book like this for years. By chance, I decided to browse the bookstore today and found this book. I must admit I have only read the first chapter but I already feel a shift in how I view housework. I am a single mother of four kids and have two dogs, two cats, several fish, and a guinea pig. Doing all the chores is overwhelming and I am always frustrated with how mundane it all is. Zen and the Art of Housekeeping teaches that these things are not mundane. Instead, keeping your house clean and orderly is a spiritual practice. It shows your love for your family, your love for your home, and your love for yourself. It's an inside out approach rather than just simply telling you what to do. The idea behind the book is changing how you think about housework. Housework haters like me need to change our attitudes. Chores have to be done and can be be done easier with a positive attitude. What's also great is that this book is based on authentic Zen Buddhist principles. There is no fluff here. But it is practical too and encourages having a system. (For help in developing that system I suggest reading Sink Reflections by the Flylady or Sidetracked Home Executives by by Pam Young and Peggy Jones.)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars just do it, March 16, 2008

By 

K. Church (Menlo Park, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zen and the Art of Housekeeping: The Path to Finding Meaning in Your Cleaning (Paperback)

The book held alot of promise for me, a born packrat, a nester, a lover of clutter. But in the end, the message boils down to a more polite version of "just suck it up and do the work." I didn't see the path to finding meaning, although there are plenty of tried and true tips on streamlining and prioritizing. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose -- I just hoped for more from a book that asks, "what would the Buddha dust?".

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mostly Sexist Tripe, June 7, 2010

By 

Natasha S. Stephenson "Selkie2283" (Washington state) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zen and the Art of Housekeeping: The Path to Finding Meaning in Your Cleaning (Paperback)

This is one of the most sexist books I've read coming from a 21st century author. From the very beginning, it assumes that the reader is female, married, and not employed outside the home. She makes the assumption that "the woman is the primary keeper of the home." The text is littered with such gems as "the woman of the house is the heart of the kitchen." Sorry, all you male chefs out there. And when you're done, ladies, reward yourself with "a chick flick, take a nap, read the latest issue of Cosmopolitan."

The author is equally offensive towards men. In Chapter 6, "The Ones You Love," we learn that men "want to contribute. They just often don't know how." We learn that "one of women's greatest strengths...is to make the doing of everything look easy." One of my favorites is the line on page 98, "Sure it would be wonderful if your mate would just jump up and lend a hand without being asked. But men and women are just different that way." The real irony is that on page 99, she quotes from the book "Domestic Revolutions, A Social History of American Family Life," that "men's and women's domestic roles are not ordained by human nature, biology, or men's and women's psychology. Rather, they are the product of particular historical circumstances, social processes, and ideologies, and vary widely by race, religion, and time period." Oh, and her advice on how to clue men in? "Communicate clearly and without emotion if possible (men don't respond well to `irrational female emotions')..." Yes, she actually says that. No, I can't believe it either. And, "if the man in your life needs more motivation to get in the game and clean, show him this paragraph. A man cleaning is sexy! ... What will it take for them to understand that if they put a load of clothes into the washing machine now it will pay off in the bedroom later?" This most offensive of chapters ends with, "What have we learned here about getting the men in our lives to help with the cleaning? They are never going to get it, so just forget it. ... And if all else fails, bribe them with sex."

I have to admit, I didn't read beyond Chapter 6. The only useful and pertinent information on zen housecleaning is found within the first two chapters, anyway. After that, it devolves into a mediocre attempt to give specific cleaning tips, like a few sentences each on the difference between cleaning tile and wood floors. I think most of us probably realize that you should sweep AFTER you brush the crumbs off the counters, but that's in there, too. She attempts to espouse "green" cleaning techniques, while at the same time advising you to buy disposable toilet bowl brushes and apply Lysol liberally to your home's surfaces. Many of the pages include little zen `koans', concepts, and quotes. All the quotes are by women, and many of them are as cringe-worthy as the author's. ("It is my job to make him feel like he is King of the world that I actually rule," and "Any working woman should have a housekeeper. This frees up time for sex. Who has time for love-making when there are commodes waiting to be disinfected?)

There is some useful information in this book about how to change your mindset towards cleaning - that's the only reason this book didn't get returned to the store immediately. I've even instituted some of her techniques. Unfortunately, my husband bought the book for the both of us, but the sexiest language and assumptions have kept him from reading any of it. There's nothing wrong with being a stay-at-home mom or housewife, but this book alienates both men and women who are stepping outside of traditional gender roles, and it does so needlessly. My advice is to read through the first chapter and a half in the bookstore, and then put it back on the shelf - the rest is either filler, or offensive.