The Evolution of Me

ID: A four-page comic in a limited blue-orange palette of Ben and Blue J. They are surrounded by branches that bloom over time. Page 1: They read together. Blue J points out the image of a blue jay in a book. Ben hands them a jay-feather necklace. Text: "And if you ask what bird I want to be, I'll say a blue jay". Page 2: Ben and Blue J walk; Blue J looks up at Red Jack, before turning and putting their arm over Ben's shoulder. Text: "If you ask what time I want to leave, I'll change the conversation". Page 3: Ben leans in with his hand on Blue J's shoulder; close up of their face and their hand as they kiss him back. Text: "If you lean in close and kiss me, I won't mind". Page 4: Blue J holds Ben and kisses him on the cheek. Text: "I'll probably respond in kind". End ID

I’ve been a disabled homemaker for 5 years now so I wanted to share the resources that have helped me take our home from complete chaos to reasonably functional and enjoyable.

If you’re not functioning…

If you’re constantly tripping over things and getting injured, eating food that makes you sick, dealing with pests in the home, and struggling to complete basic tasks like feeding, clothing, and bathing yourself, then you should start with…

KC Davis aka StruggleCare aka DomesticBlisters

TikTok

Book

Podcast

Website

I recommend KC Davis’s stuff with a big heaping dose of “keep what works and leave what doesn’t.” She’s one of the few people I’ve seen talking about compassionate care focused on maintaining a level of personal functioning rather than maintaining a home. Her stuff has been very helpful to me during some very challenging times. 

I think her some of her best work is probably her videos on the 5 step tidying process, the ones on setting up bedside hygiene and food kits, and the ones on dealing with DOOM (Didn’t Organize Only Moved) boxes. 

That being said she has a tendency to use neurotype as a shield for not reckoning with other dynamics in a situation (gendered, narcissism, etc) when asked for advice by viewers which can lead to this “all people with neurodivergence are good” vibe which I find off putting (especially as an autistic person). I mention it because her bleh stuff was all I was coming across and I missed out on her good stuff for a while. It’s worth picking through though. 

Her book is a little better on the whole. 

If you’re functioning but still very overwhelmed…

If you can complete your daily activities of living pretty regularly but you’re still losing papers you need, rebuying items you didn’t realize you had, or looking around your home at a mess that feels impossible to clean, then check out…

Dana K White aka A Slob Comes Clean

YouTube

Website

Podcast

Books

I love Dana K. White’s stuff. Honestly, I recommend her to every level on this list but I think she probably shines brightest in this category. 

Her 5 step decluttering process is pure fucking gold. It’s a decluttering process that doesn’t rely on feelings at all - really helpful for those with trauma or alexthymia generally. She has multiple videos explaining it and even more where you can watch her go step by step with someone over the course of an hour and make a huge dent in some very overwhelming mess. Its the process I’ve used to go through over 50 moving boxes to declutter so we could fit in this much smaller space we moved to in April. 

Her day to day cleaning advice is also excellent. Her concept of dishes math has really helped me make decisions about what chores to focus on when I’m low energy. Her 14 Days to Opening Your Front Door series is amazing if you’re having to host for a given occasion but your home is a wreck. 

If you’re not painfully overwhelmed by your stuff but there’s still a lot of friction in your home…

If your stuff doesn’t overwhelm you but your home still doesn’t feel that good to be in, you’re still not finding things when you need to or it’s taking you a long time to find them, you create homes for things but they look terrible or they never seem to stick, then you’d love…

Cassandra Aarssen aka Clutterbug

YouTube

Books

Website

Podcast

Clutterbug types were kind of a game changer for me. It’s what really opened my eyes to why the systems that worked for me did not work for my partner. She is a Bee - lots of small categories that are all very visible - and I am a ladybug - big bucket categories that aren’t visible. When I reorganized our space according to the compromise between our types, Butterfly - big categories and very visible - all of a sudden the systems just worked so much better. There were many fewer fights sparked by things not getting put away or not being able to find things. So I really recommend her videos on the different types and examples of each. 

Quick word of warning, she does have regular videos about diet and exercise that I personally find pretty triggering to my disordered eating habits so I’m not subscribed to her and just check her channels every now and then so it’s easier to skip over videos where that might be a topic she talks about. 

Cliff Tan aka Dear Modern

TikTok

YouTube

Website

Book

Cliff Tan’s work is the most recent of these resources that I’ve come across but holy shit I cannot recommend it enough. 

Because my parents didn’t originally intend on my partner using the room she wound up using, there’s simply not space to keep some of the furniture and items in there anywhere else. Meaning she just kind of has to keep a fair bit of junk in there. But after watching (read: binging) the Dear Modern YouTube channel and seeing him completely change spaces by moving furniture around, I redid my partners room over the course of about 2 hours and it’s a completely different room. Way more comfortable and she’s already mentioned she’s getting much better sleep. 

So I really really recommend his stuff. Sometimes what you really need isn’t new stuff but just rearranging what you already have. 

If you’re pretty content with your home but want to streamline the process of caring for it…

If your home is pretty functional but regular tidying, deep cleaning, and maintenance tasks specifically keep falling through the cracks, then you might like…

FlyLady System

Website

The Secret Slob - YouTube

Diane in Denmark - YouTube

There are lots of systems out there for house keeping but I’ve yet to try or see one that seems to do better than FlyLady for me. Since with my illness my energy varies wildly, I don’t necessarily do things when her system recommends but I do them according to the priority her system ascribes to them as I’m able. 

FlyLady is a notoriously convoluted website so I really recommend learning from a secondhand source. The Secret Slob and Diane in Denmark are my favorites. 

Maintenance Lists

This Old House

There a lots of maintenance lists out there and honestly finding one and doing what you can is better than nothing. I personally like the ones from This Old House because they’re broken up into annual, seasonal, monthly, and some weekly tasks - which are essentially priority categories, similar to FlyLady. I’ve linked the winter one here but there are many others to pick through depending on what you want to work on. 

Bonus: Paper Clutter

My System

Link

This is what I’ve arrived at after years of experimentation. It’s an amalgam of a few different ideas from different systems in one place. I keep mind on my fridge but put yours where ever you’re dumping paper anyways. If you’re in a room or live in a car/backpack - I have ideas on how to organize it for those in this post too. 

Sunday Basket

YouTube Video

The Minimal Mom’s Video

She’s in Her Apron Video

Need something a little more robust? The Sunday Basket is probably be best version of a paper (and other stuff) system I’ve seen. Got something that needs dealt with? Chuck it in the Sunday Basket. The creator also has videos on long term paper storage ideas if that’s something you need as well. But her videos usually run an hour long so I recommend starting with either the Minimal Mom’s video or She’s in Her Apron’s video. 

Bonus: Digital Clutter

PARA System/Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte

YouTube Channel

Website

Book

Essential Video

The branding on this system can be very productivity tech wonk which is off putting to me but when I finally started hearing what was at the core of it and applying it - my digital life was changed. I’ve linked my absolute favorite video he’s done here. Ignore the bit about it being the last in the series, most of us are already using some note app and if you like it you can always go back and watch the rest. But just applying what’s in that video to your digital systems will make things easier to find. 

-the first baseman had no reason to chase Baéz, if he just stepped on the bag he was automatically out

-theres two outs, so if hes out, the inning is over. even if the runner on second base gets home, the run doesnt count. its not until hes safe at first that the run scores

-theres no specific rule in baseball about running backwards from first, just that you “cannot retreat to home base” meaning so long as if you dont touch the plate, its fine

-Baéz ran backwards to kill enough to get the run to score, and then stole and extra base on the base on the bad throw

-HE TOOK THE TIME TO UMPIRE HIS OWN PLAY AND CALL SAFE

Javier Báez (the batter, a Chicago Cub, wearing blue) has just hit the ball. His job is now to run around the bases - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, back to where he started (“home”), at which point he will have scored a point. In practice, he will probably stop partway, wait for the next batter to get a hit, and try to make it home from there.

The Pittsburgh Pirates (in white) are fielding. Their job is to stop the Cubs from scoring by getting them out, by various combinations of catching the ball and tagging people or bases with it.

The scoreboard (top left) shows that one Cub has already made it to second base, so he will resume running now that Javy has a hit. It also shows that two Cubs are out. If a third Cub gets out, their turn to bat will be over, it will be the Pirates’ turn to bat, and the Cubs can’t score anymore (for now, but that’s not relevant).

The Pirate at first base (the first baseman) has the ball. All he needs to do is step on first base while holding it before Javy gets there, and Javy is out. This is probably the number one most common thing a first baseman has to do.

He does not do it.

For some reason he starts chasing Javy, presumably trying to tag him with the ball directly. This is a perfectly legitimate way of getting him out, but also completely unnecessary.

This has never happened to Javy before. Unsure what else to do, he just kind of… jogs backwards away from him.

Meanwhile, the Cub who was at second base (Contreras) has made it all the way back to home. Because the Pirates’ first baseman has helpfully walked the ball back home, he can easily toss it to the Pirate at home (the catcher) who will tag Contreras out.

The catcher doesn’t tag him in time.

The umpire signals that Contreras is safe (not out).

Javy also signals that Contreras is safe, just for fun. He’s never been nearby when a teammate makes it home before, and he’s enjoying himself.

Notice that the score has not changed, even though Contreras made it home. That’s because Javy is still technically running to first base. If he gets out before he reaches it, the Cubs’ turn to bat is over, and nothing else that’s happened since he hit the ball matters.

Javy remembers this, and heads back to first base. The catcher throws the ball to another Pirates fielder, who is frantically running to do the first baseman’s job.

He doesn’t catch it.

Javy is safe at first. Contreras scores (although the scoreboard won’t change for a second).

Javy notices how far away that ball landed, and decides he can make it to second base before anyone picks it up and tags him out.

An offscreen Pirate throws the ball to second base, where another Pirate is ready and waiting to catch it, tag Javy out, and end the Cubs’ turn to bat.

He doesn’t catch it.

Javy is safe at second. The video doesn’t show it, but he will go on to score as well.

This should have been a very easy out for the Pirates, but through two dropped catches and one truly bizarre decision from the first baseman, they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and turned it into two points for the Cubs.

Hella x Adaire x Adelaide (50): "This ship has it all! Toxic yuri! Buff women! Character growth! Awkward flirting! Profficient flirting! Lesbian Saul Goodman! What more could you want?"

Violet x Arkady (82): "Sapphics in space, what more could you ask for? They're complicated people with mental health issues who are on the run from the authoritarian government who are so in love and believe the other person is the better person in the relationship"

okay so this is in fact the crux of the problem. i.e. there isn't in fact a problem, but just the perception of one.

it is the choice and extreme availability of the choices which makes it seem like there's only 1 good book in every 1000. in fact, people have already published ABSOLUTE rubbish and indeed since the very earliest days of publishing there have been poor books. badly written, badly spelled, badly conceived, badly plotted, nonsense. they are Immediately forgotten, never got mentioned outside of their little town, etc. the badly written books from the last 10 years, on the other hand, are on a small printrun of 20,000 copies (not 500), and additionally, are still around - e.g. in your local bookstore or charity shop or social media feed - where you can fret about them.

also (1) - you're worried about whether there was a truly life-changingly good book published in 2025? maybe there was a book that would appeal to YOU specifically as Excellent, and it was written in Korean or Telugu or Bulgarian and it didn't get noticed enough to get translated. maybe this Korean masterpiece did get translated, but only into Japanese and Indonesian. anyway, you will never know. but equally, this may have happened in 1834 and you STILL wouldn't know, unless it got re-discovered - but this in itself takes time, and clearly only a very exceptional book will be still praised 100 years later, at home and halfway around the world.

also (2) acting like the 18th-20th centuries were great for novel-writing and that the 21st century isn't, ignores the situation in much of the world. many "smaller" nations and/or colonised nations, had not started writing Novels in earnest before the second half of the 20th century. novels aren't the only means of cultural expression in the literary field, btw; e.g the first Kyrgyz novel is Uzak Jol (The Long Road), by Mukay Elebayev, which was published in 1936. the next major novel from Kyrgyzstan is Jamila Chinghiz Aitmatov, which was published in Russian in 1958. but they had the Epic of Manas, of course; in contrast, today, about 900 novels a year are published in Kyrgyz, about 60% of them in their own language and about 40% of them in Russian. clearly this is a very robust publishing industry, where it wasn't before. but if you are an English reader you can overlook this situation, and many similar ones across the world's 200 countries very easily.

also (3) we have a tendency to collapse the time periods of the more distant past and experience that past as compressed. oh, there are sooo many great 19th century books? okay, but name a specifically excellent book from 1870. hmm ... maybe it wasn't a 'good year' - or maybe world-class books are rare enough that there's only a dozen or so per century, and therefore it's hardly alarming if you, personally, haven't (YET!) read something extraordinarily good published 2016-2026 (for example). but we valorise the 19th century as the epoch of great literature on the basis of perhaps 40 truly incredible (European) books.

also (4) the whole function of 'Classics' is that the filter of 'educated' public taste has latched onto, and remembered, and analysed, and kept in print, those books which were thought to be exceptionally worthwhile. this cultural filtration needs time. especially if you are waiting for literature written in X country to be appraised domestically, and then gain international notice, and then get translated into your native language. of course the average book you are told you Must Read from 1900-1910 will be better than the average book you would pick up if you chose at random from the list of books published (in English) this year.

also (5) lock in and read a bit more, and you will find (if you read exclusively from the 21st century, rather than the 19th + first half of the 20th) that a. you will find great novels you wouldn't've had otherwise but more interestingly, b., you will discover that, when you read 'classics' more or less exclusively, you train yourself to see many superficial elements of these books, such as the language of the time, as hallmarks of quality, whereas (much of the time), the language may be just older - if you attune yourself to a the contemporary time period again, you may find poetic quality in a different style, and grow to appreciate it as well. MONOTONOUS DIET = NOT IDEAL. Tolstoy is beautiful. it is not the only way to write. (correspondingly, if you read enough 19th century prose you'll stop idolising it and realise that some very good books from the 1860s are also written in fairly unremarkable style, which may not be apparent if you persist in the unconscious assumption that older-sounding = better).

also (6) there's nothing ruining books from the 2020s partly because what you're railing against is most of all, mass literary - and the mass visibility of literacy. people will want to read salacious, trivial, and same-y things. it is okay. you're just more aware of it now because they're saying so out loud, on tiktok / tumblr / etc. we're also writing unprecedented amounts of surreal, formally innovative, very politically enlightened, very culturally rigourous books. go and find them.