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Tidying the Abyss
A Practical Guide to Cleaning and Organizing While Exhausted and Overwhelmed
Contributors
Formats and Prices
- On Sale
- Nov 11, 2025
- Page Count
- 304 pages
- Publisher
- Balance
- ISBN-13
- 9781538770467
Price
$29.00Price
$38.00 CADFormat
Format:
- Hardcover $29.00 $38.00 CAD
- ebook $14.99 $19.99 CAD
- Audiobook Download (Unabridged) $24.99
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When we see people in desperate situations, we are quick to sympathize but also quick to explain to ourselves why that couldn’t be us. We could never live in squalor—we’re just too responsible! We could never get a disabling illness that prevents us from easily enacting life skills—we’re always so good about exercising and taking our supplements! And we certainly couldn’t spend our lives in endless, menial suffering—we plan to be blessed!
But the truth is, desperation and chaos are just a few unfortunate events away for any of us. Keeping your life clean, orderly, and peaceful involves skill, but it also involves privilege, luck, and having access to a responsible adult with the bandwidth to teach you. Even then, responsibility does not save us from chaos. And when our lives are upended, our dishes, our laundry, and our bills mercilessly persist, piling around us, an oppressive burden.
In Tidying the Abyss one-time clinical social worker and current professional organizer Amanda Dodson provides a gentle, step-by-step guide to keeping house even when one’s life is turned upside-down by an unexpected and permanent change to their, or a loved-one’s, ability. Dodson advocates for the abandoning of perfection to make room for creative, livable solutions, no matter where one falls on the spectrum of being chronically ill, neurodivergent, or hopeless at home maintenance.
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“Amanda Stuckey Dodson’s deeply empathetic and refreshingly honest guide is a must-read for anyone who has ever felt paralyzed by the chaos of everyday life. Far more than a cleaning manual, this book is a lifeline for those grappling with exhaustion, emotional overwhelm, and the silent burdens of domestic expectations.”Laura Taylor, PhD, LCSW, psychotherapist
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“Tidying the Abyss is a breath of fresh air for anyone who’s ever looked around their space and felt utterly overwhelmed. With wit, warmth, and a deeply practical approach, this book gives you permission to organize your home in a way that actually works for you. Whether you're juggling a busy life or simply exhausted, this guide meets you where you are, tackles real-life messes with compassion, and shows you how to move forward without shame.”Tessa Stuckey, licensed professional counselor and author of For the Sake of Our Youth
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"Say goodbye to elaborate storage bin organizational systems that will never last- say hello to sustainable solutions that will work for YOU!"Dr. Amanda Hasselle, clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at Rhodes College
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