A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home: Housekeeping Hacks You Can't Live Without

Everything you need to know about laundry, cleaning, and basic home repairs—from the TikTok star who not only taught us how to fold a fitted sheet, but explained bluing and how to properly use your caulk (gun).

Melissa Dilkes Pateras is the most competent housekeeper/DIY-project master/home repair genius that you’ve ever fantasized about being. Once she followed her kids onto TikTok and began sharing her years of knowledge, she found a community eager for her approachable, often tongue-in-cheek advice on everything from balls—dryer balls, that is—to why color-coded closets are a spiritual experience. In A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home, she steps off TikTok and onto the page to take us through organizing, cleaning, laundry, repairs, and beyond. Along the way, she shares strategies, tips, and tricks for keeping house, and reminds you that you’re not supposed to know what you were never taught. She doesn’t care about transforming our homes into minimal, beige Instagram posts; she simply wants to help make your life easier, whether you’re terrified of your laundry pile or feel that you have an inner handyperson who’s been longing for their moment.

A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home is Melissa's all-purpose housekeeping guide, filled with practical skills grounded in joyful living and written in the cheeky, approachable voice she's known for. As she says: "For some reason I'm famous for folding laundry." Now you, too, can feel like the ruler of your own kingdom—because your home doesn’t need to feel like your adversary.

About the Author

In addition to creating viral videos with housecleaning tips and tricks, Melissa Dilkes Pateras has worked in social services for over twenty years, specializing in behavior and relationship management. She lives in Ontario, Canada, with her wife and three children.

Author Residence: Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada

Author Hometown: Canada