Keeping your home clean and organized requires a lot of effort—there are a lot of tasks both big and little to keep track of that add up, taking up quite a bit of your time and energy. It can honestly get overwhelming, especially if you lead an already busy lifestyle, or deal with depression, and have to face a mess that's piled up.

The urge to clean everything all at once in one big marathon clean can be strong—be it because you finally have the time and energy and you feel ready to take it on, or because you think that's the only way it'll get done—but doing everything at once isn't necessarily the best idea. At least, that's one of the main principles of "Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess," a book by Rachel Hoffman.

If the title sounds familiar, yes—Hoffman is also the one behind the popular website, Unfuck Your Habitat. Many people have turned to the site over the years for help dealing with an overwhelming mess (including our readers, as many of you have shared the site in your comments!), so Hoffman knows what she's talking about.

The book offers advice for getting your most dreaded tasks done, and for changing your outlook on your mess, but perhaps the most important takeaway is to skip marathon cleanings. Why? Well, there are a few reasons that Hoffman explains in the book. For one, it leads to an all-or-nothing mentality, which just continues the cycle of letting things pile up over time. It can also be unhealthy, as "many people manifest anxiety or manic episodes with marathon cleaning" and you can start to associate cleaning with feeling sick or distressed. It's also a temporary and unsustainable solution that doesn't help you actually build healthy and helpful habits.

"Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess" is available on Amazon.