Confessions of a Cleaning Lady

I first met Lois in the pages of a story profiling her cleaning company, where she made quite the impression talking about domestic feminism. To her, a home isn’t just a place you live — it’s a reflection of the way we move through the world. Now, in her own book, she delves further. Illuminating how societal patterns and world issues are mirrored in the way we approach the small stuff, like doing the dishes or wiping down the bathroom sink. Discussing how the fabric of our relationships can be frayed or repaired with the housework we choose or refuse to do. Surmising that, similar to the way a butterfly can create a storm by flapping its wings, to practice feminism in the home is to take part in a community-quaking act of political resistance. Through Lois’s eyes, you are on your way to changing the world just by clearing your own clutter off the dining room table.

— Alexandra Jones, editor