Pieter Van Dijk, who grew up in Westland in the Netherlands
Pieter Van Dijk Westland, the Netherlands

Let the house do the work the bottles promise

My father grew tomatoes under glass in Westland and ran our house the same careful way. He never called an exterminator, never kept a cupboard full of sprays, and never paid for what the house could do by itself. For forty years I watched how he did it. This manual puts his 52 methods in one place.

See the manual Read the sums
40
years watching my father
52
methods in one book
6
ingredients, about $20

The manual

One book. Fifty-two methods. A whole house, run the calm way.

Organisation, decluttering, the kitchen, the bathroom and damp, laundry and smells, pests without poison, and saving money. Eight sections, arranged around the problem in front of you today. Every method tells you why it happens, what you need and what it costs, how my father did it step by step, what it will not do, and what it saves you.

Read Section I first: it is short, and it covers the cupboard, the safety rules and the fifteen-minute day. Then open the method your house needs. Nobody has to read it cover to cover.

Cover of The Dutch Home Manual by Pieter Van Dijk, with the line Save up to $1,400 a year

PDF manual · about 175 pages · 2026 edition

The reference for whatever your house is doing today.

A black oven. Sour towels. Grout going dark. A counter where the mail always lands. Ants by the back door. A drawer of bottles under the sink, each one half used. The Manual puts the method, the amounts, the times, the safety limits and the prices side by side, almost always with the same six plain ingredients: white vinegar, soda crystals, green soap, baking soda, 3% hydrogen peroxide and lemon.

The complete package

  • The Dutch Home Manual · 52 methods in 8 practical sections, about 175 pagesIncluded
  • The Dutch Weekly Plan · printable checklists: daily, weekly and seasonalIncluded
  • The Shopping List · the whole cupboard for about $20Included
  • You pay once$27
Get the manual · $27

Instant PDF · Pay once · 15-day money-back guarantee

The sums

Where up to $1,400 a year in savings comes from.

My father did his sums once a year, on the first evening of January, at the kitchen table. Method 52 does the same for this book: a prudent yearly figure for each part of the house. Count only the parts that match what you used to buy.

Around the house prudent, per year

  • Cleaning products: the six-ingredient cupboard instead of a spray for every room Methods 2, 23–30$100 – $250
  • Organisation: no boxes and gadgets, fewer duplicates of things you could not find Methods 5–15$50 – $150
  • Decluttering: selling what you do not use, buying less to begin with Methods 16–22$50 – $200
  • Bathroom and humidity: airing instead of mould sprays and dehumidifier running costs Methods 31–36$40 – $100
  • Laundry and smells: vinegar and soda instead of softener, stain sprays and air fresheners Methods 37–41$60 – $150
  • Pests: homemade baits and sealing holes instead of routine visits for small problems Methods 42–47$100 – $250

The thrifty habits depends on your home

  • Freezer habits: less food thrown away Method 48$150 – $300
  • Heating and draughts Method 49$100 – $250
  • Repairs: things mended instead of replaced Method 50$100 – $300
  • Old household tricks Method 51$50 – $120
  • Prudent yearly total, counting only what you use$600 – $1,400

The $1,400 on the cover is the top of that range, not a promise to every reader. The total is not the rows added together; it is the book’s own prudent figure for a household that uses the parts that apply to it. If you already live simply, you will save less. If your cupboard was full of sprays and your freezer full of mystery bags, you may save more. Serious mould, serious pests, gas and electrics still need a professional, and no saving is worth a risk.

What’s inside

Exactly what you get for $27.

Fifty-two numbered methods in eight sections. Each one has the same five parts: why it happens, what you need, how my father did it, what it will not do, and what it saves you. Start with the four foundations, then go straight to the method your house is asking for.

Before You Start · 4 methods

The cupboard, the safety rules and the daily rhythm.

  1. My Father’s Rule: A House That Stays Clean by Itself
  2. The 6-Ingredient Dutch Cupboard
  3. The Safety Page: What You Never Mix
  4. The 15-Minute Dutch Day

Organisation Rules · 11 methods

A shelf, a hook, a box you already own. Seconds a day.

  1. One Shelf, One Purpose
  2. The Doorway Rule: Decide Before It Comes In
  3. The Mail Rule That Saves an Hour a Week
  4. The “Everything Has an Address” Drawer
  5. The Entrance: Shoes, Coats and Keys in 30 Seconds
  6. The Kitchen Counter That Stays Empty
  7. Wardrobes: The Hanger Trick and the Seasonal Swap
  8. The Garage and the Shed: Walls, Not Floors
  9. Paperwork in One Box: What to Keep and for How Long
  10. Cables, Chargers and the Junk Drawer
  11. Teaching a Whole Family the System

Decluttering · 7 methods

Let things go steadily, without fuss or guilt.

  1. The Lessons Everyone Learns Too Late
  2. The One-In, One-Out Rule
  3. The Weekend Method: One Entire Home in Two Days
  4. Sentimental Things Without Guilt
  5. What My Father Never Threw Away (and Why)
  6. Selling, Giving, Recycling: The Dutch Way to Let Go
  7. Keeping It Clear: The Monthly 20-Minute Check

Kitchen and Cleaning · 8 methods

Six plain ingredients, hot water, a cloth and an old brush.

  1. The Toxic Kitchen Items We Replaced for Good
  2. The Oven Glass and the Oven Floor
  3. The Range Hood Filter
  4. Burnt Pans and Stained Mugs
  5. The Sink, the Drain and the Smell
  6. The Fridge and the Freezer in 20 Minutes
  7. Floors: One Bucket for Every Floor in the House
  8. Windows Without Streaks

Bathroom, Mould and Humidity · 6 methods

Treat damp like a neighbour: politely, firmly, every day.

  1. How the Dutch Reduce Humidity and Stop Mould Coming Back
  2. Black Grout
  3. The Toilet Ring
  4. The Shower Glass and Limescale
  5. The Ventilation Habit That Does More Than Any Product
  6. Musty Cupboards and Smells in Winter

Laundry and Smells · 5 methods

If something smells, it is still dirty or still damp.

  1. Sour Towels
  2. The Washing Machine That Smells
  3. Whites That Stay White Without Bleach
  4. Drying Indoors Without Damp
  5. A House That Smells Clean Without Sprays

Pests Without Poison · 6 methods

Stop running a hotel for them, and know when to call someone.

  1. The Old Trick That Kept Bugs Out for 40 Years
  2. Mice: The Kitchen Mix and the Holes to Close
  3. Spiders
  4. Ants and Roaches: The $1 Bottle and Where to Put It
  5. Fruit Flies and Pantry Moths
  6. Garden Slugs and Weeds Between the Tiles

Saving Money the Dutch Way · 5 methods

Never pay twice for the same thing.

  1. Freezer Habits That End Food Waste
  2. Heating and the Draughty House
  3. Repair Before Replace: The Father’s Toolbox
  4. Forgotten Tricks Only Poor Families Knew
  5. The Yearly Sums: What This Manual Saves You

Plus: The Dutch Weekly Plan, printable checklists for every day, every Saturday and every season, and The Shopping List for the whole cupboard.

Pieter Van Dijk

About the author

Pieter Van Dijk.

I was born in Westland, a flat corner in the south of Holland covered in greenhouses. My father grew tomatoes and peppers under that glass for most of his life, and our house stood at the end of a narrow road beside a ditch. I have lived in the United States for many decades now, and I love the homes here. But under almost every sink I have seen the same crowd of bottles, each one for a single job, most of them half used.

My father would have been puzzled by that cupboard. He was the most careful man with money I have ever known. The Dutch have a word for it: zuinig, careful with money and careful with effort. He stopped mould before it started, kept mice out of a house surrounded by fields, and kept the whole place in order with a handful of habits that took him minutes.

I am not a chemist, an exterminator or a contractor. I am a son who paid attention. Every method in this book is what I saw work, year after year, and where something is beyond a home method, I say so plainly and send you to a professional.

“One bottle, one job, and never two at once.” — my father, for forty years

Order the manual

$27 once. No subscription. Yours to keep.

The PDF arrives right after the secure Hotmart checkout. Read it on your phone, tablet or computer, search for the method you need, and come back whenever the house asks for it. You have fifteen days to ask for your money back.

The Dutch Home Manual cover

The complete package

  • The Dutch Home Manual · 52 methods, about 175 pagesIncluded
  • The Dutch Weekly Plan · printable checklistsIncluded
  • The Shopping ListIncluded
  • You pay once$27
Get the manual · $27

Secure Hotmart checkout · One payment · 15-day guarantee

Card · PayPal · Google Pay · Apple Pay

Questions

What people ask before they buy.

Who is this book for?

For anyone who wants a clean, calm home without a cupboard full of sprays and without spending every Sunday cleaning. It was written for ordinary American homes, by a man who grew up in a small Dutch one. Nothing here asks you to be perfect or to change everything at once.

Do I need special products?

No. Almost every method uses the same six plain ingredients: white vinegar, soda crystals, green soap, baking soda, 3% hydrogen peroxide and lemon. Together they cost about $20 and last for months. The Shopping List at the end tells you what to buy and in what size.

Is it safe on my surfaces?

Read Method 3, the safety page, before anything else. It lists what you never mix, which ingredients never go on natural stone, waxed wood or aluminium, and how to do the patch test on a hidden spot and wait 24 hours. If you are unsure, test first and follow the label.

Do I have to read all of it?

No. Read Section I once, it is short. Then use the PDF as a reference and open the method your house needs that day. If everything feels like too much, the book suggests starting with just three methods this week.

What exactly do I receive?

A searchable PDF of about 175 pages for phone, tablet or computer, delivered by Hotmart right after payment, with The Dutch Weekly Plan checklists and The Shopping List at the end. You can print the checklists and pin them inside a cupboard door.

Is it a subscription?

No. You pay $27 once and the book is yours to keep.

What if it is not for me?

You have fifteen days. Ask Hotmart for a refund and you get your money back.

Before you go

Stop buying a new bottle for every corner of the house.

$27 once. Instant access. Fifty-two methods, six plain ingredients, honest limits, and the sums for every one. Keep it in the kitchen drawer.

Get the complete manual · $27