Wednesday, February 13, 2013

5 Days to a Clutter-Free House




The authors....two very experienced women.  I love that the people that wrote the book have been working professionally as organizers.  They are very positive and helpful.



Let me start off by saying that this book is very well written.  I read books constantly and the spelling, grammar and punctuation in most of the books that I read is horrendous.  This book was a welcome breath of fresh air because it was easy to read and actually enjoyable to read.  The writers are organizers and you can tell that they are good at their jobs from the way that they organized their book.  Their advice is clear and concise and simple to follow.

They have a quick and effective plan for helping you to get your house clear of clutter.  It is a good plan.  A solid plan really.  The most difficult part of the plan.....assembling a team of people to help you to clean up the clutter in 5 days.  This might be a reasonable plan depending on what stage of life you are in or depending on the kind of community that you live in.  For example, when I lived in a small town in Nashville I probably could have found 5 friends to come over and help me clean up my clutter.  I live in Dallas now and everyone here is busy so unless you have some kind of incentive to dangle in front of your friends this might be difficult to plan.  You can always pay for help, however, that isn't feasible for many people. 

Still, the plan is solid and would greatly help someone that has loads of clutter in their house.  I have a mild amount of clutter in my home (mostly due to getting rid of stuff during each of my 4 moves over the last two years).  I probably enjoyed the chapters in the second section of the book more as they focused on managing yourself, your house, your family and your time.  The writers give several examples throughout the book to help you to get a "move on" and get "organized."  I found their tips to be imminently useful (which is why I am giving the book 4 stars instead of 3).   I am already an organized person but I really learned alot about my motivation for keeping my home tidy.  They gave me new reasons to stay on top of the clutter in my home. 

I think if you approach the book with the attitude, "I'm going to learn a few new things," then you will be happy with your results.  Organization can be overwhelming for many.  Taking things one step at a time will help to lighten the load if your home is disorganized.  I have small children and I just think that this stage of life is a busy and messy one.  I don't want to spend all of my time keeping my house tidy while I have small children underfoot.  I know that it would be impossible for me (a very organized person) to keep my house tidy at all times.  I know that my children will suffer from my absence.  So, read the book and learn a few new things and enjoy a more organized home.

**Available February 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.**