I gave this book a quick read (there really is no other way to read this) and it’s kinda a hard book to review, but here are my thoughts and my favourite clearing out tips from it.
It was easy to read and understand, felt a little repetitive, but good for people who have never approached de-cluttering before. I feel like at this point I’m a seasoned de-clutterer so wasn’t quite what I was looking for.
Felt a bit weird to read as a non-Christian, and was put off by some of the language used at the beginning. Clearly a book for church-going stay at home mums of America, I guess I should have realised that since I picked this up in LAX but the blurb does not show this at all.
I have put this up for sale on my depop btw for anyone interested in it as part of my de-cluttering!
My fave tips from this book
Choose a room and spend 30 minutes assigning a place for each item that fills the corners, clutters the surface areas, and blocks doorways – p14
This helped me focus on smaller problematic areas, like a side that always gathers items I’m too lazy to put away, how can I solve this? What kind if storage would work better? I’ve sat and drawn out sections of rooms and used sticky notes to write down the logical items that go together and then figure out where they will go by moving the sticky notes around.
Stop making excuses about why you keep all that clutter – p16
This one is good for my family members as I have tried to help them de-clutter many times and they often feel like they have to hold on to things they don’t even like because someone bought it for them as a present. But what’s the point in that? It’s bringing no joy and feeling like you have to keep it because it was a gift just gives you a lot of guilt you don’t need.
New items in – old items out. When we’re bogged down with too much of the old stuff, we don’t make room for new ideas, fresh spaces, and creative living. “When something new comes in, something old must go.” – p17
My friend and I live by this rule with our closets. We love clothes and we love picking up cute and unique items from second-hand places, but we also already have a tonne of clothes so if I haven’t had a clothes purge in a while and I’ve picked up something new, I try my best to find something I don’t like as much to go.
Make a list of 5 projects you would love to finish. Tackle one at a time. – p18
This one benefits me a lot because I always have a million things on the go and sometimes I have just got to decide to let it go and it often comes down to things I’ve been saving for collaging that I just still haven’t gotten to and don’t think I will get to.
Designate a shelf for a row of accordion files. Don’t forget to purge them occasionally. – p20
I bought myself two of these accordion/box files, one is for my medical documents alone and the other is for a range of important documents. It has made finding files much easier (because I have each section labeled!) and they sit perfectly on the bottom shelf next to my desk and look much tidier than they did before.
Managing the mail. One area of your home should be designated for this purpose – p22
I’m working on this with my mother (because I live with her, duh!) and she has this unit by the front door that just collects junk, so we came up with a way to separate the post and keep it all there instead of it ending up on the dining room table. We haven’t done this yet as we have the decorators in, but hopefully having all new white walls and nice floors will make my mum want to make this unit look nice and be functional.
Prevent interruptions. Analyze whats causing those interruptions. Even family members can be taught not to interrupt. – p27
When I’ve started a task, I make sure I don’t stop and do something else (unless I’m getting tired but I’ll stop to watch some video or eat lunch) but if anyone comes up to me asking for something and I’ve already started? Tough Titties. My Gran has this issue where she can’t say no to certain family members, she’ll be in the middle of a task and someone will come in loudly demanding her time and attention and she will leave a task half started and it just creates more clutter.
Place decorative bowls on top of each service to put loose coins and pocket items in – p70
This is what I’ve done in my bedroom and will continue to do around the house because we just have collections of pocket stuff that then disappears.
Fill rarely used suitcases with off-season clothing. Arrange small gardening tools in an unused flower pot. – p121
I actually will have a suitcase of suitcases, so this isn’t going to help me much. But I decided I wanted to get a box that fit under the bed in the spare room where I’ll trade out summer and winter clothes to save space in my closet and drawers during each season.
Hope this has been helpful, have fun de-cluttering.
~ Artie
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