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jbarr5's review against another edition
4.0
5 days to a clutter free house by Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims
I agreed to read this book and post my review in exchange for getting a copy of the book.
At first I thought why would I want to read this: I don't want a perfect house. I do have some things lying around, my house is lived in. Till we had frozen pipes and didn't learn of the leaks til weeks later one Friday night in the cold and we couldn't find 'dope' tape for the pipes.
It's dark and cold out so to the store and I stayed home and tugged things out of the Bermuda triangle and found many rolls of the tape. Nothing got put back in the cabinet. Instead I got a few boxes and sorted out things as I went through them-I needed an ok from hubby to toss some things but at least all the plumbing things were in one box, all electronics in another and all electrical in the last box.
Wow this book has come in handy in keeping the clutter fit and trim. It's a battle but we are basically orderly people and will strive to be better with the tools. Chapters at the end of the book were the most helpful as I did not want to enlist the help from others. It only took me 5 hours and a lot of things were screws and nails, then another 1/2 hour for hubby to go through what I had sorted and for them to decide to toss things.
Now we can reach in and actually see whats in the tote box. I learned a lot of new things to do also in other rooms that I will put to the test next week-day before garbage day!
I received this book from bookfun.org in exchange for my honest opinion
I agreed to read this book and post my review in exchange for getting a copy of the book.
At first I thought why would I want to read this: I don't want a perfect house. I do have some things lying around, my house is lived in. Till we had frozen pipes and didn't learn of the leaks til weeks later one Friday night in the cold and we couldn't find 'dope' tape for the pipes.
It's dark and cold out so to the store and I stayed home and tugged things out of the Bermuda triangle and found many rolls of the tape. Nothing got put back in the cabinet. Instead I got a few boxes and sorted out things as I went through them-I needed an ok from hubby to toss some things but at least all the plumbing things were in one box, all electronics in another and all electrical in the last box.
Wow this book has come in handy in keeping the clutter fit and trim. It's a battle but we are basically orderly people and will strive to be better with the tools. Chapters at the end of the book were the most helpful as I did not want to enlist the help from others. It only took me 5 hours and a lot of things were screws and nails, then another 1/2 hour for hubby to go through what I had sorted and for them to decide to toss things.
Now we can reach in and actually see whats in the tote box. I learned a lot of new things to do also in other rooms that I will put to the test next week-day before garbage day!
I received this book from bookfun.org in exchange for my honest opinion
boygirlparty's review against another edition
Not for me. NOT FOR ME. This organizational method is based in moving your clutter into boxes. That's already what I do. That doesn't make your house clutter-free, it makes it full of boxes.
adsyllata's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 - DNF ~50% If one didn't know or realize that Revell is part of Christian publishing house going into the book, you figured it out very quickly. This is very much for middle class, suburban, Christian, stay-at-home-mom types. The authors admit they assume and expect those interested in this topic and thus the audience will be women, specifically those with families and this is only the beginning of the assumed gender norms espoused in this book. The gist of the method, from the portion of the book I was able to get through, seem to be to have other people put your stuff in boxes, but those boxes in the rooms that stuff *should* go in and *poof* your home is "decluttered" (if you don't count the numerous, well disguised boxes in various rooms holding your various items as clutter). You'll get around to those boxes later. Again, I admit I had to stop halfway through the audiobook, so who knows. There may have been fantastic pearls of wisdom in the latter half. I do not have fortitude or time to find out.
For anyone who does not have a "life group" at church, a gaggle of youths in need of service projects, or a circle of friends with schedules and attitudes that would allow them to spare a week to clean your 1500 sq ft basement, I have my doubts that the methods promoted in here would work.
For anyone who does not have a "life group" at church, a gaggle of youths in need of service projects, or a circle of friends with schedules and attitudes that would allow them to spare a week to clean your 1500 sq ft basement, I have my doubts that the methods promoted in here would work.
paulajd's review against another edition
2.0
Don't waste your time with this one unless you're teetering on the edge of a hoarding problem with possessions on every surface from floor to ceiling. I can't imagine buying boxes to store clutter like the authors suggest. The good news is that I feel much better about any mild countertop clutter I do have.
kslhersam's review against another edition
I listened to about 90 minutes of this book. It kept saying the same thing over and over about getting a team together and putting all of your clutter into boxes. Nothing too new to me and not really the way I want to use to organize.
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
A great book for if your house is reallllllly clutter-y. Tips include how to get a team, how to organize your team, and how to work through the aftermath.
rosepetals1984's review against another edition
2.0
Initial reaction: I'll admit I personally did not care for this read very much. While I certainly don't mind reading religiously themed works, I honestly thought this would be more of an organization/productivity guide, and it meandered more than not. I think there are far better guides on this particular subject matter than this. For a "clutter-free" guide, this felt aptly cluttered.
Full review:
I don't think I've been as disappointed with a lifestyle change/organizational book as this one, in quite some time. The cover and title of this book should be noted with a flashing green neon sign screaming "FALSE ADVERTISING." (I actually created a shelf/tag on Goodreads as a result of reading this book.)
Here are a few things you need to know before reading. First, it's more of an "attitude change" type book, rather than a direct yet general tip-for-tip, pointer reference book for getting more organized and clearing clutter around the home. It's organized into sections, but those sections are a bit meandering and cluttered for the notes they seem to expand upon. It's also limiting in that it prescribes a very specific way to be organized, and that's not helpful to the multitude of reasons people have clutter.
Second, it assumes that the reader is female (because...what? Men don't want to read books about organization? Tell that to my father or some of the men in my life, they would beg to differ. They are already super organized, but they look for different approaches to maintain that. Men also look for ways to be better organizers even if it's not in "men's magazines". The book tries to address why they're writing for a female audience, but I didn't like the explanation - it's pretty sexist/gender assuming.)
Third, it's oriented more for the extremely disorganized person who can't separate themselves from their clutter (a hoarder), so people who may not be at that level may not identify here. And finally, this book's ideology is heavily noted with respect to Christian values, so if you are not deeply religious, or are not Christian, this may not be your cup of tea.
I'm not going to say that this book doesn't have its heart in the right place in some areas, because it does touch upon constructive aspects of defeating the negative imaging that's associated with disorganization on any level. Hoarding is both psychological as well as physical, and you can't deal with one aspect of it without dealing with the other. Even in lesser stages, that's also true - on the level of clutter being a mental and physical aspect to deal with. But there's not a "one-size-fits-all" solution to a multidimensional problem. If you want to address the clutter, you have to see what plays into that clutter, and that can vary by different individuals. I'll admit there's a point of construction in this book's "five day program", but I think it could've been more adaptive to different levels of disorganization.
Addressing those who have cluttered lifestyles as "messies" doesn't help the case either. A lot of this book feels like it's written in language that's meant to be lighthearted, but it comes across as fairly juvenile, unfortunately.
I think the ideology of working with a team isn't a horrible idea for maintaining organization, especially if you're sharing that responsibility with family. Or if you have a spouse who may be super organized and you're...well, not, then taking on the task together in a team effort and learning in the process can be constructive. The way this book makes it out, however - you'll have to somehow "recruit" a team to undertake some massive task - a la "Hoarders" or "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". That's just not realistic. The thing about organization is that it can be a personal thing and you are the locus of control in being able to exert that. I did appreciate the affirmation that once a surface is clear, nothing else but appropriate/pertinent things should be in that space.
This book is more to the task of cheering the reader on in their efforts rather than being specific and direct with the advice. I'll admit it didn't really give me much to go on that other guides of its kind have given me. I would definitely recommend looking at other guides for organization that are more specific and less limiting than this.
Overall score: 1.5/5
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
Full review:
I don't think I've been as disappointed with a lifestyle change/organizational book as this one, in quite some time. The cover and title of this book should be noted with a flashing green neon sign screaming "FALSE ADVERTISING." (I actually created a shelf/tag on Goodreads as a result of reading this book.)
Here are a few things you need to know before reading. First, it's more of an "attitude change" type book, rather than a direct yet general tip-for-tip, pointer reference book for getting more organized and clearing clutter around the home. It's organized into sections, but those sections are a bit meandering and cluttered for the notes they seem to expand upon. It's also limiting in that it prescribes a very specific way to be organized, and that's not helpful to the multitude of reasons people have clutter.
Second, it assumes that the reader is female (because...what? Men don't want to read books about organization? Tell that to my father or some of the men in my life, they would beg to differ. They are already super organized, but they look for different approaches to maintain that. Men also look for ways to be better organizers even if it's not in "men's magazines". The book tries to address why they're writing for a female audience, but I didn't like the explanation - it's pretty sexist/gender assuming.)
Third, it's oriented more for the extremely disorganized person who can't separate themselves from their clutter (a hoarder), so people who may not be at that level may not identify here. And finally, this book's ideology is heavily noted with respect to Christian values, so if you are not deeply religious, or are not Christian, this may not be your cup of tea.
I'm not going to say that this book doesn't have its heart in the right place in some areas, because it does touch upon constructive aspects of defeating the negative imaging that's associated with disorganization on any level. Hoarding is both psychological as well as physical, and you can't deal with one aspect of it without dealing with the other. Even in lesser stages, that's also true - on the level of clutter being a mental and physical aspect to deal with. But there's not a "one-size-fits-all" solution to a multidimensional problem. If you want to address the clutter, you have to see what plays into that clutter, and that can vary by different individuals. I'll admit there's a point of construction in this book's "five day program", but I think it could've been more adaptive to different levels of disorganization.
Addressing those who have cluttered lifestyles as "messies" doesn't help the case either. A lot of this book feels like it's written in language that's meant to be lighthearted, but it comes across as fairly juvenile, unfortunately.
I think the ideology of working with a team isn't a horrible idea for maintaining organization, especially if you're sharing that responsibility with family. Or if you have a spouse who may be super organized and you're...well, not, then taking on the task together in a team effort and learning in the process can be constructive. The way this book makes it out, however - you'll have to somehow "recruit" a team to undertake some massive task - a la "Hoarders" or "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". That's just not realistic. The thing about organization is that it can be a personal thing and you are the locus of control in being able to exert that. I did appreciate the affirmation that once a surface is clear, nothing else but appropriate/pertinent things should be in that space.
This book is more to the task of cheering the reader on in their efforts rather than being specific and direct with the advice. I'll admit it didn't really give me much to go on that other guides of its kind have given me. I would definitely recommend looking at other guides for organization that are more specific and less limiting than this.
Overall score: 1.5/5
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
luvyoumore82's review against another edition
2.0
This was okay, but honestly, most of the advice is so far from what I would ever do I can't say it was at all useful. If you have a "hoarders" situation, this book might be for you. I also think the "quick and easy" should be removed from the title. I got way more from both Marie Kondo and Martha Stewart. But again, if you need a huge overhaul, and you have people that will come over for a week and box all your shit up? This will work. Props for adding a Yoda quote!
Oh, also the list of questions to ask yourself such as - "Why am I keeping this? Do I have a Place for this? If I was looking for this and couldn't find it, would it matter?" etc.? Those were good. But really, this is a book for people who aren't looking to de-clutter, but who need serious hoarding help. Best of luck to them!
(edit: I forgot, has anyone ever actually used a used empty paper towel roll to find messy spaces? As an adult, hard pass. Great idea for little lil-kids though!)
Oh, also the list of questions to ask yourself such as - "Why am I keeping this? Do I have a Place for this? If I was looking for this and couldn't find it, would it matter?" etc.? Those were good. But really, this is a book for people who aren't looking to de-clutter, but who need serious hoarding help. Best of luck to them!
(edit: I forgot, has anyone ever actually used a used empty paper towel roll to find messy spaces? As an adult, hard pass. Great idea for little lil-kids though!)
eralon's review
2.5
This book is written pretty specifically for hoarders (female hoarders even?) and doesn't seem to actually solve the hoarding problem, but just sort of puts it out of sight in many many boxes. The idea is that the hoarder will revisit the boxes one day and actually deal with the situation, but that seems exceptionally dubious from my (admittedly limited) knowledge of hoarders. Maybe this system could be employed by someone who wants to be a minimalist but can't figure out how to commit.
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