Sandra Felton

I... resent this book. I was very annoyed at how it gave little advice and lots of therapy throughout the book. Most of what it presents is about the spirituality and psychology of being messy. But I came to accept after a while that it hits too close to home. Rather than teaching the reader how to clean and organize, it teaches them the mindsets behind why they've found they "can't" be organized and how to overcome these deficiencies.

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 show more 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! show less

I've read a lot of books on time management, organization, and de-cluttering. I think the authors have read, absorbed, and distilled many more. Most of the ideas were familiar but the discussion and illustrations were fresh. A new topic included was multitasking - when it is helpful and when it is harmful.

A sampling of quotes that I found personally persuasive and specifically addressed my personal bugaboos (procrastination and perfectionism):

From page 33 "The issue of time management is show more never about the stuff, the boss, the environment, the size of your space, the co-workers, or the amount of email you get. It is about governing yourself so you can control your environment.

From page 42 " If I change my thinking, I will change my feelings. If I change my feelings, I will change my actions. If I change my actions, I will change my life."

From pages 207- 209 Questions to ask yourself in your effort to de-clutter:

1) Is it valuable enough to keep? The few items with significant sentimental value should be kept in a storage area. Things monetarily valuable but not personally important should be stored away or sold.
2) Is it useful at this time? You can undoubtedly think of ways to use the clutter in your home. Don't put that pressure on yourself. Face the fact that you have more ideas than you can or should put into practice.
3) Is the recycling concept a problem? Don't save clutter until you find the perfect home for it! Eventually it will have to be removed from your house. In the meantime, don't turn your home into a landfill. Use whatever recycling system is available to you. don't wear yourself out by overdoing every detail, such as researching to find the perfect charity.
4) Is this item a burden for me? When you allow items to sit around that remind you of tasks you intended to do, they become a burden and destroy your peace. It's best to get rid of them. show less

Great book -- really gets to the root causes of disorganization. This is not a "how to" declutter, organize your home manual, but rather an exploration of why people let disorganization play a negative role in their lives. Really useful and insightful. Gave me a lot to think about.