Official Review: Declutter: The Quick and Easy Declutter ...

[CataclysmicKnight]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Declutter: The Quick and Easy Declutter Solution" by Richard Price, Cynthia Roberts.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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I've always lived a cluttered life. I end up going through a vicious cycle - letting things get so messy it's nearly impossible to do anything, cleaning up and then letting it all happen again. That period when things are clean is so nice though! The world somehow just seems more full of possibilities, and it's so much easier to do things without worrying about causing what we refer to as a "trashalanche" (when the pile of garbage on my table starts to collapse). When I saw Declutter: The Quick and Easy Declutter Solution by Richard Price and Cynthia Roberts I immediately snagged it.

Like many of us, Richard grew up in a cluttered home. He had bad habits, and as such not only was the house unruly, so was his room. Eventually, and through a rather long process he learned strategies to declutter his messes and, more importantly, ways to KEEP them uncluttered. He was able to distill the lessons he learned into much easier tips and detailed instructions on how to help anyone do the same, and Declutter: The Quick and Easy Declutter Solution was born.

The book kicks off with the reasons we hoard and save things, along with excuses we give to keep things - "it reminds me of my grandma" or "it was a gift", for example. After debunking these reasons, explaining how the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex battle for our self-control and giving reasons why everyone should declutter their lives, the book even goes into detail on how to make money from clutter. The basics are included of course - eBay, Craigslist and garage sales - but so are things even I haven't heard of, and I lived off of selling things online for a year! From here, the rest of the book (over 50% of the nearly-90 pages) is dedicated to thorough instructions on how to handle every room. There's a great amount of detail for every part of the kitchen, even on how to stock the fridge. The book then moves on to the laundry room, bedroom, bathroom, closets, kid's room(s), family/living room, the office, garage and basement.

Above all else, the book does an exceptional job giving examples and details whenever possible. This makes it far easier to go into the task of decluttering every area of your home with a solid plan, killing the excuse of still not knowing exactly what to do. It also breaks things down into 10-minute blocks so even the most busy people can work toward a decluttered life. Also, the fact that it has two authors allows for insight into a woman's decluttering as well - Richard probably wouldn't be the best at handling makeup collections, jewelry or even clothing, for example.

The closest I had to a complaint about the book was the way the book presents major points. In the first third of the book, there's often a sentence that ends with an ellipsis ("..."). The last part is then followed up in its own line, in bold, to make that piece more clear. While it's a valid way to handle it, the effect it had on my internal voice reading the book slowed me down a bit.

Despite that tiny flaw, the book is exceptional, and even if we ranked out of 10 I wouldn't deduct a single point from a perfect score on this one. As such, the book is absolutely worthy of 4 out of 4 stars. It's a quick, highly detailed, easy to read, enjoyable book that's both inspirational and delivers on exactly how to declutter one's life. It's a book I'd suggest to anyone who doesn't have an immaculate home!

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Declutter: The Quick and Easy Declutter Solution
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Like CataclysmicKnight's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Kourtney Bradley]

Sounds like something I need to read! Good review!

[gaporter]

I think this sounds like something I could definitely benefit from. Nice review!

[CataclysmicKnight]

Thank you both! And yes, definitely, it's something that can benefit anyone! It's amazing how easy it is to put off decluttering, but how awesome it is when things are cleaned up.

[braver]

There are a whole host of books about decluttering out there now - have you read any of the others? Just wondering how this compares

[kimmyschemy06]

Sounds like an amazing book and exactly what I need in my life. I know I'm not a very organized person (and I'm not proud of it) and I always end up with things I don't know what to do about. I guess this book will be helpful for me. Great job on the review.

[tarafarah7]

Thank you so much for your review! You sold me on it when you said the authors give details on how to organize each room in your home, rather than just giving general ideas of organization. You have been very helpful - thanks again!

[Amh73090]

Great review. If I was to only read one more book my fiance would want it to be this one. I can relate to the main character. I too grew up in a home like that and am now finding ways to break the family cycle.

[charmer]

Good review - definently a book I am going to order up now to read. My main problem are other people who think we "need" more things for our house or kids. Feels like it take forever to eventually purge through everything!

[Bruin Dez]

Great review! I need to read this! Thanks