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One of my 101 things (which is subsequently part of my yearly goal book) is to go through 10 more cleaning/clutter/organizational books. This is probably a fruitless task, because I'm pretty honest about my problem. I'm not overly emotionally attached to stuff (classic boarder), I'm not a perfectionist (paralyzed into inaction), and I don't actually think I have much stuff (or a shopping problem)... I'm simply lazy. If I bothered to tidy up and put things away my house would be fine. But there's always something more interesting to be doing, and I generally pick that. Why fold that avalanche of fabric when I could go sit over there and knit? Why clean off my art desk when I can work on my clay at my computer desk? Until it reaches critical mass, I'd rather step over piles of laundry and bags of stuff than devote the time to cleaning it.
And it's not that I'm a perfectionist. Because when it hits that point, I have zero problems cleaning up. It's that up until then, it doesn't bother me enough to overcome my inertia. I. Am. Lazy.
No cleaning or self-help book is written about that.
Still, it's on the list, so... today it's Good Things for Organizing by Martha Stewart.
She starts off by saying that you don't have to have a massive kitchen to get it organized, then proceeds to suggest using an armoire in the kitchen to organize things... I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure my definition of "massive kitchen" is one that a freakin' enormous armoire fits in. And, or course, there's advice on not scratching your china or good silver... neither of which is an issue for me.
Sadly, the rest of the book follows pretty much the course you might expect. Enormous rooms are pictured, almost all of the organization tips require pricy purchases (unless you have a garage full of spare armoires), and the rest are off-puttingly snooty (tired of your guest ruining you pristine white towels with their make-up? In each guest set, have a dark-colored hand towel embroidered with the word "make up". No, really!).
There were a few interesting tips, like using finials bookends (because you can screw them into the shelf and they won't move/fall over), but mostly it's a useless book full of organization-porn pictures that will just make you feel inadequate and crap. Because my house sure as hell will never look like that, no matter what I do. It's simply to small and I don't have that much money to spend on all the kitschy antique furniture.
Not recommended.
And it's not that I'm a perfectionist. Because when it hits that point, I have zero problems cleaning up. It's that up until then, it doesn't bother me enough to overcome my inertia. I. Am. Lazy.
No cleaning or self-help book is written about that.
Still, it's on the list, so... today it's Good Things for Organizing by Martha Stewart.
She starts off by saying that you don't have to have a massive kitchen to get it organized, then proceeds to suggest using an armoire in the kitchen to organize things... I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure my definition of "massive kitchen" is one that a freakin' enormous armoire fits in. And, or course, there's advice on not scratching your china or good silver... neither of which is an issue for me.
Sadly, the rest of the book follows pretty much the course you might expect. Enormous rooms are pictured, almost all of the organization tips require pricy purchases (unless you have a garage full of spare armoires), and the rest are off-puttingly snooty (tired of your guest ruining you pristine white towels with their make-up? In each guest set, have a dark-colored hand towel embroidered with the word "make up". No, really!).
There were a few interesting tips, like using finials bookends (because you can screw them into the shelf and they won't move/fall over), but mostly it's a useless book full of organization-porn pictures that will just make you feel inadequate and crap. Because my house sure as hell will never look like that, no matter what I do. It's simply to small and I don't have that much money to spend on all the kitschy antique furniture.
Not recommended.