Decluttering Resources: Books and Websites I Trust

Last Updated on August 2, 2017 by lydiaf1963

You would think getting rid of stuff and keeping our space clean would be second nature to us grownups, but it’s not. Many of us require a gentle push to get going. Some of us need a kick in the pants. Given the number of TV shows, books and websites devoted to the subject, we’re not alone.

Do you need to declutter? I think the majority of us can identify an area in their lives that doesn’t function as well as it could. Let me ask you:

• Can you find your keys?
• How about the bills you need to pay this week?
• Do you have clean clothes to wear?
• Is there an area in your home which causes you embarrassment if someone outside of your family sees it?

Constantly battling to get out of the house in the morning finally led me to make a change. It was too stressful to continue the way we were.

As with everything else in life, there are different philosophies about how to approach the task of decluttering. Pick one that resonates with you and give it a try. You may find you need to fine tune the approach at some point, and that’s okay. There’s no point in trading one form of stress for another, is there? Here’s a list of books and websites that I’ve found helpful.

Some of the links below will lead to Amazon where I’m an affiliate, but you should be able to find a copy of all of the books in your library. That’s where I picked up a book with a very descriptive title: How Not to Be A Messie by Sandra Felton way back in the late 1990s. (The book is no longer in print but you may come across a copy)

Winning the Clutter War by Sandra Felton is an updated version of How Not to Be A Messie which describes how she started the group Messies Anonymous and developed a method for decluttering and keeping the clutter from returning and taking over her life. On the web she’s also known as The Organizer Lady (there are better websites out there…). Perhaps because I stumbled across her first, Sandra Felton’s method made a lot of sense and had a big influence on me. While not perfect, I implemented her approach and gained control over the worst organized areas of my life: 1) Organizing all the important papers I needed and 2) Establishing routines to keep the household functioning. The rest is a work in progress!

31 Days to A Clutter Free Life by Ruth Soukup of Living Well Spending Less There’s a new task every day. Some can be done quickly, others might require more time. One of the main complaints about this book is that it’s impossible to tackle all of the tasks while also living your life. I think people are picking, to be honest. This might be better understood as a boot camp to get you started or back on track. If it takes longer than 31 days to complete the tasks, so what? Much of the information is also available on her website under the Home 101 tab. Ruth comes across as open and sweet and isn’t caught up in the annoying declutter “jargon” some others have fallen into.

Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley aka The Flylady. This lady has built a Yahoo list group (remember them?) into a little internet empire. While the website has changed over the years, the core of the Fly Lady program hasn’t. She encourages you to start small 1) a daily 15 minute decluttering session and 2) make sure the dishes are done and the sink has been cleaned every night before going to bed. From there you’ll build other routines until you’re able to maintain a neat home. The Flylady system divides the house into Zones with daily and monthly tasks assigned to various areas. Implementing the system can seem overwhelming but there are detailed lists available for download as well as an option to get regular reminders for the daily and weekly tasks that are assigned. What I like about Flylady is that she’s applied the same approach to other areas of life like finances and women’s health issues. What I don’t like is some of the gimmicky terms she uses (she calls tears purple puddles…blech), but others seem to love them.

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo The KonMari method has been popular both on the blogosphere and on YouTube with lots of great demonstrations for how to fold your clothes to maximize space and how to let go of items which don’t bring joy. I was introduced to this book by another blogger who is putting the KonMari method to work in her home. Some of the complaints I’ve read are that she comes off as condescending and that her method works best for affluent, childless people. Personally, I’ve implemented her method in my underwear and sock drawers and I love the way it looks.

Nony from A Slob Comes Clean has a refreshing, no nonsense approach. I saw her website mentioned in a Facebook group and decided to check it out and came across a post called How to Declutter Without Making a Bigger Mess. You’d be surprised how frequently a seemingly simple task gets out of hand and then you’re left feeling defeated and demotivated. I remember a time I foolishly emptied my closet and ended up sleeping next to a pile of clothes (not my proudest moment, I’ll admit). She’s developed her own set of methods and shows you how to do the same for yourself. I like that she doesn’t have a “one size fits all” approach. Some people can go through an entire closet in a day. Others are easily distracted and overwhelmed *ahem*.

Angela of Setting My Intention has been working on decluttering her home with her husband and offers some good advice about how to handle it when you’re working with someone who has different expectations and definitions of necessary. It was Angela who introduced me to the KonMari method of editing clothes. She’s also been documenting her experience and has discovered that while improvement is progressive, it’s sometimes very slow in coming.

All of these books and websites are working towards the same goal: getting rid of the stuff and figuring out a routine that prevents the stuff from taking over again. They all have slightly different approaches. One may work better for you.

Have you read any of these books/websites for their decluttering and organizing tips? What’s your opinion? If you know of a reference you feel will be helpful to others please let me know in the comments.