Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47330 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 255 pages

Customer Reviews

Horses for courses - but in my view this is a winner
Over the past few years I have invested in many, many self-help books designed to help me reduce and manage the clutter in my home. As a former (successful) company manager who had no difficulty creating and managing effective systems, I couldn't understand why I couldn't apply similar principles to my domestic scene. I tried one 'system' after another without success, becoming more and more demoralised in the process. Sandra Felton's friendly and humorous book is, I have to say, the first I have found which speaks to me as a person and not as a failed housewife!
Other reviews have criticised Felton's informal approach, her lack of substantial evidence for some of the parallels she draws with OCD and ADD etc. I can only say that, if you are prepared to leave aside those of her opinions which you disagree with, or find poorly supported, you will still have an eminently useful book which not only provides a sound, flexible framework for that all-important first decluttering, but offers a kind of personal encouragement and support which stays with you long after you put the book down. Felton clearly has strong religious faith, and she refers to this in the book but never in a way which non-religious readers should be offended by (I'm as non-religious as they come, and it didn't ruffle my feathers!)What is more important, I think, is that she makes no attempt to be, or to make others, in any way superhuman.
This is not a book on systems or time management applied to the home - as so many other books are. I have read many of those, admired them and tried to apply them, and I have failed miserably because the home is not the office, and your family are not your employees. If your time is not entirely your own, and particularly if you are living with the crushing loss of self-esteem which accompanies the true state of Messiness, take heart. Sandra Felton will help you to find the confident, organised, focused person you know is in there somewhere. You will, if you follow her very simple approach, change the state of your house fundamentally and (hopefully) longterm. It worked for me, and for many of my Messie friends - I am not generally given to wild enthusiasm about books of this sort, but I can honestly say that this book has changed my life for the better.

A wise and wonderful life transformer!
Sandra Felton's book is not aimed at those who wish to add the final polish to an immaculate pad. rather,it is a start up manual for those who, like me, are completely daunted, defeated and demoralized by a flea pit they just cannot get control of. Felton writes, with affection, compassion, humour and insights which bring tears to the eyes, of the personality and cognitive traits which can lead to the "messie" mindset and the corresponding household. Reading this book feels like finally finding a friend who knows, because they have been there, the darkest, dirtiest, domestic secrets. I found it a great relief and catharsis which left me looking forward to action and equipped to start organising, cleaning and maintaining my home with that all important new vision. I had been trying to sort out my bedroom for about six months and after reading this book managed it in a few days because I had a strategy that worked.And things are still improving. I wish I had found this book ten years ago.

More than a good start...
Having looked at so many of these 'life organising' books in the past, I was pleasantly surprised by this one.
Quick to read it avoids too much 'analysis' and terminology that wear thin on the short attention span of the messy person - ie., me.
Some good hints and tips - it encourages you to get up and start doing during the book rather thatn waiting to the end (then invariably putting it off).
Don't know if it's a life changer but it's got more than a chance...