Organizing by Martha Stewart

Have you ever asked your spouse or partner what things you do that annoy them?⁣⁣

⁣⁣I had this conversation with my husband when I was reading Love Her or Lose Her and my husband told me that he admires that I am really good about planning and getting things done, but he doesn’t think our closets and cabinets are well organized.  I actually disagree, although I will admit that sometimes when I (or someone else in our family…ahem) are putting things away, we may not put them back as neatly as we should.⁣⁣

⁣⁣When I saw this book from Martha Stewart, I thought maybe it could help me organize our closets and cabinets better.  ⁣⁣

⁣⁣It’s a gorgeous book.  It’s laid out in a very simple, easy to understand style and has definitely inspired me to want to organize our home better.  In addition to organizing drawers and closets and cabinets and different rooms, there are ideas for organizing technology and being organized for holidays and events.  ⁣⁣

⁣⁣I have already re-organized our pantry, refrigerator and the drawers in our kitchen and am planning to go through the china cabinet next.⁣⁣

⁣⁣Are your closets and cabinets well organized or does that drive your husband crazy too?⁣⁣

⁣⁣Thank you, Houghton Mifflin Hartcourt, for my gifted copy.⁣⁣

The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker

4/5 stars

This book caught my eye because about 8 years ago, I was a homeschool mom blogger and I came across a 40 Bags in 40 Days Lenten challenge.  Each day for the forty days of Lent, you fill one bag with stuff to donate.  It changed my life!  Having less stuff was very liberating!  It was easier to keep my house clean which meant I had more time for other interests.

A few years later, the Kon Marie Simple Art of Tidying Up came out and I spent hours picking up my things and deciding if I loved them or not.  The biggest change this brought is that my husband embraced the idea of rolling his t-shirts which allowed him to see ALL of them when he opened his drawer – he was so excited about this that he has actually brought other men (who wanted to see) his rolled t-shirt drawer and they all exclaimed about how it must make packing a breeze and eliminate wrinkles when traveling.

Joshua Becker has written the newest book that will encourage Americans to have less stuff.  Joshua encourages us to realize that having less stuff will allow us more time to pursue other interests.  What I liked most about this book was that he encourages you to get the whole family involved and talk about this.  His advice on talking about it as a family was very helpful and his method of looking at stuff as Benefit or Burden was insightful.

The Minimalist Home sets up a plan to tackle your home room by room or space by space.  There are checklists and action plans for each room that I found really helpful.

After having done the 40 Bags in 40 Days and reading about the Kon Marie method, I thought I had decluttered, but this book actually made me take a closer look, which I greatly appreciate and I feel much lighter as I scheduled a pickup of goods I will donate.

I received a digital advance copy of this book from Netgalley and WalterBrook Multnomah Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Sustainable Home by Christine Liu

4/5 stars

Several years ago, I was a homeschool mom blogger and I took on the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge for Lent.  Basically what you do is fill up 1 bag a day of stuff to donate (or discard) for each of the 40 days of Lent.  I felt so much lighter after I got rid of that stuff.  It was so much easier to keep my house clean.  So I just kept going with it.  It has made us be more intentional with what we bring in to our home and what we purchase.

Over the last couple of years, I have become more and more aware of how much is being wasted in our society.  The rate at which we are redecorating, stores that sell fashionable items for dirt cheap, all of this is contributing to waste.  What are we going to do with it all?  It won’t decompose.  Where on the planet will it all go?  We are depleting resources by continually creating these things.  The working conditions of the people making these products is often deplorable.  I want to be more intentional and so when I saw this book available on Netgalley, I knew I wanted to get my hands on a copy.

Christine Liu does a great job of explaining the global issues of consumerism and materialism.

Then she goes on to explain the benefits of a decluttered space with useful and meaningful items.

Which space would you rather work in?

I used to admire the one on the left, but think that was not where someone actually worked, it was just a design space.  I have found that when you get rid of what you don’t need, you can have a workspace like the one on the left.

Christine Liu gives a practical guide to how to decide what to keep and what to toss and gives suggestions on what to do with the things you decide not to keep.

She then goes into energy consumption in the home and making your home more energy efficient.  She discusses using plants in the home.  She goes into detail about being sustainable in the kitchen, from diets that sustain the planet to growing your own food to how to store your food to what to do with food waste.  There are recipes for several plant based meals.  She gives advice on clothing that is sustainable for the planet and what to look for.  Christine Liu advises getting higher quality pieces that last longer.  There is advice on caring for your clothing and laundering your clothing.  She also discusses bedding and has a recipe for making your own room spray.  From there she goes into being more sustainable in the bathroom from skin care and body care recipes and ideas to hair care and water usage.  Ms Liu also discusses greening the workspace, dining out, going places and taking action.  This is an extremely comprehensive guide to living a lifestyle that is better for the planet as well as our bank account.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.