Living Organized: Proven Steps for a Clutter-Free and Beautiful Home

I was waiting for a manual on how to clean and organize your house. I got a little surprise. While the book does touch on this subject, the majority of the book is like a self-help book. I normally do not like self-help books, however, this one was very funny. I have already started Mount Vernonizing my house!

I picked up this book at Publix on a whim while food shopping. I'm really glad that I got it. Sandra has an easy writing style that I appreciate and is easy to understand. I haven't finished the book, but I feel by incorporating her methods and psychology of Messies Anonymous, my bedroom and other common areas can be clean and organized easier and sooner. Thank you Sandra! ~Lil' Black Panther~

This book does help with you discover the root of the problem. Following an 'blue print' from a non-messie does not change the way I think & process information about my world. I find Sandra Felton's books come from the point of view of a former messie & I can relate to her better than someone who has always been organized. If you are a messie, this is a good book to read.

Yes this is the updated version of the Messies Superguide. And I'm so grateful. My Superguide was so well used, it was losing pages! Here and there, there is updated info. Basics: Each chapter ends with short questions for you to answer. These are questions to get you to the core of your problems as a messie. Once you know your weaknesses, you can fix them. In later chapters the questions get you to analyse, create strategies, and attack the problem....much like Morganstern's book, Organizing from the Inside Out. Only this book was written first and explains WHY we do what we do. This book is wonderful in explaining why some of us are messy, are packrats, are hoarders, are depressed, are afraid to have people over to our homes. And what makes this book so life changing is the fact that it isn't just Sandra's life(which it is) it is also Sandra's RESEARCH! She talks about research on how the brain works and why some of us are messy. This was really helpful to me. It is one thing to hear, I'm a messy, your a messy we are ok. Lets try to figure out how to help ourselves. It is quite another to hear, research says this is why you are a messy. With this knowledge you can get to the core of your problem. Another point that sets this book apart from others is Sandra is not a cleanie (This is a person who is naturally able to clean and organize). The benefit to her being "one of us" is that we are much less likely to feel put off or insulted. Then we are able to make progress. While a previous reviewer is correct in stating there are no direct tips and hints on organizing your home, I believe that is one of it's strongest points. Many a cleanie has written books telling you how to arrange your house. How many of each item you should possess. The problem, you don't fix yourself! You don't deal with the core problem so the house falls apart again and you go purchase the next book by a cleanie. They make money and you add another book to your clutter. sigh. With this book I have made great strides in decluttering and organizing and I have not slid back into the clutter of things everywhere. If you are a messy, you gotta have this book!

When I moved into my first apartment I was faced with a terrible dilema. My mother had always kept our house in good shape, that is of course for myself and my sister's room who were in a continual state of disarray. Therefore I learned to enjoy a clean house without actually learning to do it myself. I was miserable in my own apartment! Thankfully for Christmas my mom got me Living Organized as well as Smart Organizing and The New Messies Manual by Sandra Felton. Living Organized is great for pointing out habits that need to be replaced that lead to disorganization, especially for those of us who are easily distracted, and Smart Organizing is more about what to do once you're aware of your behavior. I haven't made it to the third one yet, but am saving it for if I slip back into my old ways. It must be working because when my sister came to visit last night she said "wow, your place is so clean and organized."