5 Days to a Clutter-Free House

Title: 5 DAYS TO A CLUTTER-FREE HOUSE

Author: Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims

Publisher: Revell

February 2013

ISBN: 978-0-8007-2107-7

Genre: Self-Help

A clean, organized, and restful home is only 5 days away.

If you've picked up this book, you want to reduce the clutter in your home, organize what's left, and keep it that way. But does the sheer scope of the project give you an anxiety attack? Don't let fear stop you! Organizing and time management experts Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims show you how, with the right game plan and a healthy dose of adrenaline, you're just 5 days from your goal.

With their proven team-based approach, even the most overwhelming de-cluttering job becomes doable. Section one shows you how to de-clutter, with each day of the week focused on one reachable goal. Section two shows you how to cultivate time-tested habits that keep your house in the clean, well-ordered state you've just achieved. You'll even learn how to deal with common obstacles such as:

•filing
•storage needs
•health issues
•space restrictions
•the car
•even family sabotage!

So what are you waiting for? The home of your dreams is just a week away.

5 DAYS TO A CLUTTER-FREE HOUSE takes a unique approach to decluttering. She has divided the house up into areas, such as foot to knee, knee to waist, waist to neck, and neck to head (including up to the ceiling.) Then you go through and pick up the clutter in each of those areas, dividing them up into boxes. Such as stuff to possibly throw away, stuff to possibly donate, stuff to move to another room, etc.  Then leave the boxes full of the stuff there until the house is uncluttered and you have time to deal with it.

The authors also suggest you have friends come in and help you with this decluttering process, so it isn’t so overwhelming for you. You could put one friend in the bedroom, one the kitchen, one the office, etc, and have them toss things in the appropriate boxes.

There are quizzes included in the book, do’s and don’t’s and other tips and inspirational sayings, as well as advice on how to declutter, how to organize, and how to keep the clutter gone.

This approach could work for some people and is certainly worth a try. Those who will box things up and then leave the boxes sitting there cluttering up the floor from infinity and beyond might consider taking longer than five days and putting things away, donating, or trashing as they finish a room, otherwise, they’ll never get done. Recommended for those who want to do a clean sweep eliminating clutter. $13.99. 224 pages.