The Clutter Fix by Shannon Acheson

 

After a bit of a summer break it somehow feels right to jump back into reading and reviews with a book on decluttering and simplifying the day to day. 

For those of you who have poked around my corner of the internet for awhile, you may recognize Acheson's name, as I had the opportunity to review her last book Home Made Lovely, a how-to guide on finding your style and building a space that is welcoming and beautiful to those that live there. Now, Acheson's back helping readers organize their styles into functional and peaceful space.

There was a lot to like in here. At it's heart, this is a very practical book. Acheson really takes the time to break down each stage/room for decluttering to make the job more accessible regardless of how much clutter one is facing. I appreciated the variety of lists she includes both for keeping yourself on track an das a guideline to modify for your own needs.

Which was another thing  I appreciated. Acheson spends a lot of her introduction explaining how not all points in her book will apply to everyone, something I greatly appreciated. So many how-to/fix it books are so focused on promoting their method it can feel inaccessible for those who don't meet the target audience. Acheson, though, seems much more aware, even in comparison to her first book about the reality of different familial and living arrangements fully  encouraging her readers to take what fits their lives and leave what doesn't. In essence the book's first area of decluttering is it's own advice.

I  also appreciated Acheson's inclusion of different organizing types and how that can affect both your decluttering phase and maintenance phases. Our home holds four people, we probably fit into 3 of the 4 organization models she outlines in chapter 5. As someone already familiar with decluttering this chapter really opened my eyes to some of the areas where our family struggles and has already helped up make some real progress.

Overall, I appreciated this book for it's honesty. Acheson presents tips and tricks that are modifiable for any organizational type or personality who wish to have some more tools for taming their space. 

4 out of 5 stars.

Book was provided courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. and Baker Publishing Group.

Home Made Lovely by Shannon Acheson

 Home Made Lovely by Shannon Acheson is a step by step introduction on how to curate your home into the space you desire. Tackling everything from personal style to how to be a good host, Acheson breaks down the basics in all areas of making a home into a thorough introduction to the art of hospitality.

Overall, there were some great points to this book. I really appreciated Acheson multiple idea lists throughout the chapters as they gave great jumping off points for inspiration on things like curb appeal and preparing for overnight guests. I also appreciate how many chapters conclude with worksheet pages allowing readers a chance to respond to the material they just consumed.

One of my favourite parts of the book were the sections on personal styles and colour. Honestly both are sections I've heard a lot about (thank you HGTV) but never really had explained in a coherent manner. The styles pages  with their pictures and key features were fun and informative and gave some great clarity and inspiration. While the colour wheel pages really helped give a wider colour theory and cleared up the difference between hue, shade, tint, and tone, so helpful for this whimsically eclectic Mama.

Now, there were two points that didn't sit as comfortably with this book and I feel they're worth mentioning as well.

First, chapter 3. Chapter 3 is centered on making your home "spiritually ready". Honestly, while some of this was interesting, the author and I come from very theologically different background and some of this chapter just didn't sit with me.

Second, there were definitely sections of the book where I felt either a generational or privilege dichotomy. There were points where she talks about saving coffee money or spending hundreds where designer versions would be thousands. In the communities I know that mentality could be very frustrating as so many don't have the wiggle room to "just skip something" as they live paycheck to paycheck.

I think there's still useful information and inspiration to be taken from the book for a wide audience but felt the need to point out this lifestyle difference as it caught me off guard.

4 out of 5 stars.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."