I love reading inspiring books about getting organised. Hearing about lots of different peoples perspectives can be really refreshing and I always end up learning something new that I can put to use in my own home which is a bonus!
I wanted to share some of my favourite organising books that I have in my own home at the moment that I have read and loved and learned from. Some are years old and are what got me started on my organising mission!, and others are recent additions – but all of them without exception have got me thinking in a new way – and they may just be something that you would like to read too!
Organizing from the Inside Out
by Julie Morgenstern
“The fool proof system for organizing your home, office and life”
A great book that I have read many times, full of loads of detailed ideas of how to tackle each and every area of your home in her system of
“ANALYZE, STRATEGIZE, ATTACK”
Julie has also written “Time Management from the inside out” and “Never check email in the morning” which I also own – I am a fan of her writing!
The Power of Habit
by Charles Duhigg
“Why we do what we do and how to change”
Although not specifically about getting organised, there are so many great ideas tackled in this book that I had to add it to my list.
I firmly believe that to get organised you must change your bad habits and add to your good habits – and this book is all the argument you need to get yourself on board with this concept.
Charles Duhigg talks in depth about the cue – habit – reward cycle – which is basically that you need to set up cues to help you to remember your habits so that you don’t really need to think about them anymore, they become, well, habit!, and once the habit has been completed there should be some sort of reward i.e. you crave chocolate so you end up with a habit of eating chocolate and that feeling of satisfaction is the reward, so you end up craving again and the cycle continues. But it goes one step further and talks about how you can change the habit while keeping the cue and reward – i.e. you don’t eat chocolate any longer, something else takes its place – fascinating reading!
The Clutter Clinic
by Romaine Lowery
“Organise your home in 7 days”
This is one of my older books but is a great quicker read for ideas and inspiration still.
It goes through every area of your home and gives lots of tricks and advice, including lots of photos (and we all like photos!).
Cut the Clutter
by Cynthia Townley Ewer
“Speed your cleaning and calm the chaos”
Another of my older books but still worth a read!
A really great guide to housekeeping, going through everything from what your clutter personality is, to cleaning, lists and much more.
I like the way it’s all laid out, in an informal and easy to read way – a bit like a magazine.
Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui
by Karen Kingston
This is a really little book in size, and is really easy to grab and read on the go – I read it in one sitting as it’s difficult to put down once you’ve started!
It introduced the concept of clutter clearing to me many years ago, and tackles how to understand and identify your clutter and then clear it from your home and life.
I really enjoyed learning about not only the physical clutter we tend to always associate with when we say clutter – our “stuff” – but also the mental and spiritual clutter we carry around with us.
A great read from a different perspective than a lot of organising books out there.
Sidetracked Home Executives
by Pam Young and Peggy Jones
“The slob sisters tell you how they moved from clutter to chaos to order and how easily you can do it too!”
This is a really fun book to read and is a very lighthearted book that will have you laughing out loud in places!
It also has some really sound advice for getting organised, and goes through the making of their system step by step.
It’s a system based around index cards that you rotate once you have done what is on each card, and you have different colours for different things etc…. – and they tell you their own experiences about how and why it worked for them.
A fun read especially if you consider yourself someone who was not born with the organising gene.
How to get things done without trying too hard
by Richard Templar
This book had me at the title! – and the inside doesn’t let it down at all.
Rather than having lots and lots of information it literally focuses one page on one idea or tip and gives you advice on that, then moves onto something else on the next page.
A great idea for a book you can pick up and literally just read a few lines.
It covers all sorts of things, from “you don’t have to change your personality”, “Do it little and often”, “Invest now, save later” and “Visualise the finished thing”
There are some great ideas that you can dip in and out of whenever you want inspiration!
Banish clutter forever
by Sheila Chandra
“How the toothbrush principle will change your life”
This book is another about habits (told you they were important!), and as the front cover suggests, it goes back to basics talking about why you can always find your toothbrush every day – because you always put it back where you have decided to store it, without question.
The simple truth is that if we all had a place for everything in our homes and stuck to that place, then we would become organised.
This is a great read and goes through every area of your home in detail.
From frazzled to focused
by Rivka Caroline
“The ultimate guide for moms who want to reclaim their time, their sanity and their lives”
This is the newest addition to my organising library(!), as I was lucky enough to meet Rivka when she spoke at this years APDO conference.
Rivka has a great way of writing, and it’s a really easy to read book as a result – very informal – but don’t let that food you as there are so many great tips and ideas in here that you’ll be spoilt for choice!
Rivka has 7 children, yes, you read that right, 7! – so she knows a thing or two about organising a busy family home, and having fun along the way.
I particularly like the case studies throughout the book showing how her methodology works in practise, and she loves a good quote like me – they are running throughout the book – so I’m sold!
I am sure that if you’re reading this blog then you like to read about getting organised, whether it be for full systems or just for a few tips and ideas here and there, so I hope that giving you a few more inspiring books as resources to get your ideas from will help.