Organizing for Life
Just hearing the title, Organizing for Life: Declutter Your Mind to Declutter Your World, made me want to read this book. I admit that I am, as author Sandra Felton calls us, a messie.
A Messie wants to be in control, so she keeps everything in sight so that she will have it when she needs it. She keeps a lot of things that she is unlikely to need because, as she says, “You never know. Someone might need it someday.” This great bulk of material, much of it sitting out so she can keep an eye on it, is a great distress to her family and to herself as well. The house is not pleasant to live in, and it does not look good. The Messie feels as if she works hard all the time but accomplishes little (p. 150).
Sandra Felton spends the first part of her book defining the three types of messies and listing specific obstacles that hinder each type. They are the saver, the clutterer, and the time-waster. These three chapters helped me to identify why I can’t ever get my home completely under control. This book does not give the hows as much as it gives the whys regarding the housekeeper’s personality and preferences. Several chapters are devoted to detailing more serious causes of disorder such as depression, an alcoholic family background, adult ADD. Being on the lower end of the messie scale, many of these issues did not apply to me, and it sometimes felt as if she were insinuating that there is a serious reason behind why all messies have a disorganized home.
I have always known my problem–I’m lazy! Actually, she helped me define some of the causes of “laziness” or actually a lack of motivation, while giving steps to overcome them. While reading, I was inspired to go ahead and tackle some of the clutter in my home. I find that reading a book such as this one (or Don Aslett’s Clutter’s Last Stand: It’s Time to De-junk Your Life) helps to give me that additional motivation that I need to tackle a room or a closet that is in great need of being purged. The how to begin section on her website actually outlines what to do when you are ready to start (I’m using the Mt. Vernon method right now).
The messie personality tends to be motivated emotionally, so routine housework is hard. We wait until we feel like vacuuming to do it. Those who have managed to keep a well-ordered and beautiful home work by routine, doing certain things at certain times of the day, without regard to their feelings. However, she maintains that once the work is done in a way that is easy to maintain, the beauty of a home is motivation in itself. Another principle that Sandra Felton says hinders messies from achieving success in housekeeping is that they let practicality win out over beauty. It’s practical to keep the canning jars on the kitchen counter because you are going to be using them in a couple of weeks. Many practical choices do not result in beauty but in fact work against it.
If you are looking to be motivated or to understand why you can’t seem to get control no matter how hard you’ve worked, you will appreciate this book.
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Becka and the Big Bubble
Becka and the Big Bubble are a series of picture books by Gretchen Schomer Wendel and Adam Anthony Schomer. The illustrations are by Damon Renthrope and are vibrant, colorful and expressive.
Becka and the Big Bubble: All Around Town sets the stage for Becka, an ordinary girl who just happens to be “the most brilliant bubble blower in town!” She blows a bubble so big that she climbs on board and floats all around town. The entire story is told in rhyme, which is very difficult to execute flawlessly, so some of the rhymes are a bit of a stretch. However what I like about these books is the sense of adventure that Becka has and the loving support from her parents that is an undertone throughout the books.
Next Becka Goes to the North Pole and meets Santa Claus himself. In this book, the reality of her “bubble trips” is exposed on the first page:
Becka closed her eyes and imagined what to do
She blew and blew and blew and blew
On top of the bubble, an adventurous soul
There she goes, off to the North Pole
My favorite of the three is Becka Goes to San Francisco. According to the website, this book will be out in the Fall, and the back of the book promises adventures to India, San Diego, New York, Boston, Mexico and more. The specific places mentioned in the San Francisco book would be a great way to prepare a child for a vacation to the area or to purchase afterwards as a reminder of your trip. Along with Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Chocolate, and bread bowls filled with chowder, Becka and Ben find sea lions, segulls, Marina Boulevard, Coit Tower and more.
Golden Gate Park, and entrance so grand
From city to nature, a totally new land.
These books are currently only available online (for only $6.99), but in September, they will be available in retail and internet stores everywhere.
The author has donated two copies of All Around Town, so if you would like to win a copy, please leave a comment here by noon Saturday. They will ship to the U.S. or Canada.
Reviews by Jennifer Donovan
Snapshot
Thanks for your continued interest in these books.
Congratulations to the winners of last week’s books:
The World Almanac for Kids Puzzler Decks:
- Lori, the Queen of Dirty Laundry — Reading! for ages 5 to 7
- Melody — Math! for ages 7 to 9
- MommaBlogger — U.S. History and Geography for ages 9 – 11
- Janne (a second time winner, I think!) — U.S. History and Geography ages 11 – 13
The illustration is beautiful! Please enter me….thanks! 🙂
Oh my gosh, I just (yesterday) wrote a post about one of Sandra’s “Messie” books. It along with Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook inspired my housekeeping schedule!
Please count me in!
oh, what beautiful books! we’d love them!
Please count me in as well!
Very neat illustrations!
if we don’t love em, our small town library sure would!
Clever idea. Count me in please!
Great books again!
Sounds cute! Count me in!
Please sign us up for this giveaway too.
Count me in!
I’d love to enter!
These look so sweet!
ooh I hope my name gets chosen! My nephews would LOVE this book!They love to get out their stuff &blow bubbles every single day!!
I hope I win!
Hi, it’s Snoskred here. I’ve recently become a blogging chick and have set myself a challenge to comment on as many Blogging Chick blogs as I can. So that’s why I’m here. 😉
And I’m glad I dropped by, because I am a messie too, and this sounds like a useful book for me. 😉 I’ll add it to my books to purchase list.
I love the amount of pink on this blog. It’s magic. I’ll be back!
Snoskred
http://snoskred.blogspot.com/
I won the math book?! Too cool. I am sitting in a hotel room at this moment…finally boys have collapsed into heaps on their beds at midnight. But we had to take them out and throw them in the pool at 10pm and let them swim for an hour. More house hunting tomorrow.
I’ll email my mailing address. Thanks.
Oh me me please
Enter me in for both, please!!! Thanks – these sound great!
Such cute illustrations.
Count me in! These sound like great books!
These look great. Sign me up!
Looks great! Sign me up!
please count me in! thanks 🙂
I love to read books with my niece.
These books look wonderful. Count me in!
Thank you! My daughter is in the bubble phase!
Me, too! Thanks!
Really loved the reviews, especially the one on the organizational book.
Me too!
These sound great! Please count me!
Looks great!
Just wanted to say that I appreciate your review of Organizing for Life. I knew I had a good reason for my messiness — I’m just too practical for my own good. 🙂 I enjoyed reading your thoughts and am off to check out the “how to begin” stuff online. Thanks!
This story seems so good, I want to read it, forget my child! Count me in 🙂
I would LOVE a copy!! Thank you 🙂
both books sound very cool. Can I try for both.
Just to clarify, there is not a giveaway for the organizing book. Just the two Greta and the Big Bubble books. . . .
Looks great!
Count me in!
Thanks! Daughter would love!
We would love these books. They can be added to our summer reading list.
Jennifer, I’d like to be entered for both but of course the organizing one first!
Laura
Count me in. My daughter’s name is Becca. 🙂 I also need help cause I know I’m a messie.
Bubbles are appealing to all children. How fun to have a book written with that in mind. And who doesn’t need help with organizing/decluttering?
Looks like a cute one. Sign me up.
I’m always up for a great book! Please enter me (again!). 🙂
dawnz
congratulations to the winners! my lil one would enjoy this “bubble” book.
Me please!
Me too!
yea for new books!! Add me to the list!
Count me in too!
Great book my kids love bubbles too. Hope to win!
Count me in! My kids love for me to blow bubbles!
Count me in too! Thanks!
Sounds like a great opportunity!
Count me in! My girls would love these books! Have a great day!