Allie's take on minimalism is refreshing without being pretentious. For anyone that loves the philosphy behind Marie Kondo's vision of living with less, but has a hard time getting behind the anthropomorphic language of saying goodbye to your belongings, I think this satisfies a similar itch. It's also helpful and practical for anyone with children, as we all know - a lot of stuff comes with them! I'd definitely recommend this to a friend and it's worth revisiting from time to time when you need a refresher. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Allie gives good, reasonable, manageable advice on decluttering and reclaiming your spaces. The book is geared towards moms and those who live in houses, and it includes sections on kid stuff and working with your kids to declutter their things. The book expands on Allie's annual "Declutter Like a Mother" challenge, and she does mention her other subscription/purchase programs. I enjoyed reading the book, and I did find it easier to work with than the challenge because it is more in depth and self-paced.

I love Allie's no-nonsense, laidback approach to decluttering (and life, for that matter). Her style is straightforward, open, and relatable - reading this book felt like hanging out with a friend who "gets" me. If you're a mama (or anyone really) who is new to decluttering or just looking for a way to do life more simply, this book is for you! Highly recommend!

I love to read this sort of book despite the fact that it has very little impact on my life or domestic situation. But this one does not do it for me in any way. I found the author's style and persona a huge turn-off. I don't know why but there was a sort of smugness and self-promotion which jarred. I'd much rather ignore the advice of the gentle and sweet Marie Kondo.

Nothing earth shattering if you’ve read other declutter books, but the author’s no pressure method of declutter ing might be the message you’re looking for. I’d recommend if someone were looking to get started

Some fab tips on how to declutter but I definitely feel it could have been enhanced with some photos and visuals.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the preview copy.

In Declutter Like a Mother, Allie Casazza, walks us through her process of decluttering. This book is geared more towards moms, however, the process she describes can be utilized by anyone.

Allie wants you to stop drowning in your stuff and start living in your space with your kids/family. She wants to know if “you’re ready to make some of the same changes that I made that led me to this place of thriving in life and opting out of mere survival mode,” “You can choose a different path, you can thrive, you can love and enjoy this life, you can escape the chronic overwhelm that everyone else calls normal.”

However, Allie then goes on to explain that her method is not really minimalism, “Whatever we call it, it’s about being intentional. It’s about simplifying. It’s about having less of what doesn’t matter in order to make room for what does.” “this process we’re going through is not about trying to create a home where things are perfect; it’s about creating a home where things are so much lighter. It’s about creating a world in which we are available for life – the good parts and the hard parts – and aren’t making things even harder on ourselves. A world where we don’t feel stress and negative energy all day every day but instead have more clarity and more space.”

I will say that if you have read any other organization or decluttering book, you probably have already heard the process that Allie is going to walk us through. The latter part of the book goes through the house room by room with tips on how to create a space you will enjoy and that will keep you stress free. The problem with this is that some of the spaces she walks through, I don’t have. And some of them are geared toward kids, so if you don’t have kids, there is some irrelevant material to sift through.

I feel this book was just your average decluttering book. And I have a feeling that if you follow her blog or Facebook page, you will have already learned the lessons from this book.

This book was fun and informative! I love how the author broke down each space of the home. I'm a organizational freak so this kind of reading is so much fun. Helped me think about getting rid of even more stuff. Highly recommend!

As a mom with another on the way, I saw this and was like YES PLEASE HELP. But then I started reading it and there were so many things that annoyed me about this book. For one, she's all about minimalism. That's great, but not for me. Then I noticed that she talks to her readers like Rachel Hollis who I just cannot stand. Finally, she promotes herself WAY too much in this. Like we get it, you're successful and you do alot of stuff that you get paid from.

I found this book to be such a disappointment. Early on I realized it was written by the blogger who went viral after she gave away most of her children's toys. She apparently went on to become a multi-millionaire (she tells us often how successful she is) with her podcasts that lead people to pay for her expensive courses on how to declutter. She has testimonials in the book from people who "invested in themselves" and paid $200 to take her courses and how it supposedly changed their lives, but there is virtually NOTHING NEW in this book to differentiate it from your average blog post (and most of it is just her old blog posts from way back, that you can still view through the wayback machine). I wonder if she held back anything honestly helpful for those raking out the hundreds for her classes, if there is anything good in there either.

The one and only thing that was remotely new or helpful to me was that she mentions that in her paid course for getting kids to declutter, the other woman involved in that course made up 5 categories of kids regarding their motivation. This reminded me a lot of the love languages and some are pretty much the same and just rebranded. But basically some kids are motivated by competition, some by wanting to please, some by time with you, etc. and you can convince them to declutter by knowing what motivates them (like give them a dollar for every 10 things they get rid of if they're motivated by money and presents, and just spending time with you will motivate the ones who value quality time). This was literally one paragraph in the entire book though, and it is the only thing I found remotely new.

The author likes to call you "girl" and talks like Rachel Hollis. She also acknowledges that she comes from a privileged perspective, and that shines through. For instance, she talks about getting rid of stuff and you can just buy it again later if you need it, and she describes her lovely house with lots of descriptions of expensive, luxurious items and not just less stuff. She does talk about how to buy better stuff when you're really poor and things like that, but to me she focuses a lot on owning nice things, which isn't really minimalism. The focus is certainly on getting rid of stuff too, but it's really basic advice.

I'd recommend books like Decluttering at the Speed of Life if you want more information.

Considering how often the author plugs her podcast and paid courses, it almost feels like the idea was to get people to buy the book so then they'd go pay hundreds for her courses. There are already about a hundred reviews here on Goodreads from her loyal fans who all parrot the exact same lines.... "Allie gave me the kick in the butt I needed!" and such, so she seems to have sent people over here and to Amazon to rave about the book. If you like her and want to give her some money and hear her talk some more, this will be a great book for you. For those who aren't fans I don't know that you'll get much out of this unless you are absolutely brand new to ever reading anything about decluttering.

I read a digital ARC of this book via Net Galley.

In Declutter Like a Mother, a mom of three children under three gets organized so she can enjoy her children and life without stress.

I have been down the road of minimalist perfection. I read Marie Kondo’s book the day it was published. I watched her entire streaming show as well as the Home Edit one. I’ve read countless blog posts and watched tons of YouTube and TikTok videos. I have bought a truckload of organizational products. My house is a bigger mess now. I now have tables of wire drawers to build and plastic containers waiting for me to use them. I also have a pile of underwear on my bedroom side chair. Because, seriously, no one wants or has time to fold their undies before shoving them into little lingerie cubicles. No one!

However, because I’m ever hopeful, I picked up Declutter Like a Mother. Sure, my only child moved out almost ten years ago. But I’m willing to treat myself like a toddler if I can just get organized.

There are three things that make this book different from every other decluttering book out there. First, it allows you to go at your own speed. Only have 10 minutes? No problem, work for 10 minutes. It’s better than zero minutes, right? After less than a week, you have worked an hour.

Second, part of my problem is that I never start a project because I can’t decide where to start—kitchen, dining room, living room, or primary bedroom. I tend to do only a bit in each room, which doesn’t improve the issue much. In this book, the author encourages starting in the bathroom. Why? Because it is the smallest room and the one least likely to contain sentimental items. It just has a lot of expired or almost empty bottles that are easy to toss. Boom! Success!

The third item at which this book excels is cleaning up kid’s areas. She has several good ideas for this complex and difficult process. All will work better than telling your child that someone must have stolen their Legos. I’m sure some other mother somewhere has also used that excuse to avoid stepping on any more bricks on the floor, right?

Overall, Declutter Like a Mother works. For me, it works slowly—which is just the way I want it. 5 stars and a favorite!

Thanks to Nelson Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Are you tired of being a "hot mess" mom, spending your days drowning in overwhelm? Forget the stark white empty walls, Casazza teaches a family-oriented approach to minimalism that shows you how to reclaim the joy in motherhood and make your home work for you. Declutter like a Mother does a great job conveying the why of decluttering for families, explaining the benefits to both mothers and children. The actual decluttering techniques are similar to basically every decluttering book. Also, be aware that she gets a little annoying with the self-promotion of her online courses.

Allie Casazza pleasantly, yet firmly, exhorts her "cluttered" readers to have method in their "madness" to de-clutter. Her definition of minimalist (ness) differs from what she believes is the mainstream meaning. When one has vision or 'setmind' of how one wishes the rooms of their home to look like, then the task of decluttering will be less overwhelming, she reckons.

Casazza gives a room-by-room guide of how-to-do and how-not-to-do the decluttering. She encourages mothers to include her childen in decision making as she believes in passing better habits on to the next generation. Oh, and yes, the big one, ideas of how to get the spouse onboard with the plan.

Information about Casazzo podcasts, facebook community, programs and the author herself is included. To round up her message, the appendix offers sharings by several mothers who'd been at their wits' ends until they found this program and disentangled themselves from "things". Seems revolutionary and guaranteed to benefit one and all who invest in this 'de-clutter and de-stress program'.

~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~

August 2021

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the review copy sent by the publisher.

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A few years ago The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up became a huge sensation. I read it and loved it, but the rigid rules made me so overwhelmed and I was not able to stick with it.

Declutter like a mother was made for me. The emphasis on NOT being a minimalist and sticking to a set number but instead following your intent was literally a lightbulb moment.

I can not wait to own a physical copy of this book so that I can highlight all of the best parts.

I just started the declutter process but can already tell that this book is going to be life changing for me.

I'm not a natural minimalist, though I'm perhaps an aspirational minimalist. This book is helpful, conversational and provides great tips. It's definitely helpful for those like me, that need a little help and maybe especially for those already on the path toward minimalism. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who loves to declutter and organize I found this book to be so inspirational. I think this will help so many women and honestly anyone who is looking to simplify their life. It's so clear after reading that book that as long as you are willing to put in the work you can find balance, enjoyment, and freedom. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy of the book.

Allie Casazza takes a conversational tone while suggesting ways to declutter your living space. The ideas are basic. Keep what you use most often, less is better, take photos of papers and objects. A lot is common sense. While cleaning out my basement I had piles for keep, donate and trash without ever opening a book to give me those suggestions. I did like that she doesn't demand everyone live as a minimalist and to include children in cleaning out their clothes and toys. But I didn't have any strong take aways or anything to inspire me to tackle a closet or room at the moment. She does promote her podcast, webpage and instagram for additional ideas. I think I was hoping for something more motivating. Thank you to NetGalley and Nelson Books for a temporary ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

So, I had never heard of Allie Casazza until I requested this book to review. Let's just say she was what I was looking for! As a mom with several children, I often wonder how some moms keep their house spotless without any effort, and this book was exactly what I needed! Where have you been all my life Allie? She gives step-by-step instructions on how to incorporate her decluttering lifestyle into a busy mom's schedule and it works amazingly!
It feels like a guidebook that she is holding your hand all the way and it's not major changes in one swift motion, this is a baby step kind of book and it's amazing! Allie's message is clear to the reader: Read, Learn, work on it and change. I will definitely be purchasing the book to be able to look back on it and since I found out she has a podcast, I will check into that too! If you feel like you are drowning and you are never good enough, invest in this book and invest in yourself! I cannot recommend this book to you enough!

Allie Casazza has a wonderful voice for getting a straightforward message out. That the less you own, the less in your space, the lighter you feel.

This book resonated with me not just because I am a mother but because I can feel the genuine desire behind the book to help people realize that your home should be for you and not what you think others think it should be. Everything in your home should be there for you. You are the one living in the space and is your responsibility. So logically the more you own the more you are responsible for and the more time needed to keep it all under control.

Over the last year I have read many books on lessening the items in my possession and this one really focused on the feeling behind owning a lot of items. How it can make you loose track of what you want in life, and the anxiety and overwhelm that comes with too many choices. This isn't a book that will remind you to donate mindfully or to pass on. It just tells you that you need to start. Open a drawer and get to moving things to a new home that isn't yours.

I would like to feel lighter too.

Declutter Like a Mother is a conversational style instruction book on decluttering aimed at women with children. It has nothing new or revolutionary in it, so if you have already read books in this genre I probably wouldn't bother. The author talks to her readers in a slang and chatty way referring to them as 'girl'. I found it a little bit annoying, but I suppose for those who follow her blog it will be ideal. I didn't find much in the way of instructions, they were glossed over at a high level. I also found it a bit contradictory when the author states that there are no rules, then manages to add some. It is very much set to the authors lifestyle and even the case studies were not relatable. Not for me, but I am sure the book will have its perfect market and audience.