While there isn't anything truly 'new' in this book, the approach Dana White takes could be just the ticket for those of us who struggle with keeping a home.
Each suggestion is a ''bite-sized" task that when done consistently can lead to a calmer home.

This perpetually overloaded, under-organized mom is looking forward to putting some of this into practice. Because, I know the reward of a calmer house is worth it.

This book is a must have for the busy homemaker. I've been listening to the author's podcasts for a while, but it is wonderful to have her cleaning principles in a reference guide.

Would it surprise you to read that I've spent some serious time following the tips Dana White share on how to get your house clean and organized. We've all felt overwhelmed by our home's clutter, dust, and general lack of organization at some point. Based on my own experience utilizing not just White's tips but the encouragement she gives throughout, this book should be on the bookshelf of everyone who has ever looked at their house and wondered where to start. She has the answers and they start with clutter. Daily chores and actual cleaning come after.

"Decluttering has to happen for a house to look clean, stay clean, and be clean."

Clutter is anything that gets out of hand. While many of us suffer from what White calls "procrasticlutter", the idea that we'll worry about it later, she addresses that and points out that the next two steps toward an orderly house can't happen until our clutter is out of the way. Of course, she tells us sympathetically how to go about that task, reminding us basically that what we're doing isn't a simple project with a beginning and end. Keeping out homes clean is an ongoing one with daily and routine chores that need doing. Those daily tasks, the dishes, cleaning up after the children or pets, putting things away have to be done regularly, sorry. Only then can we thoroughly tackle the third step in her organization plan, the actual cleaning.

Don't worry, White walks us through the entire process, offering personal insights and encouragement almost like she's looking over our shoulders. Not only did I see myself in her descriptive, informative, and, yes, helpful book, but I liked it. I'm betting that if you're like me and you've allowed things to pile up, ignoring daily chores, and groaning in frustration that for some reason you just can't keep your house clean, you'll benefit from this book. Okay, back to decluttering for me.

Thank you #NetGalley and #ThomasNelson for the ARC (not to mention for giving me motivation via this book to get my act together).

This is full of helpful information. Dana K. White has systems for almost everything, including decluttering, cleaning each day and general cleaning! She also includes pictures of herself happily cleaning and pictures of tidy rooms to provide inspiration. This is certainly worth buying.

I didn't especially agree with her method of decluttering, though, which involved dealing with one thing at a time, although her argument that if you try to deal with a big area at once, it can make a big mess can be true. If you have time, decluttering a whole room at once is better, I think.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I like organizing and am always looking for new tips. This was a great book with lots of helpful ideas.

The title truly states what this book is about. Even if you are not into a fully minimalistic home, Organizing for the Rest of Us will help you organize just enough so you can find what you are looking for quickly and easily.

There are tons of organizing ideas to peruse within the book. However, the simplest was an eye-opener for me. Every drawer, shelf, closet and even your house itself is a container. Only so much can fit in each. Once it is full, each time you buy something new, something old must be discarded. Think about what you are willing to toss before buying something new. It will definitely reduce the random stacks of stuff in your house. It may even save you some money.

I have read many organizing books this year because getting control of my stuff is my only New Year’s resolution. Organizing for the Rest of Us is my favorite so far. It has practical low-cost solutions to my organizing issues while motivating me to begin. You can’t beat that. 5 stars and a favorite!

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

Organizing for the Rest of Us: 100 Realistic Strategies to Keep Any House Under Control is a well written and accessible guide to no-nonsense livable organizing strategies with understanding and allowances for personal hobbies and variations written by Dana K. White. Due out 11th Jan from Thomas Nelson, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a collection of bite-sized techniques for decluttering and organizing our homes and keeping spaces clean and clutter-free. The author (a former self-confessed slob) has tested and refined the techniques and distilled the testing into what has worked for her, and importantly, why it has worked. Much of the information is self evident (frequent tasks need to be done frequently), but a fair bit wasn't obvious to me and makes a heck of a lot of sense (don't start decluttering with the junk drawer which nobody sees, do the entryway and open *visible* areas first then build on that momentum).

The book can be read front to back, or the tips and strategies can be plucked out and read as and when the reader needs a boost. The chapters are arranged thematically - but the chapter headings are so vague as to be almost useless when trying to find a specific bit of info. There is no index included in the pre-publication ARC provided for reviewers.

I liked that there's no "Kondo-ing" because there's no way in the world I'm ever going to be able to have 30 books or fewer in my house, and let's politely ignore the Everest sized stash of yarn and crafting supplies. The vibe of the book really *is* for regular people who do have too much stuff and she does a good job of explaining how to find a threshold readers can live with and operate inside.

The graphic look of the book is simple and breezy, there are some photos, but not many (most of them are before/after comparisons). The publisher is a Christian publishing house, but there is no overt messaging in the book. One odd thing which struck me about the book is trivial - but there's a gift bookplate inscribed on the front endpaper: A Gift For _______ From ______ and Date_____. I've been wondering who should gift this book and in what circumstances? Kids to a parent? Parents to a kid (moving out?), Mother-in-law to the not-fave daughter in law? Friends honestly worried about a hoarder friend or family member? I have to know!

Anyhow, just as stated on the cover, it does seem to be a book for the rest of us who are struggling with daily mess and clutter, relayed by the author who has, in her own words, been there herself.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I am one who has only recently started to acquire clutter in their home because now I have the space to do so. I definitely don't like it and get overwhelmed by the mess around me. So much so I ended up not feeling like cleaning because it won't even make a difference. I've been reading all the blogs and books to find the cleaning method that works for me. While this book wasn't perfect for me there were definitely some rules I can find myself enacting to keep my home in control. For one, you can't keep adding storage containers to organize your mess because after having 10 buckets to store your pencils in your 10 buckets have now become apart of the problem. There are is also room in her rules to edit them for yourself, but the main one is don't exceed your space and don't keep adding containers to your space to circumvent that rule. There were some rules I didn't care for but again they were suggestions (dishwashing your toothbrush. I like to replace it but that's just me). But also practical tips I liked: "Clean your bathroom mirror after a steamy shower." All in all while none of these rules were groundbreaking I did find that most of them were helpful and most importantly easy to apply.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free review.

"Your house isn't a project, and treating your home like one does more harm than good. There's no beginning, middle, or end. *There's definitely no end.* The project mindset lends itself to putting off starting until there's 'time' to really do things right. While you wait for that ideal time, the house gets worse, which means cleaning it up will require even more effort, so you put off starting even longer. It becomes a vicious cycle."

This is a thorough and basic guide to decluttering and keeping your house manageable, including detailed and practical cleaning tips. I've discovered it's particularly good for people with ADD/ADHD or who just find themselves "messy people".

If you're a big DKW fan there isn't much new here, but it's packaged really practically, prettily, and reasonably concisely. A good addition to the bunch. And new readers if you aren't familiar with her, get on over to YouTube and enjoy her great videos!

Some great ideas in this one but difficult to read in unfinished format. Picture were too small and different a from each other. (Yes, I assume this will be fixed in official publication).

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you've read Dana K. White's previous books, this one won't really hold any surprises. It's full of relatable advice on how to keep your house clean and operational. Sadly, there isn't any magic trick to it: just habits. Things you do daily, or almost daily. One thing that really struck me is to start cleaning with what is visible - not a hidden drawer full of junk, but your entryway, or the living room table, something that will make a visual difference once it's decluttered.

It's a very effective book that keeps you motivated to have your house under control.

Dana K. White’s Organizing for the Rest of Us is a treasure of a book! By providing organization tips in simple doable tasks, White helps even those of us who are constantly reorganizing finally get organized by decluttering our homes. A must read for those who would finally like to get organized!

Organizing is not something I struggle with, but still enjoy reading up on. I love thinking about how other's think about and approach organizing and clutter. Dana is very approachable and fun. This book is a great gift book or a quick read for those needing just a little pep in their organizing step. Her methods are easy to understand implement.

I was allowed an advanced reader copy by the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

This was… fine. I found a couple of useful hints in this, but overall it seemed just not that helpful. The photos weren’t professional, and I think that could have been an easy fix by including quotes or basic drawings. I wanted to like it more because it was a normal person giving normal ideas, but it just felt all so unenlightened. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

The advice in the book simply makes sense.
I read two other books written by Dana White, and I subscribe to her blog and newsletter. Her advice makes sense. All the books and shows where you were supposed to empty your closet and start sorting through your stuff never made sense to me because it obviously makes immediate problem worse. The books show how you can work step by step without making the mess even messier. The first two books were more about establishing routines for daily chores and for decluttering. This book also talks about those, but also how to help you keep up with stuff as you started to progress in a way that people like myself can actually follow. I loved real step by step pictures from real lived in mess to better and better, and hopefully done. The book is well written in the light tone of voice, easy to read and is inspirational. I highly recommend all three books, and also the blog, they are all awesome.


I received a free digital copy of the book from NetGalley

An excellent and very realistic book on organizing and keeping your house in order. I put some of her strategies in place right after I finished reading the book!

Organizing For The Rest Of Us by Dana K. White is honestly the book I didn’t know I really needed. I’ve always kept a lovely home but if you open the closet you might’ve been met with the explosion of an unlimited number of toys, clothes, hangers etc. My home was never clutter-free and never deeply clean. I would have housekeepers over and realize how bad things were by their grumbling and complaints. I’m not disgusting, just cluttered. But what I like best about Ms. White’s book is that she takes away the guilt most of us feel and really breaks it down into a very simple format for how to keep your home decluttered. I have had a garage that I could only park one car in for longer than I can remember, I inherited my mothers belongings and they have taken up a vast amount of space in my garage. But after reading this book and actually during reading this book, I under took the decluttering process and simply had my husband drive off donation to the center before I could change my mind. I cannot tell you how freeing it is to let things go. I have read other books but I honestly like the approach the Dana takes and I’m going to probably implement some form of checklist to make sure I adhere to her process. I liked especially that she told you to take the emotion out of decluttering and that is very true. I will read this book again until I can get it right and my husband wants to personally thank Dana White for finally helping us get back our home.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this eBook.

Such a useful book! I am always on the look for good organizing tips because my house never seems to be clutter-free because of my toddler. I liked the concept of cleaning the house in layers. I tried out some of the tips given and they worked! Thank you Dana White!

I love the practical tips in this book. The initial idea of “layers” of a clean house was brilliant. The ideas are easy to implement and make decluttering (and cleaning) so much easier for an overthinker like me.

This is a great book for those that want to organize but don't know where to start! Perfect for the new year and new goals.