Clean Sweep Conquer the Clutter: Reclaim Your Space, Reclaim Your Life

by Melissa Bigner

Experts from TLC's Clean Sweep share their professional secrets for controlling clutter, with practical advice on how to transform a room from messy to organized by sorting clutter and designing a space that works.

Genres: Nonfiction

Paperback

First published August 9, 2005

Reviews

[dianne b. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, apparently based on a television show with a gaggle of young, energetic workers, did not provide much realistic advice (to our heroine).

First, they suggest, take EVERYTHING out of the room. Yes, furniture, shades, everything. No problem! With my "special" spine, my hulking 120 lbs of solid muscle, i'll just flip that solid mahogany, queen sized, bed frame with mattress and box spring, right on out to my, uh, extra space....strip the paint off the baseboards, and then, take a moment to commune with the sweet details of this room - those previously hidden by living in it - sure, right.

This is great advice for peeps with 25 extra boy scouts around to help. Otherwise, move along down the Dewey Decimal System -> 616...648.. There's help out there somewhere.

This shiny tome did have those thick, slick pages - you know - the ones that smell so good? The second star is for that.

[Awjtf · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are a fan of the show you will like this book.

[Kitty Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have never seen Clean Sweep; instead, I picked this book up because I did a keyword search for clutter and it came up. The title seems fairly straightforward - Conquer the Clutter, it proclaims, "Reclaim Your Space, Reclaim Your Life". However, be warned, this is not a practical how-to guide so much as a "best of" montage from the show Clean Sweep. The first few pages is even dedicated to giving you the biographies of the hosts of the show.

But I decided that it may still have some good ideas... unfortunately, it really didn't have many. There are a few DIY projects, some design tips, but the rest of it is fluff and nonsense.

Finally, the ringing of the death knell, if nothing else, decluttering books are good for organizing porn - the before/after reveal, the cluttered, messy, chaotic surge of matter being transformed into a sleek, minimalist dream. We love that stuff. Let's be honest, half of us read these just because we want to see those. Well, bad news for you - there are tiny pictures of the "before", but they're so small, you can't even tell what's going on, and the "after" pictures are often taken from entirely different angles, which hides the dramatic change.

2 stars... some helpful tips, but not inspirational, not helpful, and not lustfully decluttered.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not one for reading books based on TV shows, but I was surprised at how helpful this book was. It is a little outdated, but nevertheless the tips are still helpful. The plan of attack is to empty a room, make piles for getting rid of stuff and going from there. There are also some good plans for making simple furniture too. It's a quick and simple read with lots of great tips. I recommend it for sure for some great ideas.