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Simpler Living Handbook: A Back to Basics Guide to Organizing, Decluttering, Streamlining, and More
The ultimate guide to streamlining your life.Life moves too quickly these days, as technology, work, and personal commitments make it almost impossible to relax and enjoy life. Finding yourself stressed over the clutter in your kitchen or the mass of paper in front of your computer? Relax. This book will help. Filled with tips on how to uncomplicate your daily routine, eliminate stress at home and work, and more, this book will help you free up your time so you can once again enjoy doing the things you love. Author Jeff Davidson has compiled more than 1,000 ways to simplify your life.Divided into sections for easy reference, this book will show you ways you can eliminate stress in your home, your personal life, and your professional life. You will learn the six questions you should ask yourself before buying something new, the most efficient way to clean your pots and pans, the pay-ahead technique to get yourself out of debt, ways to make your commute more comfortable, and advice on hassle-free vacation planning for you and your family. Simpler Living Handbook is the guide you’ve been looking for to lead the peaceful, productive life you’ve always wanted.
- GenresNonfictionSelf HelpGreen
773 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 25, 2014
151 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 24, 2015
I spent at least an hour with this book without finding even 1 tip I could apply to my life. Many have already been integrated; but my real complaint with this book is the format. I found it cluttered, text in 2 columns, multiple color headings and multiple photos (which in and of themselves are lovely photos generally) on each page. Given that the topic is simplicity, it seems he didn't follow his own directives, in that he didn't simplify the layout of the book. There was absolutely nothing there to inspire me.
Athol Library
Athol Library
May 20, 2025
Ooh Lordy, this book is…something. One would think that because of the cover, title and description, that this book would have practical tips and helpful hacks for decluttering and simplifying your life, maybe written for working parents of multiple kids, single moms, the college student working 3 jobs to make ends meet, etc. Advice for people doing all the things, overwhelmed by their responsibilities so much that they don’t have time to keep their house in order.
THIS BOOK IS NOT THAT.
This book is Michael Scott’s “Somehow I Manage”, if someone dared to give him a book deal. It’s the older, out of touch, privileged (wyt) man who woke up one day and said, “ya know, I’ve learned a lot in my lifetime. Other people would benefit from my expertise!” With helpful tips like “if you have a partner, buy a bed that will fit both of you” “put your dirty clothes in a hamper instead of on the floor” and “have a stool for little kids to use for washing their hands.” Over and over. Thousands of tips. Tips such as “don’t waste money on boxsprings, just put your mattress right on the frame!” “Get rid of some dvds if you have too many” “hang all your shirts together in your closet” and “medicines need childproof caps if you have kids in the house.” It’s chock full of advice for the alien who has never stepped foot on earth and just arrived in his spaceship. Or maybe for the 27 year old man child who has never functioned on his own before and doesn’t know how to boil water.
Don’t even get me started on the layout. The print is like 8 or 9 point, with random pictures that don’t serve any purpose but to fill up the space and useless facts and commentary. Don’t judge this book by its cover…it was so peaceful and inspiring. But looking through the pages of this book made me more stressed and overwhelmed than before I opened it!
THIS BOOK IS NOT THAT.
This book is Michael Scott’s “Somehow I Manage”, if someone dared to give him a book deal. It’s the older, out of touch, privileged (wyt) man who woke up one day and said, “ya know, I’ve learned a lot in my lifetime. Other people would benefit from my expertise!” With helpful tips like “if you have a partner, buy a bed that will fit both of you” “put your dirty clothes in a hamper instead of on the floor” and “have a stool for little kids to use for washing their hands.” Over and over. Thousands of tips. Tips such as “don’t waste money on boxsprings, just put your mattress right on the frame!” “Get rid of some dvds if you have too many” “hang all your shirts together in your closet” and “medicines need childproof caps if you have kids in the house.” It’s chock full of advice for the alien who has never stepped foot on earth and just arrived in his spaceship. Or maybe for the 27 year old man child who has never functioned on his own before and doesn’t know how to boil water.
Don’t even get me started on the layout. The print is like 8 or 9 point, with random pictures that don’t serve any purpose but to fill up the space and useless facts and commentary. Don’t judge this book by its cover…it was so peaceful and inspiring. But looking through the pages of this book made me more stressed and overwhelmed than before I opened it!
December 28, 2015
Pretty terrible book I saw on the new book shelf at the library, why they bothered to order it I don't know. It's not very organized, decluttered or streamline! I had to make sure it wasn't a reprinted book because the illustrations made me think it was published in the 80s. The pictured rooms are so sterile and soulless, I would be sad to spend time in any of them. I guess what I'm trying to say is I didn't like this book.
February 19, 2016
Not what I hoped it would be. Entirely too much information, with 10 kitschy phrases/subtitles on every page. I don't like it when books on simplifying are overly complicated.
January 5, 2019
Oh dear. This was an interesting book. The title proclaims, "Simpler Living Handbook" and promises "decluttering, streamlining and more" but this book is... not that. It's not simple at all. The page layouts are busy and complex, chock-a-block with Hints from Heloise style of advice in a variety of tightly-formatted fonts.
I liked the author's admission that he is not a fan of the KonMarie method - if you take things too far and strip everything extra out of your life, you could end up poorly positioned in an emergency. I found many snippets of advice that were strangely dated: advice on picking a travel agent? Do those even exist anymore? There seems to be an assumption that readers will have televisions and DVD players in nearly every room in the house. He suggests keeping a tape nearby the TV in case something comes on that you'd like to record. He suggests switching to flat screen TVs in order to save space. Readers are also advised to purchase a small tape recorder in case they want to record any ideas that come to them during long car commutes. He suggests sponge painting as a way to brighten up a room. That's something seen as fairly dated these days, and most homeowners are moving away from that trend. There is a lot in the book that could be simplified or jettisoned: a list of popular brands of soap detergent? Seems like filler to me.
There's a lot in here about feeling overwhelmed by new technology and the faster pace of life these days which I think represents a Baby Boomer perspective. For Gen X/Millennial/Gen Z digital natives, technology doesn't feel like an intrusion or a hassle - it's just how things are.
I did a little sleuthing, and it turns out that while this book is not counted as a "new edition" of an earlier one, it is the same, nearly word for word, as the author's earlier book, "Simpler Living: Over 1,500 Ways to Simplify, Streamline, and Remake Your Life" published in 2010, which is in turn a re-hash of "The Joy of Simple Living: Over 1,500 Simple Ways to Make Your Life Easy and Content-- At Home and At Work" published in 1999.
For a more modern and inspiring book on simple living, check out "SLOW – Simple Living for a Frantic World" by Brooke McAlary, instead.
I liked the author's admission that he is not a fan of the KonMarie method - if you take things too far and strip everything extra out of your life, you could end up poorly positioned in an emergency. I found many snippets of advice that were strangely dated: advice on picking a travel agent? Do those even exist anymore? There seems to be an assumption that readers will have televisions and DVD players in nearly every room in the house. He suggests keeping a tape nearby the TV in case something comes on that you'd like to record. He suggests switching to flat screen TVs in order to save space. Readers are also advised to purchase a small tape recorder in case they want to record any ideas that come to them during long car commutes. He suggests sponge painting as a way to brighten up a room. That's something seen as fairly dated these days, and most homeowners are moving away from that trend. There is a lot in the book that could be simplified or jettisoned: a list of popular brands of soap detergent? Seems like filler to me.
There's a lot in here about feeling overwhelmed by new technology and the faster pace of life these days which I think represents a Baby Boomer perspective. For Gen X/Millennial/Gen Z digital natives, technology doesn't feel like an intrusion or a hassle - it's just how things are.
I did a little sleuthing, and it turns out that while this book is not counted as a "new edition" of an earlier one, it is the same, nearly word for word, as the author's earlier book, "Simpler Living: Over 1,500 Ways to Simplify, Streamline, and Remake Your Life" published in 2010, which is in turn a re-hash of "The Joy of Simple Living: Over 1,500 Simple Ways to Make Your Life Easy and Content-- At Home and At Work" published in 1999.
For a more modern and inspiring book on simple living, check out "SLOW – Simple Living for a Frantic World" by Brooke McAlary, instead.
April 7, 2019
I only gave it 3 stars, but only because I am already doing many of the suggestions already, so I didnt get a lot of new ideas, but this is not the author's fault. The book is jam-packed with ideas so there is something for everyone. Just follow the author's first suggestion in his introduction: "Treat this book as a reference. Rather than wading through it from cover to cover ..., turn to it on an as-needed basis."
August 22, 2023
Tedious and repetitive at times. The author tells us at the beginning that the book isn't really meant to be read through, so much as picked from in whatever order you see fit. Davidson has definitely jammed this book with as much information and as many helpful ideas as possible. Some of the information is a bit dated but most is still pretty sensible. Ten percent of the book is a very detailed index that will help you find anything your heart desires quickly.
September 23, 2019
This book is covering a broad range of topics. It is very long but yet it is just basic things that everybody should know about.
This book gets a mediocre rating due to the. fact that it discussed a lot of radium topics. It was not consistant.
This book gets a mediocre rating due to the. fact that it discussed a lot of radium topics. It was not consistant.
September 12, 2018
Checked out from the library as an e-book and likely will do so again with the physical book to take more thorough notes away from a screen.
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November 13, 2019Outdated
A lot of outdated advice like, ‘have your newspaper held if you’re on vacation so burglars won’t Target your house.’ Seriously?
A lot of outdated advice like, ‘have your newspaper held if you’re on vacation so burglars won’t Target your house.’ Seriously?
March 2, 2020
Love this one. I often return to it whenever I need to find a way to streamline my home.
July 9, 2024
This had some good information, but a lot of it seemed dated. This book had a wide variety of information, and wasn't exactly what I had imagined for a simple living handbook.
January 8, 2017
Don't underestimate this book. It covers a lot of territory---the funny thing is it is not written for simplicity!!!! But there are gems in here. It has nice photos and a ton of topics. I actually enjoyed this book but wish it was formatted and written better. The concepts are very good.
I loved "The Three knife rule: All you need to get by is a paring knife, a chef's knife and a serrated edge slicing knife...Since you're going to be using only three buy top quality."
Funny thing is I use only 2 Knives 99% of the time. And the 3rd the other 1%
Attacking piles of papers (to sort and file) This is my condensed version:
Allow 30 minutes at a time.
Sort into 4 stacks: URGENT, IMPORTANT, INTERESTING, RECYCLE
Don't fret long over which stack.
Throw out the recycle pile.
Repeat until the piles are down to the lowest possible heights.
Tackle Urgent first.
Important next and Interesting last.
Repeat until everything is in its place.
I loved "The Three knife rule: All you need to get by is a paring knife, a chef's knife and a serrated edge slicing knife...Since you're going to be using only three buy top quality."
Funny thing is I use only 2 Knives 99% of the time. And the 3rd the other 1%
Attacking piles of papers (to sort and file) This is my condensed version:
Allow 30 minutes at a time.
Sort into 4 stacks: URGENT, IMPORTANT, INTERESTING, RECYCLE
Don't fret long over which stack.
Throw out the recycle pile.
Repeat until the piles are down to the lowest possible heights.
Tackle Urgent first.
Important next and Interesting last.
Repeat until everything is in its place.
January 23, 2017
This book had hundreds of tips, the issue I had was that even though the copyright was 2015, it seemed very out of date. I did not find many tips to implement. It was a disappointment.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews