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Inspired Ideas
Simple Organizing: 50 Ways to Clear the Clutter
Bring Order and Purpose to Every Room in Your Home
Getting organized can feel like an impossible task. But it doesn't have to be complicated. The things you actually use need a designated home. The rest of the stuff is clutter and needs to be removed. Once you've determined which is which, order can easily be maintained.
Let bestselling author Melissa Michaels help you get organized with these 50 helpful ideas.
Gain momentum by making progress, not perfection, your goal.
Make the most of your space and create a home that works for your family.
Reduce stress by decluttering and keeping only the things you regularly use.
Featuring more than 300 easy organization tips that address every room, discover how simple and stress-free it can be to restore and maintain order in the space you call home.
Getting organized can feel like an impossible task. But it doesn't have to be complicated. The things you actually use need a designated home. The rest of the stuff is clutter and needs to be removed. Once you've determined which is which, order can easily be maintained.
Let bestselling author Melissa Michaels help you get organized with these 50 helpful ideas.
Gain momentum by making progress, not perfection, your goal.
Make the most of your space and create a home that works for your family.
Reduce stress by decluttering and keeping only the things you regularly use.
Featuring more than 300 easy organization tips that address every room, discover how simple and stress-free it can be to restore and maintain order in the space you call home.
- GenresNonfictionLifestyle
128 pages, Paperback
Published April 3, 2018
116 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Michaels
10 books58 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Melissa Michaels is the author of The Inspired Room (theinspiredroom.net), one of the top decorating blogs on the web for the past eight years. The Inspired Room reaches over 600,000 readers each month and was voted Better Homes and Gardens Readers' Favorite Decorating blog in 2014.
Melissa (along with her home and The Inspired Room) has been featured in top publications and magazines online and in print. Through The Inspired Room blog and her upcoming books (Love the Home You Have, March 2015, The Inspired Room, October 2015), Melissa offers a refreshing perspective on finding contentment in creating an authentically beautiful home, right where you are.
She lives with her husband and family near Seattle, Washington.
Melissa Michaels is the author of The Inspired Room (theinspiredroom.net), one of the top decorating blogs on the web for the past eight years. The Inspired Room reaches over 600,000 readers each month and was voted Better Homes and Gardens Readers' Favorite Decorating blog in 2014.
Melissa (along with her home and The Inspired Room) has been featured in top publications and magazines online and in print. Through The Inspired Room blog and her upcoming books (Love the Home You Have, March 2015, The Inspired Room, October 2015), Melissa offers a refreshing perspective on finding contentment in creating an authentically beautiful home, right where you are.
She lives with her husband and family near Seattle, Washington.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
June 28, 2018
This is a great organizing book that breaks things down into 50 small steps. The book is organized by room or area of the house and then further into the smaller 50 steps. There are also great photographs of beautifully organized homes (that don't seem too perfect). I got lots of great ideas and hope to implement them in my home - tip #16 arrange kitchen into task zones, #20 make the dining area usable, not a dumping ground for everything, #37 a wellness station to keep all band aids, creams, medicine, etc. organized and ready. As a librarian, I also appreciated that the author mentioned in tip #13 "Library books are best kept in their own storage container. Designating a separate basket or shelf for library items makes them easy to locate when they're due. Best way to avoid stress and fines." Good organizing book especially if you want to work room by room at your own pace.
July 31, 2022
It was a decent read. It was very annoying to see the words “attractive” and “streamline” 483929495 times… but the concept of the book was good. I took notes while reading it and am excited to implement some of her simple steps into my townhouse. It definitely was a good beginner book for using spaces well. ❤️
July 7, 2018
Fast and easy read full of pratical tips for keeping a new home or a well lived in home organized. What sold me were the pictures! Pictures made it easy to pick out which tips would work easily in our home.
December 16, 2019
I see that Michaels has pumped out a number of these books. Maybe a paper copy would be more attractive, but reading the ebook was a lot like reading an outline for a future book, quick, shorthand, nothing chapters. All I gleaned from this was: pare down your possessions to things your really love or need, and find or buy cute containers for what remains. Really.
April 14, 2018
In terms of encouragement and inspiration for all things house and home, Melissa Michaels simply can’t be beaten. She is a New York Times Bestselling author of several books (all of which I adore!) and creator of “The Inspired Room” blog, which motivates thousands of followers each week with simple ideas for creating “inspired rooms” of our own. Her newest release from Harvest House Publishers is a delightful little volume entitled “Simple Organizing: 50 Ways to Clear the Clutter”. (Don’t let the title fool you, though, as there are FAR more than 50 ideas in this book. . . Think of it more as 50 broad tips, with numerous ‘sub-tips’ included for each one!)
In “Simple Organizing”, Melissa takes us on a journey room by room through the home, helping us to make the most of each area. As she explains, “Simple organizing is about making the most of the space you have and creating a home that works for your family so you can get on to the most important things in life! The things that aren’t ‘things’ at all. That’s the heart behind simple organizing.” The book begins with Entrances, followed by Living Spaces, Kitchen & Dining Room, Master Bedroom, Bathrooms, Kids’ Rooms, and Home Office & Creative Spaces. A few of my favorite ideas include: the wardrobe/closet organizational tips; cleaning product simplification and storage; and the idea of having ‘stations’ for specific tasks.
If you could use some fresh inspiration to help you make the most of the home and storage options you have, I cannot recommend “Simple Organizing” highly enough. Melissa takes the often-scary job of bringing order to our homes and brings it down-to-earth, making it doable and even enjoyable! But perhaps the most important take-away of all is the reminder that “Organization isn’t just about setting up a storage system. It’s about designing a home that truly reflects your family.”
This book was provided courtesy of Harvest House Publishers, in exchange for my honest review.
In “Simple Organizing”, Melissa takes us on a journey room by room through the home, helping us to make the most of each area. As she explains, “Simple organizing is about making the most of the space you have and creating a home that works for your family so you can get on to the most important things in life! The things that aren’t ‘things’ at all. That’s the heart behind simple organizing.” The book begins with Entrances, followed by Living Spaces, Kitchen & Dining Room, Master Bedroom, Bathrooms, Kids’ Rooms, and Home Office & Creative Spaces. A few of my favorite ideas include: the wardrobe/closet organizational tips; cleaning product simplification and storage; and the idea of having ‘stations’ for specific tasks.
If you could use some fresh inspiration to help you make the most of the home and storage options you have, I cannot recommend “Simple Organizing” highly enough. Melissa takes the often-scary job of bringing order to our homes and brings it down-to-earth, making it doable and even enjoyable! But perhaps the most important take-away of all is the reminder that “Organization isn’t just about setting up a storage system. It’s about designing a home that truly reflects your family.”
This book was provided courtesy of Harvest House Publishers, in exchange for my honest review.
July 5, 2018
**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
About the Book:
Bring Order and Purpose to Every Room in Your Home
Getting organized can feel like an impossible task. But it doesn't have to be complicated. The things you actually use need a designated home. The rest of the stuff is clutter and needs to be removed. Once you've determined which is which, order can easily be maintained.
Let bestselling author Melissa Michaels help you get organized with these 50 helpful ideas.
Gain momentum by making progress, not perfection, your goal.
Make the most of your space and create a home that works for your family.
Reduce stress by decluttering and keeping only the things you regularly use.
Featuring more than 300 easy organization tips that address every room, discover how simple and stress-free it can be to restore and maintain order in the space you call home.
My Review:
The main thing if you come to live in my house is that you know if you want to keep anything and you hear that I'm decluttering you better hold on tight to your things. I hate clutter. I try and let my family have their moments with their things but there comes a time where I feel like its sucking the life out of our family and it has to go. So I start throwing things away. My family hates it.
I love the idea of organizing and the author pinpoints some ideas and suggestions that I already do. First thing is first, the porch of your home if you have one is very critical to the look of your home and overall feel of it. So I clean the entire thing off, clean or repaint, and then decide what goes back. Many times I am going for a very clean simple look.I love decluttering because it makes me feel lighter.
The author gives you tips on every area of the house. The book is not overwhelming. Her key is simplicity which is a plus in my book. Great guide to organizing.
About the Book:
Bring Order and Purpose to Every Room in Your Home
Getting organized can feel like an impossible task. But it doesn't have to be complicated. The things you actually use need a designated home. The rest of the stuff is clutter and needs to be removed. Once you've determined which is which, order can easily be maintained.
Let bestselling author Melissa Michaels help you get organized with these 50 helpful ideas.
Gain momentum by making progress, not perfection, your goal.
Make the most of your space and create a home that works for your family.
Reduce stress by decluttering and keeping only the things you regularly use.
Featuring more than 300 easy organization tips that address every room, discover how simple and stress-free it can be to restore and maintain order in the space you call home.
My Review:
The main thing if you come to live in my house is that you know if you want to keep anything and you hear that I'm decluttering you better hold on tight to your things. I hate clutter. I try and let my family have their moments with their things but there comes a time where I feel like its sucking the life out of our family and it has to go. So I start throwing things away. My family hates it.
I love the idea of organizing and the author pinpoints some ideas and suggestions that I already do. First thing is first, the porch of your home if you have one is very critical to the look of your home and overall feel of it. So I clean the entire thing off, clean or repaint, and then decide what goes back. Many times I am going for a very clean simple look.I love decluttering because it makes me feel lighter.
The author gives you tips on every area of the house. The book is not overwhelming. Her key is simplicity which is a plus in my book. Great guide to organizing.
July 20, 2018
This book is organized in a simple, easy format to help with the process, providing tips and guidelines to help, along with encouragement and with photos throughout! She encourages to use what you have, no need for remodels or renovations to do this!
Here are a few tips from the book I will share (don't want to give away too many):
~Organization isn't just about setting up a storage system. It's about designing a home that truly reflects your family. (hint, not your neighbors, not your friends, but your family - no comparing!)
~As you organize your home, you also organize your life. Your home won't be perfect, but that's okay. That's not the point.
~Motivate yourself by taking before and after photographs (OK this really does help, seeing the before and after.). I will share a few of mine below, my home is still a work and progress, and probably will be till we no longer live in this house.
~Determine what you truly use and what you could do without.
~After you clean the clutter, establish simple habits and routines that keep your home and life well-ordered and organized. (OK, so this isn't going to work with everybody, because hey I live with people who are OK with clutter. I don't know what is wrong with these people, lol, but there are steps you can take!)
~Your entryway sets the tone for the rest of your home. This was the first step I did, because it is the first thing people see, so I had to look at it as a guest in my own home.
Here are a few tips from the book I will share (don't want to give away too many):
~Organization isn't just about setting up a storage system. It's about designing a home that truly reflects your family. (hint, not your neighbors, not your friends, but your family - no comparing!)
~As you organize your home, you also organize your life. Your home won't be perfect, but that's okay. That's not the point.
~Motivate yourself by taking before and after photographs (OK this really does help, seeing the before and after.). I will share a few of mine below, my home is still a work and progress, and probably will be till we no longer live in this house.
~Determine what you truly use and what you could do without.
~After you clean the clutter, establish simple habits and routines that keep your home and life well-ordered and organized. (OK, so this isn't going to work with everybody, because hey I live with people who are OK with clutter. I don't know what is wrong with these people, lol, but there are steps you can take!)
~Your entryway sets the tone for the rest of your home. This was the first step I did, because it is the first thing people see, so I had to look at it as a guest in my own home.
March 21, 2021
3 1/2 stars. I really liked the pictures in this book, and I was inspired to start organizing various parts of my home. I liked that it was short, simple, and straightforward. A lot of the other organizing books in my library are so huge and thick I get exhausted just by looking at them. I was looking for a short, simple book to give me more ideas for organizing my home, and this book fit the bill. Easy to read. It goes through the home room by room. I'm going to read the author's Simple Decorating: 50 Ways to Inspire Your Home book next.
July 8, 2019
This is a very good book of fluttering your home. It tells you to work in smaller batches to organize your home. You need to do a little bit at a time to each room. You need to be ruthless whenever it comes to getting stuff you do not need. Whenever you do that, you have more time and energy for the things that you enjoy. After the fluttering stage, the author teaches you how to decorate your space.
It is a great reference book on organizing your place and on bringing peace back into your life. Everyone needs it.
It is a great reference book on organizing your place and on bringing peace back into your life. Everyone needs it.
April 2, 2021
I have studied a LOT of organizing and decluttering books over the past few years, and a lot of them just really aren't very good, filled with basic common sense or grandiose aspirations with little direction. This book, however, is simple and practical with many actionable tasks ranging from short and easy to longer and more rewarding. The author's style (both decorating and writing) is light and easy to digest. I recommend this book as a starting point for those just beginning to organize or as a good summary of tips and techniques for the more seasoned organizer.
May 13, 2021
A simple yet practical guide to streamline decluttering, decorating and making your home beautiful and efficient. Not a lot of fluff which I appreciate. I don't need the history of hoarding muddling up the pages in order to learn how to sort through my stuff, and this book keeps it "clean" 😉 See what I did there?
Read it if you need a quick organizing guide to get you started. There's a whole catalog of more in depth books on the same subject if you feel you need more direction, but this is a good way to get you inspired.
Read it if you need a quick organizing guide to get you started. There's a whole catalog of more in depth books on the same subject if you feel you need more direction, but this is a good way to get you inspired.
February 27, 2019
A decent book on home organization. There are some things in here I'm going to try to implement in my own home. However, most of the ideas weren't anything new, and I felt that there was a lot of repetition throughout the book. I did like the pictures, they showed examples from the text and were great inspiration.
December 7, 2019
Nothing new or special here. Lots of pretty pictures of beautiful rooms with fancy minimal stuff. One idea I do like is putting books and magazines in trays or baskets instead of haphazardly piled in stacks on coffee tables and other surfaces. Even my books from the library could use their own basket or shelf.
June 9, 2018
This was a nice format, with bullet point ideas arranged by room. As with all the other clutter books, what you get out of it depends on your mess level. For example, I really needed the paragraph where she tells us that it is okay to let go of unfinished crafts.
April 30, 2019
Yet another book in my quest for organisation and motivation-
I liked this one, simple and easy to follow I feel inspired to revamp a whole number of rooms in my house- (and do yet another cull of my clutter)
I liked this one, simple and easy to follow I feel inspired to revamp a whole number of rooms in my house- (and do yet another cull of my clutter)
November 30, 2020
One of my big projects during Covid is decluttering my apartment. I appreciated this book's focus on keeping things simple and the focus on using what you already have on hand to organize (no matter how tempting the siren song of The Container Store is 😄)
October 19, 2021
I found this to be so much more practical then most books on organizing. There were a lot of easy tips to dealing with clutter and over all being able to make your home a welcoming environment for you, your family and also your guests.
April 27, 2018
Filled with many tips and tricks to help organize your house.
May 15, 2018
This book has a beautiful cover and is filled with beautiful pictures of organized rooms, drawers and shelves. Not a lot of material I haven't seen elsewhere, however.
June 17, 2018
Pretty cover, nice lay out. Nothing new, not even a novel twist.
July 11, 2018
Donate half your stuff, throw away the rest.
July 29, 2018
This was ok. Pretty lay out and nicely organized but nothing new or particularly inspired for me.
March 9, 2019
Lots of easy tips for organizing.
July 23, 2019
A super easy read with practical ideas.
February 3, 2020
Quick read. Some good ideas, but mostly what I already know.
July 7, 2020
Well laid out and in small quick read sections.
September 25, 2020
I thought it was a perfect for what it is -- a simple book on organizing. Easy to pick-up, easy to put-down, and easy to make small changes that make a big impact. Not mind blowing, but enjoyable.
July 4, 2021
What a lovely little book! Changed a lot of ways I look at my home.
January 20, 2023
This is brilliant
This book is absolutely fantastic and full of hints and tips on how to sort out a messy home. I will be implementing a lot of the tips.
This book is absolutely fantastic and full of hints and tips on how to sort out a messy home. I will be implementing a lot of the tips.
February 26, 2025
Quick read and a nice feeling of motivation to get my house organized!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews