Solutions and Inspiration for Your Home [A Home Organization Book]
July 1, 2023
Expert organizer Gill (Minimalista) takes readers on an international and visual tour of the homes of 25 people who professionally organize living spaces for others. Readers will learn a bit about the experts' backgrounds, styles, and, of course, approaches to decluttering and straightening spaces. While some utilize stylish canisters, boxes, and bins to store their things, the common thread throughout this book is that owning less stuff is the key. The book also emphasizes that carefully choosing items for their beauty, functionality, and durability is the secret to elevating personal spaces. The photos are great, but the true value of this book lies in the nuggets of innovative and inspirational ideas scattered throughout and collected in the "Takeaway" sections. From tiny apartments to 150-year-old houses, from ascetic minimalists to color-focused maximalists, these organizers' homes and styles differ, but each one has something fascinating to contribute. VERDICT A fresh take on home organization that will likely serve as catnip for readers wanting peeks of the experts' homes and instructions on how to achieve it themselves.--Eva Mitnick
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 4, 2023
In this practical guide, home organizer Gill (Minimalista) tours the “homes of twenty-five of the top organizing experts across the globe” to see how they arrange their living spaces. She goes inside Marie Quéru’s sleek Paris abode, which uses wall-length white cabinets and loft beds to maximize available space, and the kitchen of Wiebke Liu, who uses dozens of jars from her company Blisshaus to store “baking staples, dry goods, and snacks.” Gill includes advice from each expert, noting Claudia Torre’s recommendation to “keep only the things you love, use, need, and that make you happy,” and Ashley Jones’s “one touch rule,” which encourages immediately putting away objects after use. The author also offers “tips and takeaways” on how readers can integrate the featured organizers’ strategies into their own homes, such as when she suggests readers might “style your wardrobe like an inviting boutique” following Jean Gordon’s preference for having “shoes out of boxes, clothing displayed at arm’s reach,” and “sturdy, matching hangers... for a cohesive look.” The elegant photos are a pleasure to look at, and q&as with the organizers on, for instance, what they “love most” about their homes and their “biggest personal home-organizing challenges” highlight the personalities behind the advice. Those aspiring to declutter their spaces would do well to start here.