I love Dana White. (I’ve reviewed her decluttering book previously.) Her content is so down-to-earth and practical, especially for us ADD types who don’t always find that the explanations that work for everyone else work for us. So I was excited to get a look at Organizing for the Rest of Us when it came out.

Organizing for the Rest of Us – the Book Itself

I was a little surprised by the physical characteristics of the book when it arrived (‘though not in a bad way). It’s a hardcover, and it’s a little on the small side in terms of height and width. (It’s about an inch thick, though.) Here’s a comparison with a standard 6×9 book for reference:

It’s a super-cute little book, though, that’s perfect for gifting. In fact, there’s even a gift page in the front.

As you can probably tell from that image, the book is printed in full color. It’s illustrated with a mix of photos….

…and drawings…

There’s a ribbon bookmark built in so you don’t lose your place.

Organizing for the Rest of Us – Content

I’m not sure what I was expecting. This wasn’t it, but it’s GOOD. Most of it is written as if you took the basics of “how to declutter, organize, and clean,” and broke it down into bite-sized pieces – a few paragraphs each. These are the strategies (similar to “chapters”). This makes it very un-overwhelming.

Each strategy can be read in about 2 minutes or less (and there’s that ribbon bookmark to keep you from losing your place).

It would be a great introduction to someone who’s either new to housekeeping or who struggles with it. It’s also readable enough that you could give it to older kids. (I’m going to be handing it off to mine to read.)

Most of it, honestly, wasn’t new to me. (I’ve been at this for a long time.) But it’s spot-on, and I love the easy-bite-size-pieces approach. And even I found a couple new tips in the mix.

One thing I do want to comment on: strategy 67 is about cleaning mold from grout. It’s important to note that bleach does not kill mold on porous surfaces; it only bleaches it. That is, it changes the color but you still have living mold. So if you’re concerned about mold, you’ll need a different approach.

That minor caveat aside, though, I would 100% recommend this book, for those who are struggling with housework or new to homemaking, as a gift for new homemakers (or even for graduates), and even as a tool for helping the kids learn the fundamentals of decluttering, organization, and cleaning. (And 99% of what she teaches is consistent with what I present here and in my own books, so if you like my posts/materials, her books are probably a good fit for you, too.)