5 Essential Books for an Organized and Productive Life

I’ve hand picked my favorite 5 essential books for an organized and productive life. I’m the nerdy type who likes to read these kind of books for fun. Hey, it’s my job! These particular books are not just inspiration books with pretty pictures that leave you thinking “my house will never look like that!” These books are encouraging and give practical advice you can use in your homes right now. (For an explanation of why you-know-who’s book is NOT on this list, scroll to the end of the post.) So pick up a book or two and get going if you want a more organized, efficient, calm life. I’m telling you-you’ve got this!

5 Essential Books for an

Organized and Productive Life

Keep This, Toss That: Unlcutter Your Life to Save Time, Money, Space, and Sanity by Jamie Novak

Sometimes it’s obvious what to throw away. Your wooden spoon snapped in half. It can’t be repaired. It’s not expensive to replace. Toss it.

Other times, however, it’s less clear what you should keep and what you should put in the garbage. (And sometimes, you may just need permission to throw something away.) This book has the answer! For a multitude of categories, Novak will tell you what to keep and what to toss.  For instance, in the category sweaters (yes, he is that specific) you should trow out stretched out sweaters and sweaters that are too itchy etc. This is a simple and effective guide.

The One Minute Organizer Plain and Simple: 500 Tips for Getting Your Life in Order by Donna Smallin

Are you crazy busy? Could you find five to fifteen minutes a day to devote to organizing? If so, this book is perfect for you! Bit by bit, Smallin will help you get organized and teach you strategies to stay organized. She covers family and work issues as well as mental clutter. With this many tips packed into an easy to read guide, anyone can get organized!

How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House’s Dirty Little Secrets by Dana K. White

White is what many organizing guru’s aren’t: a reformed slob. She has been where a lot of people currently are. White is so easy to relate to and her straightforward how to’s has been tested in her own home.

She advises her readers to “give up the fantasy” and offers help on tackling laundry, getting dinner on the table and getting house cleaning under control. A very helpful and fun read!

Organizing from the Inside Out: The Foolproof System for Organizing Your Home, Your Office, and Your Life by Julie Morganstern

This is the second edition of this book. An oldie and a goodie. Morganstern is the Queen of Professional Organizers.

Want to get organized but just can’t seem to figure out how? In this book Morganstern teaches you to work with your personality and natural inclinations (not against them) to find the system that works for you. From kitchens to photographs, technology to taming the paper monster, this book will help you finally find what works for you.

One Year to an Organized Life by Regina Leeds

This week by week approach to decluttering and making your home efficient lets you start whenever you are ready. Leeds leads you (ha!) through the organizing process slowly so that it’s not overwhelming. Called the Zen Organizer, she is all about helping you craft a peaceful life.

Who Isn’t On My List

I know, I know “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo is all the rage, and yet it didn’t make my list. Part of the reason is that this book tends to be a love it or hate it novel. In addition, I find that some of the strategies may not work well for the typical American household. For instance, decluttering by category instead of room might be great in theory. According to Kondo, if I had decided to declutter books when my children were younger I would have put all of mine, all of my son’s, all of my daughter’s, and all of the books I used for my job as a preschool teacher in one place to go through them. Impossible. And she loses me a bit when she verbally thanks her shoes and doesn’t ball up her socks because “they can’t get any rest like that.”

However, I credit her for making decluttering and organizing topics of everyday conversation in America. She made professional organizers sexy. (I love what I do but I wouldn’t have called it sexy!) She’s got some sound advice and I completely agree with her basic principal “the magic of tidying dramatically transforms your life.” Yep. Totally agree.

So if you own this book, and love this book-great! Anything that helps you on your journey to rid your home of unwanted and unused items and simplify your life is good. It’s just I think the 5 essential books listed above are very practical guides which approach decluttering and organizing in very reasonable ways.

So, sit down with a steaming cup of coffee and a good book and get energized, get excited!! You are about to make your life simpler, easier, calmer and happier!

Learn More About Decluttering

If you want to learn more about decluttering, be sure to check out “What You Must Do Before Organizing Anything” and “12 Unbelievably Easy Items to Declutter NOW!”

Learn More About Organizing

Some articles about organizing specific spaces in your home you may want to check out:

All About Your Garage: Organization 101

All About Your Garage: Cool Organization Tools

All About Your Garage: Sports Equipment

How to Reorganize Your Pantry: Function and Beauty!

A Clean, Organized, Cute Fridge

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