Books can provide strategies and emotional support when weโre trying to organise our lives. So we asked professional organisers and other experts to recommend their favourites.
โThe Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaningโ by Margareta Magnusson
One day, we will be gone โ but our things will still be here. This 2017 book, a favourite among all the experts we spoke to, is a call for people to declutter while they still can.
โNo one wants to think about their own mortality,โ said Patty Morrissey, the programme director of the KonMari Club, an organising community created by Marie Kondo. But this book helps present organisation in a positive way โ as a โlife reviewโ, she said.
For example, Magnusson recommends designating a โThrow Awayโ box for personal items that have sentimental value โ but may not for anyone else โ and then labelling it so that your loved ones can discard it when youโre gone.
โOrganising From the Inside Outโ, by Julie Morgenstern
Morgenstern is known as โone of the OGs in organising,โ Matt Paxton, author of Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff, explained.
In this 1998 book, Morgenstern presents an organising strategy called S.P.A.C.E., which stands for: Sort, or group items; purge, or get rid of unnecessary things; assign a home, or designate a specific place for every object; containerise, or organise items with the help of bins, boxes, and other containers; and equalise, or check in regularly to tweak the process when needed.
This framework, however, isnโt meant to be rigid. The book โhelps us organise in a way thatโs right for us,โ said Gretchen Rubin, host of the Happier podcast. For example, Morgenstern encourages people who are chronically late to store essentials (like keys and wallets) near the door. This practical guide, full of insights, shows that thereโs no one-size-fits-all solution to organising, Rubin added.
โHow to Keep House While Drowningโ, by KC Davis
Tidying up can be difficult for anyone, but it can be uniquely challenging for people living with ADHD and mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. For those in search of judgment-free guidance, this 2022 book offers a simple approach.
While Davis recommends breaking things into small, manageable tasks, she stresses the importance of not being too hard on yourself, by doing things like running the dishwasher before itโs completely full.
The book is also written so people can skip around, diving into the section that they need, which can be particularly useful for people who find focusing difficult. Morrissey recommends it to clients who arenโt โstriving for aspirational levels of orderโ but are โjust trying to get through the dayโ.
โWhat We Keepโ, by Bill Shapiro and Naomi Wax
This book, published in 2018, isnโt a decluttering how-to. Instead, the authors interviewed hundreds of people, including truckers and nuns, asking them whether important items symbolise pivotal moments or help them remember relationships and people who are no longer with them.
Each story invites readers to consider what their own objects mean. When you start to think about โwhat youโve chosen to keep and interrogate the โwhyโ โ whether for utility or sparking a memory โ that is really beautiful,โ Moore said.
โADD-Friendly Ways to Organise Your Lifeโ, by Kathleen Nadeau and Judith Kolberg
This 2002 book offers people with ADHD flexible ways to approach organising. For example, many people experience the โout of sight, out of mindโ phenomenon, where they might forget about items they donโt see regularly. The authors, however, suggest transparent storage containers or open shelving to keep important items visible.
It is โeven written in ADHD-friendly language,โ Morrissey said, adding that it includes helpful charts and illustrations, too. This book, she added, โis a great way to help people who struggle with the execution and completion of a task get their clutter under controlโ.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Written by: Hope Reese
Photographs by: Monica Garwood
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