Outer Order Inner Calm: declutter and organize to make more room for happiness Paperback – January 9, 2020

I read half the book last night. I couldn't put it down. As I read I wanted to jump up and start decluttering then and there. I loved her section on an amnesty day and forgiveness for past poor purchasing decisions with freedom to just get rid of the unloved stuff without the guilt. As she says, need it, love it, use it or get rid of it.Highly recommend this book.

Well written. Made sense to me. Already started putting things into action that the author suggested. Loved it!

As a how to declutter book, this is only so-so. As a reformed messy house person, I can assure you that this would have not helped me at all. If I tried to read this many years ago during those years, I would have found myself asking the question of where to start. I would have read it and never actually formed the habits that allowed me to reform and live relatively free of clutter. If you are someone who already is pretty organized, this book can provide you with a lot of tips and challenge you to reform outdated ideas.

There are already a lot of good blogs, books, podcasts and videos out about hoarding or reducing clutter. If these didn't work why not give this book a try? Found some new unique ideas. Change your habits. Less in, more out. Look inside convinced me to buy.

Gretchen opened up my world in more ways than one through 'The Happiness Project' and continued to appeal to my upholder instincts through her subsequent books. Must read for clutter clearing fans and GR fans!

Gretchen’s latest book gives us so many useful tips that we can dip in and out of when we feel the need to declutter and it is also a truly stimulating friend for when we want to take a deeper dive into clutter cleansing– to take back control of our environment and reenergise our minds and spirits in the process. I really love Gretchen’s phrase of learning to ‘curate’ our possessions so that we can bring balance and beauty to our worlds and spotlight the people, places and activities that we love by shipping out the superfluous. Gretchen goes gentle on us as we move forward on this journey, she reflects often that we will all have differences of tolerance for clutter and that we will therefore have different approaches to dealing with it. Gretchen’s book looks at both the broader issues surrounding the effect of clutter on our psyches as well as concrete ways to counteract its influence.I have taken on board some of her ideas already – I always clean my workspace for 10 minutes at the end of each day and tidy up downstairs and in my bedroom for 10 minutes before going up to sleep. I love the affect in the morning when I come down to a clear and more welcoming space. I actually stop to breathe out and smile – it’s a fabulous start to the day. For the same reason I also make my bed everyday – when you come back to it after work – it is like having a heartfelt hug waiting for you. I also love having an empty shelf – it makes me feel lighter and less judged.This weekend my husband helped me resolve some order in our room. Previously he had announced that he wanted to keep all the books he read this year in a collection – and so sure enough he started to pile them up next to the bed. Simultaneously, for a while now I have known that I needed a more competent bedside table – so in a eureka moment, following reading Gretchen’s book I suggested we choose two lovely bookcases – which we did and he duly built and put in place. This had made our space feel calmer, cosier and almost instantly, more inviting - wonderful qualities in your own special room.

I was really excited about reading this book, but now I feel a little let down.Although the book was full of some really good tips for how to declutter various aspects of our physical lives, I felt it was a bit empty. I had expected some of the personal anecdotal style of her previous books, but this was almost completely absent here. I had also hoped that there would be more focus on the psychological and philosophical aspects of how exactly outer order might promote inner calm. This was briefly touched upon in the introduction, but more detail would have been nice. As such, it basically reads as a list of tips - which is ok if that is what you want or are expecting, but I think it could've been greatly improved if it was written more like her other books.

Overall I really liked this book. It was a quick and easy read. Beginner entry into decluttering and leading a more ordered life. Nothing revolutionary in it but if new to the topic it has some great tips.