Disclaimer: This review is not meant to harass or degrade the authors. This is just my honest criticism of a book I read and why I personally don’t like it. DO NOT send harassment or rude messages to the authors, I do not condone that.

Welcome to the first post in #MotherNatureWantsHerTreesBack. This category focuses on the worst books and I tell you the reasons why they are not good. In this post, I will be discussing about a book where the title lies to you. This book is titled 10,001 Ways To Declutter Your Home On A Small Budget.

This book has three authors to its name: Ed Morrow, Sheree Bykofsky, and Rita Rosenkranz. The books rating on GoodReads (a website where I find most of these garbage books) has a whopping 2.15 star rating (now 2.10 due to my one-star rating) and published by Skyhorse Publishing.

Looking deeper into other books written by these authors, they don’t have many followers on GoodReads (so their not that popular) and other books they have published have either mediocre or decent ratings. I do have a rule when reviewing books: if one book from an author is a book that I didn’t like, it doesn’t mean that the other books they published are bad (at least, some of the time).

So who knows, if I happen to read other self-help books from these authors in the future, I might actually find it useful. Unfortunately with this book, I hated everything about this book and I will tell you why you shouldn’t waste your money or time with this book.

I want to thank my mom for a physical copy of this book (even though I didn’t ask her) and for GoodReads/Amazon to help me with this review.

Lecture About Overeating/The Pack Rat Test:

So the first chapter of the book talks about how we clutter our homes with bunch of junk we don’t use or don’t need. Seems reasonable enough for most people. On the other hand, I feel like this chapter comparing a cluttered house to an overweight person is a little weird. Literally, the first chapter is titled “A Cluttered House Is Like an Overweight Body.”

I understand that they are trying to draw comparisons that your house is overweight with clutter to a person who overeats and has a weight problem, but is it really necessary? But it doesn’t stop there with this weird comparison because in chapter 2 after you take the test, they keep mentioning health problems or anything related to health like being overweight, diets, etc.

No, seriously, every single paragraph has to have something about overeating. Here are some quotes from this chapter:

“Some people choose to be overweight, accepting the health risks and stigmas that ensue, because they enjoy food so much or just feel that being thin isn’t important.”

Page 10 on section “Your Home’s Diet”

“Overeaters are overcome by the impulse to indulge. The smell of fresh-baked cookies wafting from a bakery may be impossible to resist.”

Page 12 on section “4 Ways to Resist The Urge To Accumulate”

“After getting kicked in the can by life, the overeater often seeks comfort from food.”

Page 13 on section “6 Things To Do Instead of Shopping”

“Perversely, overeaters sometimes react badly when they start having success with their slimming efforts. The scale greets them with a report of 10 pounds gone missing, and they take this opportunity to ease up on their diet. All too soon, they have erased months of discipline and healthful habits.”

Page 14 on section “Overcoming Premature Victories and Depressing Defeats”

“Overeaters not only eat too much, but also tend to make poor choices when deciding what and when to eat. They may skip meals, become overly hungry, then over-indulge. They may plan meals that are too large or too small, alternatively overeating or failing to satisfy their hunger which can lead to eating an extra meal.”

Page 15 on section “When Self-Deprivation Doesn’t Do It”

Ladies and gents, this is not a self-help book about weight loss or helping people reduce overeating. This is supposed to be about decluttering. I understand if this book was a self-help book about that topic about helping people lose weight/reduce overeating, but it is not. Also, I don’t think this comparison is fair. There are other quotes like this throughout the chapter. I just find it weird and kind of a put off from reading this book. Is it just me? Maybe it is just me who thinks this.

Now I want to backtrack back to the “packrat test”. This test tells you if you are packrat or not by giving you options that relate to you and once you choose one of the options that fit you, you get points. So I decided to play this test and add all my points and see how I’m rated on the clutter-o-meter. Reading through these options I highly doubt someone would do this or make me ask “how does this happen?”

1) Your General Housekeeping Principles:

The one I chose was “there is a place for most things but hardly anything is in its place, and many more things are in something else’s place. All places and all things are dusty. (2 points)

2) Your Toothpaste Habits:

The one I chose was “you put the cap back and leave the tube on the bathroom counter. You sometimes squeeze from the middle but immediately regret it and contritely squeeze the tube back in shape.” (3 points)

Some of these options seem weird to me. Like leaving the toothpaste tube on your bedroom dresser (I know that some bedrooms connect to a bathroom, but I wouldn’t think anyone would just leave their toothpaste on a bedroom dresser and not putting it back. It also mentions the toothpaste getting on the socks because you left the toothpaste on the dresser, but your fine to wear them anyway. Toothpaste is sticky, right? So someone is okay with wearing sticky socks?

3) Your Laundry

I chose “your hamper is nearly clean and nearly full and smells of apple-pie-scented disinfectant spray.” (3 points)

A little note on this is that my hamper does not smell like apple pie. To be honest, I never used disinfectant spray for my hamper (only because my hamper doesn’t smell like anything).

4) Your Refrigerator

I chose “Your refrigerator is full, and a few items need to be tossed out. You have leftovers from last night. There’s one box of baking soda.” (3 points)

Our fridge can be full and sometimes things spoil/have mold, but we normally toss it out. We don’t have baking soda in our fridge but I’m assuming it keeps the fridge fresh.

5) Your Workspace

I don’t really have a workspace. I consider my bed a workspace since I do work on my laptop, so I didn’t choose any of the options.

Also, for the last option, why would there be a spatula where your workspace is?

6) Your Acquiring Habits:

I chose “you buy things when they’re needed but also pick up items when they’re on sale or have a coupon.” (3 points)

To be honest here, I don’t use coupons much. However, I used to buy things that I don’t need. I’m sure that sales end and coupons expire, so I think anyone would shop before they end.

7) Your Disposal Habits

I chose “you dispose of unneeded items regularly, keeping your home tidy.” (3 points)

The one with four points seems like a bad idea. It says you give away stuff that is not yours. I’m going to advise my readers to NEVER give away anything that isn’t yours unless you get permission to give it away.

Now I will add all of these points and in total I got 17 points. So on the clutter-o-meter, I’m Roseanne. Roseanne is described as a person who struggles to balance work and family life, with little time to tidy. It seems right since I do other things but want to clean/tidy my room. So that is the gist of the packrat test.

But now I got the two chapters out of the way, let us get to the real meat of this review and why this book is an absolute travesty of self-help.

Lies About Decluttering & Small Budget:

So, as you can tell by the title, this book gives you 10,001 ways to declutter and doing it on a small budget. I want you to keep “declutter” and “small budget” on your mind as I tell you the “wonderful” tips this book gives you. So this book is broken down into twelve sections with different rooms/areas and some are dedicated to decluttering your computer. So what’s the major problem? Well, most of this book has little to no tips on decluttering. Most of it revolves around home-keeping/remodeling your house. Every chapter has this type of tips. Here are some that I have found:

From Entry Area: Adding a mudroom. This requires to find a contractor to add a small mudroom in your entry area. From here, you can put storage items like shelves, lockers, bins for outdoor toys, among other items. First off, adding a room is not decluttering your house. Second, I fear this is not small budget. According to a Google search I did, a mudroom costs about $10,000-$12,000. Third, you are going to have to find a reputable contractor and I believe you would have to pay the contractor after the job is done.

From a Livable Living Room: 10 ways to create a unique armoire. This is the whole project: you’re decorating an armoire, which is essentially a wardrobe. It tells you to go to a hardware store to get supplies like knobs, moldings, hinges, closures, paint, plywood, etc. I feel like this can raise your money. Also, this seems more like a DIY project, not decluttering.

From a Well-Tempered Bedroom: Adding a closet. This is about adding a closet in a bedroom and they give you tips when adding one. It costs $2,000 to add a closet (more if you are getting a walk-in closet, which is $6,000). Look at that heaping price, doesn’t seem small budget to me.

So I think you got the idea of what this entire book is about. It is mostly about adding to your house or remodeling. As I said, this doesn’t seem like decluttering or a small budget. If you were writing a book about decluttering, would the best tips be about how to get rid of your stuff or how to achieve a person’s goal of decluttering? (this book has some tips about decluttering, but it is so minimum, making this entire book a waste of time).

Seems to me like false advertising. But it doesn’t stop there, because it gets worse than just being false advertising.

Stupid Tips & Common Sense Tips:

Another major red flag I have with this book is the tips in this book. Most of the tips made me have two reactions: “well duh, of course people are already doing this” to “why would you ever think of doing this?” Examples of some of the stupid tips:

“Install a door switch that turns on when you open the closet door. That way, you don’t need to flick a switch when your hands are full.”

On chapter 8 The Well-Tempered Bedroom

That’s right. This book about decluttering and on a small budget is telling you to get a door switch that automatically turns on so you don’t have to flick a switch. So, you know that light that comes on when you open your fridge? Yeah, that’s what they suggested for your closet.

Really? First off, what closet has a door switch? The only time a see those is in the fridge. Second, it is not a small budget, this light comes on even if you don’t need it. This will raise your electricity bill not to mention the cost of installing a door switch. Third, it says that you should install this only because your hands are full, therefore, you won’t be able to turn the switch on. So why don’t you just put your stuff down on your bed then turn the light switch on? Boom! You can now see.

“Plastic blow-up chairs and sofas might not be quite the look for a Victorian parlor, but they’re washable, reasonably comfortable, easily moved, and far cheaper than traditional furniture. And, if you’re pinched for space, they can be deflated and stashed out of sight.”

On chapter 5 on page 72 “The Livable Living Room”

What is this, the 90s? Look, I understand furniture can be expensive and hard to move, but if I ever see your living room have inflatable furniture rather than regular furniture in 2020, I’m not going to be your friend. Just kidding, but seriously, I’m sure inflatable furniture is not a thing anymore, is it? It seems like the only reason why they suggest this is because it gives you more space. Also, what about pets like cats and dogs? If your pet pokes a hole through that inflatable furniture, it would be unusable.

“After making the bed, you’ll need to swap your sleepwear for your day’s clothing. Some people stow their pajamas or nightgowns under their pillows. It’s a convenient, concealed location that saves space elsewhere.”

On chapter 8 on page 140 “The Well-Tempered Bedroom”

Yes, I’m not kidding. If I am reading this correctly, this is telling you to put your PJs or nightgowns under your pillow so you can save space in your bureau/dresser so you can store your clothing that you wear during the day.

I think I went insane after reading this part. Who in the seven shades of cinnamon toast crunch is stashing their PJs under their pillow?

Didn’t know the tooth fairy was asking for PJ donations.

There is other stupid tips like this throughout the book that I missed, but I think you get the idea of how pointless these tips are. Aside from the pointless tips, they also got some that are common sense, like it is nothing new. Here are some as examples:

“The best place to store family photos is on the walls, where people can enjoy them without having to flip through tattered scrapbooks or sift through dusty shoeboxes.”

From chapter 5 on page 75 “A Livable Living Room”

Well, of course, people are hanging photos on the wall. Every house that I go to (family or friends) have pictures framed on the wall. Also, are scrapbooks a thing anymore? Do people still use them?

“Keep your knives sharp. If you need to press hard to cut, a blade is more likely to slip and injure you. Don’t mix knives with other items.”

From chapter 6 on page 86 “The Kitchen”

Glad to know the book is spreading kitchen safety awareness tips. But, what does this have to do with decluttering?

“Don’t save photos you don’t like” or “Don’t save blurry or flawed photographs.”

From chapter 5 on page 80 “A Livable Living Room”

I’m sure anyone who takes a picture on their camera or phone will delete any photo they don’t like or won’t save blurry or flawed photographs because they are not good images. I don’t think you need to tell anyone that.

This is pretty much what this book is about. It either has stupid tips, common sense tips, or little to no tips about decluttering. Why even write this book if it is the complete opposite of decluttering? I’m sure there are self-help books about home-keeping that is a whole lot better than this tripe. But I ain’t done, because my god I haven’t talked about the editing of this book.

Grammar Crimes:

I don’t believe the people who wrote this book got an editor, because this book has a lot of grammar, typos, spelling, and plain gibberish errors. I understand books have errors. My favorite books have some errors here or there, but it is not consistent. The words throughout the book is weirdly spaced out, some with too many spaces between the words.

Because you want to read a review this weirdly spaced, right?

But it is not just that. When reading throughout this book, I made a list in my notebook of the many errors this book has (they’re probably more). Here are some that I wrote down. See if you make any sense of it:

The box title for this is literally “3 Vacuum Options Small Homes” and it says: “If you have a friend in a neighboring apartment, share a vacuum. You no only can split the cost but also we be storing it only half the time.” Does that make any sense to anyone? It also goes into a full on Declaration of Independence dialogue about things you need to do before buying a vacuum, again, nothing to do about decluttering.

On chapter 4 on page 64 “Your Entry Area”

“Shree has adopted an instrumental decluttering strategy to make the most of the limited space in her apartment” and “this mental trick helps Shree keep tidied spots uncluttered and reinforces the habit of allocating a place for everything and using that space for nothing else.”

Okay, how in heaven’s land did you spell your name wrong TWICE? Sheree is one of the authors of this book and her name is not that hard to spell. Funny thing is, I believe this is the only time they spell her name wrong. The rest of book spelled her name right.

“This is a narrow wall-mounted shelf, with a groove along its base and a wooded dowel across its front to hold pates securely.”

Hey guys, I’m eating off a PATE!

“You trust befor adding them to your kit.”

“Manyscannerscomewithoptical”

Didn’t know all this was one word. You know how I said there was too much spacing between words. Well, this doesn’t have any spaces.

“Some people find these gagets streamline their daily lives.”

Hey, that’s my favorite Saturday morning cartoon, Inspector Gaget! Go, Gaget, Go!

“While you may not have a herd of Holsteins.”

On chapter 12 on page 208

I believe what they meant was “while you may not have heard of Holsteins.”

“Because more information is needed to indentify every dot’s color.”

On chapter 12 on page 225

“Laundry rooms walls or ceiling

On chapter 13 on page 230

Where are the commas at?

“Nails are apt to fail under large loads.”

On chapter 14 on page 259

Well, I’m sure nails fall, not fail. You want to know what is a big fail? This book.

“If all else falls.”

On chapter 14 on Page 264

Wow, what a way to mix the two words. It’s fail, not fall. I’m sure both words have different meanings.

“The plan to get ride of clutter.”

On chapter 17 on Page 305

I’m not riding on any clutter, book.

These are just some of the many spelling errors I spotted while reading this book. In total, there are 12 errors in this book (bound to be more that I didn’t point out). If you are writing a book, it is advisable to get an editor before you publish your work.

Lies About 10,001 Ways

After finishing this book, I started to wonder if this book has 10,001 ways or is this just another lie. Besides the errors, this book is formatted awfully and it reads like an essay, making me think this is a lie. But who knows, I ain’t reading this book again to find out.

Conclusion:

I wouldn’t say this the worst book out there (we haven’t scratched the surface for the worst just yet). However, I feel this book is misleading. You have a book that has a title with the keywords “decluttering” and “small budget” but then provide tips that are the complete opposite.

The focal point of the book is about decluttering, not remodeling your house so you can store more crap in your house. When readers buy your book, they want a book about decluttering (especially when its IN YOUR TITLE)! I’m sure there’s books about remodeling/home-keeping, this isn’t supposed to be one of those books.

Speaking of which, there are other books about decluttering. If you are looking for a self-help book that is about accomplishing your goal of getting rid of your stuff, try Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle With Stuff by Dana K. White or It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living Richer Life with Less Stuff by Peter Walsh or any other book about decluttering. Just not this book, 10,001 Ways to Declutter Your Home on a Small Budget is not a good book for decluttering.

Thanks for reading my first #MotherNatureWantsHerTreesBack review. There are more trash books on the way! If you like this review, please leave comments on your thoughts about the review/book. If you like it and want more, follow this blog and subscribe for more! It means a lot! – Alicia Barton