I have to admit something. Many of you will be surprised… I am not a very organized person when it comes to STUFF. Informational or anything to do with work or planning, I am a whiz. But give me stuff and I stink at organizing it. I really don’t know why. Maybe its inherent… my mom was a stacker. Stacks of books and papers. Everything else was neat, but certain areas you would see some stacks. I guess I learned it from her. Now unlearning it… ugh.
I was very intrigued when I was asked to review the book by Stephanie O’Dea. TOTALLY TOGETHER. (Berkley Trade Paperback; August 2, 2011; $15.00) It is the indispensable guide to organizing a busy household so anyone can have a tidy and tranquil home in just minutes a day. New York Times bestselling author and popular mommy blogger Stephanie O’Dea provides a practical, how-to guide in a weekly calendar format to make home organization and time management a snap.
Stephanie has developed the “clean less, play more” method, which allows you to fly through all the chores and minutiae in minutes a day so you can move on to what you really want to do: spend time with family and enjoy living life. By using a weekly organizational planner format, Stephanie spells out exactly what chores are essential and how they should be tackled to maximize time and minimize effort including:
• Seven daily chores that anyone in the family can do in just minutes
• Yearly, seasonally, monthly, and weekly chores divided into bite-sized chunks
• Household tips and cleaning shortcuts
• Guide for setting up meal plans
• Fun, fast recipes
• Reproducible grocery list with check boxes
• An action plan for keeping the entire family organized
Stephanie O’Dea has written this book for both working and stay at home moms and even those with no children who want an organized home but don’t want or have the time to spend hours cleaning. What I like most is the check off lists in the back. You can keep track of daily and weekly chores simply. The grocery check list is the bomb. I made several copies and now use it to check off the things I need to replace when I go to the grocery store. That is sweet.
It also has this great little menu plan in the back too. For no brainer organization, I really need to work on this tool. I haven’t gotten there yet, but there may be hope for me someday.
Stephanie also includes tons of tips for getting ready for getting the family involved in organizing and training them with helping. She has tips for kids, tips for large events like holiday prep and proms and my favorite is 7 tips for Successful Household. This wire bound book is packed full of great ideas and help. There is a year full of journal space and checkoff areas that you are going to love!
Disclaimer: Please read our Official Rules before entering this giveaway. Chris Carroll has personally reviewed these products. I have not received any Monetary Compensation for this review but did receive free products to use & evaluate for the review. Your thoughts & opinions may differ from me.
