Being a mom of many kids means we have lots of stuff. And in addition to having lots of kids, I also tend to save things to pass them on down and reuse them. I'm also pretty fortunate to have people in my life who pass things on to me, or who will buy things for me when they see a good deal or if they have coupons. This is wonderful! But it also means that stuff quickly accumulates in our home.
Homemaking is something I've gotten better at as I get older but in the last five or so years as I've had multiple babies in a row, I've noticed that the clutter piles, mountains of toys, piles of clothes, and boxes of stuff have begun to accumulate more and more. I feel like I've tried just about every organizational tip or trick or "hack." I browse Pinterest or see them on TikTok, and then set to work attempting them only to get frustrated and quit, or to have the kids destroy my efforts, or to find that they weren't really that useful to begin with. (Like sorting LEGOs by color...*eye roll*)
I heard about Allie Casazza a few years ago after stumbling upon her website and after hearing she was writing a book called "Declutter Like a Mother" and knew it was something I wanted to try and review.
Here's a little bit more about the book:
Successful business entrepreneur Allie Casazza shares her powerful and proven method for clearing the clutter in our minds by first clearing the clutter in our homes, the place where transformation begins.
When Allie Casazza first became a mom, she found herself struggling to make it through each day. She battled fatigue, depression, and the unsettling feeling that she didn't have what it took to do "this mom thing" well. When she realized the root of her burden was the overwhelm of physical clutter, she got intentional about what took up her space and time. The path she carved brought her and her family greater contentment and more abundant living, and she shares it in her much-anticipated first book, Declutter Like a Mother.
In her winsome, relatable style, Casazza has built a massive following--and a multimillion-dollar online business--based on her proven, family-oriented approach to living more simply. Her mission is to empower other moms to start making real, lasting change. Combining humor and a lighthearted kick-in-the-pants, Declutter Like a Mother will motivate readers to start taking action. Once referred to as an "in-your-face Marie Kondo for millennial moms," Casazza's advice is actionable, at times irreverent, and already proven to be life-changing.
And here is what I thought of it:
I like that the book opened up with a peek of her life. She uses real life illustrations that seem like moments pulled out of my OWN life. She made me feel like I wasn't alone and that it's okay to not have an Instagram-worthy, picture-perfect, white-carpeted mansion. She gives actionable steps that are actually useful - no complicated cleaning charts, no overwhelming amount of tasks, no giant checklist of things you must complete, etc. - just simple steps to create the home and life that you want.
And that's the thing I liked about it the most: you don't have to read the book and then make your home a carbon copy of hers. In the opening of Chapter Three she says, "What we're doing here is creating a space that aligns with how you want to feel in your home." I think sometimes people hear about minimalism and think that it means they can only have a certain number of shoes or that they can't ever shop for anything new again or that their house is going to become a sparse, sterile environment. That's not what this book is about. Instead it's about bringing more peace into your home and focusing on what's really important.
So what do you think? Sound interesting? I honestly thought about reading this book together as a Book Club type thing for anyone interested and maybe trying to tackle some projects - we could share how we were doing with them in a Zoom or Facebook group or something! Let me know in the comments if that's something you'd like to do!
You can purchase the book HERE! Allie also posts lots of helpful things on her Instagram (HERE) and also has a podcast called The Purpose Show that you can listen to HERE.