Outer Order, Inner Calm (audio book) by Gretchen Rubin came out a few weeks ago.
When a new season of a TV series comes out, especially if there is a long break between seasons, I often rewatch all the previous seasons before the newest one. So I get a lot of bang with a new season. BBC seasons for example might only be 4-8 shows long. Just watching the new season is a flash in the pan. Watching all of the seasons in order, refreshes my memory, gets me in the groove, creates anticipation, and makes it an event.
I did the same thing with Gretchen’s new book. I relistened to all the previous books from her happiness series first. When I finished all the old ones, I listened to the new one. I REALLY re-enjoyed all the old books. The new one too. It was short, but good. It was a bit like a longer podcast.
Then I listened The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō. I had watched the series on Netflix, but had not read the book. It was good, but I wondered about her childhood the whole time. OCD? I realize it is a different culture, but it seems like something was not quite right. There are good suggestions in both the TV series and the book. I disagree with a lot of things she says, but in a mild way. Both (book and TV series) are good, worth the time, but I spent most of my thought process (of the book) in the psychology rather than the tidying.
Then I listed to The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter Book by Margareta Magnusson. Also good. Written by an old lady whose has cleaned several family homes due to death or downsizing. I did not dwell on the psychological. I enjoyed the pace and the stories.
It might be an age thing, or the fact that I did not have to clean out either grandparent set. And I have no messes in my future. My husband and his brothers did their parents. My brother will do my father. My mother has already done as much as she can. Things that go to other people are already to them.
I listed to all these audio books as I walked dogs, cleaned the kitchen, sewed. Ear buds thru my phone.
The cleaning aspect of these books - I enjoyed all of them in a low key way.
BUT they all pitch way too much.
I wish they would have used the terms rehome or recycle or repurpose 100% of the time.
There is very little that actually needs pitched.
