Are you overwhelmed with clutter? Many people see clutter as physical items that overwhelm particular areas of their homes. Though it’s frustrating to deal with an unending battle of toys, paperwork, clothes, and furniture, clutter can be more than physical things. Author Barbara Tako describes clutter as anything in your life that is not helpful, including toxic relationships and feelings of stress, guilt, anxiety, or depression.

In Clutter Clearing Choices, Tako shares practical tips to deal with physical, mental, emotional, and relationship clutter. Her advice is to find solutions that work for you, rather than striving for the unattainable perfectly-kept home. How many times have you bought a storage container with the thought it’d be perfect for something? First, plan for your storage areas, and then choose storage options that are enjoyable, easy-to-reach, and allow room for expansion. If you want to organize your DVDs, decide the main room you’ll use them in, so you’re not adding a storage unit in the den when movies are always watched in the living room. Buy storage containers that organize both your current DVDs and the ones you will buy this year; otherwise, clutter accumulates with your first new movie.

Clutter Clearing Choices is uniquely organized by season. Readers can focus on problem areas that tend to cycle with the seasons. Start at Winter and tackle that season’s issues, such as New Year’s Resolutions, Closet Clutter, Simple Solutions for the Winter Blahs, Simplified Cooking, and Living Room or Family Room: Organize Our Winter Habitat. If you want to lose weight, you can skip to Spring and read about Body Clutter: The "D" Work—Diet!

Barbara Tako’s approach is to focus on a simplified life, which is far more fulfilling than our typically overstuffed lives of negative feelings, overabundance of junk, and scattered goals. I was pleasantly surprised to read about personal clutter advice, like the self care tips. Sharing personal anecdotes, Tako’s humorous and down-to-earth advice inspires readers to take control of their lives. Generally, we seek organizational books in hopes of reaching the guru’s perfectly organized life. By following Tako’s advice in Clutter Clearing Choices, you will finally find real-life advice you can adopt successfully.