“Beautifully Organized” by Nikki Boyd

My lovely husband gave me this beautiful book as a birthday gift. He knows me so well. If not a novel, this is exactly the sort of book that appeals to me. I've been slowly but surely working my way through our home, trying to organize and declutter, throwing some style at it along the way . . . Unfortunately, the  part of that last sentence that is most true is the word "slowly". I'm always on the hunt for some help, and for new ideas, but things are not progressing in leaps and bounds. 

I enjoyed reading through Beautifully Organized, but it wasn't the shortcut I was hoping for. I don't feel like I came away from it with tons of ideas (although I did note a few: I'm definitely going to try putting a few drops of essential oil on the cardboard tube inside a toilet paper roll, and maybe I'll put a sprig of rosemary in one of our clear soap dispensers). But as for the big picture: I still have a lot of work to do, and it's going to continue to take a lot of time as I focus on making improvements in small areas, bit by bit. 

The book itself was fun in the same way as How to Wear Everything. I may not have come away with a lot of specifics, but I was motivated to unload excess and organize what remains. And Boyd does provide a solid five-step framework for home decorating: Assess, Declutter, Clean, Organize, Beautify. The book doesn't include an overabundance of photographs (though there are enough to illustrate the main points), but that’s ok because my style does not match the author's (which consists mostly of white, grey, and silver--a palette I can appreciate, but a far cry from my colorful house). For me, the words were more inspiring than the photos.