Customer Reviews

Conquer the Clutter

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'd never seen the TV show, so the first part of the book (Meet the Team) wasn't useful for me, but will appeal to fans.
The rest of the book gets down to business; helping you assess your situation, start the sorting, how to hold a yard sale to get rid of excess, and making your closets and living space more useful.
There are "before" and "after" sections for bedroom, playroom, office, living room, garage and rec room.
Special attention is given to "Mess Magnets" which includes closets, clothes, scrapbooking and crafts, books/bookshelves, bills/filing cabinets, toys, mail, shoes, DVD/CD/Videos, memorabilia/photos, and miscellaneous supplies. If you are reading this review, I assume you have issues in one of those areas (or all of them).
The final chapter gives layout tools (furniture templates and grid paper).
I did find the boxed text in different colors and fonts a little distracting, but not enough to knock off a star. A bit gimmicky, but may be eye catching enough for someone with a short attention span (which many of us clutterers have). There are lots of color photos showing the transformed rooms. I did wonder why they included directions for making a monogrammed pillow. That hardly seems like an aid to fight clutter.

This is a great recap to the show, and diehard fans will immediately notice that most of the book (even the cover and inside cover) are from the show's top designer - Angelo Surmelis. He's done an amazing job with designing the spaces as well as the organizational design elements (not to mention the furniture he designed). Each room is unique and offers readers a great guide to getting rid of clutter, while giving practical ways to redesign their space. Angelo truly is the "King of Color." Rock on!

Instead of spending money on this book, it would probably be more beneficial to find a similar article online or watch the TV show. Not much content in the book--lots of pictures.

I'm sure most people know this, but Angelo is on HGTV's new series 24 Hour Design... I LOVE THIS NEW SHOW... it really shows what this guy can do (and in a day even) - simply amazing! You'll see some of his great designs in this book... but if you want to see the full impact of who he is, check out the new show! Did I say I LOVE IT???!!!!!