Degunking Your Home [Paperback]

Joli Ballew (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2006

As noted comedian George Carlin says, "Your house is a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff." The age of clutter is upon us, and our houses have become the front lines. We all have more to organize at home than ever, and if we don't set aside a little time and have a good plan, we'll likely get overwhelmed. Degunking Your Home is the book you won't be able to live without. It will save your sanity as well as time and money. It will quickly show you how to get your home organized from attic to basement to garage and every nook and cranny in between. You'll learn the most efficient ways to organize and clean your home and maintain it like a pro.

The book includes tips throughout on what to keep and what should go, help for chronic clutterers, the best (and least expensive) cleaning materials to use for each area, proven methods for removing stubborn and stinky stains, storage solutions, techniques for improving your home's exterior appearance, spare moment degunking, and more. You'll even learn how to fully degunk your home before you put it up for sale so that you can maximize its value. The book includes helpful worksheets and Q&As that will answer the toughest degunking questions and save you hours of time.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Do you find yourself in one or more of these situations—you’re constantly losing your car keys, the "junk" room has threatened to take over your house, or you can’t remember the last time you could quickly find something in the garage? Then you need to get organized quickly and degunk! Bestselling author Joli Ballew will show you how simple it is to declutter, organize, make your home really work for you, and keep it looking great with her easy and time-saving 12-step program. Even if you have a busy and hectic life, you can keep your home organized and clean. Whether you have only 10 minutes, an hour, or a whole day to devote to this project, Degunking Your Home will give you the help you need to get on the road to happy housekeeping painlessly! The highlight of this highly useful book is that it shows readers how to master the art of getting organized, setting up cost-effective systems, and saving oodles of time.

From the Author

No time to clean? Learn the secrets to keeping an organized and clean home in as little as ten minutes per day. Learn what to keep and what to toss, sell, donate or recycle by room, including closets, medicine chests, under the sink, the refrigerator and pantry, and the most painless and fast ways to go about it Create storage systems for everything from your car keys to family heirlooms Tame daily debris, and find out how to locate misplaced items Develop a common-sense system for sorting mail, bills, and receipts Create a long-term storage system for storing seasonal items, sports equipment, and stuff bought in bulk Tackle the garage, basement, and laundry room in easy-to-manage steps. Includes special tips for living with kids and pets, and how to keep their areas gunk-free Features degunking and storage tips for apartment dwellers and those living in small spaces Includes special forms—tax deductible worksheets, worksheets for 10- year, 5-year, annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily tasks, and a worksheet for each month of the year

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Paraglyph Press (February 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933097116
• ISBN-13: 978-1933097114
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,190,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a full time writer, digital enthusiast, Windows and iPxx fanatic, and Droid user, among other things. I'm a Microsoft MVP, and hold several Microsoft certifications including MCSE, MCTS, MCDST, and others. I've written almost 50 books on topics ranging from Windows to Photoshop, to Phones to iPads, and even on to making your Windows PCs run better and faster. Beyond writing, I teach classes at several local community colleges and am the IT Academy Coordinator at Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch, Texas.

When I'm not writing or teaching, I work part-time at North Texas Graphics, a screen printing, embroidery, and graphics company, and participate in various blogs, beta programs, newsgroups, and online communities. I also make a daily trek the LifeTime Fitness, where I spend an hour a day on the elliptical, bike, treadmill, or free weights.

Please visit my Web site at http://www.joliballew.com and feel free to contact me anytime at [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I have teenagers... I *need* this book!, March 11, 2006

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Degunking Your Home (Paperback)

Now *here's* a practical book that I really needed... I have teenagers... :) Joli Ballew's Degunking Your Home.

Contents: Why Is My Home All Gunked Up?; Learn the Degunking 12-Step Program; Throwing Stuff Away You Don't Really Need; Getting Rid of Clutter Using the Four-Box Method; Degunking Problem Area: Closets; Degunking Problem Areas: The Kitchen; Organizing Living Areas; Organizing the Home Office, Utility Rooms, and Bathrooms; Create Long-Term Storage and Maintain Storage Spaces; Taming Daily Tasks through Organization; Cleaning Efficiently and Successfully; Express Cleaning; Prepare Yourself for Cleaning Emergencies; Maintain a Degunked Home; Checklists; Must-Have Stain Removers; What to Do with Items You No Longer Want or Need; Index

As I said, having two teenagers pretty much guarantees that this book will be applicable from page one. Not to say I'm completely innocent of all clutter. But you know you're in trouble when you muck out the kids' living areas and you end up with twice the dishes you thought you owned. Joli uses the 12-step Degunking method to show how you can eliminate all the clutter and filth you currently have, and better yet, how to keep it that way once you get there. As with all "programs", there has to be a commitment to start and maintain your effort, but still... this is not hard to grasp and follow. I think I'd probably buy it for the kitchen tips alone. Notice a trend here? :) If you've never read a book in the Degunking series, it's a real treat. The writing is *very* practical and humorous, and it's impossible to walk away without picking up *something* that makes your life/work area/environment more efficient and less cluttered. Even if you don't have time (or the inclination) to follow the whole program, there are subsets (10 minute, 30 minute, one hour, half-day, weekend) that can at least get you further down the road than you were before.

If you've just become oblivious to all the junk around you and you need help in starting to deal with it all, this is a solid first step...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME! THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME! THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!, November 5, 2006

By 

John R. Vacca "Tech Write Independent Reviewer" (Pomeroy, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Degunking Your Home (Paperback)

Do you need to Degunk your home? If you do, then this book is for you. Author Joli Ballew, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that is structured around the order of the degunking process that you should follow.

Ballew, begins by getting you in the degunking mindset. Then, the author shows you how to take out the trash. Next, she shows you how to use and apply the four-box method for controlling clutter. The author also focuses on closets in which you store clothes. She continues by showing you how to degunk, declutter, and organize your kitchen. Then, the author shows you how to finalize the degunking of your living areas, including dinning rooms, family rooms, bedrooms, and kids' rooms. Next, she tackles the garage first, if you have one. The author also shows you how to tame daily chores. Finally, she shows you what measures you need to put in place to facilitate effective cleaning sessions.

This most excellent book uses a unique approach that can save you countless hours of valuable time, and a bundle of money. More importantly, this book ends with some hard-nosed ideas for dealing with the first offenders, from gathering up their stuff and holding it hostage, to refusing to do laundry, or to simply throw out the misplaced items.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And Keep it That Way, March 18, 2006

By 

S. Stanicki (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Degunking Your Home (Paperback)

This book not only shows you how to degunk your home, but it covers cleaning out and organizing everything from the garage to your wallet or purse. If you don't think you have time, It shows you organizing tasks that can be done in 10 minutes, 30 minutes and 1 hour. The best part of the book is that it shows you how to keep it that way once you have it organized. There is also a task chart to get all of the family involved by age and tasks they should be able to perform. To help you get rid of no longer needed items the Appendix lists charities and what they specialize in.