Customer Reviews

Lists for Life: The Essential Guide to Getting Organized and Tackling Tough To-Dos

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Lately, I've been on a mission to get organized, so when I saw this book, I thought I'd give it a try. The bulk of the book is geared toward weddings and pregnancy, which are important parts of life, but only short periods of time. The author also recommended buying other planning guides for these events, so my question was, then what's the point of putting the lists here? Also, some of the lists were just plain weird. It's almost like the author doesn't really run her own household, but simply questioned their household staff as to what they do every day and threw it all into a book. Seriously, who cleans their bathroom windows every week or vacuums under their bed and under furniture every week? Does ANYONE wipe fingerprints off doors & woodwork weekly? That's stuff for seasonal cleaning, or you'd go nuts! Then there's the Preschool Interview guide consisting of 48 questions. Seriously, who does that?? I mean, I can see 10 or so, but 48? Really? It's preschool! They play with clay, sing songs, take naps & eat crackers! My advice? Don't buy this book.

These detailed lists are primarily useful for young adults. They often need reminders about essential steps in the complicated life events that normally take place in their twenties.

The book starts with getting married, buying a home, moving in, maintaining the home, having a baby, and caring for young children. These lists consume the first 145 pages of this book. The remaining 108 pages consist of lists for traveling, buying and maintaining a car, getting medical care, getting divorced, dealing with a death, and preparing for a variety of disasters.

Since I'm in my mid-50s, I've been through a lot of these passages, and it's been my experience that far more information than the book provides is needed to manage such important events. I therefore judge it to be of limited usefulness for older people. Still, it is a handy starting point, so it is potentially helpful, especially for those who are just now embarking on their adult lives.

Although I think this book is a good idea, it just doesn't work for me. I write list all of the time but picking up this book to cross-check and see if I have everything down is just not something I will do. I find my list to be very specific and personal not generic. The list in this book are more like guidelines for major events in life.

There are no reproducable list as the book is too small. It does have examples for things like kids chore lists and home contact information.

I am sure some people will find this book helpful. It is nicely organized and small. It might be a good book for a young couple getting married, buying a house, having children etc.

This book really has limited appeal. It is not visually well-laid out, which I found odd for a book that is emphasizing organization. Also, it is really targeted towards women, specifically women who are doing the following tasks: getting married, having kids, and buying a house. I have other books that offer more depth and better organizational "steps" and lists. I will NOT be using this book as a resource. One book I would recommend instead of this is "How to Organize Everything".

I mistakenly selected this book thinking that it was about getting organized and tackling those tough to-do's on a micro level ... better organize my closet, etc. What I got was completely different but that's OK. This is a comprehensive little gem of a book about navigating some of life's big milestones -- buying a house, planning a wedding, etc. While I'm well past that stage of my life, I see this book as a wealth of knowledge for that person in your life who is just starting out on their own, or perhaps starting over after having not been on their own in a long time ... if that person is you, or you have that person in your life, this is book is a tremendous resource and highly recommended.

Is there a space for a book like this in the age of the internet? Rory Tahari's Lists for Life tries to make the case that there is. On the plus side, some of the lists will calm the most obsessive neuorotic types when they face tough situations. For instance, I found the home buying lists to be useful and thoughtful. However, other lists are bizarre and unrealistic. The list dedicated to nuclear attack is unintentionally funny in advising that if one knows that a nuclear strike is likely on one's locale, one should try to get a flight out of the area. One imagines that that might prove difficult, given that every single other resident would have the same desire, putting aside the unlikeliness of knowing of a nuclear attack.

The greatest failure of this book is that the author's personality rarely if ever emerges. It would be far better to be light and wry and perhaps even poke some fun at one's obsessive qualities. Unfortunately, Lists for Life lacks any such expression of personality.

Most readers will find Google a better ally in making their plans.

Helpful - Check. Perfect for list makers - Check. Great gift - Check check! I always make To-Do Lists to help me get organized and to prioritize. Lists for Life covers every list that I've ever needed to make and then some! I love how it includes items on lists that I never even thought of. Now, anytime I think about making a list, I grab Lists for Life first because I know the lists are going to be more thorough than mine!

Lists for Life: The Essential Guide to Getting Organized and Tackling T-Dos, by Rory Tahari, is not a book you sit down and read like a story. It is literally a book that has lists of things to make sure you do when different events in your life happen. It has lists about how to organize and handle a wedding, buying or maintaining a house, parenting and children, traveling, a hospital stay, divorce, emergencies (earthquake, hurricane etc and preparedness) and even death (not your own). I found the wedding section great and wished I had had this for my wedding! It walks you step by step on how to plan and organize your wedding. It gives references for books and helpful websites to get further information. It recommends different resources depending on the situation, as well.

The author is a self reported compulsive list maker who has been helping her friends and family for years. She calls this book "an owner's manual for some of life's biggest events and transitions." I didn't know really what to expect from this book, but I am all about trying to get better organized in my life. This book will not help you organize your closet or get rid of clutter (see Peter Walsh books for that). This is more of a road map book for the challenging events in life. This is a great addition to every list maker's library and those trying to handle challenges that seem daunting.

This book is a great organizational tool. The book had the major essentials that can help anyone get organized. There were help for lists in many areas:

1. Wedding
2. Home
3. Pregnancy
4. Parenting
5. Travel
6. Cars
7. Medical
8. Divorce
9. Postmortem and
10. Emergency.

I liked it, and found it useful. But then I'm extremely disorganized and constantly need reminding about many things. My only complaint was that it was a bit too simplistic. It would be helpful for some people, like me. But for others, and not even the super-organized... could find it annoying. Many of the items listed were things I can't imagine you would forget anyway. Some of these include photographers and caterers for a wedding. Still interesting book. Just not a must have.

This is the ultimate guide to plan a wedding, getting into college, buying a house, etc etc in so many simple steps. Once inside, it gets a bit boggled down, but good to have in moments when you need it.