Outer Order, Inner Calm

By Gretchen Rubin

Reviewed by Florena Davies

“Outer order inner calm isn’t a book

About how to clean a house or an office;

it’s a book about how to boost happiness by

creating the outer order that fosters inner calm.”

Outer order, inner calm starts off with “Why bother with outer order?” This is Such a good question to ask. So many studies have been done on Happiness and mental health and how it all contributes to being surrounded by mess and disorganization. This section goes on to state “When I clean up that mess, I’m surprised by the disproportionate energy and cheer I gain”.

We now move on to Making Choices. We must now make choices on what to do with the possessions in our home. The author states “often, to make those choices we must confront the reason that we’ve accumulated that clutter in the first place”. So how do we do this? For some of us this is a very simple decision to make but for some it isn’t. Gretchen really breaks this all down to simplify how to make these sometimes complex decisions, she also specifies how to explains where and how to discard the items your choosing to pass along.

Our next step is to Create Order. In order to create the inner calm we must create order in our lives. This includes placing items in their forever homes as well as finding homes for unsorted mail and unanswered bills. Gretchen even warns about potential traps that can lead you to potentially getting overwhelmed with clutter again and how to avoid them.

Cultivating Helpful habits is essential to maintaining the Calm and organization in your home. This Chapter Lays it all out for you, from tasks to end the day with so your next can go more smoothly to how to store your shoes so they take up less space. All the nitty gritty details are gone through to ensure your life flows more seamlessly during the day in this chapter.

Adding Beauty Is essential to the rest and relaxation you desire to achieve in your home. It is the next step the book details for us and it is essential for our world. “With color, scent, space, light, and display, we can work a transformation” the author explains. This is so fantastic because who wants to enter a smelly home? Having a light and airy home is a must have for our mental state and this section of the book definitely details how to achieve just those things.

This book is a fairly short easy read but has so much valuable information in it that it’s a must read for anyone and everyone. Even if you are already an extremely organized person this book will take you to the next level with information you just never thought about prior to reading it. I just know you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Florena Davies is a Professional Organizer and Owner of Organize by Flo. She uses her experience as a wife and mother of 2 to create real life organizational systems and changes for work and home that allow our 2 worlds to co-exist and 'Flo" together. Check out her website at https://www.organizebyflo.com/ and on Instagram @organizebyflo.

Melanie McConnell is a Professional Organizer and the owner of Mello Spaces. She helps busy professionals and parents get the organized home of their dreams. Check out her website www.mellospaces.com and follow her on Instagram: @mellospaces

Marybeth Welty is a Professional Organizer, Interior Designer, and Mindful Living Coach, and is the owner of Sustainable Lifestyle Solutions. She helps her clients create a calm, organized, and sustainable home and the life of their dreams by utilizing refined design principles, organizing best practices, mental wellness strategies, and a holistic lifestyle approach to sustainability. You can connect with her at www.sustainablelifestylesolutions.com and on Instagram at @this_sustainable_lifestyle.