I really wish I'd realized why this author's name was familiar to me before I took on this review copy. If I had, I surely would have passed it by. Skye Alexander already has another "10-Minute" decluttering-meets-feng-shui book, and it was also pretty unlikable for me, and it also has an extremely low Goodreads average, so... I think that says something about the situation at hand.

Anyways, this is not a book about decluttering. This is a mixture of a book about feng shui and a to-do list. The decluttering "tips" aren't ideas on things you might not have thought to do before, they're literally lists of things like "return phone calls" and "sweep off your ceiling fans". The entire section on feng shui is really poorly-crafted; Alexander tries hard to gloss over the minutiae and give you a quick guide, but feng shui is a practice that is ancient, in-depth, and if you're going to do it, I think it deserves the respect granted by actually learning what matters and why, rather than being only given these weird, bare-bones explanations.

Along a similar vein is my complaint about Alexander's incessant recommendations to "smudge" your home, yet no explanation for smudging is ever given beyond "buy a bundle of white sage and set it on fire". This is... disrespectful, to start. There's a big difference between smudging and a basic smoke cleanse — one of these is a cultural and spiritual ritual performed primarily by Native tribes, while the other is self-explanatory: using smoke to spiritually "cleanse" a place, thing, etc. I'm not even going to dive into the entire discussion regarding whether or not non-Native peoples should be smoke cleansing with white sage to begin with (and if you're looking for an argument about that, go elsewhere, because I'm not going to sit here and fuss with you over whether or not you believe in appropriation within paganism and craft). I just... there's a lot I want to say, but I frankly don't have the energy to lay it all out here right now, so I'll just leave it at this: a lot of what Alexander discusses is careless and not thoughtful in the slightest, and between this and the last book I tried to read from this author, I'm hoping I can now remember in the future to stop supporting their endeavors because their work clearly is incredibly Not For Me.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

So many of us have things in our homes that we honestly don't know where they belong, so they end up creating a cluttered environment. The author of this book broke down what you need to do to create a less cluttered environment in a short amount of time. I have tried these techniques and had success.

Based on the description, I expected this book to be more of a guide of quick, 10 minute tasks to help declutter my house. It is split into two sections, and part one (about 30% of the book) focuses on Feng Shui. Part two moves into "Tips for Organizing Your House" but actually has five chapters on controlling clutter in your home, your workplace, outside your home (yard/garage/surrounding area), for kids, and in your personal life. The chapter about home clutter is approximately another 30% of the book. Lots of good tips, many of which are probably able to be accomplished in 10 minutes, but there was still a strong Feng Shui theme to them. The workplace/outside/kids sections would not apply to everyone, and the personal life section is about mental and relationship clutter. Another item I feel I should note is that there are some drawings in the book but no photos.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you have read a handful of these decluttering /organising type books then you will know that it's rare to find one that reveals something ground breaking. Most of them churn out the same information as others before them, just presented slightly differently. And unfortunately this book is one of those types.
I personally feel that the title of the book is misleading. 10 Minute Declutter it is not. I really wouldn't say that rearranging all the furniture in the room or ensuring all the bedrooms have the same size bed is achievable in 10 minutes.
From the title I was expecting small quick blasts of decluttering that would show results (albeit small ones) in 10 minutes. However, this book is more about implementing Feng Shui in your home which I feel is a far larger project to undertake.
Readers have to wait until page 78 for the actual decluttering advice to begin. Before that is a rather long winded, and at times repetitive, explanation of Feng Shui.
The decluttering ideas ranged from the banal common sense (throw away out of date food) to the silly (ringing a bell before eating a meal).
Overall I found this book underwhelming and disappointing.
For those wanting to learn more about Feng Shui then go ahead and dive right in. For those looking for practical tips on how to declutter in bite size chunks in a busy world then steer clear.

Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – Fair Winds Press and NetGalley for an electronic advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Like many, I struggle with some clutter so this title caught my attention, offering 400+ tips to declutter.

I found the list of tips completely overwhelming. In my opinion, some were obvious: Return phone calls. Change burned out light bulbs. Some were ridiculous: Ring a Dinner Gong Before Eating. And not all were created equal: Clean the Garage vs Dust Lampshades.

This book would be best for someone that practices feng shui, who understands bagua and gua. This isn’t me.

*review posted on GoodReads

This book is a little misleading. It focuses much more on feng shui than decluttering. It gave the illusion that feng shui would lead to decluttering which may be the case but wasn’t what I anticipated about the book.

While it’s not clear from the title, 10-Minute Declutter is based on Feng Shui and the first part of the book describes this system that originated in ancient China. Feng Shui is the art of arranging objects in a way that harmonizes individuals with their environment. Skye Alexander’s book is designed to help clear clutter from your life in order to practice Feng Shui and obtain a balance in your life.

Since the latter half of the book deals with the more practical side of decluttering, it’s tempting to skip over the first half of the book. However, the author often refers to Feng Shui principles so, to get the full benefit of her advice, you do need to understand her references.

For the most part, the suggestions seemed to be fairly basic and obvious and, in the end, I felt much more organized and less cluttered than I thought I was. While decluttering is something that is an almost never-ending project, knowing the pitfalls is always a good thing and knowing how to stay ahead of the clutter is always helpful.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

10-Minute Declutter aims to combine Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art of placement with other simple tips and tricks to help you organize every aspect of your life, both at home and in the office. It also claims to eliminate bad habits, develop new and better ones, and attract the new luck, love, and harmony that accompany a well-managed life.

Separated into two parts, the first concentrates on understanding Feng Shui in your life and talks about the effect that clutter has on all areas of your life. The second concentrates on tips for organizing your life, including sections on Home, Workplace, outside the home, Personal life, etc.

On the face of it, the book sounds like a great idea and as you dig deeper you find it’s just a mishmash of Feng Shui concepts and general housekeeping tips. The “400+” tips were more or less common cleaning tips and many were repeated for each section. General tips like
- Clean your stove
- Throw out expired spices, medications, and food
- Mow the grass & weed the garden
- Organize your receipts
- Clean your basement and Attic etc....

There were some quick and easy tips as well for organizing your things which I thought were useful. The writing is simple and with small chapters, it was easy to get through the book quickly.

Many thanks to the publishers Quarto Publishing Group – Fair Winds Press and NetGalley for the ARC. (less)

4 out of 5

**OMG! I cannot believe that these reviews haven't been done! I am so sorry they are so late!!!**

I really did not like this book. I went into it hoping for some lists and ways to organize my home, with idk recycled cans or something. However, I did not get that, I was told instead what my pile of clutter means about me. For real? All my clutter means to me is that my house looks lived in, not like a home in a magazine where everything is staged. So suffice to say, this was not my type of book.
#10minutedeclutter #Netgalley

10-Minute Declutter incorporated feng shui into what I call 'cookie cutter declutter'. Apart from the feng shui aspect, there's almost nothing new, particularly when you arrived in the 2nd part of the book. The first part explained, briefly to me, about feng shui; and the 2nd part deal with the declutter.

I requested the book because I was into decluttering and I want to be reminded once in a while if some things are pilled up in my bedroom. Too bad it didn't explain more about feng shui.

I'm not sure how much of the description I read before starting this because it was not what I was expecting. I was hoping more along the lines of "get rid of things you forgot you owned;" not "get rid of everything but the light bulb and windchimes."
I've also been left with the question of where my trash bin is suppose to go, because apparently that little blue bucket is screwing me in all aspects of my life.

I can't say my level of belief, though apparently it's not too high, but it didn't do much for me. That and as I realized my space is so small it's only cluttered because there's no where else to put anything.

A good tip book on simple ways to declutter. At times a little too simplistic, for example "throw out dead flowers". Really? Anyway, the concepts of the "gua"s was not familiar to me, and I tended to skim over these and head right to the tips. I could see this as a good gift book, and a handy book to pick up and try a note or two at a time. I like the idea of decluttering, but feel overwhelmed at times. This book gives doable tips and therefore I would recommend it.

While marketed as a decluttering book, it's basically about Feng Shui. The author includes clutter info but gives you basic Feng Shui practices. In fact, I'd say skip this book and go straight to the author's 10-Minute Feng Shui. It really bs down the philosophy so it can be treated with respect and walks you through basically the same techniques and tips.

This is a nice little guide for anyone looking for quick tips for decluttering. The guidance throughout the book is based on the principles of feng shui, which should have been in the title/subtitle.

I appreciate that the author includes non-physical clutter such as mental and relationships. She walks you through how to identify not only cluttered areas of your home, but to look at how they may be affecting other parts of your life.

The writing is simple and straightforward, with the content split into practical chunks. It was easy to get through the book quickly.

This book has a beautiful design--kind of Art Deco and minimalist, with a striking color palette of black, grey, and red. It is an expansion of the author's earlier book about feng shui, and it starts with an overview of feng shui principles, before switching over to a focus on clutter. The author believes clutter comes as a result of confusion, old baggage, or obstacles. Part 2 (starting in chapter 4) contains tips for decluttering based on feng shui principles--if you don't believe ch'i can get stuck in your house, this may not be the book for you. If, though, you are feeling stuck with too much clutter and/or unresolved issues in your personal life, you may enjoy thinking about your space from a new perspective.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a digital ARC!

There are multiple books on decluttering or how to stop hoarding. This book is based on Feng Shui. I think it would be helpful if this was included on cover page and added to the title. Author explains clearly what Feng Shui is and how to apply the principles in every aspect of your life, whether home, work, personal and more.
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for my volunteer review.

Another book that shows things can be done under ten minutes (also gives under one day things). Gives ideas that you would see in other clutter books but in her own explanation. She finds a way to be helpful by giving ideas if you only have a small amount of time.

An interesting guide to declutter your house based on Feng Shui.
I appreciated the style of writing, how the book is organised and the hint.
It's very useful and interesting.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Nothing really new to be found here. A lot of furniture placement talk. Not impressed with this being a guide to declutter when it’s kind of this and ideas.