What a helpful book for reframing clutter that also offers effective strategies to internally change so our external spaces can be changed too. Recommended!

This is a nonfiction book that is worth reading.
As a mom with three kids (and three dogs) I struggle with tidiness around the house. Lots of it stems from clutter. Don Suttajit talks about how our clutter offers us false identities. Versions of ourselves that used to be, or that never were. By clearing that clutter out, we allow ourselves the time and space to find out who we really are meant to be. That is a basic synopsis, but there is a lot of great advice in this book. I liked what I learned about the author himself as well as his family. How their experiences shaped them and how they viewed physical things. I related as the child of immigrants. This is a great read to start the new year in a good frame of mind. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of Tidy Less, Live More. All opinions are my own.

Rather than a quick how-to guide for decluttering, this book is a thoughtful and thought-provoking exploration of why "identity clutter" happens in the first place, and how to get to the heart of the clutter problem. If you enjoy reading inspirational quotes and getting helpful reminders about how to make your home environment match your intentions, you will appreciate this book. While much of this book's advice is available elsewhere, I appreciate the author's insight about design. He also acknowledges that clutter "relapse" happens and that we should focus on progress rather than perfection. I rate this book 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Live Freely Project for the free eARC. I post this review with my honest opinions.

This review is cross-posted to Goodreads and will be shared on Amazon and Instagram no more than one week after the book's publication.

A book we all need.
While there is so much more to life than a tidy home, not feeling cluttered out of your own space is so important. My home will always look like my family (child and pets included) live here, but with the contents of this book it's becoming more intentional and definitely less cluttered. It feels more open and more honest, and I can see myself implementing more and more from this over time.

I appreciated how the book highlights the importance of making lasting change, not through imitation, but through embodiment. If we are not ready for the internal battle making these changes may entail, most efforts will fail. A relapse in your journey to declutter your life is just a bump in the road, not a dead end. The reminder that relapses will happen was comforting and empowering.

This isn’t a book with a magic answer to all your clutter problems and it states that right from the beginning. It is a refreshing look at how a constant cycle of clutter is not going to be fixed by a new cleaning hack. You have to do the work internally to see the results externally. Overall, I think the book was a fresh, new way to approach decluttering your house and life.

This book was pleasantly unexpected. On the one hand, it’s a book about tidying, but on the other hand it’s a book that explores identity, trauma, and dreams.

What I really loved about it was how the author applied attachment theory to the concept of clutter. For example, maybe an anxious attachment person has difficulty letting old things go because they will feel a sense of abandonment. Furthermore, he defines “identity clutter” as possessions we keep that no longer align with our true selves. The process of purging our homes from identity clutter is such an emotional task that the work must first begin with journaling and some deep, inner reflection. Emotional problems are not solved by the Marie Kondo method applied on top, we must get to the root of why we are having difficulty letting go of things.

The author included really helpful personal anecdotes about how growing up as a son of an immigrant family from Thailand, his parents taught him the scarcity mindset and that we have to keep everything. It took years of unlearning this mindset before he could tackle decluttering and tidying.

“Often, we don’t just hold onto things; we hold onto meaning, memory, and identity. These attachments can be rooted in deeper needs for security, a sense of belonging, and self-worth. In many ways, they echo the psychological layers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.”

I cannot recommend this book enough for people who have struggled with the emotional side of tidying, like I I have. This was the very first self-help tidying book that I immediately applied to my life. Viewing my house through the lens of “identity clutter” versus “identity trophies” (objects that align with my true identity and reinforce my values and authentic self) has been transformative.

This was such an unexpectedly helpful and valuable read for me. At the end of each chapter there are journaling prompts which I dutifully answered as I worked through the emotional side of my clutter. I have already done a lot of work to help my inner self reflect in my outer world. Reading this has been a healing experience!

I've read a lot of organization/cleaning books and this one differs from all others because it takes a look at the root causes of why we live with our clutter. It offers solutions, additional resources, and questions to work through at the end of each chapter. I highly recommend this book!