I had never heard of her author before now, even though she is apparently quite famous for her blog and podcast. That being said, I am always looking into new ways to keep things simple, especially since we recently downsized. Although I didn’t really learn anything new from this book, there were a few quotes that stood out to me. One being, “It’s about having less of what doesn’t matter in order to make room for what does.” Groundbreaking? Not especially. But eye opening? Yep. At least for me. It’s not about just purging everything and then having to replace it later, it’s about minimizing the chaos to create a home you can enjoy rather than one that works you to the bone.
If you’re a fan of Rachel Hollis or that type of speaker, then this is for you. Quick, to the point and easy to relate to.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson Books and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my review.

Casazza has a strong voice. She also has some great ideas. Sadly, this book didn't really hit the mark for me. I feel like there were nuggets of wisdom throughout, and that the discussions of how to actually go about decluttering specific areas were fairly strong, but the introductory section was very repetitive. That said, this is a slightly different take than other books I've read on decluttering and minimalism. I think the title says it all- if you're a mom, and you want a less cluttered life, this may be the book for you. Otherwise, perhaps another book less focused on being a mom while trying to reduce one's belongings could be for you.
Particular bits of wisdom that resonated for me:
1. Every item in your home takes up your time as well as the initial cost. The toaster you need to clean, or move to clean the counter, is taking time out of your week. So is it worth it? I liked the idea of exploring what the things in my home do for me, and if they're worth the continued investment.
2. Gifts are just that. If they don't serve you, pass them on or get rid of them. It's the thought that counted, not the hideous vase (or even pretty clothes that don't fit anymore).
3. Having a "number" to strive for is unrealistic. Own what you need and like. Remove the rest.
4. Put the things you want out of the house OUT of the house. Waiting for them to disappear by putting them in storage first is just delaying the inevitable.

Four nuggets of wisdom, but due to repetition and a lot of clutter in the writing- three stars for me. If you are a mother yourself and haven't yet read anything else on minimalism? Four plus for you!

I didn’t realize when I got this book that the author was already a popular public figure with expertise in reducing clutter. She has a program called The Uncluttered Home, a podcast called The Purpose Show, and an @allie_thatsme Instagram following of 104k 😮. Allie Casazza calls herself The Life Minimalist and it is clear that this has been her focus for quite some time, while also parenting, homeschooling, and running her business from home.

From the get-go this book is described as a departure from prior popular books on organization. This book claims to be about minimalism that is more relatable to the realities of parenting. It reads as highly motivational, approachable, and relatable. However, there was nothing in this book that hasn’t been said before. In fact, this book reads like one big commercial for the author’s website and fee-based services, complete with reviews.

If you are a mother of young children, have a decent amount of space and financial stability, and have not thought much before now about how to manage your life and the stuff within it, you may love the giant pep talk provided within the pages of Declutter Like a Mother. Or, you can skip this step and go directly to Casazza’s online community for advice and support.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity to read this book. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

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#DeclutterLikeAMother
#NetGalley
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I love guides on how to get organized and help me take control of my life better. This was a fun helpful guide to help me do so! It was from a moms perspective so you know the advice is going to be good! It’s great for a gift for someone getting a new place or moving into college or just someone looking to be organized.

I've been following Allie Casazza's work for over a year, so I am familiar with her work and story. I've also read my fair share of books on minimalism and decluttering.

While the first two chapters are a little drawn out, she quickly goes into the nitty-gritty content thereafter. Each chapter is organized by different areas of the home, such as the bathroom, closet, and kitchen. She also dives deeper into decluttering with kids (which was particularly important for me as a mom).

So what makes this book stand out against other books of this nature? Firstly, if you're mom, it's written for you. I could easily relate to a lot of the anecdotes that she brings up. Secondly, she also mentions how clutter affects the mental health of women specifically, which I found to be valuable. I haven't found this type of information in other books. Furthermore, she's got a unique way of going about minimalism, it's not rigid or legalistic - as she calls it. For those who are interested in minimalism but are not interested in empty spaces or having one pair of pants, this is definitely for you.

I definitely recommend reading the book, there are quite a few gems in the book that make you step back and really pause to think about why we have so much stuff cluttering up our homes and lives.

This is an amazing book for anyone who needs to declutter. I love Allie's no-nonsense approach to life, and she makes decluttering easy. My life has felt so much fuller since implementing her tips.

Allie speaks from experience as an overwhelmed Mom, and she doesn't overwhelm the overwhelmed with information. As I walked through this book, I went through all my rooms and got rid of SO much stuff. I know that I now have a sustainable plan for keeping my home, and life, simple.

Interesting idea … I enjoyed the book and ideas inside. I have no problems decluttering… problem is I keep buying again.

What did I like? The book encompasses the author and her role in the process of preventing clutter. It’s not a necessarily new concept but the author gives examples on how she thwarted clutter in her home.

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review. Four stars!

Thank you for the advanced copy..

An easy read, well put together and some really useful aspects of this book I will incorporate into my life. I tend to live by a 3mth rule and regularly have a sort out but I will do this with fresh eyes after reading this.

Declutter Like a Mother provided some helpful tips for going through your house to get rid of clutter, but most of the book contains information I’ve seen many times before. I appreciate the author’s ability to describe her own experience to relate to the reader, including times she’s been unsuccessful in keeping her house/kids/life organized. To me, this book read as a long blog including links and mentions of the authors trademarked decluttering challenges and programs, and overuse of the term “girl” (one of my pet peeves). There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this way of writing, and it will likely make a large part of the target audience feel comfortable; it’s just not my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Declutter Like A Mother
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Letting go of objects that have memories attached to them doesn’t mean you are letting go of those memories. The memories are yours forever, no matter what is stored in your home.”

Thank you @nelsonbooks & @netgalley for the #gifted copy.

I am not a mother, but I’ve always been drawn to books and stories like these since reading the Marie Kondo books. If you’re not a mother, you will still get so many beneficial tips and tricks from this book, which is so eloquently written and covers every aspect of a home.

We’ve lived in our home for almost four months, and the clutter we’ve accumulated is ridiculous. A lot of it came from unpacking, and not knowing where things should go, so things ended up in the basement or spare bedroom. So many of those items are sentimental, and are sitting in boxes. This book is what kickstarted my journey to decluttering my home. If you need the push, little tips and motivation, this is for you!

This comes out today.

I was hopeful when reading the intro to this book. Allie really nailed what it’s like to be a tired, overworked mom who spends way too much time cleaning. However, the actual tips were nothing I hadn’t heard before.

Declutter Like A Mother by Allie Casazza is a motivating book about simplifying our homes and lives. It's written in an engaging, conversational tone with the focus being on intentionality and simplicity, which will help give us more time and clarity. Though it doesn't really bring any new insight into the genre of home decluttering and organization, it is very motivating. Casazza gives guidelines for each area of the home and advice for mental blocks that may keep us from achieving the living space we want. I really enjoyed this book, which is not about minimalism as an aesthetic, but as a way of simplifying our lives and giving us more time back for more important things.
    
Thank you Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Allie Casazza is a mom and this book addresses the mom life. The overwhelm, the challenge with trying to balance everything. I recently listened to Allie on a podcast with Clutterbug Cas Aarssen and from there listened to Allie's podcast and subsequently purchased this book.

This book is clearly written, and presents many ideas to help you on your journey to declutter your house and live life more fully. One of the chapters I think is most useful is the one about helping kids with their toys. She worked with a family therapist and identifies five different personality types that kids most likely fall into. This can help you as a mom motivate your child to embrace a more minimal lifestyle.

Although Allie talks about minimalism, she is not rigid about what this entails. For example, if you are a passionate cook, your kitchen is going to look different than if you eat to live. She encourages you to work on your house, setting an intention for each room about what you want. She explains that you need to determine what matters to you and your family and talks you through the various rooms in the house as well as wardrobe, mail and paperwork, sentimental items, random stuff, gifts, and more. There is no formula to follow since everyone has different priorities and Allie's book will help you get some clarity around that if you need it.

She pulls examples from her own experiences, and her experience from helping others, highlighting ideas with testimonials throughout the book. Decluttering is a process. It's not something you do once and then it's done forever.

Most of all Allie talks about how overwhelming it can be for moms particularly to get everything done. This book will help you become more intentional about what you have in your house and life.

I read a digital ARC of this book via Net Galley.

I love books about decluttering and minimalism so was excited to start this one. I had never heard of Allie Casazza before so was interested to find out more.
I liked the way the book was set out and how different rooms were broken down into sections to make things manageable and less daunting, however there was nothing new in this book to what I have already read or know.

This is one of those books that I think I will be referring back to as I work to declutter my life and home. The author does a great job of breaking things down into relatable chapters and making the concepts manageable.

I enjoyed the writing style and understand the author tried to form a bond with the reader but I think it could come off as a little false at times.

for the decluttering though I'm a fan. I feel like I can tackle small projects over the course of a stretch of time. I feel like I can organize my decluttering and not feel too overwhelmed so the book is a success for me and like I said this is the kind of book you refer back to so it is a keeper on my self.

Thanks to NetGalley and Nelson Books for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I had recently come across the Instagram page of Allie Casazza. As a mom who's always looking for ways to minimalize the amount of crap in my home and organize it, I was excited to read her book. Who better than another mother to help me figure out how to get this task done? Well, I wasn't all that impressed. Almost all the information is basic logic I've already learned or come across in other books. The section I was most excited about, children and their belongings, had a plug to her "paid program" to really go deep on the types of children and how to help each type let go of things. She gave a very simplistic view in the book on these types, but again, it was all so basic I just skimmed over it. I actually found myself skimming a lot as there just wasn't anything in there that was new to me. It felt like one huge advertisement of herself, and the opening was way too long. I wanted to get to the meat of the book, but every time I though she was done talking, it just kept going with more words.

My biggest turnoff was I did not like the Rachel Hollis tone of "hey girl" Allie kept using in the book. As someone who loathes that kind of marketing to be hip with women, I finally had enough and DNF the book. I think I made it just over 50% of the way through and was done. I think anyone who is a fan of Allie, her blog, her podcasts, or her programs, you might like this book. It just wasn't for me.

I'll be posting my review on Goodreads right away, but I might only do a very simple review on Instagram. I hate leaving bad feedback on that site as it feels a lot more personal than Goodreads. If I do post, it will be up before the 15th of September.

“This is why minimalism is not about having less for the sake of having less. It’s not about having a clean house. It’s not about being a minimalist because it’s trendy and cool and your house will look perfect. There has to be a bigger and deeper why. It’s about having less for the sake of having more of what matters.”

Here ye here ye, calling all moms. Declutter Like A Mother is a room by room and item by item guide to help you be your best clutter free self. This is an extremely real and practical way to get your life back. It’s not the minimalist movement that has you feeling you have to survive with one fork and 7 items of clothing. But it IS about not having so much that it’s stealing your joy and life.

Holyyyyy hell am I glad I raised my daughter before there was so much pressure for moms to be perfect and have Pinterest worthy houses on the regular. My daughter played with toys and they were everywhere…and literally no one cared. Because no one saw it. Ahhh the simpler times before social media.

According to this book, my generally chill and laid back attitude stems from my lack of clutter in my home. Wahooooo. A cluttered home equals a cluttered mind has been my adult life mantra. I have a place for everything and everything is in its place. The one caveat to my clutter free, light, and airy home are…you guessed it…books. #SorryNotSorry And as she states in the book, “progress not perfection.” Can I get an amen?!

If you are interested in simplifying your life and taking it back from the clutter that surrounds you, read this book! Thank you to Netgalley, Nelson Books, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Life is too short to drink out of a fugly mug.”

This book is authentically Allie and I am so here for it.

I discovered Allie last year when I was on a podcast kick and the mindset shift she presents when it comes to being in a state of lack (vs. abundance) changed my relationship with my time and my belongings. Shortly after, I was able to join her 2021 Declutter Like A Mother challenge on Facebook. Because of this experience, I couldn’t help but visualize Allie’s mannerisms and excitement while reading this book. I even heard the text through her voice. It feels kind of creepy to admit that, but the words are so true to what she would say if this were instead a podcast, class, or Facebook challenge that I couldn’t help hearing it that way.

If you haven’t participated in a Declutter Like A Mother Challenge, I am excited that you get to do so for the first time. The physical goal is decluttering, but there is a larger mental goal of lightening the load and stress on your life through the removal of clutter. My favorite part about this method is that it’s not focused on rules or numbers, but what works best for you.

”You get to decide what’s good enough for you right now. You focus on progress, not perfection; you focus on what you think is going to work for you and your family, not on what works for someone else.”

If you have participated in a Declutter Like A Mother challenge, you already know the general content and layout of this book, but I will say that reliving that experience at my own pace and being able to relive it as often as I like is pretty dang useful. I’ve come a long way since January’s challenge, but after a big purge, I’ve realized it’s an ongoing process. Like with the annual challenge, it’s hard to make it through a section without feeling the urge to immediately get up and start decluttering.

This book is written casually. If you’re not familiar with Allie, I recommend popping into one of her podcast episodes to get a feel for her style and overall vibe. I recommend this because I tend to be a skeptic and reading a book without understanding the authenticity or tone behind someone’s written word is difficult for me. This isn’t required in order enjoy the book of course, but it will add to the experience.

”Whatever we call it, it’s about being intentional. It’s about simplifying. It’s about having less of what doesn’t matter in order to make room for what does.”

At the end of the day, I adore Allie because she has faith in her followers and cheerleads us on while also being direct about what our true holdups are. Her desire to do this with the hold ups we have in our home has encouraged long lasting change in my life. If you can appreciate the beauty in this and are ready to approach your home with a new mindset, you’ll love this book.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Allie's take on minimalism is refreshing without being pretentious. For anyone that loves the philosphy behind Marie Kondo's vision of living with less, but has a hard time getting behind the anthropomorphic language of saying goodbye to your belongings, I think this satisfies a similar itch. It's also helpful and practical for anyone with children, as we all know - a lot of stuff comes with them! I'd definitely recommend this to a friend and it's worth revisiting from time to time when you need a refresher. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Allie gives good, reasonable, manageable advice on decluttering and reclaiming your spaces. The book is geared towards moms and those who live in houses, and it includes sections on kid stuff and working with your kids to declutter their things. The book expands on Allie's annual "Declutter Like a Mother" challenge, and she does mention her other subscription/purchase programs. I enjoyed reading the book, and I did find it easier to work with than the challenge because it is more in depth and self-paced.