Tidying Up: 100 Ways to Infuse Order and Joy into Every Area of Your Home

by Ea Fuqua, Meg DeLong

Declutter your life and create the peaceful sanctuary you desire with these 100 organizational tricks from Meg DeLong and Ea Fuqua, cofounders of The Tidy Home. This foolproof, room-by-room guide is the book you need—so easy and fun, everyone can join in!

Joy and peace are just around the corner. In fact, they can be around every corner of your home, from the kitchen to the living room to that dangerously dark section of the laundry room. And it's easier than you think.

In Tidying Up, Meg DeLong and Ea Fuqua—founders and owners of The Tidy Home—offer you a shame-free, straightforward approach to embracing organization as soul care. Whether you have a studio apartment or an overflowing farmhouse, Tidying Up will help

Put into practice 100 strategies—organized room by room—that make an immediate difference Create sustainable systems that free you rather than bog you down Tailor your living space to complement your personal style and purpose Discover how regaining authority over your stuff invites your brain and body to rest These two sisters have seen it all and have helped countless clients tackle their living spaces and create peaceful and practical homes—so they know what really works and lasts! This book is a must for anyone navigating life with family members, roommates, or even solo-dwellers looking to maximize their space!

With fun, colorful design features throughout, Tidying Up is a perfect gift for New Year New You, Christmas, Mother's Day, spring cleaning, back to school, or for anyone making a fresh move into their new home, apartment, or dorm room.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

224 pages, Hardcover

Published December 9, 2025

Reviews

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

I requested a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley because I’ve always been drawn to books about homemaking. Even as a child, I fantasized less about traditional roles and more about houses, interiors, gardens, and the quiet satisfaction of a well-kept home.

Unfortunately, this book was a disappointment for me.

From the introduction, the writing felt cluttered and in need of stronger editing, and that impression carried through much of the book. Chapter 1 immediately struck me as privileged and narrow in its assumptions—particularly the repeated reference to a “laundry room,” rather than the more inclusive idea of a “laundry space.” I live in a high-income ZIP code in a nice home, and even I have only a laundry closet with a few shelves. The advice here is very basic, though it may be helpful for someone entirely new to homemaking. (One practical tip I’d add: unwanted cleaning supplies are often welcome at animal shelters or homeless shelters—donate rather than discard.)

The pantry chapter reinforced my sense that the writing is not for me. It feels geared toward a younger, millennial audience, with an almost obsessive focus on label makers and aesthetics that I found unnecessary. I much prefer repurposing glass jars from groceries rather than buying new containers. The book also doesn’t consistently account for households with different diets or shared kitchens.

While most chapters contain decent foundational advice, they are significantly hampered by the lack of drawings or photos. For a visual subject like home organization, this is a major drawback—especially for beginners who would likely benefit from visual examples. The tone leans heavily into “hey, girlfriend” humor, which didn’t work for me and often undercut the emotional reality of decluttering. Letting go of belongings after a major move or decades of accumulation is very different at 50 or 60 than it is at 30 or 40.

Overall, this book seems best suited for people who are truly starting from scratch, particularly families in larger, more spacious homes. It often feels disconnected from the realities of smaller spaces and tighter budgets. While it wasn’t helpful for me, I can see how someone with little experience in organizing might find value here.

My advice: borrow it from the library. If it resonates with you and feels like something you’ll return to, then it may be worth purchasing.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the authors for providing me with a digital ARC to read and review.

[Cris ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tidying Up: 100 Ways to Infuse Order and Joy into Every Area of Your Home is a pleasant and practical guide for anyone who wants quick inspiration to make their home feel more peaceful and organized. Ea Fuqua and Meg DeLong share a wide range of tips that are easy to follow, room by room, and I appreciated how encouraging the tone is—it doesn’t shame you for having clutter, but instead invites you to see tidying as a way to bring comfort and joy into your daily life.

That said, because the book covers so many different ideas, some of them feel a bit surface-level or repetitive. It’s more of a collection of small, approachable suggestions rather than a deep, transformative system. If your home is already very cluttered, you might not find enough step-by-step structure here, but if you’re looking for light motivation and simple strategies, it definitely delivers.

Overall, I enjoyed it but didn’t find it groundbreaking—useful for a gentle push in the right direction, but not necessarily a life-changing manual.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC copy.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love books on tidying up and I think I’ve read all of them. This one is definitely more of an organizing book than a cleaning book. There are no photos, just large text and a rather jarring color scheme along the margins of most pages (blocks of blue, yellow, teal, red and salmon shapes). The book starts with how to organize your laundry room, then your pantry, and so on. They do recommend buying lots of things, even expensive purchases like cabinets to replace shelves for your laundry room. There are numbered tips for every section but they tend to be either common sense or personal preference.

I ultimately only read about half of the book before giving up on it because it didn’t offer anything helpful for me, but as I said I have already read a lot of cleaning and organizing books. It will probably be helpful for homemakers who are new to organization, who like buying things like bins and pouches, and who don’t mind a lack of photos or illustrations.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is well written and organized and has some decent ideas, but I didn't feel it was for me. The information is somewhat basic, and I've heard most of it elsewhere before. The most helpful tips involved families with larger homes (plenty of space for storage and lots of rooms) and families with children. As I live in a very small city apartment and have no kids, large portions of the book were simply not for me. The advice on getting rid of game boxes and storing the pieces in a big Ziploc bag, or getting rid of all DVD cases to store discs in books was frankly off-putting for me. I can't imagine bags of game materials being somehow neater than well stacked boxes, but again, maybe that's a kid thing. Also, every tidying book is crazy with their approach to books. Anyway - this could be a great resource for people who are starting from zero or families with kids struggling with options for saving lots of sentimental items, but I didn't have many takeaways for my small, child-free, 3-room apartment.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read full of helpful tips about organizing every aspect of your home. The book's chapters cover areas instead of rooms - pantry, where you get ready, where you sleep, etc. Each chapter has an introduction about that space and what's important, then several more specific tips. I like that at the end of each chapter there is a page with a "level up" tip for if you have a larger space and a "square footage problem" for if space is an issue in your home. I definitely liked that this wasn't some magazine spread of huge, curated spaces but the tips could work in any space. I did not agree with their tip of 2 sets of sheets per bed - that seemed ridiculously low to me - and keeping the extra set of sheets in the bedroom. I'm thankful for a linen closet but I know not everyone has that. Overall, there wasn't anything earth shattering in here, but lots of good tips in well organized chapters. I would recommend checking it out.

[Luv2TrvlLuvBks · Rating 4 out of 5]

#TidyingUp #NetGalley

Suggestions given, no judgment taken.

That's how this reader would summarize this book. Many suggestions seem obvious such as bins, baskets but others such as placing mugs adjacent to the coffee machine or investing in nightstands with allotted space wasn't for those whose lives are filled with clutter.

The tone too by the sisters was more friendly, let's talk over coffee and less like a lecture. Even the structure and layout of the book is user friendly and mimics the clean style sought by the authors.

Think about it. For the most part, readers who look to this book are trying to 'Declutter' their spaces. Having a judgment free zone will make it more likely that the suggested tools shared will be applied.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Harper Celebrate, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Sally Wilsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tidying Up by Ea Fuqua and Meg DeLong

This is a great beginner book on tidying, organizing and decluttering.
It would be a great gift for a newlywed not the wedding but in addition to a gift.
I did like the room-by-room system and found it easy to follow and understand.
I would have liked to see more natural cleaning and minimalizing in the book, but this is a good starter book.

[Toni · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was a lot of great information in here. However...I think reading this you need to keep in mind not everyone is in a position to do the things they suggest. They literally give a what to buy list in every chapter. I think we should work with what we have at a certain point. I would recommend reading... but be cautious of consumerism.

[Liz Gee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Useful for those who are new to organising their home, but I found there was little that I didn't already know (at my advanced age at least). Nicely laid out, and divided into practical sections.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love kicking off the year with an organizing book. This book contained a lot of the usual suggestions with a couple of unique suggestions. Probably good for a beginner looking for quick suggestions.

[Caroline Horgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A couple of new ideas, too many storage options & not enough paring down

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not particularly helpful for someone who already has knowledge of the subject but if you're just getting started on your tidying up/organizing journey, this book gives you great tips to start.

[Katie Calloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick hitting ideas/suggestions. The beginner organizer might find it too fast or lacking in detail, but a good refresher and reset for the already fairly organized home! Audiobook was great!

[Karen Rudloff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio

[Holly Bopp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty baskets and labeled bins with lids solve every problem.