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The Home Edit Life: A Guide to Organizing Absolutely Everything
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The authors of The Home Edit and stars of the Netflix series Get Organized with The Home Edit teach you how to apply their genius, holistic approach to your work life, on-the-go necessities, and technology.At home or on the go, you don't have to live like a minimalist to feel happy and calm. The Home Edit mentality is all about embracing your life—whether you’re a busy mom, a roommate living with three, or someone who’s always traveling for work. You just need to know how to set up a system that works for you. In the next phase of the home organizing craze, Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin go beyond the pantry and bookshelf to show you how to contain the chaos in all aspects of your life, from office space and holiday storage to luggage and pet supplies. Get to know your organizing style, tailor it to your family’s lifestyle, and lead the low-guilt life as you apply more genius ideas to every aspect of your life.Clea and Joanna are here to remind you that “it’s okay to own things” in the quest for pretty and smart spaces. With The Home Edit Life, you’ll soon be corralling phone cords, archiving old photos, arranging your phone apps by color, and packing your suitcase like a pro.
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2020
1326 people are currently reading
4556 people want to read
About the author
Clea Shearer
23 books193 followersClea Shearer was born and raised in Los Angeles and just recently located to Nashville (what a move!) for her husband's job as an Entertainment and Music Photographer with Getty Images.
Moving her family across the country (TO the country, she claims) has been a huge adjustment, but an incredible experience for her. In Nashville, the stars aligned and she met her business partner, Joanna! Together, they launched a home organization business called The Home Edit.
If you aren't familiar with The Home Edit it's time to get yourself caught up because it will rock your drawers! Since launching their organization business The Home Edit, it has spread through Hollywood from Gwyneth Platrow's playroom to Katy Perry's closet. They teamed up with Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine to produce Master the Mess that gives you a peek into their Hollywood projects, It was so popular Netflix took notice and will be launching a spinoff.
If you need a little (or alot!) of The Home Edit in your life, you can pickup their book: The Home Edit: A Guide To Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals that will inspire you in ways that you just might do it! It's super easy to incorporate their tips with their product line exclusively available from The Container Store.
Although she once called LA home, she loves the food, energy and scenery of the city. Plus, the shopping at White's Mercantile is pretty great.
Prior to starting The Home Edit, Clea attended the Parsons School of Design—okay, we totally know why she’s so talented! Her guilty pleasures include Harry Potter, The Real Housewives of “Anything” and trips to Target. Maybe next time she heads to Target we can tag along and she can spill all of her design secrets – fingers crossed!
Moving her family across the country (TO the country, she claims) has been a huge adjustment, but an incredible experience for her. In Nashville, the stars aligned and she met her business partner, Joanna! Together, they launched a home organization business called The Home Edit.
If you aren't familiar with The Home Edit it's time to get yourself caught up because it will rock your drawers! Since launching their organization business The Home Edit, it has spread through Hollywood from Gwyneth Platrow's playroom to Katy Perry's closet. They teamed up with Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine to produce Master the Mess that gives you a peek into their Hollywood projects, It was so popular Netflix took notice and will be launching a spinoff.
If you need a little (or alot!) of The Home Edit in your life, you can pickup their book: The Home Edit: A Guide To Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals that will inspire you in ways that you just might do it! It's super easy to incorporate their tips with their product line exclusively available from The Container Store.
Although she once called LA home, she loves the food, energy and scenery of the city. Plus, the shopping at White's Mercantile is pretty great.
Prior to starting The Home Edit, Clea attended the Parsons School of Design—okay, we totally know why she’s so talented! Her guilty pleasures include Harry Potter, The Real Housewives of “Anything” and trips to Target. Maybe next time she heads to Target we can tag along and she can spill all of her design secrets – fingers crossed!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 871 reviews
September 24, 2020
I put this book on hold because I love organizing books. I didn't know about the author's previous book or the Netflix show until the book came in. I didn't feel like there was much organizing info or help at all in the book - just a lot of beautiful, perfect, rainbow color-coordinated pictures. And most of the pictures were of HUGE spaces that the average person is not going to have in their house. I would LOVE to have a huge closet for all my stockpiled lotion, shampoo, laundry detergent, etc. but I don't so I have to work with what I have - this book didn't help in that way at all. While it's pretty to look at it wasn't very helpful in any real-life way. A lot of the reviews talked about how they liked the book better after watching the show, so I may check the show out just to see. Even if it is huge celebrity houses, I love a good "before and after" show.
October 4, 2020
Admittedly I had never heard about The Home Edit, but then Netflix suggested I watch their recently released show, and as someone who loves minimalism and organizing, I did. And the show was hilarious, if not particularly helpful in terms of organizing. (But it has made me start referring to extras of things as "backstock,"which might be my new favorite absurd word of the moment, so yay for that.)
So then I decided to read their newest book, and while it is in keeping with their TV show, without their funny personalities, the book falls flat. Or perhaps let me say it this way: if you are looking for a book to actually help you edit your belongings, or organize things, or declutter, and you are a normal-ish person, well, this isn't the book for you. If you live in a gigantic mansion and have an entire closet devoted to outfits for your dog, or if you are a YouTube star or something like that, and want to have you millions of lipsticks organized, than maybe read this. Or if you just want to look at photos of the homes of the rich and famous, then yes, this book could be a useful one for you.
But that's really what it is: a book that tells people it is not only okay to own stuff, but praises the owning of LOTS OF STUFF, and also advocates for buying a lot of plastic bins to organize said stuff. The environment is crying over there in the corner, but never mind the sniffling you hear, just buy more stuff, okay? Or at least, that's sort of the vibe I get from the book. I read it and suddenly felt bad, for about a split second, that I wasn't the sort of adult who owned all.the.things. And then I felt sort of sickened by the consumerism of it all.
So then I decided to read their newest book, and while it is in keeping with their TV show, without their funny personalities, the book falls flat. Or perhaps let me say it this way: if you are looking for a book to actually help you edit your belongings, or organize things, or declutter, and you are a normal-ish person, well, this isn't the book for you. If you live in a gigantic mansion and have an entire closet devoted to outfits for your dog, or if you are a YouTube star or something like that, and want to have you millions of lipsticks organized, than maybe read this. Or if you just want to look at photos of the homes of the rich and famous, then yes, this book could be a useful one for you.
But that's really what it is: a book that tells people it is not only okay to own stuff, but praises the owning of LOTS OF STUFF, and also advocates for buying a lot of plastic bins to organize said stuff. The environment is crying over there in the corner, but never mind the sniffling you hear, just buy more stuff, okay? Or at least, that's sort of the vibe I get from the book. I read it and suddenly felt bad, for about a split second, that I wasn't the sort of adult who owned all.the.things. And then I felt sort of sickened by the consumerism of it all.
July 24, 2021
Like a lot of you, I suspect, I enjoy looking at photos of neatly organized items, and thinking to myself, "Someday . . ." BUT, as much as I love the authors' anti-Marie Kondō sentiment - keep as much stuff as you want; just keep it organized - DANG! I have some issues with this book.
This one was donated for our library's book sale, so I took it home for a gander before returning it. I have never heard of the authors, seen their previous book, or watched their Netflix show. Having gotten that all out in the open, my first thought was this book is one giant ad for The Container Store.
That's right, Gomer - SURPRISE! The authors have their own line of storage products featured at that very store, making this book, which sells for a whopping $28.50, essentially an ad for their goodies.
Even if you can put that aside, Clea and Joanna have chirpy personalities that quickly become grating. Their constant name-dropping (Oooo! They've touched Khloe Kardashian's things!), and ultra-blatant product placement (all the fancy, schmancy product was turned label out) also ruined this one for me.
But . . . the pictures sure are pretty.
So . . . if you're the type of person who likes having your books arranged rainbowly instead of alphabetically, and don't mind paying almost thirty bucks for a 255 page ad, you'll probably like this one W-A-Y more than I.
Who knows . . . it may even spark joy.
This one was donated for our library's book sale, so I took it home for a gander before returning it. I have never heard of the authors, seen their previous book, or watched their Netflix show. Having gotten that all out in the open, my first thought was this book is one giant ad for The Container Store.
That's right, Gomer - SURPRISE! The authors have their own line of storage products featured at that very store, making this book, which sells for a whopping $28.50, essentially an ad for their goodies.
Even if you can put that aside, Clea and Joanna have chirpy personalities that quickly become grating. Their constant name-dropping (Oooo! They've touched Khloe Kardashian's things!), and ultra-blatant product placement (all the fancy, schmancy product was turned label out) also ruined this one for me.
But . . . the pictures sure are pretty.
So . . . if you're the type of person who likes having your books arranged rainbowly instead of alphabetically, and don't mind paying almost thirty bucks for a 255 page ad, you'll probably like this one W-A-Y more than I.
Who knows . . . it may even spark joy.
January 17, 2021
For those of you interested in reading this book, let me save you some time by summarizing it for you here. Here is how to organize your home the way these two ladies do it:
1. Start with a gigantic, clean, white house with the largest pantry on earth, floor-to-ceiling cabinets throughout every room, an endless budget for supplies, and at least 25 large drawers in both the kitchen and the bathroom. Even better if you use a celebrity house. You get bonus points for name dropping.
2. Take everything out of the space.
3. Put everything into clear bins -- the ones the authors sell through The Container Store of course.
4. The only acceptable way to order the items is rainbow color order. Good luck with that.
5. Place bins back onto shelves or into drawers.
Voila!
There. I have saved you several hours and about $25. Are you impressed? Neither was I. I think the only people who would be impressed by this are people that have never actually organized anything so much as a junk drawer in their lives. This is organizing for newbies, for sure.
What I do like about their method (which is a generous term for what they do):
1. They get a full 10 points on aesthetics. There's no arguing the rooms they make are gorgeous and enviable and would probably impress all your friends. And I love the rainbow order -- if it works for how you use the space. (I have organized my hanging clothes in rainbow order for years because it does work for me.) It is very pretty. And I love me some minimalism. So full credit where it is due.
2. They are very open to helping you manage your hoarding of candy/makeup/books/crayons/whatever it is you can't stop buying. So you don't have to feel like you have to go on a "stuff diet" or throw away half of what you own like Marie Kondo makes you feel. (More on Kondo in a minute.)
3. Clear plastic bins are pretty awesome, I have to admit.
4. I liked their idea for how to sort apps on your phone. Rainbow order actually really works for this. This was probably the only really lightbulb moment I had while reading this book. Full disclosure: I did not read every word in this book because it's difficult to read when rolling your eyes.
What drives me bananas and ultimately why this book made me angry:
1. They are a one trick pony. They do the SAME THING in every space. This should have been a blog post, not a whole book -- wait, make that 2 books, a product line, and a Netflix show (which is even worse than this book, so don't feel like you're missing anything by not watching it). These women are really good at duping people....maybe I am a hater? Probably. Who knew you could get paid a bajillion bucks for putting things into rainbow order and using nothing other than clear plastic bins. This is the pet rock of the 2020s.
2. Their way of doing things is not very adaptable or customizable. What if plastic bins or peg boards don't work for you? What if rainbow order just doesn't work for the way that space functions? They seem to provide few options or customization, which makes me feel bad for their clients, who I am sure are paying through the nose for their services. Where's the tailored, individualized solution? What if you want to be different? What if rainbow order and clear plastic bins is not your style?
3. I never really saw them solve any complicated or unusual storage problems. Of course that pantry looks beautiful. You can park a 747 in it. You have plenty of room to do whatever you want in there!
4. They are annoyingly self-absorbed. Why are they including summaries of their personalities? Why should I care about how they like to self-care? This is not why I picked up this book. Stop making it all about you, authors. Otherwise, put the word "autobiography" on the cover and get out of the home organization section, please.
5. Ok, I will admit this point is probably only here because I am a librarian, but the way they organized a home library of books was atrocious! As anyone who actually uses books for reading (as opposed to using them as decorative objects) knows, you cannot organize books by the color of the cover. That is absurd. Even worse, the books which didn't fall into the rainbow scheme were -- *shudder* -- shelved spine-in so you can't even tell what book it is. Moments like this make it difficult for me to like and appreciate designers (which is really what these women are, because there are not really any organizing skillz going on here, let's be honest).
6. I have a very difficult time relating to any organizing book that goes into detail about how they organized a napkin closet for a client. Yes, you read that correctly. A NAPKIN CLOSET. Just a whole closet. For napkins. Floor to ceiling. Thanks for helping me out, girls. I have been struggling with my napkin closet for years. Now I know what to do. Full disclosure: I stopped reading after the napkin closet. That was the last straw.
I will be looking elsewhere to figure out how to organize my beauty products in a way that doesn't slowly accumulate dust, maximize the space in my teeny tiny triangular (yes, triangular) pantry, tame my exploding bookshelves, clean out my husband's floor-to-ceiling-closet-o-baseball-cards (oh how I wish I were exaggerating), and figure out my kitchen (which has about 4 fewer drawers and 6 fewer cabinets than I really would like). Because these are the kinds of organizing problems you have if you are not a celebrity and live in the real world. Paging Marie Kondo*!
*Marie Kondo is an amazing, wonderful, and talented genius. Her KonMari methods are empowering, based in reality, and encourage you to be honest with yourself. They also do not require you to purchase special containers in order to create order in your home -- unless you want to. Plus, she is a super sweet and humble lady. Every KonMari thing I have done to my house, I have kept up for years now because it works and it's easy. If you haven't discovered her yet, you are missing out. And her show and books will actually help you feel more joy in your own surroundings, not leave you more envious of celebrity walk-in closets than you already are.
1. Start with a gigantic, clean, white house with the largest pantry on earth, floor-to-ceiling cabinets throughout every room, an endless budget for supplies, and at least 25 large drawers in both the kitchen and the bathroom. Even better if you use a celebrity house. You get bonus points for name dropping.
2. Take everything out of the space.
3. Put everything into clear bins -- the ones the authors sell through The Container Store of course.
4. The only acceptable way to order the items is rainbow color order. Good luck with that.
5. Place bins back onto shelves or into drawers.
Voila!
There. I have saved you several hours and about $25. Are you impressed? Neither was I. I think the only people who would be impressed by this are people that have never actually organized anything so much as a junk drawer in their lives. This is organizing for newbies, for sure.
What I do like about their method (which is a generous term for what they do):
1. They get a full 10 points on aesthetics. There's no arguing the rooms they make are gorgeous and enviable and would probably impress all your friends. And I love the rainbow order -- if it works for how you use the space. (I have organized my hanging clothes in rainbow order for years because it does work for me.) It is very pretty. And I love me some minimalism. So full credit where it is due.
2. They are very open to helping you manage your hoarding of candy/makeup/books/crayons/whatever it is you can't stop buying. So you don't have to feel like you have to go on a "stuff diet" or throw away half of what you own like Marie Kondo makes you feel. (More on Kondo in a minute.)
3. Clear plastic bins are pretty awesome, I have to admit.
4. I liked their idea for how to sort apps on your phone. Rainbow order actually really works for this. This was probably the only really lightbulb moment I had while reading this book. Full disclosure: I did not read every word in this book because it's difficult to read when rolling your eyes.
What drives me bananas and ultimately why this book made me angry:
1. They are a one trick pony. They do the SAME THING in every space. This should have been a blog post, not a whole book -- wait, make that 2 books, a product line, and a Netflix show (which is even worse than this book, so don't feel like you're missing anything by not watching it). These women are really good at duping people....maybe I am a hater? Probably. Who knew you could get paid a bajillion bucks for putting things into rainbow order and using nothing other than clear plastic bins. This is the pet rock of the 2020s.
2. Their way of doing things is not very adaptable or customizable. What if plastic bins or peg boards don't work for you? What if rainbow order just doesn't work for the way that space functions? They seem to provide few options or customization, which makes me feel bad for their clients, who I am sure are paying through the nose for their services. Where's the tailored, individualized solution? What if you want to be different? What if rainbow order and clear plastic bins is not your style?
3. I never really saw them solve any complicated or unusual storage problems. Of course that pantry looks beautiful. You can park a 747 in it. You have plenty of room to do whatever you want in there!
4. They are annoyingly self-absorbed. Why are they including summaries of their personalities? Why should I care about how they like to self-care? This is not why I picked up this book. Stop making it all about you, authors. Otherwise, put the word "autobiography" on the cover and get out of the home organization section, please.
5. Ok, I will admit this point is probably only here because I am a librarian, but the way they organized a home library of books was atrocious! As anyone who actually uses books for reading (as opposed to using them as decorative objects) knows, you cannot organize books by the color of the cover. That is absurd. Even worse, the books which didn't fall into the rainbow scheme were -- *shudder* -- shelved spine-in so you can't even tell what book it is. Moments like this make it difficult for me to like and appreciate designers (which is really what these women are, because there are not really any organizing skillz going on here, let's be honest).
6. I have a very difficult time relating to any organizing book that goes into detail about how they organized a napkin closet for a client. Yes, you read that correctly. A NAPKIN CLOSET. Just a whole closet. For napkins. Floor to ceiling. Thanks for helping me out, girls. I have been struggling with my napkin closet for years. Now I know what to do. Full disclosure: I stopped reading after the napkin closet. That was the last straw.
I will be looking elsewhere to figure out how to organize my beauty products in a way that doesn't slowly accumulate dust, maximize the space in my teeny tiny triangular (yes, triangular) pantry, tame my exploding bookshelves, clean out my husband's floor-to-ceiling-closet-o-baseball-cards (oh how I wish I were exaggerating), and figure out my kitchen (which has about 4 fewer drawers and 6 fewer cabinets than I really would like). Because these are the kinds of organizing problems you have if you are not a celebrity and live in the real world. Paging Marie Kondo*!
*Marie Kondo is an amazing, wonderful, and talented genius. Her KonMari methods are empowering, based in reality, and encourage you to be honest with yourself. They also do not require you to purchase special containers in order to create order in your home -- unless you want to. Plus, she is a super sweet and humble lady. Every KonMari thing I have done to my house, I have kept up for years now because it works and it's easy. If you haven't discovered her yet, you are missing out. And her show and books will actually help you feel more joy in your own surroundings, not leave you more envious of celebrity walk-in closets than you already are.
September 26, 2020
I started watching The Home Edit on Netflix the other night. When I heard the hosts Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin just released their second book, I was on it.
The Home Edit Life is really similar to the show. Honestly, I don’t know that either one is super practical per se—unless you have gigantic closets and lots of money for clear plastic containers from The Container Store… But the show is still fun to watch, and the book is fun to page through. It’s basically organization porn at its finest: lots of sparsely filled shelves with color-coded knick knacks they couldn’t possibly stay that way if you’re actually living in the space. The fact that there is so much celebrity name-dropping in the book is annoying, but it makes sense. Celebrities are the people who most benefit from having a pretty way to display all the stuff they won’t ever use.
Ultimately, this book is fine for what it is, but I think I’m a bigger fan of the more calm and sustainable approach of Marie Kondo. In contrast, The Home Edit Life (and the show) feel like one last hurrah of excess and consumption before we all get down to the messy but crucial task of living sustainably and, you know, saving our planet.
The Home Edit Life is really similar to the show. Honestly, I don’t know that either one is super practical per se—unless you have gigantic closets and lots of money for clear plastic containers from The Container Store… But the show is still fun to watch, and the book is fun to page through. It’s basically organization porn at its finest: lots of sparsely filled shelves with color-coded knick knacks they couldn’t possibly stay that way if you’re actually living in the space. The fact that there is so much celebrity name-dropping in the book is annoying, but it makes sense. Celebrities are the people who most benefit from having a pretty way to display all the stuff they won’t ever use.
Ultimately, this book is fine for what it is, but I think I’m a bigger fan of the more calm and sustainable approach of Marie Kondo. In contrast, The Home Edit Life (and the show) feel like one last hurrah of excess and consumption before we all get down to the messy but crucial task of living sustainably and, you know, saving our planet.
December 28, 2020
I was utterly euphoric when I started this book. This was because I was mid Home Edit series on Netflix and anything else Home Edit I could get my hands on? Count me in. So I ordered both books on impulse and finished the show in two days. The euphoria began to fade a few pages in when I realized that this book was not geared toward the common middle class lifestyle nor was it what I expected from a book claiming to help me with organization.
The colourful pictures and pages were brilliant and beautiful, but had those been removed and the text left over, the book would be close to useless I hate to say. All there was to offer was a few words on the space and a step or two on how to achieve said-space (and I won’t be achieving said-space because I barely have enough space in my dresser drawers). There were also very little tips and tricks I could take away from the book to implement into my own small living space.
This book dives into the individual projects Clea and Joanna have tackled in their careers (mostly celebs homes and spaces). So while it is interesting to look at, when I’m looking at a photo with an entire closet space dedicated to 27 handbags (yes I counted. The space belonged to Mandy Moore of course), I found it hard not to be disappointed in the excessive consumerism. Hey, to each is own, but I’m impartial to the greed and overconsumption Canada and the US take part in more and more with each passing year. Not to mention all the plastic promotion in the book, while our world is trying to move away from plastic use.
Unfortunately this book did not do it for me. I absolutely adore Clea and Joanna and they are so lovable on the show. They are experts at what they do, and they work exceptionally hard. The book overall was not meaty enough in terms of applicable content. There was a lot of fluff.
Hopefully the first book will be more in depth, as I’m still excited to read it!
The colourful pictures and pages were brilliant and beautiful, but had those been removed and the text left over, the book would be close to useless I hate to say. All there was to offer was a few words on the space and a step or two on how to achieve said-space (and I won’t be achieving said-space because I barely have enough space in my dresser drawers). There were also very little tips and tricks I could take away from the book to implement into my own small living space.
This book dives into the individual projects Clea and Joanna have tackled in their careers (mostly celebs homes and spaces). So while it is interesting to look at, when I’m looking at a photo with an entire closet space dedicated to 27 handbags (yes I counted. The space belonged to Mandy Moore of course), I found it hard not to be disappointed in the excessive consumerism. Hey, to each is own, but I’m impartial to the greed and overconsumption Canada and the US take part in more and more with each passing year. Not to mention all the plastic promotion in the book, while our world is trying to move away from plastic use.
Unfortunately this book did not do it for me. I absolutely adore Clea and Joanna and they are so lovable on the show. They are experts at what they do, and they work exceptionally hard. The book overall was not meaty enough in terms of applicable content. There was a lot of fluff.
Hopefully the first book will be more in depth, as I’m still excited to read it!
December 31, 2020
The Home Edit Life: The Complete Guide to Organizing Absolutely Everything at Work, at Home, and on the Go brings more aesthetically pleasing images, organization ideas, and signature humor from The Home Edit (THE) founders, Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. I’ve been a fan of THE for years and loved watching their Netflix series this year.
While their first book, The Home Edit: A Guide to Realizing and Organizing Your House Goals focuses on the house and various aspects of a home, THE Life drills into specific areas: work, kids, pets, celebrations, etc — Not all sections will be applicable to everyone. The general message is, it’s ok to own stuff, and even encouraged, but all things should be organized in a way that works for you. I skimmed some parts but I did enjoy the bright, clean photos throughout the book.
While their first book, The Home Edit: A Guide to Realizing and Organizing Your House Goals focuses on the house and various aspects of a home, THE Life drills into specific areas: work, kids, pets, celebrations, etc — Not all sections will be applicable to everyone. The general message is, it’s ok to own stuff, and even encouraged, but all things should be organized in a way that works for you. I skimmed some parts but I did enjoy the bright, clean photos throughout the book.
May 30, 2022
This book had more concrete ideas on how to actually use the organizing principles of The Home Edit in various situations. It really took the principles of their whole system and gave some more examples. I would have loved before pictures in addition to the after photos. I would also have liked to see a bit more variety where not everyone is in modern homes with pure white shelving. Overall, there is a lot of practical that can be taken out of this book.
November 15, 2020
The tagline to this book should be 'If You're Bored and Rich'. Why WHY would I ever need advice on how to organize my tour bus? I'm guessing this more goes along with what's done on the Netflix series than giving actual advice. I should have known I wasn't going to like it when the first 3 pages talk about their first book. I don't care about the first book, that's not the one I'm reading. This was basically an instagram feed, all fluff and no substance.
September 23, 2020
This book doesn’t have nearly enough organizing details. It also bases much of its color-coordinated organizing around the ROY G BIV rainbow order; pretty idea but not practical for many people. The book practically advertised how the authors organized the rooms of some celebrities. That’s nice but again, that’s fluff, not substance.
Pretty book but too much useless eye candy for me.
Pretty book but too much useless eye candy for me.
February 2, 2023
Millennial cringe. Not helpful. Anyone who thinks it’s ok to display books with the pages facing out instead of the spine should go to jail.
November 16, 2020
You've read The Home Edit.
You have Edited.
What next?
Try The Home Edit Life. Take on all those small organization projects now that you've got the big things done. Pets. Hobbies. Electronics. Travel.
You have Edited.
What next?
Try The Home Edit Life. Take on all those small organization projects now that you've got the big things done. Pets. Hobbies. Electronics. Travel.
November 1, 2020
I Everything Home edit!
December 30, 2020
I love planning and organising and I believe I do a pretty good job organising my life, tasks and all the associated admin that comes along with it. Why then, is my office a mess? I think it's because I have too much 'stuff' and unfortunately the Marie Kondo approach of 'sparking joy' didn't work for me.
Introducing organising duo Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. With a successful Instagram following in excess of 4 million, this power couple has been organising celebrity spaces and sharing their drool-worthy results on social media. The success of The Home Edit has led to a popular show on Netflix and they've become household names.
The Home Edit Life - The Complete Guide to Organizing Absolutely Everything at Work, at Home and On The Go by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin is their second book and it was an absolute joy to read.
Colourful and presented in a beautiful hardcover, the authors combine a self-help approach with snippets of their own organising preferences and business experiences. Unfortunately this includes quite a bit of name dropping and being Australian many of the celebrity names were unknown to me, but I'm generally not interested in that kind of stuff anyway.
As you might gather from the cover, the authors advocate organising by colour and using colour to organise. They use the acronym ROYGBIV to indicate the order the colours should go in: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Even the book is organised according to colour!
For those new to their approach, the process begins with editing your stuff, then organising your stuff, and lastly sorting it into groups that suit your needs. This often results in storage in a variety of containers and displays in order to make items easy to see and access.
The end of one year and the beginning of a new one is the perfect time to read a self help book and a time when my thoughts turn to planning for the year ahead, setting up my bullet journal and thinking about any goals I might want to accomplish.
According to Shearer and Teplin, you can either have the thing or you can have the space, and I think that's what I need to focus on when it comes to my bookshelves. When they're double stacked and books are shoved in any which way, I don't end up enjoying them as much as I should. To enjoy my favourites, I need to cull. Then come the excuses: but the free little library downstairs is full, I'll save some for friends when I see them, what if someone wants to borrow a particular book, and surely it'll pain me too much to box them up and just give them to the op shop in one big hit?...Eeek!
Reading The Home Edit Life did make me want to edit my bookshelves and arrange them to their best advantage. However, I decided to start with something smaller to begin with and the bathroom cupboard under the sink is looking amazing, IMHO!
The Home Edit Life by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin is recommended for readers needing a little - or a lot - more organisation in their lives, those who enjoy looking at photos of artfully organised and aesthetically pleasing cupboards, drawers and shelves and of course, fans of the Netflix show.
* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *
Introducing organising duo Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. With a successful Instagram following in excess of 4 million, this power couple has been organising celebrity spaces and sharing their drool-worthy results on social media. The success of The Home Edit has led to a popular show on Netflix and they've become household names.
The Home Edit Life - The Complete Guide to Organizing Absolutely Everything at Work, at Home and On The Go by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin is their second book and it was an absolute joy to read.
Colourful and presented in a beautiful hardcover, the authors combine a self-help approach with snippets of their own organising preferences and business experiences. Unfortunately this includes quite a bit of name dropping and being Australian many of the celebrity names were unknown to me, but I'm generally not interested in that kind of stuff anyway.
As you might gather from the cover, the authors advocate organising by colour and using colour to organise. They use the acronym ROYGBIV to indicate the order the colours should go in: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Even the book is organised according to colour!
For those new to their approach, the process begins with editing your stuff, then organising your stuff, and lastly sorting it into groups that suit your needs. This often results in storage in a variety of containers and displays in order to make items easy to see and access.
The end of one year and the beginning of a new one is the perfect time to read a self help book and a time when my thoughts turn to planning for the year ahead, setting up my bullet journal and thinking about any goals I might want to accomplish.
According to Shearer and Teplin, you can either have the thing or you can have the space, and I think that's what I need to focus on when it comes to my bookshelves. When they're double stacked and books are shoved in any which way, I don't end up enjoying them as much as I should. To enjoy my favourites, I need to cull. Then come the excuses: but the free little library downstairs is full, I'll save some for friends when I see them, what if someone wants to borrow a particular book, and surely it'll pain me too much to box them up and just give them to the op shop in one big hit?...Eeek!
Reading The Home Edit Life did make me want to edit my bookshelves and arrange them to their best advantage. However, I decided to start with something smaller to begin with and the bathroom cupboard under the sink is looking amazing, IMHO!
The Home Edit Life by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin is recommended for readers needing a little - or a lot - more organisation in their lives, those who enjoy looking at photos of artfully organised and aesthetically pleasing cupboards, drawers and shelves and of course, fans of the Netflix show.
* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *
December 31, 2020
Watching their Netflix show for five minutes gives me a headache. Some people love Joanna and Clea but I find them super annoying.
So why did I bother with their books? Because despite how I feel about them, I do think they do good work and their use of containers and organizational products is solid. I am a visual person and the photographs in their books help me. I get very overwhelmed stepping into The Container Store, so seeing products in action is useful.
However. This book is a lot of fluff. There’s a lot of self-indulgent stuff that I guess they feel appeals to their fan base. (Do I care that one of them is deathly afraid of battery acid? Do I care that they like to keep low carb tortillas in their purses?)
There’s a lot of annoying celebrity name dropping. I would have much preferred a book that showcased everyday client work because that is more practical and applicable to 99% of those reading this book. I don’t want to waste my time looking at Dwayne Wade’s shoe closet or how they organized multiple celebrity tour trailers, or how they set up a whole wall of pet costumes for a client.
If you really just want examples of how to work on your pantry or home office or junk drawer, don’t bother with this book. It’s kind of ridiculous.
So why did I bother with their books? Because despite how I feel about them, I do think they do good work and their use of containers and organizational products is solid. I am a visual person and the photographs in their books help me. I get very overwhelmed stepping into The Container Store, so seeing products in action is useful.
However. This book is a lot of fluff. There’s a lot of self-indulgent stuff that I guess they feel appeals to their fan base. (Do I care that one of them is deathly afraid of battery acid? Do I care that they like to keep low carb tortillas in their purses?)
There’s a lot of annoying celebrity name dropping. I would have much preferred a book that showcased everyday client work because that is more practical and applicable to 99% of those reading this book. I don’t want to waste my time looking at Dwayne Wade’s shoe closet or how they organized multiple celebrity tour trailers, or how they set up a whole wall of pet costumes for a client.
If you really just want examples of how to work on your pantry or home office or junk drawer, don’t bother with this book. It’s kind of ridiculous.
November 16, 2020
Keep what you love, put everything in rainbow order.
Why I started this book: Colors and home decorating... my favorites!
Why I finished it: Pretty pictures, but I didn't connect with the organization or ideas. So I will donate this to the library and clean my closet by myself.
Why I started this book: Colors and home decorating... my favorites!
Why I finished it: Pretty pictures, but I didn't connect with the organization or ideas. So I will donate this to the library and clean my closet by myself.
September 10, 2022
I loved this book because:
1. Beautiful pictures
2. So many ideas on how to categorize *stuff*, which is a huge challenge for me
3. I’m not looking for ways to declutter, but rather contain.
This is certainly a “take what you can use, ditch what you can’t” book. I found it much more useful than their first book
1. Beautiful pictures
2. So many ideas on how to categorize *stuff*, which is a huge challenge for me
3. I’m not looking for ways to declutter, but rather contain.
This is certainly a “take what you can use, ditch what you can’t” book. I found it much more useful than their first book
October 12, 2020
Ideas I want to remember;
You get the item or you get the space
Fill your home only with things you like, need, or find sentimental
The 80/20 philosophy;
Keep your home no more than 80% full, and reserve at least 20% for breathing room.
Using all the available space in your home is kind of like eating until you are overly full.
Never buy more hangers. If you buy something new, give something away.
Give every item you own an “official” place.
If you love it, need it, or are sentimental about it, store it appropriately.
Hold your family accountable for simple tasks like putting things back where they belong. (This is also why every single thing needs a “place” to belong!) If they absolutely refuse to do a system then tweak the system so it works for them, and thus for you. (Example— they throw their backpacks and jackets in floor instead of hang on a walk hook. Give them a floor basket instead.
Practice organization until it becomes second nature.
If you can maintain a drawer, you can maintain much more!
Organize for how you (and your family) ‘really’ live
Life is made up of many things. We all contend with things— where to put them, what to do with them, and how to contain them.
Start with smart. Then make it pretty.
To organize any space, first make it as functional as possible, then make the space look good.
Think in terms of zones.
Put things of one category together in one place.
Fridge zones; juice, dairy, prepped foods, spreads and sauces, meats and cheese, fresh produce
Label the fridge zones
I’m a type 4 individualist organizer personality type; I enjoy sitting on the floor carefully sorting the smallest bits and pieces (LEGOs!) I enjoy sorting and detailed work like folding clothes in a precise manner.
Organizing bath and beauty stock; Move the matching multiples to the front of the clear bin to add to the aesthetic.
Supplements— keep all in one place
Store most used on turntables
Place in order of your daily routine
Give prime real estate space to oft used things.
High shelfs to least used items.
Electronic cords in a divided drawer (use a sock divider in a drawer)
Crafts — separate into 2 groups- decide if better in a canister or better in a drawer?
School age kids
Piles of school papers;
Sort into schoolwork, artwork, art projects, and memories — get 4 separate boxes to fit these
Keep the treasures and toss the rest. Scan what you can.
Sports gear— store all sports gear in one spot. Label each bin for the sport.
You get the item or you get the space
Fill your home only with things you like, need, or find sentimental
The 80/20 philosophy;
Keep your home no more than 80% full, and reserve at least 20% for breathing room.
Using all the available space in your home is kind of like eating until you are overly full.
Never buy more hangers. If you buy something new, give something away.
Give every item you own an “official” place.
If you love it, need it, or are sentimental about it, store it appropriately.
Hold your family accountable for simple tasks like putting things back where they belong. (This is also why every single thing needs a “place” to belong!) If they absolutely refuse to do a system then tweak the system so it works for them, and thus for you. (Example— they throw their backpacks and jackets in floor instead of hang on a walk hook. Give them a floor basket instead.
Practice organization until it becomes second nature.
If you can maintain a drawer, you can maintain much more!
Organize for how you (and your family) ‘really’ live
Life is made up of many things. We all contend with things— where to put them, what to do with them, and how to contain them.
Start with smart. Then make it pretty.
To organize any space, first make it as functional as possible, then make the space look good.
Think in terms of zones.
Put things of one category together in one place.
Fridge zones; juice, dairy, prepped foods, spreads and sauces, meats and cheese, fresh produce
Label the fridge zones
I’m a type 4 individualist organizer personality type; I enjoy sitting on the floor carefully sorting the smallest bits and pieces (LEGOs!) I enjoy sorting and detailed work like folding clothes in a precise manner.
Organizing bath and beauty stock; Move the matching multiples to the front of the clear bin to add to the aesthetic.
Supplements— keep all in one place
Store most used on turntables
Place in order of your daily routine
Give prime real estate space to oft used things.
High shelfs to least used items.
Electronic cords in a divided drawer (use a sock divider in a drawer)
Crafts — separate into 2 groups- decide if better in a canister or better in a drawer?
School age kids
Piles of school papers;
Sort into schoolwork, artwork, art projects, and memories — get 4 separate boxes to fit these
Keep the treasures and toss the rest. Scan what you can.
Sports gear— store all sports gear in one spot. Label each bin for the sport.
October 4, 2020
I gave this book 5 stars not because it's the most excellent book I've ever read on organizing, but because it's inspirational, and that counts for a lot when rating a book I've read.
I first learned of Clea and Joanna from their recently broadcast Netflix series. I loved the show as well as their witty banter. The book didn't really add much to what the show covered, but honestly having a book with beautiful color photos of organized spaces, is simply worth owning! Need a calming influence? Pick up the book and fan through the pages. You will feel better. :)
Even though my products don't look as colorful as the ones featured in the photos, and even though I don't have the budget to spend hundreds of dollars for clear storage containers (which I dearly love mind you), I still got a lot of helpful ideas from the book! After binge-watching their show, I tackled my pantry, and am super happy with the outcome. The only item I bought was a stair step shelf for can goods.
Clea and Joanna also have a bit of a different take from many home organizers in that they don't push for getting rid of everything. "We wanted to create a book that shows you how to live the life you love without feeling bad about the things you own." And it's okay to store things. . . (albeit neatly). I also love their emphasis on not just making something functional but also making it look pretty. "The better a space looks, the more likely you are to maintain it."
Reading the book is a breath of fresh air, and their wit in writing only makes jumping into the organizing process that much easier.
I first learned of Clea and Joanna from their recently broadcast Netflix series. I loved the show as well as their witty banter. The book didn't really add much to what the show covered, but honestly having a book with beautiful color photos of organized spaces, is simply worth owning! Need a calming influence? Pick up the book and fan through the pages. You will feel better. :)
Even though my products don't look as colorful as the ones featured in the photos, and even though I don't have the budget to spend hundreds of dollars for clear storage containers (which I dearly love mind you), I still got a lot of helpful ideas from the book! After binge-watching their show, I tackled my pantry, and am super happy with the outcome. The only item I bought was a stair step shelf for can goods.
Clea and Joanna also have a bit of a different take from many home organizers in that they don't push for getting rid of everything. "We wanted to create a book that shows you how to live the life you love without feeling bad about the things you own." And it's okay to store things. . . (albeit neatly). I also love their emphasis on not just making something functional but also making it look pretty. "The better a space looks, the more likely you are to maintain it."
Reading the book is a breath of fresh air, and their wit in writing only makes jumping into the organizing process that much easier.
October 8, 2020
Ok, so I watched the series and read the book. I really like their ideas and would love to implement some of them. The big issue I have is at a time when people should be cutting down their plastic use immensely, they are bringing it back in an almost cult following way. The Container Stores and such are completely sold out of all of these plastic bins that everyone is buying. And what happens when they get sick of this way of organizing? All those plastic bins are going to get thrown out... As much as I like that they are trying to help people organize their stuff, I think they missed the mark on helping the environment.
October 23, 2020
Still mostly just pictures, but definitely fun to browse.
November 9, 2020
Fun to flip through but I didn’t gain a whole lot from it. If you want to organize your life into an Instagram worthy post, prepare to spend money!
November 10, 2020
This book added nothing new to the conversation to me. It had gorgeous pictures but I felt like it lacked structure and an overarching plan.
November 22, 2020
I mean the pictures were super nice and satisfying but I found it really lacked a how to and where to get.
I also found it a little irritating that the whole book was celebrity closets and pantries.
I also found it a little irritating that the whole book was celebrity closets and pantries.
December 1, 2020
seriously, who has time, or desire, or sanity - to colour code their crayons, teabags or veggies????
January 1, 2021
Absolutely no basis in reality; the advice has no practical application. But the pretty colors in the pictures were really soothing.
January 28, 2021
I found this book a bit overwhelming. Not in content or ideas, but layout. It was hard to determine what you were reading about and why. Beautiful photography and inspiration!
January 20, 2022
The writing frustrated me (so many sidenotes) (always in parenthesis), it felt like a big ad for purchasing containers, and my general conclusion is that organizing using this philosophy comes from a huge place of privilege.
I like the idea of, for organizing to be sustainable (not eco-friendly… bc of the containers on containers on containers), you should only fill 80% of your space in order to leave yourself room to breathe and grow. That was about the only part of the book I agreed with.
And yeah, it might have to do with the fact that I have no idea who this women are, never watched their show, cannot relate to celebrity homes, and reject the idea that you should talk about your family like they’re an inconvenience, but idk… not a huge fan.
I feel like two stars was generous (because when I saw that they put books that didn’t fit in their color scheme backwards on the shelf, I almost reduced it to a one star read).
I like the idea of, for organizing to be sustainable (not eco-friendly… bc of the containers on containers on containers), you should only fill 80% of your space in order to leave yourself room to breathe and grow. That was about the only part of the book I agreed with.
And yeah, it might have to do with the fact that I have no idea who this women are, never watched their show, cannot relate to celebrity homes, and reject the idea that you should talk about your family like they’re an inconvenience, but idk… not a huge fan.
I feel like two stars was generous (because when I saw that they put books that didn’t fit in their color scheme backwards on the shelf, I almost reduced it to a one star read).
May 28, 2023
Read this book if:
You really want to creep on celebrity closets
You have OCD that demands everything be in rainbow order
You think wine counts as a serving of fruit
You have too much space, junk, and money
You want to feel better about your blatant consumerism
Don't read this book if:
You want to organize in a practical manner
You really want to creep on celebrity closets
You have OCD that demands everything be in rainbow order
You think wine counts as a serving of fruit
You have too much space, junk, and money
You want to feel better about your blatant consumerism
Don't read this book if:
You want to organize in a practical manner
January 8, 2021
3.5 stars. I admit this was a bit of an impulse buy because it was just so pretty to look at - and I'm an organisation geek so forked out premium for this stunning hardcover. The Home Edit doesn't feel as practical as Marie Kondo, but it is fun looking at all the pretty pictures inside the organised homes of their celebrity clients and there are some good ideas in here. I particularly like the idea of organising a kid's bookshelf by rainbow colours, it's great decoration for a kid's bedroom and easy for kids to organise.
I also liked how they emphasised that organisation is NOT minimalism, it's about matching your stuff to your real estate i.e. your space and ideally every storage space shouldn't exceed 80% capacity, so you have room for things to come into your life. This is where organisation differs from minimalism and not all organisation books have made that clear enough.
Sometimes this book feels a little bit style over substance - they really love filling a draw with perfectly sized acrylic dividers, but what happens if the items in the draw changes and it no longer matches the dividers? However I do like the emphasis on making spaces organised AND beautiful, plus it is a nice coffee table book for when you need a bit of organisation inspiration. But in terms of using it as a book to help you organise your space, I probably could have just got this one from the library.
I also liked how they emphasised that organisation is NOT minimalism, it's about matching your stuff to your real estate i.e. your space and ideally every storage space shouldn't exceed 80% capacity, so you have room for things to come into your life. This is where organisation differs from minimalism and not all organisation books have made that clear enough.
Sometimes this book feels a little bit style over substance - they really love filling a draw with perfectly sized acrylic dividers, but what happens if the items in the draw changes and it no longer matches the dividers? However I do like the emphasis on making spaces organised AND beautiful, plus it is a nice coffee table book for when you need a bit of organisation inspiration. But in terms of using it as a book to help you organise your space, I probably could have just got this one from the library.
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