Tap to Tidy: Organising, Crafting & Creating Happiness in a Messy World

by Stacey Solomon

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER'If you're reading this, then we have something in common .... Whether it's a love of getting crafty, meticulously organising or making fun-shaped snacks! I find it hard to sit still, but losing myself in a craft project or tidying a drawer is my form of meditation. It's a chance for me to forget about the things going on in the world around me for a minute. I hope this book helps you to lose yourself for a moment, too - and that you enjoy reading it and even, maybe, having a go at some of the bits inside. Lots of Love, to the moon and back.' Stacey x

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook, Reference

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 4, 2021

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Beckee❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun, easy afternoon read! I'm finding that I'm edging towards books like this more often lately (anything to give the impression that I've got my sh!t together 🤔).

[Come_read_with_me_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This pains me to write this review. I am a massive fan of Stacey Solomon, I think she is funny, creative and all-around such an amazing individual. This book, however, was not funny or creative.

Ok, let me start from the beginning.

1. This book is broken down into sections based on the time of day, ie morning, afternoon etc. Each section has a subsection of "makeup" ideas and snacks. Each of these "ideas" were ALL (yes, I mean all) are on her Instagram page. There is nothing extra. Some of the ideas have drawing of them, (which are very pretty) however others had no pictures. (Don't worry though, you can see them on her Instagram page).

2. As previously stated each section is based on the time of day. As a result, Stacey tells us her daily routine. Now, this sounds like a great idea, however, in my head, I was a little all over the place.
Let me explain. Stacey would begin saying her daily routine is getting the boys ready for school etc, then share her snack ideas, then she will go on and explain how she cleans her garden or wardrobe etc and then proceed to share a makeup idea. Each chapter would continue in this fashion.
As much as it looks good on paper, in reality, it was a little all over the place, in my opinion.
I believe it would have been more beneficial to break the sections/chapters up like so, Chapter 1 Daily Routine, Chapter 2. Cleaning and organising, Chapter 3 Makeup ideas, and so on.

3. The last 10% of the book was better laid out. For example, one chapter was based on special occasions. Within this chapter, Stacey describes a holiday such as Birthdays and she would share her thoughts, snacks and makeup ideas. It was laid out similar to the previous chapters of the books, but it wasn't as "miss-matched". I knew everything in this section would be about special occasions, unlike the previous chapters that jumped around a little too much.

4. I did enjoy the drawing, and they were extremely pretty. In saying that, I missed actual pictures. I thought there would be at least one family picture or even step by step pictures of Stacey making her creations.

If you follow Stacey and are hoping to get new ideas, I would not recommend this book at all. This is such a shame because as I previously stated, I am a massive fan of Stacey and I was looking forward to this book for such a long time.

[Lydia Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely friend bought me this & I finally got around to reading it this evening. What a lovely book- the sort you can dip in to time & again. I recently started to follow Stacey on Instagram & she is one of those rare gems who is beautiful inside & out. This book is full of helpful hints & tips for every area of life; from how to help your mental health & make time for your important relationships to how to have a shiny sink & sort out your weekly food shop….. right down to how to make a bird feeder out of an old chopping board!!! Love it

[Sherrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bless her! I do love Stacey, and this is written exactly how she speaks, but all of her crafts and recipes have appeared on her Instagram page already and its a shame there are no pictures or photos to go with her instructions. A pleasant, easy read though.

[Fernie Bartram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a light hearted read. Really enjoyed this. So many good ideas for organising and crafting and loved reading it. Only taken me a day to get through it but was nice to take it easy and follow the book easily.
Helps that I love Stacey so much ❤️

[Janet Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would I have given this 5 stars even if I didn’t enjoy it? Absolutely yes. Because it’s Stacey and she’s just the best isn’t she? But I genuinely loved reading it, her voice comes through really strongly. And it inspired me to finally sort out and tidy my drawers of doom so that’s a double thumbs up.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awww love Stacey! I’ve just finished this beautiful book … it reminds me a lot of the Mrs Hinch book so I can see why they are friends but rather than cleaning it’s more focused on Organising Ideas, Crafting and Recipes. It’s a nice quick read with some fantastic ideas in it.

I love how honest this book is in that Stacey points out these are ideals and tips for a perfect life but life isn’t perfect and even her life has days which are messy and unpredictable… which makes her more relatable I think. There’s definitely points in this book when I thought OMG Stacey gets my brain … her thought process for a lot of things is very similar to mine. 😂 It’s a very wholesome take on organising and family life. I’ve managed to jot down a few tips which I wanna try in the next few months and there’s some wonderful parenting tips which I’ll definitely refer back to in the future! Anyone running a home or family I’d definitely recommend this as a nice quick read!

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit disappointed with this one. I like Stacey Solomon, especially her Sort your Life Out programme. I started out enjoying this book, mainly because it is refreshing for a book like this to embrace cleaning, tidying and organising as something to be enjoyed - rather than most books on the topic which imply no one could possibly like it and just help us get it done as quickly as possible. However, once that principle was established, I generally felt there needed to be more content, so it was very repetitive. Very. Repetitive. I've gained little from reading this book.

[Kirsty ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Stacey a lot and this is a fun book for anyone starting a declutter journey. If you've read other books or know what you are doing it doesn't add anything new in that respect. There are lots of crafts and cooking recipes as well. I may not have learnt anything new but I enjoy Stacey's tone and joy in what she does

[robynluckystars · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Stacey, but this was pointless. I’ve seen it all already on Instagram!

[Laura's Book Addiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You just need to be you.”


A must for any fan of Stacey Solomon, I really enjoyed this look in what makes her tick. It’s everything her instagram is, authentic and sweet.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently got this book on audible and listened to it over two days. I loved everything about it. I had a couple of stressful days at work this week and it got me through my days and helped me switch off while working. It made me smile and laugh! I genuinely feel like I’ve just been having a right good chinwag with Stacey in my kitchen drinking a nice cuppa ☕️

The book had so much in it, from talking about her life, family, the fur babies to talking about crafts, organising and also some fabulous recipes. While throwing in some tips too! We all know those recipes are brilliant especially how creative they look on her Instagram stories!

Listening to the book made me feel like I knew Stacey, her personality and how she spoke so freely throughout was incredible. The thing I like about Stacey is that she is just a genuine person, doesn’t pretend to be something else, doesn’t go hard on the promoting online etc. Whenever she recommends something it is so very clear that it’s because she loves it and wants to share with the world. The honesty she shows and how it’s perfectly okay if you feel a little overwhelmed and think “I’m just going to tidy this small area instead of putting too much on myself to tidy the whole thing”.

I’m a huge fan of Stacey, I love seeing her posts and stories on Instagram. She is such a wonderful mum and fiancé. I adore her creativity and passion for things. I’m so excited to see further updates on Pickle Cottage! What a stunning home with a beautiful garden.

Highly recommend this book, whether it’s the physical copy or the audiobook. Definitely go and purchase! 🌿🤍

[Laura-Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was incredible. I think Stacey is an admirable and inspirational woman and mother. Her ideas in this book are sometimes not applicable for me but I can assure you I will be making my Christmas crackers this year!! I loved this book, the honesty and the love for her home, her 'Hoe' (Joe) and her pickles is felt throughout. I want more of this book, so so much more!

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little book, sometimes it came across as patronising but it would be a great gift for someone moving out for the first time.

I also think it would help neurodivergent people as the tips regarding tidying and the processes Stacey uses are explained very well.

My only sad point was I wish the crafts had a picture step by step guide

[Rachel Sloan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really easy read, kept putting it down and reading it on bad days.

[Amy Lambton (Neill) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy to follow. Nicely formatted. Great ideas!

[Nikki Prince · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit, I started this book as a Stacey Solomon / Squash supporter and was a little disappointed initially. The ideology of what Stacey was saying just is not possible for all working parents with kids. She mentioned that she works Thursday and Fridays and on those days she was unable to do the special things she would otherwise do.

As a full time working parent, it got me thinking about how many people missed this point and have barrated themselves for not feeling good enough, when they are going their best and literally had so little time to do these special things, based on this ideology.

However, I was wrong to doubt Stacey and her lovely words as she actually points this out at the end with some wonderful advice to anyone who is struggling.

I loved the craft ideas and how creative these ideas were and the mental health and tidiness aspect as this is something that is widely understated in real life. Would recommend.

[Jenny Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice enough book. I’m not really into crafting so skipped over some of those bits. I was reading it more for the organising bit and it was interesting but nothing groundbreaking. I’m not sure I learned much but I was pleasant enough.

[Valerie Wicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read; a nice bit of froth if you crave tidy cupboards, like crafting or have the time to cut up bits of fruit to make children’s snacks.

[Holly Hird · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook, which Stacey Solomon reads and she did an awesome job- felt more like she was having a conversation than reading from a page! Only thing it, most of this was geared towards organising a home with kids, which doesn’t apply to me 😂

[Romany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember when you were a kid, and you had that cute craft book that showed you how to make a doll out of a toilet paper roll and some pipe-cleaners? This is that book, but for grown-ups.

[Emma Nicholson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It inspired me and it made me smile 😃. I even completed a few organised cupboards in between the chapters. My only wish is for pictures of all the craft projects as I can't always picture what she means.

[Louise Laker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading small snippets at a time.

[Janet farrow1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a 3 until I listened to the afterthought which bumped it up to a 3.5.
A quick, fun listen(audio) read by Stacey.
Some helpful tips and some I will never do( I won’t Hoover 4 times a day ever! Nor will I get a junk trunk) but there are some good ideas in here, especially things to make with the kids.
If you like Stacey Solomon, you will enjoy this.

I’m just off to tidy my cupboards…………

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some fab handy tips on how to keep an organised household. Easy to read and has some fun ideas for baking/cooking and crafting.

[Niamh Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adored this , love stacy and she's given me so many ideas with this lovely book !

[Brb_busyreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very disappointed with the book. The book pretty much just goes over what stacey has already put up on her Instagram. The drawings are good but I thought we would be seeing real life photos of her crafts or some new crafts that she hasn't shared yet or even photos of Stacey herself. The things she talks about are pretty much every day life that parents already do anyway. Well done to Stacey for achieving this but it's definitely not what I expected and even had to skip some bits

[Amelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a gift and as I didn’t know who Stacey Solomon was, is not one I’d have picked out myself.

Stacey described tidying and organising her house as ‘me time’ early on in the book so I can safely say that we are very different kinds of people!

There are several good snack and craft ideas in this book but unfortunately it’s such a horrendous jumble that finding them again is likely to require at least a flick through of the whole thing.

The book consists of a description of Stacey’s daily routine, advice on tidying/organising, snack ideas and craft projects (sadly rarely accompanied by pictures, which are line drawings where they are present). This is supposedly organised in the order of the day but while the daily routine is largely in order, everything else is interspersed throughout mostly arbitrarily. The level of chaos this creates makes it difficult to read and quite jarring at times.

The special occasions section at the end was an improvement, with greater level of cohesiveness in the content of this section. The craft and snack ideas in this section were directly related to the special occasions and there was no random section on organising your spice drawer in the middle.

Overall, not a book I’d recommend, though I suspect it may be a little more enjoyable if you are interested in Stacey Solomon’s life. The craft and snack ideas are a redeeming feature, despite being difficult to locate.

[Fiona Rothery · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is nothing original about the ideas in the book as suspected everything can be easily googled.

I felt as though there was a portray of a perfect family life and it was a little rammed down my throat. The book was very repetitive and felt lacking in structure.

It was an easy read, I borrowed the ebook version.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Can understand her so much and for parents, it shows your not alone. She is someone who you can relate to. All the craft tips are fantastic. Something good to keep coming back to for ideas.