Thank You, Claire Cook...A Review...

I just finished reading Claire Cook's Best Staged Plans and I loved it...it was funny and witty and clever and delightful.  But...the best parts of the book were the tips about decluttering your house.  I have been on a whirlwind cyclonic cleansing fury ever since I finished it yesterday.  The book is a novel but sort of strewn within the story are amazing tips...again...I loved it!!! 

Quick story overview...Sandra wants to sell her home and lead a simpler life with her husband.  She is a stager...she helps people set up their houses in order to sell them.  She can walk into any house and know what to do to get it to sell.  Now she wants to do this to her own life.  Her husband and grown son ( finished with college but living in his parents' basement ) are not as "into" this as Sandra is.  There are glitches in Sandra's life...her best friend, her married daughter, a homeless woman, her husband's attitude and Sandra's own dissatisfaction with this part of her life.  She wants change and more dynamics.  She wants to be free and unfettered.  She wants a new life.

So far here is what I have learned.

Toss out stuff you don't use or haven't used in years.  Label boxes with the words Crazy, Donate and Trash...and start pitching.  An item for the crazy box might be the keys to a car you no longer own...

Invest in tons of Lysol Linen Scent Spray and travel with it...spray shoes and bedding at all hotels.  I have been searching all over for this and so far can't find it.

Pack your suitcase as if it were a cigarette box...roll and stack clothes upright!!!

Trader Joe's is your friend...any meal can look and taste homemade if you know what to buy there.

Always arrange things in a grouping of three...no matter what it is...if you don't have three of something go to the next odd number.

I love Claire Cook...I loved this book!!!

Tomorrow I attack the bookshelves!!!