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Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'
Declutter Like a Mother: A Guilt-Free, No-Stress Way to Transform Your Home and Your Life by Allie Casazza
1 review
howlinglibraries's review against another edition
fast-paced
1.5
Things I liked about this book:
- the author took the time to note that parents should not declutter behind their kids' backs if the kid is old enough to notice; despite it being "your" home, those are your child's belongings that you (or others) gave them and your child deserves the right (and your respect) to have an input on what stays and what goes.
Things I didn't like about this book:
- too much religious talk in the beginning
- waaaaay too much focus on the implication of every reader of this book being a cishet woman and a mother (sentences constantly calling the reader "girl", assuming every reader is a parent, etc.)
- weird random body-shaming tidbits (i.e. the bit about "if you aren't wearing Spanx and you have a c-section scar, trust me, everyone can see how lumpy your scar is" - WTactualF is this and why is it in a de-cluttering book???)
- vague parent-shaming stances (such as criticizing toys that are "unimaginative")
- every 3rd page is a plug for the author's website, paid downloads, paid online courses, etc.
- constant plugs for various brands (like Spanx underwear)
- falls off-topic constantly (again, with the underwear)
- The entire book reads like a long, drawn-out, rambling blog post that was only intended for people who are already friends and/or followers of the author's content. It could easily have been trimmed down to a couple of pages if not for the endless tangents, repetition, and long bulleted lists (the section on de-cluttering your bathroom literally includes a 20+ item bulleted list of items most cis women have in their bathrooms).
Bottom line: this is one of the worst self-help books I've ever read and I strongly recommend skipping it and picking up something by a number of other decluttering and organizational aid authors (with my #1 rec being Dana K. White, whose books cover many of the same methods that Allie Casazza details in this book, but in a better, more thorough, and more accessible way).
- the author took the time to note that parents should not declutter behind their kids' backs if the kid is old enough to notice; despite it being "your" home, those are your child's belongings that you (or others) gave them and your child deserves the right (and your respect) to have an input on what stays and what goes.
Things I didn't like about this book:
- too much religious talk in the beginning
- waaaaay too much focus on the implication of every reader of this book being a cishet woman and a mother (sentences constantly calling the reader "girl", assuming every reader is a parent, etc.)
- weird random body-shaming tidbits (i.e. the bit about "if you aren't wearing Spanx and you have a c-section scar, trust me, everyone can see how lumpy your scar is" - WTactualF is this and why is it in a de-cluttering book???)
- vague parent-shaming stances (such as criticizing toys that are "unimaginative")
- every 3rd page is a plug for the author's website, paid downloads, paid online courses, etc.
- constant plugs for various brands (like Spanx underwear)
- falls off-topic constantly (again, with the underwear)
- The entire book reads like a long, drawn-out, rambling blog post that was only intended for people who are already friends and/or followers of the author's content. It could easily have been trimmed down to a couple of pages if not for the endless tangents, repetition, and long bulleted lists (the section on de-cluttering your bathroom literally includes a 20+ item bulleted list of items most cis women have in their bathrooms).
Bottom line: this is one of the worst self-help books I've ever read and I strongly recommend skipping it and picking up something by a number of other decluttering and organizational aid authors (with my #1 rec being Dana K. White, whose books cover many of the same methods that Allie Casazza details in this book, but in a better, more thorough, and more accessible way).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia