Best Books on Home Organization: The Most Popular Guides to a Clutter-Free Life
If you’ve ever looked around your house and thought, Where do I even start?, you’re not alone. Home organization can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re juggling work, kids, and the general chaos of everyday life. But the good news? There are some incredible home organization books that offer step-by-step guides, practical tips, and proven methods to help you take control of your space.
From Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up to Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin’s Home Edit Life, these books provide the tools you need to create an organized home that works for your lifestyle. Whether you’re looking for a week-by-week guide, a room-by-room guide, or just new ways to approach decluttering, there’s a book for you.
Here are some of the best books on home organization that have helped thousands of people turn their messy homes into peaceful, functional spaces.
Warning though: Home organization books are consistently bestsellers, with millions of copies sold every year. People love the idea of an organized home, but the reality? Most books sit on shelves, unfinished and unused—because reading about organizing is very different from actually following through. If you’ve bought book after book but never managed to create lasting change, it’s not because you’re lazy or unmotivated—it’s because books don’t include built-in accountability or internal rewards to keep you on track. That’s why a course is a better option if you struggle with follow-through. Hot Mess to Home Success, taught by Rosemarie Groner, was designed specifically for people who need a real-world system that works with busy lives, ADHD, and motivation struggles. Instead of just learning about home organization, you’ll actively do it, with internal rewards built into the process to make success feel automatic. Plus she teaches a free one-hour workshop so you can learn her system. You can get free access to that here.
1. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
If you’ve heard of the KonMari Method, you already know about Marie Kondo’s world-famous approach to decluttering. This New York Times best seller teaches you how to let go of physical space clutter by asking a simple question: Does this spark joy?
With step-by-step instructions, Kondo guides readers through a room-by-room guide to getting rid of excess and keeping only the items that bring happiness. It’s not just about cleaning—it’s about transforming your home life and creating a space that reflects who you are.
✔ Best for: Minimalists and those looking for a complete mindset shift in how they view possessions. Type A personalities.
✔ Biggest takeaway: Decluttering isn’t just about organizing—it’s about creating a life that brings joy.
2. The Home Edit Life by Clea Shearer & Joanna Teplin
Created by the stars of Netflix’s Get Organized with The Home Edit, this book is a must-read if you love color-coded pantries, clear acrylic bins, and beautifully labeled storage solutions.
Shearer and Teplin focus on making organization aesthetically pleasing while still being practical. They offer actionable steps for tackling specific areas of your home while keeping your personal style in mind. If you’ve ever wanted your home to look like an Instagram-worthy dream, this is a great book to get you started.
✔ Best for: Visual organizers who love clean, stylish spaces. Type A personalities.
✔ Biggest takeaway: Storage space should be functional and beautiful.
3. The Complete Book of Home Organization by Toni Hammersley
If you need a step-by-step guide that covers everything from small spaces to apartment solutions, The Complete Book of Home Organization is a perfect book for you.
Hammersley offers a week-by-week guide to decluttering every room in your home, from the kitchen pantry to the garage. With illustrated guides and secret space-saving methods, this book provides a structured approach to tackling clutter without getting overwhelmed.
✔ Best for: People who like structured checklists and an easy-to-follow plan.
✔ Biggest takeaway: Less stuff = more freedom.
4. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
Unlike other home organization books, this one isn’t just about cleaning—it’s about preparing for the future. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning teaches you how to declutter with purpose, thinking about what will happen to your belongings when you’re gone.
This short book offers a practical approach to letting go of things that no longer serve you while keeping only what truly matters. It’s an insightful read that encourages you to simplify every aspect of your life, not just your home.
✔ Best for: People who want to downsize without stress. Anyone who has cleaned out the house of a loved one after they’ve died.
✔ Biggest takeaway: You don’t need to keep everything—only what’s truly important.
5. It’s All Too Much by Peter Walsh
If you’ve ever watched Clean Sweep on TV, you know Peter Walsh. His proven method for tackling clutter focuses on mindset shifts rather than just tidying up.
Walsh breaks down why people hold onto clutter and how it affects everyday life, from time management to mental health. He also offers actionable steps for breaking free from bad habits that lead to disorganization.
✔ Best for: People who feel emotionally attached to clutter.
✔ Biggest takeaway: Your home should support your house goals, not stress you out.
6. Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White
If you’ve tried organizing in the past and failed, Dana K. White’s approach might be exactly what you need. She focuses on small wins and practical tips that fit into real life—without requiring you to overhaul your entire home in one weekend.
Her method is perfect for busy people who don’t have much time but still want to see real progress. She also dives into storage solutions, focus zones, and how to create a clean house that stays that way.
✔ Best for: Busy people who need quick, effective solutions.
✔ Biggest takeaway: Less time cleaning, more time living.
7. The Joy of Less by Francine Jay
A great book for those interested in minimalism, this book teaches you how to live with less stuff and create an organized home that feels light and spacious. Jay’s method focuses on practical tips to clear out clutter in a way that aligns with your values and lifestyle.
✔ Best for: People who want to simplify their lives.
✔ Biggest takeaway: Owning less makes everyday life easier and more fulfilling.
8. Real Life Organizing by Cassandra Aarssen
Cassandra Aarssen, known for her YouTube channel ClutterBug, offers a realistic, no-nonsense approach to organizing. She understands that different people have different organization styles, and her book helps you find one that works for you.
✔ Best for: Those who struggle with traditional organization methods.
✔ Biggest takeaway: There is no one-size-fits-all approach to home organization.
9. Declutter Like a Mother by Allie Casazza
This best seller is written specifically for moms who feel overwhelmed by the chaos of daily life. Casazza’s approach is all about letting go of guilt and creating a home that works for your family.
✔ Best for: Moms who feel burdened by too much stuff.
✔ Biggest takeaway: Decluttering isn’t just about your home—it’s about reclaiming your time and energy.
11. The Complete Book of Clean by Toni Hammersley
A companion to her Complete Book of Home Organization, this book focuses on cleaning systems and how to create a clean home effortlessly.
✔ Best for: People who struggle with keeping a tidy home after decluttering.
✔ Biggest takeaway: Cleaning routines should be simple and sustainable.
12. Unstuff Your Life! by Andrew Mellen
Andrew Mellen’s step-by-step guide focuses on tackling clutter by creating good habits that prevent mess from accumulating.
✔ Best for: People who want an easy plan to declutter once and for all.
✔ Biggest takeaway: Systems prevent clutter from returning.
13. The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield
While not specifically about home organization, this book teaches you how to create focus zones and manage your time effectively—both essential skills for keeping a clutter-free home.
✔ Best for: People who struggle with time management and distractions.
✔ Biggest takeaway: The key to an organized life is focusing on what truly matters.
14. Hot Mess to Home Success by Busy Budgeter (My Favorite!)
While books are great for inspiration, they often fall short when it comes to actually getting your home organized. That’s why I love Hot Mess to Home Success by Busy Budgeter.
Unlike books that just give you a list of actionable steps, this course walks you through the entire process in real time. It doesn’t just tell you what to do—it builds internal rewards into the system so that following through feels natural and sustainable.
If you’ve ever struggled with maintaining a system after the initial burst of motivation fades, Hot Mess to Home Success is the best way to finally break the cycle and create a home that works for you. Plus, she teaches this system in a one hour free workshop.
15. Martha Stewart’s Organizing: The Manual for Bringing Order to Your Life, Home & Routines
Martha Stewart is the queen of all things home-related, and this book is no exception. It offers a structured, step-by-step guide to decluttering and maintaining an organized home, with a focus on time management and creating habits of highly effective people when it comes to cleaning and organizing.
✔ Best for: People looking for a complete guide that covers every aspect of your life.
✔ Biggest takeaway: Organization isn’t just about decluttering—it’s about creating efficient routines that make everyday life easier.
16. Beautifully Organized by Nikki Boyd
Nikki Boyd, a professional organizer, focuses on creating aesthetic, functional spaces that align with your personal style. She breaks down storage solutions, focus zones, and time management techniques to help you achieve an organized home with less stuff.
✔ Best for: Those who want to combine interior design with organization.
✔ Biggest takeaway: A clean house can still be stylish and reflect your personality.
Why I Recommend Hot Mess to Home Success Instead
While all these best organization books offer helpful tips and practical advice, the truth is that books only take you so far. Reading about organization is great—but actually sticking to a system is the real challenge. That’s why I love Hot Mess to Home Success.
Hot Mess to Home Success specializes in helping people who buy all of the other organizational books on this list, but never actually read them.
Unlike books that just give you a list of actionable steps, this course walks you through the entire process in real time. It doesn’t just tell you what to do—it builds internal rewards into the system so that following through feels natural and sustainable. It’s designed for real life, making it easier to stick to than any home organization book.
If you’ve ever struggled with maintaining a system after the initial burst of motivation fades, Hot Mess to Home Success is the best way to finally break the cycle and create a home that works for you.
So, while I love a good book, if you’re ready to stop reading about organization and actually transform your home, check out Hot Mess to Home Success. It’s hands-down the most effective way I’ve found to get lasting results.
Plus, Rosemarie Groner has a one-hour workshop that teaches Hot Mess to Home Success for free here!
How Personality Plays into Organizing Books: Why One-Size-Fits-All Doesn’t Work
If you’ve ever picked up a home organization book only to put it down feeling like it just wasn’t for you, you’re not alone. The way we organize our homes isn’t just about having the right storage solutions or decluttering techniques—it’s deeply tied to our personalities.
Some people thrive with color-coded, hyper-structured systems (think The Home Edit style), while others prefer a relaxed, lived-in space with just enough organization to function (more Dana K. White than Marie Kondo). The problem with most best-selling organizing books is that they assume one method will work for everyone—when in reality, our personalities determine how we interact with our spaces, how we manage clutter, and what kind of organization system we’ll actually stick with.
In this post, we’ll explore how personality plays into organizing books, why some books work for certain people but not others, and how to find the right approach for your personality.
The Four Major Organizing Personality Types
Before we dive into how organizing books work (or don’t) for different people, let’s break down the four major organizing personality types:
- The Minimalist Organizer – Loves clean surfaces, hates clutter, and feels best in a streamlined home.
- The Visual Organizer – Needs to see their things to remember they exist (out of sight = out of mind).
- The Sentimental Organizer – Holds onto objects for their emotional value and struggles to part with things.
- The Functional Organizer – Cares more about ease of access than aesthetics—if it works, it stays.
Each of these personality types will naturally gravitate toward different home organization books and techniques. What works for a Minimalist Organizer might feel completely suffocating to a Sentimental Organizer, and what a Visual Organizer finds helpful might be overwhelming to a Functional Organizer.
Let’s break down popular organizing books by personality type.
Best Organizing Books for Different Personality Types
1. The Minimalist Organizer: Less Is More
If you’re the kind of person who loves clean surfaces, gets overwhelmed by too much stuff, and feels calm in a clutter-free space, you’ll likely love organizing books that focus on decluttering, minimalism, and intentionality.
📖 Best Books for Minimalists:
- The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
- The Joy of Less by Francine Jay
- Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki
These books focus on paring down possessions to only what you need and love. The KonMari Method, for example, asks you to hold an item and ask, Does this spark joy?—a question that resonates deeply with those who love less stuff.
📌 Why Minimalists Succeed with These Books:
- They already have a natural appreciation for empty space.
- They don’t struggle with letting go of excess clutter.
- They thrive on rules and structured systems.
📌 Why These Books Might Fail for Other Personalities:
- A Sentimental Organizer might feel overwhelmed by the idea of getting rid of so much.
- A Visual Organizer might struggle because storing things out of sight makes them forget what they own.
2. The Visual Organizer: If I Can’t See It, It Doesn’t Exist
If you constantly forget about things in drawers, feel anxious when everything is stored behind closed doors, or love open shelving, you’re probably a Visual Organizer.
📖 Best Books for Visual Organizers:
- The Home Edit Life by Clea Shearer & Joanna Teplin
- Beautifully Organized by Nikki Boyd
- Organizing for the Rest of Us by Dana K. White
These books prioritize storage solutions that keep things visible, while still maintaining order. The Home Edit is famous for clear bins, labeled categories, and color-coordinated organization—a dream system for a Visual Organizer who needs to see their belongings to function.
📌 Why Visual Organizers Succeed with These Books:
- They can still see everything while keeping it organized.
- These books emphasize categories and containers, not just discarding items.
- They allow for customization and creativity, rather than strict rules.
📌 Why These Books Might Fail for Other Personalities:
- A Minimalist Organizer might find these methods too visually busy.
- A Functional Organizer might see too much emphasis on aesthetics and not enough on practicality.
3. The Sentimental Organizer: But It’s Special to Me!
If you struggle to part with things because they remind you of a person, place, or memory, then you’re a Sentimental Organizer. You need organizing books that understand the emotional attachment to belongings.
📖 Best Books for Sentimental Organizers:
- The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
- It’s All Too Much by Peter Walsh
- Declutter Like a Mother by Allie Casazza
These books focus on letting go with intention. They don’t just tell you to throw things away; they help you process the emotions behind clutter and decide what to keep.
📌 Why Sentimental Organizers Succeed with These Books:
- They provide gentle guidance rather than extreme minimalism.
- They acknowledge that decluttering is emotional, not just logical.
- They help you honor memories without keeping everything.
📌 Why These Books Might Fail for Other Personalities:
- A Minimalist Organizer might feel frustrated by the slow, emotional approach.
- A Functional Organizer might skip the emotional side altogether and just want to get the job done.
4. The Functional Organizer: Practical, No-Frills Systems
If you value efficiency over aesthetics, you might be a Functional Organizer. You want systems that work, but you don’t care if they’re color-coded or Instagram-worthy.
📖 Best Books for Functional Organizers:
- The Complete Book of Home Organization by Toni Hammersley
- Martha Stewart’s Organizing: The Manual for Bringing Order to Your Life, Home & Routines
- Unstuff Your Life! by Andrew Mellen
These books provide practical, step-by-step guides to organizing without all the fluff. They focus on systems that work long-term and don’t require constant upkeep.
📌 Why Functional Organizers Succeed with These Books:
- They focus on efficiency, not just appearance.
- They provide clear instructions without vague “inspiration.”
- They work for busy people who just need a simple, effective plan.
📌 Why These Books Might Fail for Other Personalities:
- A Visual Organizer might find these books too structured and lacking creativity.
- A Sentimental Organizer might struggle with the lack of emotional guidance.
What If None Of The Best Books On Home Organization Work for You? Try a Course Instead
If you’ve bought organizing book after organizing book but never actually followed through, you’re not alone. Books are great for inspiration, but they often fail when it comes to accountability and follow-through.
That’s why I recommend Hot Mess to Home Success, a course by Rosemarie Groner that’s designed for real-life organizing, not just Pinterest-perfect results. Unlike books, this course builds internal rewards into the process, making it easier to stick with than any book on a shelf.
If you’ve struggled to follow through with organizing books, you might need a different approach. You can join Rosemarie’s free one-hour workshop to learn how to create an organized home that works for your personality—not against it.
Final Thoughts on The Best Books On Home Organization
There’s no shortage of great books on home organization, and each one offers a unique perspective on decluttering and creating a clean home. Whether you resonate with Marie Kondo’s spark joy method, love the aesthetics of Home Edit Life, or prefer the practical tips of Dana K. White, the key is finding an approach that works for your real life organizing needs.
If you’re ready to take the first step, start with one of these books—or, if you want a more hands-on approach, try Hot Mess to Home Success for faster, longer-lasting results. Either way, the most important thing is to take action—because the best part of organizing isn’t just having a tidy home, it’s reclaiming your time, energy, and peace of mind.
FTC Disclosure of Material Connection: In order for us to maintain this website, some of the links in the post above may be affiliate links. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we use personally and/or believe will add value to readers
