Outer Order Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin - Review

Book details

Hardcover: 240 pages

Publisher: Harmony (March 5, 2019)

ISBN-13: 978-1984822802

Book description

Bestselling author of The Four Tendencies and The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin illuminates one of her key realizations about happiness: For most of us, outer order contributes to inner calm. In a new book packed with more than one hundred concrete ideas, she helps us create the order and organization that can make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative.

In the context of a happy life, a messy desk or crowded coat closet is a trivial problem–yet Gretchen Rubin has found that getting control of the stuff of life makes us feel more in control of our lives generally. By getting rid of things we don’t use, don’t need, or don’t love, as well as things that don’t work, don’t fit, or don’t suit, we free our mind (and our shelves) for what we truly value.

In this trim book filled with insights, strategies, and sometimes surprising tips, Gretchen tackles the key challenges of creating outer order, by explaining how to “Make Choices,” “Create Order,” “Know Yourself–and Others,” “Cultivate Helpful Habits,” and, of course, “Add Beauty.”

When we get our possessions under control, we feel both calmer and more energetic. With a sense of humor, and also a clear sense of what’s realistic for most people, Gretchen suggests dozens of manageable steps for creating a more serene, orderly environment–one that helps us to create the lives we yearn for.

Meet the author - Gretchen Rubin

I'm the author of THE HAPPINESS PROJECT, HAPPIER AT HOME, BETTER THAN BEFORE, THE FOUR TENDENCIES, and my new book OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM releases March 2019.

I also have a free app where you can connect with others to harness the Four Tendencies to create a better life. Search "Better Gretchen Rubin" in your app store or visit Betterapp.us.

I also have a popular, award-winning podcast, "Happier with Gretchen Rubin" (search in your favorite podcast app) and a blog (GretchenRubin.com), where I write about my daily adventures in happiness and habit-formation.

My previous books include a bestselling biography of Winston Churchill, "Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill," and one of John Kennedy, "Forty Ways to Look at JFK." My first book, "Power Money Fame S..: A User's Guide," is social criticism in the guise of a user's manual. "Profane Waste" was a collaboration with artist Dana Hoey. I've also written three dreadful novels that are safely locked away in a drawer.

Before turning to writing, I had a career in law. A graduate of Yale and Yale Law School, I clerked for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. I live in New York City with my husband and two daughters.

My thoughts

This book was easy to read and follow. I liked the tips that Gretchen gave and how to organize your home. I agree that outer order can create inner calm at least for me. If things are neat and tidy I feel better. With that being said I do have some of my own things I need to put in order. Since reading this book I have started just that. I also have a list of things that I want to go through to create more order in my home. This book is a useful tool that may need to be looked at more than once.