How to Do Everything and Still Have Time for Yourself (Paperback)

It's beautifully illustrated, in a way that encourages one to get organised - with great ideas for dealing with the clutter in one's life, and even information on where to find the storage solutions in question. It is also very readable - subdivided into chapters that one can easily dip into whenever one has the time. And it deals with absolutely everything! I now know how to organise my wardrobe, isolating the clothes that I wear most often and to think about what it is that makes these clothes so wearable. No more impulse buys - I know what I want and what suits me now! I now start my days with wonderfully pampering power showers, no longer dreading early mornings and actually looking forward to the commute, thanks to Dawna Walter's '10 things to do on public transport'. I have just sorted out all my paperwork into easily accessible files and have also taken the book's advice and ordered all the presents for the upcoming birthdays of friends on the internet, saving myself a huge amount of time in the process. Thanks to this book's advice on daily, weekly, monthly and six-monthly chores, I now find housework immensely more manageable. I haven't yet dipped into the chapters on indulging at home or dinner parties, but look forward to treating myself soon - now that I finally have time. It's the little things that add to the quality of life, and Dawna Walters' New leaf, New life is a celebration of that - much more than just another 'how to get organised' book. The difference is that this one is actually fun to read - a wonderful treat deserved by anyone who thinks they are too busy to give themselves any time (and who are going mad in the process).

The book is nicely produced with inspiring photos. I've rated it as 4 stars and not 5, simply because I think the food recipes should have been omitted. Most of us have plenty of cookery books (in many cases they are clutter) and we neither need more recipes nor do they really belong in a book on organising. For simple straightforward recipes, I suggest collecting free recipe cards from supermarkets - just remember to throw old ones out before they become clutter!

I liked the top 10 tips and am thinking of putting the 'Top Ten things to do before you leave your bedroom in the morning' on the back of my daughter's bedroom door. For those of us who find organisation is not our second nature, this book has some simple suggestions to help us become more methodical.

Having actually read it, I realise that the book is a broad source of information on how to tackle all sorts of real-life day-to-day tasks. The idea is not to suddenly go out and buy loads of baskets and wickerwork to tidy everything into (my husband would move out immediately if I did that!), but more a basis from which to work out your own system.

The book is very well organised and beautifully photographed with a clear layout. Some chapters, for example "navigating the superhighway" or "home office" seem to contain obvious information to me. However, I am sure that the chapters I found very useful are obvious to others.

I was disappointed in the author's address to handling children's space - just one page - as this is a big issue in our house! And I don't know why there have to be recipes included in this book (16 pages of them incl. the photos and wine suggestions), as this is certainly not a cook book to be kept in the kitchen. Please leave the entertaining to Nigella and co. and then you'll have your "Feast".

All in all: good, sound advice I intend to act upon immediately.