Find Smart Help Books

I am the queen of self-help books.  I read them like they are going out of style.  I love to learn and grow and am always looking for ways to improve myself, my strategies and my life.

Yet, I have noticed a trend with self-help books:  They complicate everything.

My philosophy is always to simplify.  Whether it is cleaning, parenting, cooking or shopping, my goal is always to make it faster and simpler.

Next time you pick up a self-help book, look how many pages it has.  Think about the topic on which the book is written then decide if you really think there is that much to say on the topic.

For example, I recently read a book on streamlining your cleaning methods to make having a consistently clean home easier.  The book was over 250 pages.  My first thought was "how many pages does it take to tell someone they need a bottle of ammonia, a bottle of vinegar, a wet washrag and a vacuum to keep a clean home?"  This book went on to list over twenty "basic items" I would need regularly to clean my house, a caddy in which to conveniently carry them, ten different objects to scrub different surfaces, and about four major purchases to keep my floors up to snuff.  Needless to say, I was overwhelmed.  Cleaning my home suddenly felt like a major project that needed to be tackled for at least three hours each day costing me hundreds of dollars.  (For a much-less-than-250-page writing on streamlining your cleaning techniques, please check out my Everyday Cleaning Concept.)

The other day I was shopping at a second-hand store and picked up a book on how to make buying for a new baby more frugal.  No joke, the book was almost 400 pages long.  My thought?  "I need a breast, a crib, a carseat and some clothes."  It doesn't take 400 pages to say that.  I have a feeling, had I purchased that book before having my first child, I would have almost certainly overspent on baby items.

I do not mean to bad mouth self-help books.  I am their biggest fan.  But in order to use them wisely and reap the most benefits, you must be selective.  Writing is a business.  No one is going to buy a book on saving money at the grocery store that is only ten pages long, so they must take basic principles and stretch them to at least 200 pages.  This usually means a lot of unnecessary fluff.

Choose your self-help reading wisely.  Remember that saving money and upkeeping a home are very simple and naturally inexpensive.

Feel free to check out What I'm Reading for some of my top recommendations as well as my Book Reviews for some books to avoid. 

Tomorrow, my book review on Stumbling Into Grace by Lisa Harper.