A Review of Pretty Neat by Alicia Rockmore and Sarah Welch

Have you read Pretty Neat: The Buttoned Up Way to Organized & Let Go of Perfection by Alicia Rockmore and Sarah Welch, the creator of Buttoned Up organizational products? As one of the millions of women struggling with maintaining a minimal level of chaos on the home front, I am always on the lookout for real world advice and guidance to get my organizational compass pointed in the right direction! I was recently offered the opportunity to review Pretty Neat—a new book written by two talented organizational professionals offering guidance to the organizationally challenged among. What did I think of Pretty Neat?


I really liked it—and more importantly, I found it useful and helpful in most of my own un-organized hot zones! Pretty Neat really does give great tried and true tips to help busy adults, parents or not, de-stress and learn some pretty simple skills to regain some control over the chaos that seems to rule so many homes.

Pretty Neat tackles real world issues facing real world homes. From learning to say no—which I have said FOR YEARS is a tricky skill that many moms, especially stay at home moms, need to master—to the stress of getting a healthy meal on the table at the end of a busy day. Pretty Neat takes a look at the many major areas of the home that create chaos—and gives tips for organizing them or coping with them. There was not an area of the book that did not apply to me at some level—or that I had not already experienced and developed some tactics to cope.

Pretty Neat helps readers realize that they are not alone. Sometimes it’s easy to look at a mountain of clutter and wonder why “other houses don’t have” the same two feet high stack of catalogs and “stuff” to sort through every week. The book reminds us that others ARE dealing with the same issues. It helps, by providing quotes, problems and techniques, voiced by others to reinforce that life is BUSY and sometimes organization takes a back seat to other duties—and there is a sympathetic ear somewhere!

Pretty Neat is an easy read. First of all, it’s especially easy for those facing a busy and chaotic lifestyle to say, “I don’t have time to read a book”—but, in this case that’s not really the case! I am a short story reader—I lose focus, I face interruptions—and sometimes it takes me 6 weeks to finish a novel in my little snippets of time. Pretty Neat is written to tackle an issue per chapter—and finishes each chapter with a cool little, on target summary of the key points to take away from the chapter!

Pretty Neat makes readers rethink perfection. My house does not look like a television studio set—sometimes not even one from the Addams Family. I wish it did—but, until the girls are grown, that’s not my reality. The book discusses priorities, it discusses regaining control—but, it also discusses letting go of outlandish expectations.

Overall review of Pretty Neat? I really liked it—and I’m a tough critic of “organizational advice”. After years of managing a home and family, I was pretty impressed to find one book that offers so much advice on so many key skills. Some of the ideas presented in the book really offer some “A-Ha” moments that I would have loved to have had presented to me in such an easy to read, simple form as a new mom 15-17 years ago!

Would you like to win a copy of Pretty Neat?

I have been given permission to give away one copy of Pretty Neat to one of my readers. I think it’s a very helpful book that I’m sure that you would find just as useful as I did!

To Enter to Win a Copy of Pretty Neat:

Simply leave a comment letting me know what your biggest organizational challenge is in your home. (Mine is, and has always been, learning to say NO!!! I know that I make myself crazy by being overscheduled and really need to implement some of the tips from Pretty Neat!) What is your greatest organizational challenge? Paper clutter? Toys? Managing extracurricular activities?

Leave a comment before March 19th at 11:59pm EST—and one lucky reader will be selected to win a copy of Pretty Neat! Make sure to leave an email address so that I can contact the winner!

**Winners will be required to provide mailing address/phone information so that the prize may be shipped—your personal information will not be stored—only used to allow for delivery of your prize!