Sidetracked Home Executives by Pam and Jones, Peggy Young, Peggy Jones, Sydney Craft Rozen (2001, Paperback, Revised)

Sidetracked Home Executives or SHE's are people who for whatever reason can't "get it together". People who go to the laundry room to fold clothes and before they know it they have begun to sort through all the odd socks instead. All of the sudden it's time for the kids to be home from school and all that's accomplished is a pile of odd socks strewn all over the dining room table. This book tells you the story of Pam and Peggy (sisters) and how they figured out how to "get it together". They show you step by step how they did it using a 3x5 card system.

This book is excellent but it is not for the person who gets all excited and wants to do everything all at once and then burns out a week later. If you are this type of personality, start with another book- Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley (aka "the Flylady"). Marla helps you take baby steps that will lead you into Pam and Peggy's system.

In particular, I love the section of the book where Pam and Peggy list chores for children by age. They list what a 3 year old is capable of and go all the way through to what a teen is capable of. This is very helpful for new parents and for parents who have just realized that their kid has no responsibilities around the house and needs some.

It has funny parts, tear jerker parts, and step by step instructions.

I read this book years ago and decided it was time to review the ideas and put them into action again. The card file system explained in this book to organize your housecleaning isn't just for slobs. I don't consider myself unorganized or dirty, BUT there are many things that get left undone without some kind of system that keeps the daily basics mixed with the extras that need to be done on a monthly basis ongoing. If it is important to you that there isn't cobwebs, dusty baseboards, fingerprinted light switches and dirty covers on light bulbs then this is the book for you.

This book is a delightful book about how to set up an organizational system to help you maintain your home. It gives you a view from the perspective of two women with a family who were totally disorganized and how they came upon a system to help them get out of the mess that their homes were in. It is not a book written by people who are already organized and know exactly how to have everything in place at all times. It is for those of us who need a little support from others that do not have perfect homes where everything is in its place at all times and it doesn't look like anyone lives in the house. It is a wonderful book and easy read. They even talk about Flylady.net and how to take slow steps to getting your house back in step. I think it is worth the time and trouble to read and follow through on. I would recommend this book.