BOOKS
Published
Read Time
4 min read
Reader ratingreader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
4.7
· 371 Amazon ratingsShare This Review
Organized Living by Shira Gill Review: A Global Tour of Expert Organizers' Homes
Organized Living is a visual guide and interview-driven home organization book by Shira Gill, published by Ten Speed Press in October 2023, that takes readers inside the homes of twenty-five international professional organizers, pairing photography with expert tips and insight into the philosophy and practice of intentional living.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers already drawn to the home organization space who are motivated by visual immersion and want exposure to a wide range of international organizing philosophies and aesthetics, rather than a single prescriptive system.
Worth it if
You find real-world, aspirational spaces more galvanizing than step-by-step checklists, and you're curious about the diverse personal environments and professional motivations of twenty-five organizers from around the world.
Skip if
You came to this book hoping for the methodical, single-voice instructional framework of Minimalista — the anthology format distributes its focus too broadly to deliver that depth for any one organizing system.
What readers & critics say
The publisher Penguin Random House positions the book as an "inspiring visual guide" offering expert tips, visual inspiration, and a behind-the-scenes look at the homes of twenty-five international professional organizers, with a blurb describing it as "a fresh, global, and beautifully diverse perspective on calming the clutter." However, at least one reader reviewer at mynonexistentminimalism.com found the book "pretty cold and repetitive," noting that Gill's interjections tended toward product suggestions rather than deepening the instructional content.
Sources: Penguin Random House, My Nonexistent Minimalism4.7from 371 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Is and What It Sets Out to Do
- Scope and the International Perspective
- Gill's Role as Curator and the Book's Structural Strengths
- Limitations and Who May Feel Underserved
- Who This Book Is For
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Features twenty-five international professional organizers, delivering a genuinely global and diverse range of organizing philosophies and aesthetics in a single volume
- Structured around photography and interviews, making it accessible as both a visual reference and a source of practical tips such as ditching packaging, choosing stylish storage, and elevating neglected spaces
- Gill's role as curator — framed by the publisher as 'the organizer of organizers' — lends the book credibility and a knowledgeable editorial through-line
- Praised by fellow industry figures including Kelli Lamb and Joy Cho for its breadth and the way it connects form and function across different homes and cultures
What Doesn't
- The anthology format, spread across twenty-five subjects, limits the depth available for any single organizer's methodology — readers seeking a comprehensive, single-system approach may find it less satisfying
- Some reader responses note repetitive passages and a tendency for Gill's editorial voice to veer toward product recommendations, which can disrupt the instructional flow
A concept-driven visual guide that delivers genuine behind-the-scenes access to a world rarely shown to the public, Organized Living is strongest as a source of inspiration and peer-to-peer professional insight, though readers seeking deep, personalized instruction may find its breadth works against them.
What the Book Is and What It Sets Out to Do
Interior spread showing organized kitchen storage and labeled containers with five organizational principles explained in accompanying text.
Organized Living (Ten Speed Press, October 2023) is Shira Gill's follow-up to her earlier book Minimalista, and it takes a distinctly outward-facing approach to the subject of home organization. Rather than presenting Gill's own methods in a step-by-step framework, the book is structured as a tour through the homes of twenty-five international professional organizers. Through photography and in-depth interviews, Gill profiles the people whose literal job it is to bring order to others' spaces — and invites readers into the aspirational, meticulously kept environments those organizers have built for themselves. The publisher, Penguin Random House, describes it as an "inspiring visual guide" designed to offer "expert tips and resources, loads of visual inspiration, and clever organizing hacks." The result is part coffee-table book, part practitioner showcase, and part actionable reference.
“expert tips and resources, loads of visual inspiration, and clever organizing hacks.”
Scope and the International Perspective
One of the book's most deliberate structural choices is its global reach. By featuring twenty-five organizers from across the world, Gill builds a book that spans cultures, aesthetics, and approaches to the concept of an organized home. Kelli Lamb, author of Home with Rue and editorial director of Rue, describes the book as offering "a fresh, global, and beautifully diverse perspective on calming the clutter." That international scope gives Organized Living a breadth that single-author home organization books rarely achieve — readers encounter not just one philosophy of order, but a range of lived interpretations of what it means to organize intentionally. Designer and author Anita Yokota, writing in the book's blurbs as sourced from the publisher, notes that through the various organizers' narratives, Gill builds "one universal truth: when we live with less, we create the possibility for more."
Q&A interview page featuring a woman seated in a bright, minimally decorated living room with organized furnishings.
Gill's Role as Curator and the Book's Structural Strengths
Gill positions herself not as the sole authority but as what the publisher calls "the organizer of organizers" — a knowledgeable curator guiding readers through spaces and conversations that would otherwise be inaccessible. This framing works in the book's favor: the interview format allows each featured organizer to speak in their own voice about the passion behind their work, which adds texture and personality beyond a typical tips-and-lists format. The book is designed to deliver practical takeaways alongside visual inspiration, including specific strategies such as ditching packaging, choosing stylish storage, elevating neglected spaces, and building the habit of putting things away immediately. Joy Cho, founder and creative director of Oh Joy!, describes it as "a beautiful journey into form and function."
Limitations and Who May Feel Underserved
Some readers looking for a deeply personalized, prescriptive organizing system may find Organized Living less satisfying than a single-voice instructional guide. Because the book distributes its focus across twenty-five subjects, the depth available for any one organizer's method is necessarily limited. Some reader responses have noted that the book can feel repetitive in stretches, and that Gill's own editorial voice occasionally gives way to product suggestions within the text — a pattern that, for some, undercuts the instructional momentum. Readers who came to the book expecting the more personal, methodical approach of Minimalista may find the anthology-style format a shift in register that doesn't suit every reading goal.
Who This Book Is For
Organized Living is designed for readers who are motivated by seeing organizing principles in action inside real, aspirational spaces — and who find that visual immersion and professional example are more galvanizing than prescriptive checklists. It is well suited to those already interested in the home organization space who want exposure to a wider range of international voices and aesthetics than any single practitioner could offer. Gill, who is described on her own platform as a globally recognized home organizing expert and bestselling author with over fifteen years of experience, brings genuine credibility to her role as curator and interviewer. For readers who find the cultural moment around professional organizing compelling — the books, the TV shows, the social media ecosystems that have made organizers into lifestyle influencers — this book functions as both a document of that phenomenon and a practical entry point into it.
Frequently Asked Questions
is Organized Living: Solutions by Shira Gill worth reading
It depends on what you're looking for. If you're drawn to visual inspiration and want to see how twenty-five international professional organizers actually live and work, the reviewer finds it genuinely rewarding — describing it as offering "a fresh, global, and beautifully diverse perspective on calming the clutter." But if you want a deep, personalized system like a step-by-step guide, the broad anthology format may leave you wanting more.
What is this book actually about
Rather than presenting Shira Gill's own methods, the book is structured as a tour through the homes of twenty-five international professional organizers, pairing photography with in-depth interviews. Gill positions herself as what the publisher calls "the organizer of organizers" — a curator giving readers access to aspirational, meticulously kept spaces that would otherwise be inaccessible. It's described by the reviewer as part coffee-table book, part practitioner showcase, and part actionable reference.
How is this book different from Minimalista
Organized Living is Shira Gill's follow-up to Minimalista, but it takes a very different approach. Where Minimalista offered a more personal, methodical framework, Organized Living is anthology-style — spreading its focus across twenty-five organizers from around the world rather than centering Gill's own voice and system. The reviewer notes that readers who came expecting Minimalista's register may find the shift doesn't suit every reading goal.
Does this book give you practical tips or is it just pretty pictures
It's genuinely both, though the balance leans visual. The reviewer notes it does include specific strategies — like ditching packaging, choosing stylish storage, elevating neglected spaces, and building the habit of putting things away immediately — alongside the photography. That said, some reader responses flagged in the review mention that Gill's editorial voice occasionally gives way to product suggestions, which for some undercuts the instructional momentum.
Is this book good for someone who already knows a lot about home organization
Yes, the reviewer specifically calls it well suited to readers "already interested in the home organization space who want exposure to a wider range of international voices and aesthetics than any single practitioner could offer." The interview-driven format lets each organizer speak in their own voice, adding texture and personality that goes beyond a typical tips-and-lists approach. It's less a beginner's primer and more a peer-level showcase of the professional organizing world.
Does this book get repetitive
The reviewer does flag this as a real caveat — some reader responses noted that the book can feel repetitive in stretches, which is a natural risk when distributing focus across twenty-five subjects in a similar interview-and-photography format. Because no single organizer gets deep coverage, the structure can blur together for readers who aren't already motivated by the visual variety of different homes and aesthetics.
Is this book similar to a Marie Kondo book
It shares the broader cultural moment around professional organizing that produced books like Marie Kondo's work, but its format is quite different. Rather than prescribing one universal method, Organized Living showcases twenty-five organizers' distinct philosophies — the reviewer notes it spans "cultures, aesthetics, and approaches" in a way single-author books rarely do. Designer Anita Yokota, quoted in the review, sums up the throughline: "when we live with less, we create the possibility for more."
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
penguinrandomhouse.com
- 2
mynonexistentminimalism.com
- Further reading
- 3
- 4
edityourlifeshow.com
- 5
Related Reviews
Reviews of books we picked for readers who enjoyed Organized Living.
Reader Comments
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts!