A Perfect Mess

by: Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman

Published by: Little, Brown and Company

Reviewed by Jamie Driggers

(also available as audio download)

Imagine a world without mess. Did you imagine Utopia, a land of absolute order? Your perfect world? I'll bet you didn't imagine it without penicillin, Brownian motion or a successful Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In A Perfect Mess the authors delve into mess, what makes it, and how it isn't always a catastrophe if there is a little disorder in our lives. For example, a desk piled with papers usually self-sorts into urgent and less necessary just by the nature of the user anyway, making filing a time waster. And did you know that the chemicals we use to keep our homes "sanitary" are often more likely to cause respiratory problems in our children than the germs we are trying to eradicate? However, this isn't only a book about why we don't have to clean (because sometimes disorder can become downright dangerous), it is an in-depth look at many of the successes of this, and previous generations that are due in large part to thinking outside of the orderly method to which we have become accustomed.

Let me make a suggestion. If January is the month that you typically get the urge to become organized, and, let's face it, it often is, wait to read this book until February. I found myself walking through the stores with all of their January "get organized" paraphernalia for sale, and scoffing. I'm not sure my husband is pleased. I highly recommend this book whether you are a businessman trying to maintain the clean-desk policy or a homemaker beating yourself up over the clutter in the kitchen. Even if you are an organizational freak, you'll rip through these pages if only to find something to disagree with (yes Mom, this line is for you).

Armchair Interviews says: A Perfect Mess is a fascinating look into "the hidden benefits of disorder."