Organization & Time Management Skills, Home Economics, Home Cleaning & Caretaking, Organizational Behavior - General & Miscellaneous, Furniture for the Home, Success, Motivation & Self-Esteem, Stress & Anxiety Management - Self-Help

Organizing Plain and Simple

Name: Organizing Plain and Simple
Author: Donna Smallin
ISBN: 9781580174480

by Donna Smallin

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Overview

Desk drowning in papers? No room for the car in the garage? Santa still sitting on the roof in May? The home office swallows up whole rooms, as does the family computer station. Then there are the cell phone chargers, the remotes, and the play areas, not to mention our collections -- books, DVDs, toys, magazines. Time management experts agree that when the minor things that take up space in the mind are eliminated, there is room to think about the big things. The same goes for the home. The clarity that comes from de-cluttering rooms, finances, and time promotes mental clarity, peacefulness, and contemplation. When everything is organized, it is easier to enjoy the meaningful things in life.

Organizing Plain & Simple is like a course from an expert teacher, grounded in the fundamentals and enriched with philosophy, tips, anecdotes, illustrations - everything necessary to make home and life run more smoothly. Donna Smallin takes a personalized, nonjudgemental approach to explaining how to assess each individual's situation and suggesting where to start organizing - room by room - and then covers how to stay organized. Then she offers advice on organizing time and finances, as well as organizing for the seasons and for special events - the birth of a baby, combining households, a move, kids going off to college, successful downsizing. Smallin presents a broad range of innovative solutions in the running feature "One Challenge, Three Solutions" that includes tips for solving classic organizational issues from a wide range of professional organizers.

Synopsis

Desk drowning in papers? No room for the car in the garage? Santa still sitting on the roof in May? A less-is-more philosophy is great, but we all still have way too much stuff. The home office swallows up whole rooms, as does the family computer station. Then there's the home gym, the TV room, and the playroom, not to mention our collections - books, CDs, toys. Time management experts agree that when the minor things that take up space in the mind are eliminated, there is room to think about the big things. The same goes for the home. The visual clarity that comes from de-cluttering rooms, finances, and time promotes mental clarity, peacefulness, and contemplation. When everything is organized, it is easier to enjoy the meaningful things in life.

Houston Chronicle

If you have a tough time getting rid of things, organization guru Donna Smallin offers some helpful guidelines.

About the Author, Donna Smallin

Donna Smallin is a nationally recognized organizing expert and best-selling author. She has been a repeat guest on HGTV’s "Smart Solutions" and on numerous radio programs, including the nationally syndicated Gary Null Show. Her tips have appeared in Reader’s Digest , Woman’s Day , Real Simple , Better Homes & Gardens , Woman’s World , The Chicago Tribune , New York Times , Washington Post , Bottom Line Personal , USAToday.com , and other national publications. Donna is a member of The National Association of Professional Organizers.

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Editorials

Houston Chronicle

If you have a tough time getting rid of things, organization guru Donna Smallin offers some helpful guidelines.

New York Daily News

Smallin helps the skeptical see how they can not only get their houses in order but keep them that way...

San Francisco Chronicle

This is a logical course, that give you the push to tackle any challenge, from the medicine cabinet to finances.

Library Journal

While both of these books are aimed at people who bemoan the amount of stuff they've accumulated, their approaches are completely different. Glovinsky, a professional psychotherapist and professional organizer, asks readers to examine the underlying psychological issues that they have with "things." She explains different mental glitches that can make organizing harder for some people than others. Quizzes and checklists are offered so that readers can identify their thing issues and compensate for and/or ameliorate them. Basically, she takes Julie Morgenstern's Organizing from the Inside Out to the next level. Smallin, on the other hand, shares some concrete tips and techniques to control clutter. Unfortunately, she strays from that direction and digresses into topics such as personal finance (she gives tips on saving and investing), personal safety (she explains why semiannual fire drills are important), and final arrangements (she provides lists of what must be done when there's a death in the family). This lack of focus, coupled with an annoying tendency to repeat the same hints in different paragraphs, makes her book an optional purchase for public libraries. Glovinsky's book is recommended for any public library where clutter-control books circulate well. Pam Matthews, M.L.S., Olmsted Falls, OH Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.