The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Organized Fast-Track: The Core Advice You Need to Get and Keep Your Life in Order
160The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Organized Fast-Track: The Core Advice You Need to Get and Keep Your Life in Order
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Overview
In our materialistic, time-crunched society, lifestyles are compromised by disorganization and clutter. In a 2008 National Association of Professional Organizers survey, 65 percent of respondents noted that their household was at least moderately disorganized, 71 percent said their quality of life would improve if they were better organized, and 96 percent of respondents indicated that they could save time every day by becoming more organized. A survey by IKEA reported that only 11 percent of Americans know where their Social Security cards are. Unfortunately, the problem has gotten so out of hand for so many, they have no idea where to begin.
The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Getting Organized Fast-Track, finds readers where they are and helps them take the first steps toward a more organized and efficient life. In this book readers get:
• The principles behind effective organizing that can be applied to any situation in the home or office.• A plan for clearing paper clutter and putting important documents where they can be found.
• Commonsense thoughts on prioritizing and letting go of objects that are no longer useful.
• A system for categorizing possessions that does not require people to buy more stuff to organize the stuff they already have.
• Tips for tackling disorganization hot spots, including home offices or dens, kitchens, closets, master bedrooms, garages, attics, and basement areas.
• Advice for staying ahead of messy family members or coworkers who can undo a person's hard work in an instant.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781615643219 |
---|---|
Publisher: | DK |
Publication date: | 11/06/2012 |
Sold by: | Penguin Group |
Format: | eBook |
Pages: | 160 |
Sales rank: | 477,361 |
File size: | 532 KB |
About the Author
Table of Contents
1 The Fast Track to an Organized Life 1
What Is Organized, Anyway? 1
Organizing Myths and Misconceptions 2
One Right Way-Yours 4
Components of an Organized Life 5
Controlled Clutter 6
Robust Routines 7
Organized Spaces 7
Well-Managed Time 8
Where Do I Begin? 8
Start Where the Shoe Pinches 9
Decide on a Target Component 10
Set Up Control Central 10
2 Gearing Up for Self-Change 13
Discover Your Organizing Style 13
Your Clutter Tolerance 14
File It, Pile It, or Deny It? 16
Your Time-Management Style 18
Overcoming Personal Roadblocks 19
Excuses, Excuses 20
No Time to Plan? Plan to Fail! 21
Identifying and Setting Goals 21
Define the Goal 22
Break It Down 22
Face the Goal 22
Study Setbacks 22
Self-Coaching and Accountability 23
Be Your Own Cheerleader 23
Finding Support from Others 24
3 Kicking Clutter to the Curb 25
Causes of Clutter 25
Delayed Decision Making 26
Deferring Action 27
Denial 27
The STOP Clutter Method 28
The Clear-a-Thon 31
Assessing Household Storage Options 31
Setting Up Temporary Holding Areas 32
Sustaining the Clutter Clear-a-Thon 33
Establishing Clutter Preserves 35
4 Clutter Doesn't Live Here Anymore 37
Conquering Your Clutter Demons 37
Sentiment 38
Scarcity Thinking 38
Perfectionism 39
Procrastination 39
Rebellion 40
The Miser 40
Setting Up Clutter Checkpoints 41
Designate Space 42
Set the Time 43
Set Conditions 44
Exploring Deacquisition Strategies 46
Borrow, Don't Buy 46
Utilize Online Access 47
Make the Most of What You Have 47
Buy Good Once 48
5 Habits, Routines, and Activity Centers 49
Getting Your Habits on Your Side 49
Anatomy of a Habit 50
Habits for an Organized Life 52
Building Routines into Daily Life 53
Crafting Robust Routines 54
Automating Life's Activities 56
Creating Activity Centers for an Organized Home 57
Essentials of an Activity Center 57
The Household Launch Pad 58
6 Routines of an Organized Home 61
Housecleaning and Home Maintenance 62
Daily 63
Weekly 64
Monthly 64
Seasonal 65
Managing Meals and Menus 66
Menu- and Meal-Planning Basics 66
Shopping Tips 68
Keeping Order in the Pantry 68
Wardrobe Planning and Clothing Care 69
Planning Family Wardrobes 70
Creating a Laundry Activity Center 71
Crafting Clothing-Care Routines 71
7 Crafting Organized Spaces 73
Assigning Household Real Estate 73
Location, Location, Location 75
Hot Zones and Black Holes 76
Clever Containment Strategies 77
Storage Options High to Low 78
The World Beneath 79
Look Up High 79
On the Walls 80
Double-Duty Doors 81
Organizing Multiuse Spaces 82
8 Organized Spaces, Room by Room 83
Organizing Kitchen and Food-Storage Areas 83
Setting Up Kitchen Activity Centers 84
Creative Kitchen Organization Ideas 86
Bringing Order to Bed and Bath Areas 89
Creating Blissful Bedrooms 89
Bathrooms That Work for You 90
Creating Orderly Family Rooms 91
Activity Centers for Shared Spaces 92
Storage Ideas for Entertainment, Books, and Music 93
9 Tuning Your Time-Management Skills 95
Boosting Your Calendar Power 95
Create a Single Calendar 96
Basic Routines for Time Management 97
Shared and Household Calendars 98
Crafting To-Do Lists 99
The Master To-Do List 100
The Daily To-Do List 101
The Supercharged To-Do List 102
A Procrastinator's ABCs 103
Take Anion 103
Break It Down 104
Create Momentum 104
10 Conquering Household Paperwork 105
Creating a Home Office Center 105
Establishing Financial Routines 107
Mail and Paper Handling 107
Bill Paying and Financial Management 108
Filing 109
Setting Up Household Filing Systems 110
Action Files 110
Basic Files 112
Classic Files 113
Quick Tricks to Conquer the Paper Pileup 113
11 Getting Organized in the Workplace 115
Surviving an Alien Organizing Style 115
Time Management 116
Space Allocation 117
Clutter Variances 117
Controlling Workplace Clutter 118
On the Desk 118
In Your Space 119
Managing Data Clutter 119
Organizing Office Spaces 120
Making Your Office Work for You 120
The Organized Computer 122
Office Routines and Time Management 122
Building a Workaday Routine 123
Creating Calendar Checkpoints 124
12 Handling Bumps in the Road 125
Get Family Members on Board 125
Set the Standard 126
Consult, Don't Confront 126
Establish Household Routines 127
Get Organized for a Move 128
Create a Move Planner 128
Label Everything 129
Pack Me Last 130
Plan Holidays and Celebrations 131
Set Up a Holiday Planner 131
Break It Down and Begin Early 131
Stockpile Gifts and Greetings 132
Last-Minute Company 133
Reclaim Your Organized Life 134
Revamp Your Control Center 134
Corral Creeping Clutter 135
Learn from Your Mistakes 136
Appendixes
A Organizing Resources 137
B 10-Step Organizing Plan 141
Index 143