The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Organized Fast-Track: The Core Advice You Need to Get and Keep Your Life in Order

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Organized Fast-Track: The Core Advice You Need to Get and Keep Your Life in Order

by Cynthia Ewer
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Organized Fast-Track: The Core Advice You Need to Get and Keep Your Life in Order

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Organized Fast-Track: The Core Advice You Need to Get and Keep Your Life in Order

by Cynthia Ewer

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Overview

Turn organzing your space into your next great project with this comprehensive guide!

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: 267,080
File size: 532 KB

About the Author

Cynthia Ewer is publisher of OrganizedHome.Com, an information resource for home organization and management. Her site has received numerous Web awards and media mentions since its debut in 1998, including the coveted USA Today HotSite and USA Weekend "Best of the Web" awards. It has been featured in numerous magazines, including Woman's Day, Women's World, Walking, Cooking Light, AARP, and Real Simple, and countless newspaper and Web site mentions. She is the author of Houseworks: Cut the Clutter, Speed Your Cleaning and Calm the Chaos. As editor, author, and online coach, Cynthia is known for her witty, inspirational style and sense of humor. Her media exposure includes national television appearances on ABC's The View.

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

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