This excellent reference book shows many simple ways to unclutter your home and make a big difference in your outlook on life.

---

Product Description

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.

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.

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82096 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From 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 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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

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

---

Customer Reviews

GLAD I GOT THIS BOOK
I was hesitate about getting this book on all the mixed reviews. Well I am glad I got it. Within 5 minutes of looking through the book I TOTALLY organized my kids mittens/gloves/hats/scarfs and now my foyer looks neat instead of messy. Can't wait to try the other tips I read about!!!!!!!!!

Reference book for organizing many different aspects of your life
I purchased this book because I wanted to organize the spaces in my home (I am terrible about not "finding a home" for new items and letting my mail pile up everywhere). I did find some information to help me in those areas, but this book contains a lot more information that what I was looking for - it is more of a "how to organize your entire life" guide. If that's what you are looking for, I think this is a good book. Here are the main sections:

Getting Started (uncluttering)
Organizing Room by Room
Organizing Finances (saving & managing money, reducing debt)
Organizing Time (stress, work/life balance)
Organizing Home Life (family schedules, vacations, home safety)
Organizing Transitions (moving, new baby, new pet, your estate)

Some of the topics covered are items that can encompass an entire book (debt reduction, stress management), so I would consider the information presented as more of a starting point that a complete "how-to" and readers needing lots of help may want to find a book dedicated solely to that subject. However, the information presented is useful and is worth reading before taking on a task (i.e. - reviewing the travel section before taking a trip may ensure you don't forget an important detail)

The book is easy-to-read and contains lots of helpful hints and ideas. The author also includes some good, straight-forward checklists (preparing for taxes, what items you will need for a new baby, list of items for a car emergency kit). I liked those and I also thought she offered some good advice - for example, a list of fun activities your family can do for free if you are trying to save money.

Overall, this book covered more topics that I was looking for, but the information presented was good. I like this book as an overall reference to organizing. For a quick read on organizing your clutter, readers may want to consider Donna's book "The One-Minute Organizer Plain & Simple."

Great Book - Covers It ALL!
I got this book from the library originally, and was so motivated and floored by the amount of information covered, I just had to have it. It's one of those books that you like to own so you can hilight sections, make notes, etc. The book is not full of fluff - it's literally full of tidbits and information that covers budgeting, organizing closets, the house in general, decluttering (this is where I needed the most help!), etc. I just can't even begin to tell you how absolutey motivating this book is! I highly recommend it as a must have to help you accomplish your organizational goals at home.