Product Description

Hundreds of thousands of people have broken through the clutter and streamlined their lives with Julie Morgenstern's proven techniques. There's no magic, no mystery. Getting organized is a skill that anyone can learn. The beauty of Julie's system, honed during her many years as a professional organizer, is that it enables you to design a unique organizing plan based on your individual goals, natural habits, and psychological needs -- a plan that will work with your personality rather than against it. Let Julie Morgenstern set you free to live the life you dream about.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #249578 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-01
• Formats: Abridged, Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio CD

From Amazon.com
It's about time! Julie Morgenstern has written an organizing book that covers a new way of looking at the task of organizing effectively without labeling or blaming the person behind the lack of organization. Rather, she says, people who don't organize just never learned how to organize, through no fault of their own--after all, it's not a skill that's taught in school. That said, she gets down to work helping you figure out an organizing system that will really work for you, not a system based on cookie-cutter filing concepts or special storage units.

Morgenstern's "from the inside out" system begins by laying out the possible reasons for a failure of organization: technical errors (like having a complex organizing system that breaks down), external realities (like not enough space for your belongings), and psychological obstacles (like fear of failure--or success). Then, her Analyze and Strategize steps help create a plan of action based on your needs and goals, and the brief chapter called "Attack: Getting the Job Done" offers basic ideas for making space. The largest section of the book, "Applying What You've Learned," addresses the specifics of organizing workspaces, home offices, living spaces, and storage areas. Each section has a "How Long Will It Take?" box that gives a realistic time estimate, and Morgenstern's "Julie's No-Brainer Toss List" for each area gives the permission and encouragement that most of us have been waiting for to get rid of things we'll never use again. The section at the end, "Tackling Time and Technology," is worth its weight in DayTimers and PalmPilots. Whatever your organizing issues are, you're not a hopeless case, and you don't need special equipment--just a little understanding of the problem and a willingness to plan before diving in.

From Publishers Weekly
Anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed by clutter and chaos will welcome this clear, easy-to-follow guide to organizing a room, home or officeAa companion to Morgenstern's bestselling paperback (Owl, 1998). Professional organizer Morgenstern warmly reassures listeners that organizing is a skill that can be learned and that any mess can be tamed. Most people make the mistake of simply diving in, which Morgenstern compares to driving cross-country without a map. Her strategy: first figure out your goals and how your space can best help you achieve them; determine what obstacles are holding you back (e.g., a subconscious psychological need to hang on to clutter); divide the space into "zones" of activity (a kitchen contains a cooking zone, a dish-washing zone, etc.); and organize the space so that all the supplies for each activity are stored in the appropriate zone. The tape offers quizzes to help listeners define their obstacles, and, as one would expect, the quizzes are well organized and audio friendly. Even better, listeners can grasp the author's solutions immediatelyAwithout having to refer back and forth to different parts of the tape or use a pencil and paper (problems often encountered with audio self-help books). Morgenstern's sense of humor and colorful examples of real-life client case studies make this tape as entertaining as it is helpful. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
As the creator of Task Masters, a full-service organizing company, Morgenstern has helped hundreds of clients overcome their failed attempts at managing their lives. She gives ways to overcome psychological obstacles that prevent us from maintaining an organization system and explains a plan called SPACE (sort, purge, assign a home, containerize, equalize). Covering the workplace and each room of the home, she provides sample time lines of how long the process will take and offers tips on what to toss and what storage products to use. A list of product catalogs is provided, as well as a section on how to organize time. A good book for public libraries.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Thorough, effective, and therapeutic. One of the best.
Morgenstern has a different approach than most authors who write books about getting organized. She divides the book into four sections: Laying the Foundation, Secrets of a Professional Organizer, Applying what You've Learned, and Tackling Time & Technology. Sounds ordinary, but the first section is priceless. And, throughout the book she includes textboxes of "insiders tips" and "avoiding common pitfalls."

Many of us try hard to be organized and end up cluttering our house with organizing books, baskets, filing cabinets, and other gadgets. We get our house almost organized, yet find there's one room or task we just can't do. Are we sabotaging ourselves?

Yes, according to Morgenstern. She quotes, "You can't fix it till you know what's broken" and explains that until you know why you stray toward disorganization, you will never master it. Psychological obstacles are one of three factors in clutter, according to Morgenstern (the other two are errors in your "organizing system" and external realities. But she deals with the psychological aspect in a brisk, energizing chapter that actually motivates you.

Her actual organizational tips revolve around three essential steps: 1. Analyze (evaluate your current situation and what's not working.) 2. Strategize (Create plan and realistic estimate of how long it will take.) 3. Attack (Dive into the work.)

The Analyze and Strategize sections are actually very useful and are easy to tackle. You will need a notebook, and will go from room to room answering 5 questions: What's working? What's not working? What items are most essential to you? Why do you want to get organized? (i.e., in the kitchen the answer might be - stop wasting money on duplicate purchases), and What's causing the problem. She advocates creating zones in each room. Again, a kitchen example might be: food prep zone (counter space between sink/fridge), daily cooking zone (build around oven and cooktop), daily dishes zone, food serving zone, and food storage zone. You'll learn to store items for each zone near that zone. No sense keeping dishes in cabinets near the food prep zone and corningware near the dishwasher zone.

Once you get a solid grasp on the three steps, you can take your notebook through the house and quickly identify what needs to be done, room by room.

While this isn't a "organize your house in one hour" kind of book, it also doesn't bog you down. The essentials are basic and what I've listed above, and they help you get the prep work out of the way while setting a solid foundation for you to tackle the clutter.

You will see a real transformation of your house - or of whatever rooms you attack. It's not just a matter of "cleaning" them. You will turn them into efficient workcenters.

THIS BOOK DOES NOT HELP!!!!!!!
I know that this book is meant for adults, and yes, I also know that there's a teen version. I am a twelve-year-old in seventh grade, and I am one of the most disorganized people ever. So when my best friend got me "Organizing From the Inside Out For Teens", I thought it would help me get my life and time organized. Well, guess what? It didn't. So, I went to the library, got a copy of this book, and expecting something better, I read it from cover-to-cover. It was basically the same as the other book, but targeted to adults and their lifestyle. (The information about organizing and time management were nearly the EXACT SAME). And no, this book didn't help me get organized either. The author's tips were basic common sense, like if you need more storage space, go buy some containers, or store sweaters in deeper drawers and t-shirts in shallower ones. ANYONE would probably know that! What I especially found funny about this book is that the author says in the beginning that this is the only organizing book you'll need, all the other ones ...., but then at the back of the book, she writes this recommeneded list of other organizing books to read by different authors!!!! How .... I'm sorry, but this book is obviousely not meant for us extremely disorganized people.

Think & Plan first, THEN Organize
This book has some very useful ideas of how to get organized. What I really enjoyed the most was the planning sections (the first 2 sections of the book). It first dealt with issues of why past organizing has not worked, as well, what you want the space to look like. You first must ask yourself questions such as What do I use this space for? Can it be organized so when I am using the space it's more efficient.

After reading this book, I realize that planning and KNOWING where you are going is most important before you even begin organizing your possessions.