Caroline Totah Stumbled across this hilarious video where Conan O’Brien stages an organizing intervention for one of his producers. In general, I’m not in favor of ambush organizing, but this was just too funny. Although this was done for the entertainment value, it’s quite accurate! The office looks pretty typical of a lot of creative types. The … Read more
Caught an interview with vaccum innovator James Dyson on NPR’s Science Friday. I loved his discussion of failure, stating how it’s necessary for learning to occur. We often don’t make decisions because we’re afraid of making the wrong choice. We don’t try new systems because we’re not sure they’ll work. Imagine how much we could … Read more
I’ve heard people express concern because they save things for the same reasons as the people they see on the hoarding shows on cable TV. They wonder if this means they are developing a hoarding problem. I have good news. This alone is not reason to worry that you are developing a hoarding problem. Whether we … Read more
My husband and I were discussing our favorite iPhone games. We narrowed it down to those that require hand-eye coordination vs. those that require logic . I much prefer logic games that don’t have a time limit. I get easily frustrated at games that are timed, and often give up before I get good enough … Read more
I came across this article describing the use of body doubles. No, a body double isn’t someone to stand in for you when you have your picture taken, at least not in this context. A body double is a person who stays present with you while you do tasks that you know how to do, … Read more
The stereotype of the organizer with a label maker in her holster isn’t too far from the truth. Labels make such a huge difference. Reading one or two words on the outside of a container helps our brains to figure out exactly what’s inside, even if the contents are clearly visible. But I think the … Read more
Managing the mail (and all the other paper that regularly enters your home) doesn’t have to a dreaded chore. A mail management center gives you places to stash those papers so they don’t have to clutter up your kitchen counter or get lost behind the sofa. I recommend your mail management center go as close … Read more
The reasons we save things can be broken down to four categories. When struggling with decluttering decisions, it may be helpful to identify which category applies to the items in question and maybe even sort those items accordingly. It might teach you a little bit about yourself! 1. Personal identity “Giving this away would be … Read more
Test-taking skills offer a perfect analogy for decluttering. We teach kids to do the easy questions first and finish as much as they can before they come back to the more difficult ones. I encourage this approach with decluttering. I know this goes against a lot of conventional advice that says to “only handle it … Read more
Many organizers follow the same basic process, but Julie Morgenstern articulates it brilliantly in her classic book, Organizing from the Inside Out. When I get overwhelmed or stuck, I still fall back on Julie’s S-P-A-C-E formula: Sort, Purge, Assign a Home, Containerize, Equalize. I teach clients the same thing, always crediting Julie, of course; but I assign a … Read more