Out The Door-ganizing
Once you have purged the stuff in your home down to a manageable quantity, there is no more important practice to stay organized than to establish DEDICATED ZONES. These are areas in your home (or [...]
“But Someone GAVE That To Me”
My approach to helping folks get organized is always the same: take the less important stuff out of the way, so you can get to the most important stuff. Many is the time I pick [...]
Is This The Worst You’ve Ever Seen?
There are some questions I can always count on as I begin work with my new clients. On the first inquiry, I get “What does something like this cost?” Before our first session, I always [...]
Don’t Waste A Beautiful Day On Owners Manuals
If you are a true minimalist, toss all your owner’s manuals. You can get that information online. End of post. The rest of us are not so comfortable with that approach, but would still like [...]
The Art of Taking Away
Michelangelo is famous for defining sculpture as the "art of taking away,” as opposed to painting, which is the art of adding on. Good organizing is also about the art of taking away. The question [...]
Remove The Friction
Life is full of stumbling blocks you have no control of. You can best equip yourself to take on these challenges by making every step of your most regular and predictable processes as easy as [...]
The Five Levels of Being Organized
Being organized means different things to different people, but I have discovered five essential levels of being organized. These levels are helpful to recognize because they explain why getting organized can be so time consuming [...]
Professional Gordonizing
Professional Gordonizing I happen to be a fan of celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay and, believe it or not, what I enjoy about his shows is related to what I enjoy about getting organized. In Ramsay’s [...]
My Least Favorite Organizing Products
photograph by Susan Baier My Least Favorite Organizing Products There is no rulebook for organizing products. These are just my opinions based on my personal experiences and based on my observations of frustrated [...]
Reduce To Produce
Ever had so much stuff piled up on your desk, that you didn’t feel like you could do ANY of it? Challenge yourself to pick a limited number for each task. Start with your to-do [...]
Organizing In High Gear (and Low)
My central organizing philosophy is circulation prevents accumulation. This is more obvious for regular activities like washing dishes and laundry, but I maintain it applies to EVERYTHING. Some items take much longer to circulate, but [...]
Sewing The Seeds Of Progress
Picture this. It’s a beautiful spring day and you’re meeting a couple of friends at Starbucks for breakfast. Afterwards, as you walk out, you spot an open house and the three of you decide to [...]
