Organizing Reading List

If you desperately want to be organized but have no idea how it happens, I recommend these three books:

It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff by Peter Walsh (the guy from Clean Sweep)

Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern

Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan's Apartment Therapy.

I know, you don't have time to read a magazine let alone three books. Check them out from the library and just skim them or get the CDs from the library or audible.com. The three books are very complementary and will give you the skills & tools you need.

Try to keep inspired by pictures in magazines or on the web and picture a home like Benita Larsson's (http://chezlarsson.typepad.com/myblog/) and how cool it would be if your place looked like hers. I know that might not be realistic, but it's something I keep in mind while I'm purging. A beautiful, clutter-free home is a great reward for getting rid of crap I never even use.

Edit, edit, edit. Do it once with the easy stuff and then come back a few days later and do it again. Use Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan's outbox method but don't let the outbox stay around too long - get the stuff out of your house or put it back where it came from.

This post is great: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/organizing/top-10-organizing-tips-from-chez-larsson-050026

Finally, (I know, this is a super long, preachy post with no pretty pictures) if you want to take it to the next level, read David Allen's Getting Things Done. The time you spend now working on these skills will help you for the rest of your life.