Customer Reviews

Conquering Chronic Disorganization

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(5)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Today, my living room is clear of ALL clutter and papers. And the rest of the house isn't far behind (kitchen 3/4 uncluttered, baths 1/2 decorated, etc).

I've been living a packrat/piler lifestyle for over 20 years. I've read MANY books (yep, still have them), tried MANY systems(yep, still have those, too), joined online self-help discussions, but never once managed to get even ONE room totally cleared.

This book helps you see that you can be "organized" even if it means something different than others (the born organizers) expect. If filing is your thing, you can file everything, if it isn't, you'll discover lots of acceptable alternatives in this book. This book deals with papers, time management, and all the other physical or mental "stuff" which can overwhelm you if not organized for soundness of mind.

I love the summaries at the ends of chapters which list methods and tools for various organizing styles and systems. That is what opened my eyes to what I needed to physically and mentally do. I now use conventional organizing for those areas that I already have a penchant for doing that. But I am also using "body doubles"; asking for assistance (hubby, and best friend) to get in all in control to start.

I am also using other more unconventional methods, since I read about the "wide visual field" and that learning styles and organizing styles are similar concepts, but may be different than each other (visual learner, kinesthetic organizer).

I know I'm not crazy when I won't put things away, because "out of sight, out of mind" really does apply to me (I've been saying that for years). And now I know how to WORK WITH that instead of combat it.

I am re-reading chapters as the house gets cleared (I bought the book just a few months ago) and this helps me remember to not use the conventional methods, when I know they won't stay that way later. That's how the living room finally got cleared.

This is the best book to read to help open your eyes to what you PERSONALLY can customize to organize yourself. You can use it along with some other books, tapes, and methods, but this is the one that will get you thinking, then keep you on track.

Judith, if you're reading this...I thank you with all my heart!

P.S. I bought FIVE more books to give out to friends and family. Yes, I really know this book can help.

REVIEW UPDATE 2006: If you really want to try "unconventional", get the LATEST book from this author "ADD FRIENDLY WAYS TO ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE". MORE uncluttering tips, MORE time management help, MORE ways to think "outside the box" on getting your life together. Hey!, if it can work for ADHD people who are chronically disorganized, think what it can do for YOU!

I have purchased dozens of self-help books on clutter, disorganization, cleaning, and organizing. Unfortunately, I can not find most of them...because of the ongoing difficulty I have with "stuff." This book was meant for people like me, people with good intentions of "someday" having everything in its place so we don't spend an hour trying to find a past due bill, a late library book or coming across an invitation to a party held yesterday. Incredible frustrating is how I would describe my dilemma with "stuff." One bedroom is totally filled with overflow from other rooms in the house (my current method of "cleaning"). It holds(self-improvement)books, clothes, papers, bills, pictures, (self-improvement)tapes, boxes, files, baskets, cabinets, the list goes on and on. This book, unlike ALL the other ones I have purchased in the past, finally helped me visualize solutions - NOT conventional solutions but ideas which are helping me solve the chaos and confusion which reins in my home (and sometimes office). Read this book several times, try and re-try some of the suggestions, there is no one-solution-fixes-all recipe. But finally, finally, I have come across a book that spoke directly to me about these frustrating issues in my life that I thought were unique to me. I didn't get into this mess overnight and I know I won't clean it up overnight, but I now have more hope and light at the end of the clutter tunnel.

I've been chronically disorganized for my whole life. Clutter just seems to perpetuate like a cloud of dust everywhere I go. I've tried filing systems, organizational tools, but nothing worked. Until now.

After reading this book, which describes several case studies of chronically disorganized people, I discovered how to live with my chronic disorganization. I implemented a couple of novel ideas, and already crystals of organization are forming in my life, for the first time.

Particularly helpful to me was the section on time management: Datebooks never worked for me. I now use the "Panel System" described in this book, which is so far, so good. I also liked the 'Paper Police', how manage out-of-control collections of things, alternate filing systems, and how to attack severely disorganized areas in different ways.

The chronic aspect to this book is comforting as it describes me so well. So often organization efforts dwindle and die. Since filing daily is impossible for me, I now have several cubbies on the wall into which I throw papers and receipts (my version of the 'vertical filing' discussed in the book).

If you just cannot keep your home or office organized, much to the frustration of yourself and others, this book may have insight that will help you. It sure helped me!

With low expectations, I checked this book out from my library. I have read extensively on organization. This book is very worthwhile. I ended up buying it.
It had suggestions for organization that no other book has ever touched on.
The most useful suggestion was to decide how much of "one thing" it is reasonable to keep. For example, is half the garage full of empty boxes--- too many? For most people, yes. Then you go to what is the best amount to keep--- for you. Also if you assess your space, you might revise how much is reasonable and so on. Smart.

Who would have thought it? This is a book about getting on top of your piles of papers and stacks of stuff, at home and at work - and I had a hard time putting it down unfinished! But I had to find my stuff and get out the door to go to work...so I finished reading it the first chance I got. And then I started over again at page 1. It's that good!

Lately I've read several books about getting organized, clearing clutter and filing documents. Many of them are probably just fine - for someone else, or maybe for everyone else in the world except me. But my eyes get glazed when I start reading somebody's "aha!" mandate of the Seven Steps To Ultimate Life Organization, or Fifteen and a Half Essential Things to Do Before Breakfast, or some other very specific number of very specific tasks that are supposed to lead you to the promised land of uncluttered serene organization for life.

And I still shudder to think of that awful complicated [big name brand] planning system I got handed when a former boss ordered me to attend a "time management" workshop - which turned out to be a product of the company that sells these things. It was just another dang thing I had to waste time and effort maintaining addition to getting my WORK done. Until I just quit using it.

Judith Kolberg's approach to "being organized" cuts to the heart of the matter, which is how an individual human being operates in his/her immediate world. Wow. Her solutions to organizing problems are as fun and creative as the people she writes about. These are folks who found themselves in messy muddles at home or the office and needed help in sorting out their environment and making it work for them, not against them.

There are some great ideas here, and I can see how a few of them will help me out! And no matter how much stuff I get rid of as I clear out my own clutter, I can't see giving up my copy of this book anytime in the foreseeable future.

I'm one of the messy, cluttered people who have tried and failed with traditional organizational books. They go along the lines of - use my system, and with a little willpower your home will be spotless...

Not this book. The authors understand that cluttered people are wired differently than most others, and can't fit into the box of the typical organizer.

This book gives a variety of creative solutions based on how different people think.

For a few years I have known that somehow, I can clean my place up more effectively when someone else is physically present. They don't even have to be doing something. What worked best was hiring someone to do basic cleaning while I picked up around them. It worked well when my significant other was reading in the other room, but not when my sister was helping me and yelling at me. The book explained that this was having a "body double". Now that I had a term for it, I no longer felt so stupid asking for what I needed.

I found this book was so helpful that I loaned it out to my other disorganized friends. My mom and I tried to get my dad to read it, cause he's even worse than I am.

Judith Kolberg has discovered effective systems and tools for handling the things - mail, papers, knick-knacks, books and all the other stuff - that clutters the lives of people who don't naturally organize with standard A-Z, left-to-right solutions. The book isn't written specifically for people with ADD. And ADDers don't really have the exclusive rights to disorganization, it just seems that way sometimes. As one of "those people" and an ADD coach, finding a source of new approaches that deal with the issue without being condescending and with wonderful humor is amazingly refreshing.

People who aren't fortunate enough to have an actual diagnosis with a three-letter acronym to blame their sloppiness on will love it too.

Judith Kolberg's approach to helping people conquer chronic disorganization is so clever, charming and inspiring you can't help but take action. The metaphors she creates for her clients and the stories she tells of real people's solutions to disorganization are incredibly motivating. There are many good ideas you can easily adopt. Believe it or not, you can't put this book down once you start reading it.

I'm a professional organizer and deal with many clients who are chronically disorganized. This book has transformed many of my ideas about how to help them overcome their clutter, hoarding, and disorganization problems. Kolberg is so imaginative and creative in her approach, and her inventive ways of dealing with clients' various ways of thinking is truly superb. I recommend this book to anyone who has a problem with disorganization or who deals with those who do. A+!

This is a great book. This is different from all of the other organization books. It's meant to reach the individuals who still can't get organized after reading the conventional steps listed in many books. I'm betting you'll find yourself in some of the descriptions of disorganized individuals listed. I sure did. It's fast reading and great as a reference when you finally do get started with your treasured piles of clutter.