How to Cheat at Organizing: Quick, Clutter-Clobbering Ways to Simplify Your Life (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Supercheater Jeff Bredenberg wants you to get control of your life. Having previously given us "How to Cheat at Cleaning," he's back with "How to Cheat at Organizing: Quick, Clutter-Clobbering Ways to Simplify Your Life" (Taunton Press, $14.95). This comprehensive book isn't just about corralling your 600 CDs or that chaos you call a hall closet. Bredenberg shows how to organize your living space, wardrobe, even your eating habits. For those of us suffering from postholiday materialism hangovers, Bredenberg's wisdom is welcome indeed: "Celebrate getting rid of stuff instead of acquiring." After reading his book, you may want to go forth and organize - and cheat with impunity. --Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Don't bother being a perfectionist if you want to get your home organized. Even a little bit tidier will make a big differences says Jeff Bredenberg, author of the recently released "How to Cheat at Organizing: Quick, Clutter-Clobbering Ways to Simplify Your Life". That said, Bredenberg goes on to tell how to be more efficient in nearly everything. He'll tell you how to take on the medicine cabinet. The living room. The trunk of the car. Your wallet. Your condiments. He keeps going. He offers ways to simplify credit card debt. Exercise programs. Travel. Trips to the doctor. He's so efficient he's exhausting. But that's OK. You don't have to follow all of his advice. --Star-Telegram

Jeff Bredenberg has some news for you: the Queen of England is not coming for tea. Did you think she was? Do you insist on having everything in perfect order at all times, just in case she drops by? Today's world no longer requires that, says Bredenberg, known in some circles as the "Guru of Dirt," and most recently the author of "How to Cheat at Organizing: Quick, Clutter-Clobbering Ways to Simplify Your Life" (The Taunton Press, $14.95). When it comes to organizing, the all-or-nothing, top-to-bottom philosophy is antiquated and unnecessary. What you need is a pared-down, organized-just-enough lifestyle. What you need to do is create enough order that you will be happy with it – but take shortcuts every chance you get. --Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)

Product Description

The anticipated follow-up to the bestselling How to Cheat at Cleaning, How to Cheat at Organizing is a life-changing book for the non-perfectionist, a liberating lifestyle manifesto. This is the organizing book "for the rest of us"--everyday overcommitted folks with little time and little focus. Life can be messy enough without all the clutter that comes with it. Now, America's favorite cleaning cheater delivers real-life strategies to help the overworked and overwhelmed put clutter in its place. How to Cheat at Organizing is based around five easy concepts to keeping a house neat and organized:

Keep it Simple. The best way to keep things in check
Embrace Technology. Learn to love the right equipment
Manage the Ins and Outs. Learn to love having a good tag sale
The S4 Technique. Strip, scrap, sort, store
Get Help. Put your family to work

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Taunton; illustrated edition edition (December 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561589403
• ISBN-13: 978-1561589401
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #340,829 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just a list of hints and tips, April 2, 2008

By	Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

The title is misleading in a sly sort of way. The tagline "Quick Clutter-Clobbering Ways to Simplify Your Life" might lead you - as it did me - to believe it is a book about conquering clutter as part of a method to get one organized.

It isn't.

The book is a collection of tips and hints, most borrowed (and properly attributed) to others. The hints and tips for the most part tend toward the mundane and "I already knew that" kind. For example, "[i]f you tend to drift through the day oblivious to time . . . [t]echnology will help you out." Set an alarm. Bredenberg then goes on to tell you that your electronic watch, PDA and computer all allow you to set alarms. And if you have none of those get a kitchen timer. Helpfully, Bredenberg tells you that a mechanical ticking counter is too noisy.

On the whole, I found no "ah-ha!" suggestions in this book. I suggest looking at this one in a bookstore or library before considering buying it.

Jerry