Organizing Plain and Simple: A Ready Reference Guide With Hundreds Of Solutions to Your Everyday Clutter Challenges [Paperback]

Donna Smallin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2002

Desk drowning in papers? No room for the car in the garage? Santa still sitting on the roof in May? A less-is-more philosophy is great, but we all still have way too much stuff. The home office swallows up whole rooms, as does the family computer station. Then there's the home gym, the TV room, and the playroom, not to mention our collections - books, CDs, toys. Time management experts agree that when the minor things that take up space in the mind are eliminated, there is room to think about the big things. The same goes for the home. The visual clarity that comes from de-cluttering rooms, finances, and time promotes mental clarity, peacefulness, and contemplation. When everything is organized, it is easier to enjoy the meaningful things in life.

Organizing Plain & Simple is like a course from an expert teacher, grounded in the fundamentals and enriched with philosophy, tips, anecdotes, illustrations - everything necessary to make home and life run more smoothly. Donna Smallin takes a personalized, nonjudgemental approach to explaining how to assess each individual's situation and suggesting where to start organizing - room by room - and then covers how to stay organized. Then she offers advice on organizing time and finances, as well as organizing for the seasons and for special events - the birth of a baby, combining households, a move, kids going off to college, successful downsizing. Smallin presents a broad range of innovative solutions in the running feature "One Challenge, Three Solutions" that includes tips for solving classic organizational issues from a wide range of professional organizers.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

While both of these books are aimed at people who bemoan the amount of stuff they've accumulated, their approaches are completely different. Glovinsky, a professional psychotherapist and professional organizer, asks readers to examine the underlying psychological issues that they have with "things." She explains different mental glitches that can make organizing harder for some people than others. Quizzes and checklists are offered so that readers can identify their thing issues and compensate for and/or ameliorate them. Basically, she takes Julie Morgenstern's Organizing from the Inside Out to the next level. Smallin, on the other hand, shares some concrete tips and techniques to control clutter. Unfortunately, she strays from that direction and digresses into topics such as personal finance (she gives tips on saving and investing), personal safety (she explains why semiannual fire drills are important), and final arrangements (she provides lists of what must be done when there's a death in the family). This lack of focus, coupled with an annoying tendency to repeat the same hints in different paragraphs, makes her book an optional purchase for public libraries. Glovinsky's book is recommended for any public library where clutter-control books circulate well. Pam Matthews, M.L.S., Olmsted Falls, OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Donna Smallin…shows you the secret to a more productive day…” –Redbook

 

Consult “…clutter expert Donna Smallin’s Organizing Plain & Simple for thousands of room-by-room tips on getting your house, money, time and family in order once and for all.” –Home Magazine

 

“Organizing Plain & Simple can turn your world right side up.” —Woman’s Day Decorating Ideas

 

“…Smallin helps the skeptical see how they can not only get their houses in order but keep them that way…” —New York Daily News

 

 “If you have a tough time getting rid of things, organization guru Donna Smallin offers some helpful guidelines.” —Houston Chronicle

 

“Organizing Plain & Simple is Smallin’s…most comprehensive work.” —Arizona Republic

 

“Organizing Plain & Simple…is chock-full of ideas to help you gain control of household clutter.” —Ft. Worth Morning Star-Telegram

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580174485
• ISBN-13: 978-1580174480
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,823 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating

More About the Author

Donna Smallin is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and the author of 7 Simple Steps to Unclutter Your Life and Unclutter Your Home. She lives in Lake Placid, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

288 of 289 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It worked for me, July 28, 2003

By 

pm444 "pm444" (Okemos, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Organizing Plain and Simple: A Ready Reference Guide With Hundreds Of Solutions to Your Everyday Clutter Challenges (Paperback)

I have purchased several books about organizing and getting rid of clutter, and they have all had some good suggestions. However, I never managed to apply the principles in anything except a half-hearted and short-term manner. Thus, I ended up with spaces that had been partially cleared and organized, only to revert to their former clutter and chaos after a few months.

This was no one's fault but my own, of course, but with Smallin's book, it didn't happen that way. She is able to present information and ideas that make sense, but she manages to do it in a way that builds your motivation to actually try it and to stick with it. I guess the best way of putting it is that I never felt overwhelmed, even when things looked very chaotic (as they always do at some point in a re-organization project).

The book is extremely well-suited to reading short sections that will allow you to get started right away. Then, if you need a break from the work itself, or need more suggestions, you can go back to it. Smallin also includes multiple suggestions from other professional organizers, which is very helpful because it gives you more options.

I'm almost finished with a two-week de-cluttering and organization project. In the past, I never could have gone that long without giving up and throwing it all back where it came from. But this time, I kept going back to Smallin's book, and she helped keep me on track. I was even able to use suggestions from books I had read before, such as not buying new storage cases until you have actually done the organizing and know what you need to store.

A major re-organization project is something like a weight-loss regime. You can try to do it the fast and easy way, but it won't last. Or, you can do it slowly and patiently, refining and modifying your plan as you see how it evolves. That's my goal, and with Smallin's book as my guide, I'm confident that it will be possible.

243 of 244 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the Suze Orman of organizing, June 10, 2003

By 

Pravin Wagh "waghdude" (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Organizing Plain and Simple: A Ready Reference Guide With Hundreds Of Solutions to Your Everyday Clutter Challenges (Paperback)

Sometimes the problem with clutter and disorganization isn't simply to buy storage and other items at an office supplies store. You could do that endlessly, and end up with lots of RUBBERMAID and STERILITE containers piled up in your garage or closet, and still not make any progress on stopping bad habits that lead to clutter. Smallin touches upon various areas of one's life that all lead to disorganization. In my case, and one that a friend related to for herself, Smallin hit the mark by stating that perfectionists can be the messiest because they keep waiting for the perfect organization plan; it's not that they like the mess, but they don't get started because they haven't come up with the ultimate strategy.

The book is laid out like a magazine and has lots of side-bars to keep you interested. Unlike many self-help books, Smallin isn't selling herself and claiming to make up her own new science. She quotes various other organizing experts in those sidebars, and provides a pretty extensive set of references and links that the reader can follow up with to continue their newly organized ways.

125 of 125 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Price, January 6, 2004

By 

P. Mutiny "the undersigned" (Pacific NorthWest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Organizing Plain and Simple: A Ready Reference Guide With Hundreds Of Solutions to Your Everyday Clutter Challenges (Paperback)

I bought this book in an attempt to bring some semblance of order into my very messy studio apartment. The author has obviously spent a large amount of time researching her book, with a major theme around decluttering.

With this book's help, I have gotten rid of clothes that no longer fit or were unwearable (what was I thinking?), that third set of dishes I was keeping just incase (I had to feed an army? c'mon), and several beauty products I no longer used.

But perhaps the best thing I've gotten from this book was going through my book case and selling old books I never read or only read once right here on amazon.com. I spent $12 on this book roughly, and so far I've made $80 net on stuff that only gathered dust.

I love this book so much, I don't think it'll have a chance to gather dust.