Checklists for Life: 104 Lists to Help You Get Organized, Save Time, and Unclutter Your Life (Paperback)

~ Kirsten Lagatree (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

At some point in our lives, we all wish life had come with an instruction manual; a little something to help us navigate the labyrinth of this complex world with a touch of grace and dignity. Is it so much to ask? Luckily for us, Kirsten M. Lagatree has risen to the challenge. Checklists for Life offers 104 lists that can help you with all those nagging little uncertainties, from organizing your closet to choosing a lawyer. "Show me a successful person," asserts Lagatree, "and I'll show you a list-maker.... Lists ensure that the job gets done correctly and completely--and with the added finesse that springs from an uncluttered mind."

Categorized into personal safety, getting organized, stocking up, home maintenance, housework, flowers and plants, social life, correspondence, death, children, moving, travel, health, the law, your money, professional life, your computer, and your car, many of the lists in this book consist, as she points out, of commonsense advice. Others, though, are less obvious. For instance, her advice on extras to pack when you go abroad (electricity converters, adapters, pre-addressed envelopes and Benadryl, just to name a few) and choosing realtors (Do they insist on a buyer/broker contract? Do they use a computer to help find homes?) are clearly the product of experience. While all the lists are highly helpful--the checklist for organizing your workspace alone is worth the price of the book--the best seem to be those for less common events, such as buying and moving to a new home or preparing for court. Lagatree has clearly done her research on these topics and her advice will save you time, money, and a great deal of stress. --Laszlo Simonyi

Product Description

A Handbook For An Organized Life

If you've ever wished for a class in Coping 101, or a guide to living more efficiently and with less stress, this book is for you! Over 100 sensible checklists offer quick tips and expert advice to make your life easier at work, at home, and through all of life's ups and downs.

Arranged by subject, from Personal Safety to Home Maintenance to Social Life, these lists will help you know what to ask, what to do, and what to have on hand in any situation.

• What to do when your wallet is stolen
  
  
• How to stock a bar
  
  
• Questions to ask when hiring a contractor
  
  
• What to keep in your medicine cabinet
  
  
• Frequently overlooked tax deductions
  
  
• How to be friends with your computer
  
  
• The best and worse places to hide valuables
  
  
• What to keep in a safe deposit box
  
  
• Six steps of bare minimum housework
  
  
• How to organize your file cabinet
  
  
• How to cure your dying houseplants
  
  
• Tips for writing an effective complaint letter
  
  
• Tipping: who and how much
  
  
• A countdown to moving day
  

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Random House Reference; 1 edition (November 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375707336
• ISBN-13: 978-0375707339
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #122,518 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #55 in

  Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Time Management

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful household organizer, April 2, 2000

By	Richard Koonce (Arlington, Virginia) - See all my reviews

Kirsten Lagatree is a wonderful writer, and in this handy little book she has put her writing talents to work again, compiling a highly useful household resource that can help anyone who's a pack rat like me get better organized around the house. I found her lists on getting organized around home, how to guarantee hassle-free travel, and on how to organize your social life to be particularly useful. This is also a fun book to read, nicely formatted, written in an easy, conversational style. Nice job!

Rick Koonce Arlington Virginia

57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for List-o-phobes, March 15, 2000

By	Merrill Mattie - See all my reviews

Although I am a somewhat compulsive list-maker (inherited from a military family), my husband is completely anti-list. He somehow believes that making a list is giving in and admitting that he can't remember everything (which he can't, but why be logical?). I bought this for him as a starter, so he could see that someone besides his wife believes in lists, enough to publish a whole book about them! He is now warming up to the idea of lists, thanks to this book, and I am also thrilled because it had some lists that even I had never thought of.

I think this is a great gift for anyone starting out (in life, or just in getting organized) -- I've already given two copies away.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handy, Helpful, Essential, February 11, 2000

By A Customer

Like most guys I am not a list person. And I figured I knew how to do a lot. But this book filled in a lot of the gaps--the list on traffic court preparation was MOST helpful.Yeah, my kitchen is all set up--don't need that list. But Lagatree even helps you prepare for something truly unusual--a death in the home. Would you know what to do? I didn't until I read this book. List after list, I found lots of useful stuff here. It now sits next to my dictionary and phone books--all essentials for daily life.