Getting Organized (Paperback)

by Stephanie Winston (Author) "More than once you may have felt that someone wasn't looking when your "life management" card was dealt out..." (more)
Key Phrases: target closet, financial folder, junk chair, Daily List, Project List, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A handy guide that has been helping people manage their daily lives since 1978 is revised and updated to apply the principles of organization to today's lifestyles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Upd Rev edition (April 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446391735
• ISBN-13: 978-0446391733
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #936,366 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Completely Different Perspective!, March 1, 1999

By	JazzyGirl (USA) - See all my reviews

I have read literally countless organizational books by some of the most famous authors and having just started reading this book, I am both surprised and thrilled at what I find! Stephanie really knows where we are coming from with our clutter! It's NOT so much a matter of straightening and becoming more organized...It IS about facing our fears of throwing stuff away! FINALLY! An organizing book that hits the nail on the head! It gets to the SOURCE of the problem so I can fix it permanently, not just temporarily with some band-aid techniques! :) I also want to take this opportunity to recommend what could easily be it's companion book, (also available from Amazon), called "Trading Your Worry For Wonder". It is an excellent adjunct to Getting Organized and helpful in overcoming the "What if I need it someday?" syndrome; the deepest source of the chaos in our homes and in our lives! I highly recommend them both and would give them 6 stars if I could!

45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Little Bit of Confusion, May 28, 2000

By	Bill Butler (Tarzana, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

When I first stumbled on Stephanie Winston's book, I thought that I had found a treasure! Then I asked everybody else that I know, and they said, "Of course! Her book is the best." May I please ask the reader why they had not told me about it? I buy organizational books every once in awhile hoping that they will do all my work for me. I have about 10. Some are real "killers". Details, details, details. Push, push, push. Then there are the voluntary simplicity ones. "If it's difficult, then don't do it." This is true! In my opinion (and it seems everyone else's), this is the best. You will find this book like a kindly companion guiding you along the way. My favorite is her method of choosing names for your files (no! She does not like a "miscellaneous" file. She will explain why after you start using her book). She suggests that you "feel" what name is right for a file. And it can be anything! But it will set off a trigger in your brain. This is a stroke of genius. I'm sorry to criticize. But this is a review. Another book which I won't name ("The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Organized" HA!) has all these horrible plexi-files that can be fitted together for a "complex" system. All it gave me what was a headache. Will Rogers stated, "I have never met a man I didn't like". Bill Butler stated, "I never read an Idiot's book that I did NOT dislike." Anyway, BUY THE BOOK. It is so simple. While accomplishing so much.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an easy-to-follow guide to making your life easier., July 12, 1997

By A Customer

Whether you are an Oscar, a Felix, or something in between, there is something in this book you can use. The book itself is neatly organized into sections about managing time, money, paperwork, and your home, and is indexed so that you can locate what you need to know without reading it from cover to cover. There are step-by-step instructions for setting priorities and completing specific tasks--however, the basic organization methods outlined are very flexible, so that they can be applied to almost any untidy situation, ranging from the annoying (such as continually running out of shampoo, or not being able to find your favorite shirt) to the potentially catastrophic (you have to itemize your tax return, and you always misplace your receipts and canceled checks). Even if you have it reasonably well together, this book can be quite helpful, since Ms. Winston also offers shortcuts for onerous tasks, suggestions for living within your means, and creative storage solutions--and who has enough time, money, or closet space these days?