Can We Talk?
Here’s My Guarantee

Life is like a wild horse that wants to roam all over the track and, if possible, jump the rail and run amok without direction. Life veers toward complexity. Left to itself, your life will become more and more complicated, cluttered, and busy.

Life complicates itself naturally without assistance. That’s the reason there are books called “Simplify Your Life” but none called “Complicate Your Life.” A complicated life is stressful and unpleasant; a simplified life is peaceful and fulfilling.

We learned in physics class the second law of thermodynamics, which indicates in a general way that everything moves naturally toward chaos. So we spend a lot of time in our lives trying to address the problem of chaos, using handheld organizers like Palm Pilots, calendar systems, and books on organizing in an effort to stop the pell-mell rush to randomness in our lives.

We yearn for order. Our minds, our hearts, our souls thirst for simplicity and harmony, but they don’t come as easily as we would like. The battle for order is hard won. Deep down we resist this fact. We hope that somehow nature will reverse its path toward complexity and we can become organized without much effort. For most of us, this is a pipe dream that will never come true.

However, as we look around, we notice that some people do seem to live naturally organized lives. By learning and following their simple “secrets,” we can lead the kind of stress-free lives we crave. Don’t get me wrong—nobody wants to live a boring life, stripped to its bare necessities. We all have our special desires, places in our lives we want to give the full treatment, maybe even go overboard from time to time. But what we want to avoid is letting life get so out of control that we don’t have time to direct and focus it on the important things, because the unimportant things have taken up all the time.

Don’t be more organized than you need to be, but don’t be any less either. This book is about your reaching the organization goal you want in the simplest way possible. And then, if and when you have found the balance you want, you can move on to whatever extras you want to add. Simplicity is assured. Complexity is optional.

For more than twenty years, I have been known as the Organizer Lady. I entered the organizing field as a result of my own search for order in my chaotic life and in the process developed a keen sense of the internal and psychological working of organizing. In this book my insights will open mental and emotional doors that will enable you to bring your life to the level of orderliness you seek.

To help you in your search and make it more fun as well, the following chapters deal with the practicalities of organizing and often, but not always, contain the following:

• Professional Organizer Viewpoints. Over the last twenty years, professional organizing has taken its place with interior design and many other services that meet the needs of modern living. Professional organizers, many of whom are members of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO, www.napo.org), the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD, www.nsgcd.com), or both, share their expertise on various topics. While I can’t vouch for each one specifically, I can tell you that if you find the right professional organizer at the right time, it can be a wonderful help for your organizational progress.
• In the Trenches with Smart Homemakers. People who are on the road to better organizing are enthusiastic about what they are doing. They love to share and hear from others who are on the same road. The comments of those in the trenches are the happy sharing of successes, techniques, or motivation that will encourage all of us.
• Being disorganized is a private matter for many people. Even so, some want to reach out to others for support. These postings are presented as they were written, casually, in email form, on forums on www.messies.com. The unique styles are not edited, so you will sense the personality of the writers. Their comments will not always dovetail with the suggestions given in the book, but they are valuable alternatives.
• Stories and anecdotes about people are based on real lives, but many names are altered.
• Tips. In this book I stick with tips that may be useful in getting the basics done. Any tip that makes your life easier and better is worthwhile. Any tip that doesn’t meet your needs on a practical level in what you do daily should be totally ignored.
• What Do You Want? In almost every chapter you will find an evaluation to help you decide what level of housekeeping you are aiming for. Sometimes the evaluation will help you determine where you are so you can plan where to go from there.
• Remember, if you aim at nothing definite, you will likely hit it. That leads to discouragement. If you have a definite goal, you are much more likely to achieve it. Nothing can be more satisfying. Even if you don’t fully achieve your highest goal, you will be farther down the road; and later, after you catch your breath, you can continue the journey.
• The Bare Bones Way. The Bare Bones Way is housekeeping cut to the bone. This section is focused on simple methods for getting the most out of life with the least effort. I call it the plump life, the quality of life you want for yourself and your family.
• I am giving you a heads-up here so you will be sure to note the most important part—the heart—of the book. There are ten simple steps or activities (Only ten steps! You can do that!) that if you do really get them and then do them, I guarantee you will maximize the fullness of living with minimum effort.
• Here are the ten activities that everyone can do:
  
  
• 3 Steps to organize the house so it works well—and easily.
• 2 Routines that maintain the house.
• 5 Habits to keep clutter on the run.
  
  
• Now here’s the guarantee: Buy into these activities and integrate them into your life, and your housekeeping will be transformed “like magic.”
• Beyond Bare Bones. Sometimes we want to move above and beyond the basics. We may feel the urge to do something special in a single area, or our circumstances may regularly require more advanced techniques. Beyond Bare Bones suggests additional tips and ideas you may want to use.
• Decision Time. Nothing in the house or your life will change unless you do. Each of the chapters that deals with specifics of organization will guide you to decisions that will move you into order. Take them seriously. Perhaps you will want to keep a little notebook containing the decisions you make and evaluate them all when you get to the end of the book. Then you can choose the things you can do that will give you the most bang for your organizational-time-and-effort buck.

At the end of the book you will have a final look at your game plan for success. It is never overwhelming because we focus on only a few significant steps that will make a substantial difference.

One more word is in order. To make the book as helpful as possible, websites, phone numbers, and addresses are included. Over time, these may change, but a good search engine on the Internet will locate many of them and calling 800-555-1212 will help you find the phone numbers you need.