General

One of my favorite quotes is: "Make each day your masterpiece." (John Wooden) I have this quote printed out on a label and stuck to the top edge of my laptop screen. It keeps me on track throughout the day and inspires me. When I am getting distracted, I ask myself if this activity or… Read more »

This photo was taken at a local grocery store, showing the vast array of choices of salsa that we face here in Austin, Texas. (click photo to enlarge) Sometimes in life we just have WAY TOO MANY CHOICES! In my book I talk about how all disorganization really stems from two things: delayed decisions and actions. (See also previous… Read more »

Why am I up at 5:00 every morning lately? I have two mean friends who are making me do that. I have to e-mail them to prove that I am up and working. I am trying to finish one of those "very important but not urgent" projects that has been lingering for a while, and I… Read more »

I am a huge fan of TED Talks, which are amazing speeches by some of the brightest and best minds in the world on widely varying topics. I listen to them as a podcast when exercising or working around the house–incredibly enriching! I just listened to Deborah Gordon talking about ants and how they know what tasks to perform in… Read more »

We always say that to be organized and more productive, you should think like a lazy person. Constantly ask yourself how you could do things faster, better…or not at all! Forms are one of the best ways to save time and gain efficiency. I daresay I am in love with forms. If you're doing something that might ever possibly need to… Read more »

At the Clutter Diet, we have a lot of fun with the weight loss metaphor—how the personal change involved in getting organized is very parallel to what it takes to lose weight. Both endeavors are not an overnight process. Little choices and little changes add up to a lot… It’s choosing baked chips instead of… Read more »

Stay with me for a moment, because this really does relate to clutter! In sociology class in college I remember hearing about the "Broken Window theory," from the book Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities by George L. Kelling and Catherine Coles. (To my Kindle subscribers: sorry, that book's not available on… Read more »

Someone in our Clutter Diet program just posted a suggestion for us to talk about "table clutter." We in the organizing biz refer to this as a problem with "undesignated space." Let's say you have some kind of open, flat surface–it could be a countertop, a formal dining table that you never use much, a… Read more »

When people first started asking me to speak, I would tell them what kinds of information I could train people on with regard to tips and methods and other extremely practical organizing matters. "I'm not a motivational speaker," I would say. Boy, did I have a lot to learn! What experience in this field has taught me is… Read more »

Evidently the fourth week of March is National Clutter Awareness Week. (Not sure who makes these up, but thank you!) You're probably keenly aware of the clutter you already have, but this week let's focus on awareness of how to prevent accumulating more. There are three kinds of preventable clutter that accumulate in your life:  Purchased… Read more »