Archives for February 2009

Planning your perfect day

Before I became a full-time writer, I didn’t give much thought to what a realistic day at the office would be for me. I had an idealized image of a writer in my mind — one that included afternoon drinks at the White Horse Tavern with Jack Kerouac and Anais Nin — and most of my wayward fantasies didn’t actually include writing.

Ha ha ha. Ho ho ho. Hee hee hee.

I love my job, but it usually doesn’t include shots of whiskey every afternoon with New York’s (deceased) literati. Mostly, it involves sitting behind a computer for 10 hours a day moving my fingers up and down on a keyboard.

One way that I kept (and continue to keep) 10 hours of typing from being painful is to make sure that I’m involved in its planning.

At the beginning of every day, I set aside five minutes to plan my perfect day. It doesn’t always turn out exactly the way I expected, but it rarely gets completely uprooted. Also, the plan is more about putting anxieties to rest than a rigid to-do list.

How To

  1. Identify the work that has to be completed by the end of the day. What, if you fail to accomplish, will get you fired/stressed/full of anxiety/arrested/etc.?
  2. Identify at least three things you want to do in addition to the must-do items.
  3. Identify any routines that should take place to keep you on track. Is today a laundry day? Is it your night to make dinner?
  4. Estimate length of time to complete all of your must do, want to do, and routine projects.
  5. Write out a plan for your day, where you stagger easy and difficult tasks and schedule the hardest task when you’re the most alert.
  6. Get working.

Example

  • 6:10 a.m. Wake up, drink coffee, eat breakfast, enjoy the silence.
  • 6:30 a.m. Get ready, shower.
  • 7:00 a.m. Go to work.
  • 8:00 a.m. Check in with staff/boss.
  • 8:15 a.m. Plan day, check e-mail, read RSS feeds.
  • 8:30 a.m. Work on difficult projects.
  • 11:30 a.m. Have lunch.
  • 12:30 p.m. Check e-mail.
  • 1:00 p.m. Work on easy projects.
  • 2:30 p.m. Zone out unintentionally, drink coffee.
  • 3:00 p.m. Work on difficult projects.
  • 5:00 p.m. Check e-mail.
  • 5:15 p.m. End of day check-in with staff/boss, file, put materials away, set up desk for next day.
  • 5:30 p.m. Go home.
  • 6:30 p.m. Fix dinner, eat dinner.
  • 7:30 p.m. Daily chores.
  • 8:00 p.m. Help children with homework.
  • 9:00 p.m. Relax, spend time with spouse, be social, read, watch tv, meet a friend for a drink, call mom, work out at gym, and/or do something fun.
  • 11:00 p.m. Bed.

The example schedule isn’t mine (I don’t have kids needing help with homework, and I’m already at my desk writing on my book at 6:30 a.m.), and it probably won’t work for you either, it’s just here to give you an example of how you might schedule your day. The point of the example is to show you how you could keep time from slipping away from you, and make sure that you accomplish what you want to accomplish. Give it a whirl and see how you might plan your perfect day.

Posted by Erin on Feb 18, 2009 | 29 Comments | Tweet This

Instructions for decluttering your home (in less than 500 words)

Again we want to welcome guest author Alex Fayle, the writer behind the helpful anti-procrastination website Someday Syndrome.

One of the most frequent questions I ever get asked about organizing is the process. How do you make the decisions to get rid of things? While there are many tips and tricks you can use to ease the streamlining process, it all comes down to 5 easy steps:

  1. Set yourself a goal “I am going to sort half this room before bed” or “I’m going to streamline the contents of this one box.”
  2. Figure out broad categories and where you are going sort each category into.
  3. Sort your stuff, moving systemically through the space, and not bouncing back and forth.
  4. Purge what you don’t want.
  5. Stop when you’ve reached your goal.

Use the sorting time to reminisce about the objects — don’t make any decisions at this point. Allow the emotions to come up and clear themselves out so that when it comes to the streamlining stage you are free from the emotional ties and can make more objective decisions about them.

If the idea of sorting overwhelms you, give yourself some early victories and do a walk-through of the space, choosing to remove a few large things that will open up the space quickly.

After sorting:

  • Take one category and if you can, move it out of the space in which you are working, and into a clear space (like the dining room). This allows you to concentrate on the one category and not have to face the rest all at once.
  • Ask yourself two questions: Need it? Love it? If you can’t say yes to either then get rid of it. Life is too short to fill out our spaces with things we’re indifferent to.
  • Take the things you are not going to keep out of the house as quickly as possible. The longer they stay the more likely they will come back into the house.
  • Give yourself rewards – for example out of fifty childhood books you’ve never reread but have kept for sentimental reasons, keep five and store them in a place of honor where you can see them and appreciate the memories associated with them.

There are two instances in which you stop for the day even if you are not done:

  1. If you find yourself hitting a “brain fog” where nothing makes sense or you find yourself holding on to everything you are reviewing.
  2. If you have hit a manic state and start tossing everything without looking at it.

Simple, yes? So now tell us, what are you going to streamline this week?

Posted by Alex on Feb 17, 2009 | 32 Comments | Tweet This

Collapsible funnel

funnelOk, I’m not going to claim that this is the most exciting product in the world, but it is one that caught my eye. The Collapsible Funnel by Progressive International doesn’t need much explaining. It is a funnel. It collapses. It is easy to store. 

We currently have a traditional plastic funnel in our kitchen that has to be placed just right in the drawer for the drawer to be able to close. Having to mess with the funnel every time I open the drawer is a pet peeve of mine that this little device immediately eliminates. I can’t express to you how excited I was when I found this item.

Please forgive my relatively high level of excitement for such a bland product, but sometimes it is the smallest things that make life better. A collapsible funnel — genius!

Posted by Matt on Feb 17, 2009 | 19 Comments | Tweet This

Animal hoarding

It seems like every few months there is a story on the local news about a house that is completely filled with animals. The story usually goes like this: A foul odor was reported from neighbors and animal control was called in to investigate. Upon further investigation, the house was home to more than “X” number of animals.  

The cats and or dogs are then put into cages and hauled off to an animal shelter. Many of the animals are diseased, malnourished, and unfortunately euthanized. This is a peculiar form of hoarding that accounts for roughly 1,500 cases per year. 

Hoarding is a type of obsessive compulsive disorder that takes hold of people’s lives. Hoarders want to hold on to just about everything they come in contact with. Animal hoarders are usually lonely, older individuals that accumulate a large number of animals to protect them from harm. In doing so, the conditions in the home deteriorate over time. This leads to a very unhealthy environment for the animals as well as the hoarder. From AnimalHoarding.com:

Hoarders justify their behavior with the view that the animals are surrogate children and that no one else can care for them. They harbor a fear that if they seek help the animals will be euthanized.

More recently, in a publication from the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium, Animal Hoarding: Structuring interdisciplinary responses to help people, animals and communities at risk, Patronek and his cohorts list four key characteristics:

  • Failure to provide minimal standards of sanitation, space, nutrition, and veterinary care for the animals
  • Inability to recognize the effects of this failure on the welfare of the animals, human members of the household, and the environment
  • Obsessive attempts to accumulate or maintain a collection of animals in the face of progressively deteriorating conditions
  • Denial or minimization of problems and living conditions for people and animals

For more information on animal hoarding, go to AnimalHoarding.com or the Animal Hoarding News and Info blog.

For more information on hoarding in general, check out these resources:

Posted by Matt on Feb 16, 2009 | 14 Comments | Tweet This

Unclutterer article in latest issue of Real Simple magazine

Please check out the March 2009 issue of Real Simple magazine, which features an article I wrote titled “10 ways to let go of your stuff.” In the article, I talk about my transformation from a clutterer into an unclutterer (pgs. 119-120).

As of right now, the article isn’t yet on line. If this changes, I will return to this page and update the article. Until it goes online, or until you check it out on the news stand, enjoy this excerpt from the article:

5. Do look a gift horse in the mouth. My decorating tastes may change over time, but I am fairly certain I will never enjoy a home filled with a series of rhinestone-accented paintings of scary clowns. Yet I had hoarded these and other unattractive presents because I thought that was the decent thing to do. I also wasn’t sure what I would say if someone noticed his gift missing and asked why. Well, you know what? No one has. Not even the bestower of the scary clowns.

The magazine is scheduled to hit news stands today. If you have a subscription to the magazine, you probably received it in the mail at some point over the course of the past two weeks.

Posted by Erin on Feb 16, 2009 | 25 Comments | Tweet This

A year ago on Unclutterer

2008

Posted by PJ on Feb 15, 2009 | Comments Off | Tweet This

Please, use my home for your clutter

for_rentThe other day, I stumbled upon the bizarre website Homstie. The purpose of the site is to list space in your home that you want to make available to strangers for clutter storage rental.

Off site storage does make sense in certain situations, especially for city parking. If your home comes with two parking spaces and you only use one, renting out the other space makes sense.

However, when it comes to putting someone else’s clutter in your home, the idea falls apart completely. First of all, if you have enough extra space that you can rent it out, maybe consider downsizing. Your mortgage and energy bills would certainly be smaller. Also, you don’t want your clutter in your home, why take on someone else’s? Finally, there is no telling what could be in those duffle bags that were dropped off by that strange guy who talks to squirrels in the park. All I can think of is the spooky case of John Robinson.

(via Lifehacker)

Posted by Matt on Feb 14, 2009 | 18 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Trophies, plaques, and medals

Reader Jeannine submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

What to do with trophies and plaques? My brother had lots of medals and trophies from wrestling in high school and ended up just THROWING them all away because he didn’t know what to do with them.

That seems a bit extreme, but now I have a box full of speech plaques from high school (I wasn’t exactly an athlete!) in my basement and find myself wondering if I really want to keep them.

Is there a way to at least recycle these items?

Awards and gifts of appreciation are always difficult to part with, and I actually don’t recommend getting rid of all of them. It’s nice to have a reminder in your space that your hard work was worth your efforts. For instance, I think framed diplomas are appropriate on office walls.

That being said, I don’t think a person needs to hang onto a participation ribbon from a third grade sack race or bean bag relay. There is usually a clear-cut line between what is worth keeping and what isn’t. To find that line, ask yourself these two questions:

  1. Do I want to display this item? (Yes, keep. No, get rid of it.)
  2. Do I gain inspiration from looking at this item? (Yes, keep. No, get rid of it.)

If you aren’t willing to display the item in your home, then it’s not worth keeping. Take a picture of the award or scan it and get rid of the physical clutter. You shouldn’t waste space storing something you don’t value.

Instead of tossing the item directly into the trash, though, I recommend calling your local trophy shop and asking them what they do with old items. Many will tell you just to drop your items off at their store. Our local shop participates in metal and wood recycling programs. If your local shop thinks you’re weird for calling, check your county’s website. Often, local governments have recycling programs for metal and wood. If both of these contacts are fruitless, call your recycling center. One of these three resources should be able to help you.

Another idea, too, is to call the group that gave you the award or your high school/college if you were a student there when you won the award. My high school has a giant bell tower filled with trophies and the historical society accepts them for donation. If you have an Emmy, Oscar, Pulitzer, Nobel Prize, or Olympic medal, I know these make great gifts to friends and family members. I have a friend with one of his uncle’s Emmy awards and he displays it like it’s his own.

Jeannine, I hope this helps to answer your questions! Thank you for your submission. If our readers have more suggestions, please add them to the comments.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Feb 13, 2009 | 32 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: An Unclutterer’s office

This week’s Workspace of the Week is my office:

For more than two years I was working at a minimalist work station, which ultimately wasn’t meeting my needs. All of the items I needed to do my job were across the room in my Mary Poppins closet and not nearby for efficient work. In January, I hit my breaking point and decided to makeover my office. Minimalism was out, and convenience and efficiency moved in.

I wrote about the transformation process in a series of four posts in my RealSimple.com column:

I’m not an interior designer, so it’s not the prettiest office ever featured on our site. However, it is organized and meets every one of my needs. Plus, I’m pretty sure a few of you were curious as to what an Unclutterer’s office looks like. Enjoy!

Want to have your own workspace featured in Workspace of the Week? Submit a picture to the Unclutterer flickr pool. Check it out because we have a nice little community brewing there. Also, don’t forget that workspaces aren’t just desks. If you’re a cook, it’s a kitchen; if you’re a carpenter, it’s your workbench.

Posted by Erin on Feb 13, 2009 | 25 Comments | Tweet This

Simple lists with Printable Checklist

Many Unclutterer readers have confessed in the past that they love making lists. I, too, enjoy a good list. They’re systematic. Predictable. Effective.

Last week I learned about Printable Checklist, a website that exists for the sole purpose of basic list making. There are very few bells, and even fewer whistles.

If you have a need to make a list, it will meet that need. Items for your children to remember to take to school, groceries for your spouse to pick up after work, routines for the baby sitter to follow — whatever list you need to make, Printable Checklist will make it.

Instead of printing it directly to paper, print it to PDF and save it on your hard drive for future or repeated use. Check out our directions for printing to PDF if you’ve never printed a file in this way.

Sure, there are other programs that do similar tasks. But, this one is easy. You can teach your young children how to use it in just a few seconds. You can teach yourself to use it without a tutor. And, it’s a lot cleaner than writing out a list by hand if someone else needs to read the information. Often, simple solutions are good solutions.

(via Lifehacker)

Posted by Erin on Feb 12, 2009 | 25 Comments | Tweet This

This Valentine’s day, make a change

As we talked about in the post Ask Unclutterer: How can I change someone into an unclutterer?” we get many emails asking how unclutterers can live with clutterers. It reminds me of one of those light bulb jokes: How many Psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? One, but the light bulb has to want to change.

Our clutterful light bulbs — our roommates, significant others — may not want to change. But, there is something that we can change, ourselves.

If you’re up for the challenge, what small unclutterer change or efficiency enhancer are you willing to make? If you’re stumped, think about your partner’s pet peeves. Some examples I’ve seen with couples are:

  • Dropping a jacket on the floor when arriving home
  • Leaving dishes about the house
  • Losing keys frequently

These things may not bug you, but we’re talking about our partners here — the things that bother them. As I got to thinking about Valentine’s Day this year, and realizing my husband hates gifts, I thought: how about changing something I do that bothers him? I ran the idea past him and he’s all for it. We decided that I will work on keeping the house better stocked with groceries. I’ll sit down with him and templatize a specific list of items to regularly have on hand (in addition to the staples). It’s the little things that make a difference.

Forming a New Habit

First, it takes 21 days to form a new habit. I like to use 30 day blocks, however, to be sure the habit gets locked in.

Start Small: Pick just one daily, do-able thing that you’ll take on for 30 days. For example, you commit to putting your clothes in the hamper before bed for the next 30 days. Selecting one thing will put all of your focus there, rather than trying to tackle several habits at once.

Be Clear: Be sure that you know clearly whether you’ve accomplished the task or not. For example, is your goal to file paper in your home office for 10 minutes each day or is it to file 1/2 an inch of paper each day? Near dinner time each day, mine will be to check off food items that need to be purchased this week.

Track Progress: Use a calendar, goal-setting software such as Lifetick or create a spreadsheet with 30 boxes to track your progress. A check mark or gold star means you did the task. Leaving the box blank of course means you didn’t do it.

Keep It Visible: Have your document pop up on your screensaver, set reminders in your electronic calendar or place in another visible place, such as on the refrigerator. As you’re forming a new habit, you’ll need prompts.

Be Consistent: When possible, do the task at the same time every day. This will make the action a routine and, in time, you’ll be pulled to complete it automatically. For instance, pop your jacket into the closet right away when you arrive home each day.

Begin: The hardest part is to begin. Pick a start day. Today is a good idea so that you don’t build up resistance to change. And, why wait to surprise your partner with a clean family room or an uncluttered car?

I think creating a productive habit will give you more mileage than your standard Valentine’s Day gifts.

Up for the challenge? What habit do you want to take on for 30 days? Let us know in the comments. And, if you choose to go a more traditional route, check out Matt’s post from last week on uncluttered Valentine’s day gifts.

Posted by Sue on Feb 12, 2009 | 19 Comments | Tweet This

Unitasker Wednesday: Tootsie tanner

tootsie-tannerAll Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy!

If you are constantly struggling with sock or sandal tan lines, this unitasker may be right up your alley. The Tootsie Tanner may have a pretty ridiculous name, but it serves a very important purpose. That purpose? Well, tanning your feet of course. How else does one get rid of those embarrassing foot tan lines? And, OMG, they are SO embarrassing!

Do you know any foot models? How about a friend with unsightly foot tan lines? Well, now you know what to get them for their birthdays.

From the product description:

Original The Tootsie Tanner was developed as a convenient mini foot tanning bed that can be used in the comfort of your home. If you play golf, tennis, jog or participate in any outdoor activity, there is an unattractive result: The Dreaded Sock Line! 

With the Tootsie Tanner, you can attain a seamless tan from your legs all the way down to your tootsies. You can not control the amount of UVB (burning rays) from natural sunlight. This unit controls both the UVA/UVB ratio and your exposure time. 

Posted by Matt on Feb 11, 2009 | 25 Comments | Tweet This

A year ago on Unclutterer

2008

2007

Posted by PJ on Feb 11, 2009 | 3 Comments | Tweet This

Creating a central binder for your home

As much as I tend to store information digitally, slips of paper still manage to sweep into our home, such as gym schedules, school lunch menus, and event flyers. That is why I have set up a central home binder. It offers a safe haven for important papers, vital contacts for anyone to access, and a receptacle for health information.

I personally set up a very simple system for less than $15. Here is how to create one of your own:

First, decide what categories best reflect the kind of information you refer to often and that you want to store in your central home binder. Categorize by type of information or by family members’ names, or both. I keep my categories to five or less for simplicity — I don’t want the binder to be an overstuffed catch-all for everything.

The Categories (one per binder tab):

  • Contacts
  • Health & Fitness
  • Food
  • House
  • Travel

The Tools:

  • Simple Binder
  • Tabs
  • Plastic Pockets for In Between Tabs

Simple Binder

Select a binder size to match the number of categories and size you think you’ll need. Unless you have many people sharing the binder, a 1 to 1.5-inch binder should do. I use a simple, 1-inch binder with a plastic cover that’s sturdy yet malleable. It’s easy to squeeze it in between cookbooks in a cabinet beneath the kitchen counter.

Tabs

Use the number of tabs to match your categories. I purchased a package of five by Avery with large, easy-to-read tabs and printer-friendly labels.

Plastic Pockets for In Between Tabs

Some sheets that come into our home will simply be 3-hole punched and placed in the binder, such as a sports schedule. But others, like smaller pieces of paper, can be stored in clear pockets.

Filing Suggestions

Contacts: Keep a list of emergency contacts here. Phone trees, especially for your child’s classmates, are great since entering everyone into your address book would be unnecessary. Permission slips can go in the front pocket, too.

Food: Insert standard shopping lists and meal planning worksheets in this section.

Health and Fitness: A blank sheet of paper to record prescriptions fits nicely under this tab. Note which prescriptions need to be renewed and when. Jot down free medication sample names so that you know who and what they’re for in case you need a full prescription. Use pockets to insert doctors’ notes. Store exercise programs and fitness class schedules here also.

House: The section pocket is a great place to temporarily store recent house maintenance receipts for things like plumbing bills. That way, you have quick-access to the information in the event of a repeating issue. Also include cleaning checklists in this section.

Travel: If you employ a babysitter, this is a good section to include maps to locations your children may have to travel while you’re not at home. Google maps directions to music lessons and sports practices are appreciated by the people who aren’t a regular part of your routine. If you have frequent house guests, store a city map in this section to easily have on hand.

What systems have you used for your home-central information? Let us know in the comments, we are curious to know what has worked best for you.

Posted by Sue on Feb 11, 2009 | 42 Comments | Tweet This

Tips for taming e-mail in Outlook

If you’re not a subscriber to Fast Company magazine, I wanted to call your attention to a terrific article in this month’s issue “Six Tools to Help Tackle Overflowing Email” by Robert Scoble.

Five of the tips are exclusively for Outlook users. Since I don’t use Outlook, I haven’t been looking at tips for this system as I work my way through my 2009 new year’s resolution. However, I know that many of our readers are on Microsoft systems and could greatly benefit from Scoble’s advice:

If I were going to recommend only one tool, ClearContext (clearcontext.com; free for personal use, $90 per seat for project management) offers the most immediate productivity gains. The Outlook add-on looks at who you’re replying to and how often, then automatically prioritizes the messages. It color-codes the most pressing ones, graying out mass emails.

The article even provided some insight for us non-Outlooker users:

As much as I like these tools, the best way to improve your email experience is to follow the advice I gave those Cisco employees: Take some conversations elsewhere. If you need to write a press release or a report, and 10 other people need to modify or approve it, you’re much better off using an online word-processing tool such as Google Docs or Adobe’s Buzzword. One email invites everyone to join the collaborative workspace, then everyone can make changes or leave notes on the document itself. No revision tracking. No full inbox.

Thank you to reader Laura for first bringing this gem to our attention.

Posted by Erin on Feb 10, 2009 | 11 Comments | Tweet This

LendAround is a great alternative to buying

LendAround is a service that coordinates sharing items with your friends. The website is in beta, and currently there is a waiting list to join, but we think it’s worth the effort of signing up for the service now. From their about page:

LendAround is a project to encourage us all to stop hoarding stuff we own, and start lending it to each other.

…

LendAround is a free web tool that helps people to borrow things from their friends — starting with DVDs.

It lets you keep track of what you own, what you’ve borrowed, and who from.

You choose who you trust, and you choose what to list.

You’re in control all the time. If a friend asks to borrow something of yours, saying yes is always optional.

A website that helps people to keep fewer things in their homes is a pretty good service in Unclutterer’s view. Learn more by checking out LendAround’s tour.

(via Apartment Therapy)

Posted by Matt on Feb 10, 2009 | 17 Comments | Tweet This

Get organized on a shoestring

Shelving systems, storage boxes, and drawer organizers are convenient, but they also cost money. When you take on an organizing project, sometimes what is convenient isn’t always in the budget. Here are some tips to help cut costs and become a little more organized:

Boxes: Whether they are shoe boxes, moving boxes, or mystery boxes from long long ago, you can make use of them in storing just about anything. You can spruce them up with contact paper or wrapping paper to make them more aesthetically pleasing. Make sure you label them accordingly so you know what is inside. You can also use smaller boxes for drawer dividers. By making use of jewelry boxes, shoe boxes, or any other small box you can keep your drawers divided on the cheap.

Shelving: We made use of some old doors for shelving purposes in our basement. They are large, sturdy, and serve the purpose of makeshift shelving. Shelving units are readily available for purchase at any hardware store, but taking a look around your home before you head out to buy is a good idea. In my opinion, basement or garage shelving should be utilitarian. Scrap wood and cinder blocks made sense in college for an entertainment system, surely it can make due as a place for your paint cans and Christmas decorations.

Thrift stores: They are a treasure trove of storage possibilities. Old dresser can be used for tools and painting supplies.

Unclutter first, store later: Before you take on an organizing project, make sure you take stock of everything. You may be surprised at the amount of stuff you don’t need. This may cut down on the storage devices that you may need.

I know our insightful readers have some great ideas to add to this post. Let’s see them in the comments section.

Posted by Matt on Feb 9, 2009 | 36 Comments | Tweet This

Do organized people have a bad reputation?

I received an interesting e-mail message the other day:

Why should I bother getting rid of my clutter if my clutter doesn’t bother me? It only seems to be a problem for other people.

I receive dozens of e-mails like this a month. They’re messages from people who stumble upon the website and feel a need to defend their messy way of life. The incorrect assumption is always that since we talk about home and office organizing on Unclutterer, we believe that we’re better than messy people.

At a networking event last year, a woman I had just met told me she hated people like me. She said that she hates organized, tightly wound people who look down their noses at messy people. She made these comments after I said only the words, “Hi, I’m Erin. I’m editor-in-chief of a website called Unclutterer.com.”

I haven’t quite figured out why, but there does seem to be the misconception that organized people spend a great amount of time looking down on people who are messy. How did this inaccurate stereotype develop? Why is pursuing an organized life considered to be one full of judgment?

The reality (or, at least my reality) is that I barely have the time to do the things I want to do. I want to help people who want my help to be more organized and live more simply. I want to be a good friend to my friends, and a good family member to my family. I want to be happy. I don’t have the time or desire to judge people because they are messy. And, since I used to be completely disorganized, I would have to look down on my past self — and I don’t have the time to do that, either.

What are your thoughts? Why do you think organized people get a bad rap? More importantly, what can all of us do to put these inaccurate and judgmental stereotypes to rest? Or, am I off base, and are most organized people standing around thinking bad thoughts about messy people? I’m interested in reading your opinions in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Feb 9, 2009 | 142 Comments | Tweet This

A year ago on Unclutterer

2008

2007

  • Is clutter not all that bad?
    A new book argues that too much organization can hamper creativity, and some clutter is A-OK.
  • Keep kids’ POV in mind
    Organization tips for parents (or, how to make it easy for them to feed themselves).
  • What’s a kitchen for?
    Realistically, we use our kitchens for more than just cooking and eating, but we have to be careful we can still cook and eat.
  • More kitchen tips
    More kitchen tips for decluttering, keeping recipes, and dealing with paper and mail.

Posted by PJ on Feb 8, 2009 | 1 Comment | Tweet This

Coming in 2009: An Unclutterer book

I wanted to let everyone know about an exciting adventure I’m undertaking.

In late November, I signed a contract with Simon Spotlight Entertainment, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, to write an Unclutterer book. The book is slated to be released this fall and will cover home and office organizing, time management, productivity, clutter clearing, and many additional simple living issues.

The book is currently untitled, does not yet have a cover, and will spend the next two months in editing before I even turn over my first draft to my publisher. However, since things are progressing as they should, I wanted to share with you this happy news.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support and inspiration. If it weren’t for you, our Unclutterer readers, this opportunity never would have arisen. You are sincerely the best readers on the internet.

Also, I want you to know that the book isn’t a reprinting of the website — it’s new content for a new medium. I want it to be useful to new and continued readers alike. That being said, however, it is definitely written in the same spirit as the website. You should expect to laugh and have a good time while reading it, as well as learning a great deal about uncluttering. There also will be an audio version of the book, but I know even fewer details about its production and release.

There shouldn’t be any service interruptions on Unclutterer.com while I finish my work on the book. My proposal writing started more than six months ago and I have been putting in long hours since to ensure that the quality content you’ve come to expect on the site continues.

Thank you, again, and I’m so glad that I can share the news of this adventure with you!

Posted by Erin on Feb 7, 2009 | 41 Comments | Tweet This