Unclutter Your Life in One Week

by Doland, Erin Rooney; Allen, David

• ISBN13: 9781439150474
• ISBN10: 1439150478
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-12-28
• Publisher: Gallery Books

Summary

SIMPLICITY IS REVOLUTIONARY.Organization expert Erin Rooney Doland will show you how to clear the clutter, simplify your surroundings, and create the stress-free life you deservein just one week.Her down-to-earth approach and useful, innovative suggestions for tackling the physical, mental, and systemic distractions in your home and office will help you: Part with sentimental clutterOrganize your closet based on how you process informationBuild an effective and personalized filing systemAvoid the procrastination that often hinders the processMaintain your harmonious home and work environments with minimal daily effortAnd much more!

Author Biography

Erin Rooney Doland is an organization consultant and the Editor-in-Chief of Unclutterer.com, a popular website that has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Slate, House Beautiful, lifehacker.com, and on the BBC and HGTV. She is a twice-weekly columnist for Real Simple online and has written for Ready Made, Woman's Day, and CNN.com, among others. She lives in the Washington, D.C., area with her husband and son.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xiii
Erin's Story	p. xv
Foundations	p. 1
Why Change?	p. 3
Work-Life Symbiosis	p. 6
Questions for Your Things	p. 7
Going on a Sentimental Journey	p. 12
Monday	p. 17
Monday Morning: Your Wardrobe	p. 19
Weeding Through Your Wardrobe	p. 20
Wearing a Uniform	p. 22
Closet Clearing	p. 25
How You Process Information	p. 28
Clustering your Clothes	p. 33
Maintaining Order in your Closet	p. 38
Laundry and Caring for your Wardrobe	p. 39
Monday at Work: Your Office	p. 42
Perceptions	p. 43
Organizing and Maintaining your Desk	p. 44
Organizing the Rest of your Office	p. 50
Monday Evening: Your Reception Station	p. 51
Creating a Reception Station	p. 51
Coming Home	p. 54
Maintaining Your Reception Station	p. 56
Tuesday	p. 57
Tuesday Morning: Your Bathroom	p. 58
Define your Bathroom's Purposes	p. 58
Organizing your Bathroom by Zones	p. 59
Cabinet Clearing	p. 61
Buy the Small Size	p. 62
How Much Is Enough?	p. 64
Taking Care of Guests	p. 66
Tuesday at Work: Fixing your Files	p. 68
Stop Stacking Papers	p. 69
Qualities of a Good Filing System	p. 70
Case Study	p. 73
Structuring your Filing System	p. 74
Creating Order for your Papers	p. 79
Sorting	p. 80
Scanning	p. 82
Filing	p. 84
Organizing Old Systems	p. 87
Protecting Your System	p. 88
Tuesday Evening: Household Chores Aren't Just for Children	p. 89
Creating Cues	p. 90
Establishing and Maintaining Routines	p. 91
Running Errands	p. 95
Hiring Help	p. 96
Charting It out	p. 97
Fall Cleaning Guide	p. 100
Wednesday	p. 106
Wednesday Morning: Your Bedroom and Commute	p. 107
Unclutter Your Bedroom	p. 108
Sorting Through Bed Linens	p. 109
Organizing for Better Sleep and waking Up	p. 111
Getting Out the Door	p. 113
Commuting to the Office	p. 115
Consuming Media While Commuting	p. 118
Wednesday at Work: Communication Processes	p. 121
The Four Types of Meetings	p. 121
Participating in Meetings	p. 124
Planning a Meeting	p. 125
Phone, Internet, and E-mail Strategies	p. 128
Powerful Presentations	p. 138
Selectively Saying Yes	p. 141
Wednesday Evening: Your Kitchen and Dining Room	p. 144
Working the Room	p. 144
Unitaskers	p. 147
Tools of the Trade	p. 149
Cleaning Out the Pantry and Refrigerator	p. 151
Cookbooks and Recipes	p. 153
Meal Planning and Eliminating Mealtime Stress	p. 155
Shopping as Sport	p. 158
Your Dining Room	p. 158
Thursday	p. 160
Thursday Morning: Your Living Spaces	p. 161
Finding Space for Living	p. 161
Displaying Collections	p. 164
Slimming Down Your Bookshelves	p. 165
Maintaining Order in your Living Room	p. 167
Thursday at Work: Working While at Work	p. 168
Your Productive Day at Work	p. 170
Tracking Your Productivity	p. 170
Ways to Improve Your Productivity	p. 172
Stop Procrastinating	p. 175
Repercussions	p. 177
Thursday Evening: Your Home Office	p. 178
Setting Up a Home Office or Workspace	p. 179
Work from Home or Live at Work?	p. 180
Managing your Home	p. 183
Spring Cleaning Guide	p. 185
Friday	p. 191
Friday Morning: Scheduling Strategies	p. 192
Traditional and Technical Scheduling Tools	p. 193
Keeping on Schedule	p. 196
You Say It's Your Birthday	p. 197
Friday at Work: Routine Is not a Four-Letter Word	p. 199
Project Management	p. 199
Small Deadlines Are Better Than One Big Deadline	p. 203
When You're Not in Control of the Project	p. 205
Learning from the Lazy	p. 206
Routines and Productivity	p. 207
Routine Typing	p. 208
Friday Evening: Living with Clutterers	p. 210
Ten Tips for Living with a Clutterbug	p. 211
The Weekend	p. 214
Taking Care of Yourself	p. 214
Preparing for the Worst	p. 215
Hobbies and Making the most of your Personal Time	p. 216
Vacation and Travel	p. 219
Being a Social Butterfly	p. 221
Celebrating and Maintaining Your Success	p. 224
Notes	p. 229
Resources	p. 231
Acknowledgments	p. 235
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