Eliminate Chaos: The 10-Step Process to Organize Your Home & Life

by Laura Leist
(Snohomish, WA)

Front Cover

Table of Contents

PREFACE: LAURA'S STORY -- shares the author's own personal journey of discovery about what "stuff" is really important and what can be let go of

CHAPTER 1: THE ORGANIZING PROCESS -- leads you through some basic steps and considerations to make as you work through the clutter in any room of your home...including:

2 major mistakes people make when organizing
dedicating time to the project
gathering your supplies
establishing a staging area
the right way to sort
5 tips for making purging easier
assigning categories
evaluating your space
shopping for the right organizing products
maintaining the chnges you made



CHAPTER 2: BEATING PROCRASTINATION -- helps you understand what causes procrastination and how to overcome it with practical systems...including:

what kind of procrastinator are you?
8 excuses for putting things off
8 ways to overcome those excuses
your to-do list
priorities, scheduling, and completion dates
12 steps to avoid procrastinating with this book!

CHAPTER 3: PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONS FOR CLUTTER -- examines true stories about the mental causes of clutter in your life and ways to overcome each obstacle...including:

depression
denial
grieving
thrift
a cluttered upbringing

CHAPTER 4: KITCHEN AND PANTRY -- outlines a complete plan for getting your kitchen and pantry areas in order...including:

a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
client story of a real kitchen brought back under control
detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your kitchen
4 common problems of kitchens and how to solve them
4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
list of product suggestions for the kitchen
19 time-saving kitchen organizing tips

CHAPTER 5: CLOSET -- outlines a complete plan for creating a workable system in your closet...including:

a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
client story of a real closet brought back under control
detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your closet
3 common problems of closets and how to solve them
4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
list of product suggestions for the closet
11 time-saving closet organizing tips

CHAPTER 6: HOME OFFICE -- outlines a complete plan for taming your desk and home office work area...including:

a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
client story of a real home office brought back under control
detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your home office
10 common problems of home offices and how to solve them
4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
list of product suggestions for the home office
10 time-saving home office organizing tips

CHAPTER 7: CHILD'S ROOM -- outlines a complete plan for getting your kid's room under control...including:

a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
client story of a real child's room brought back under control
detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your child's room
7 common problems of kid's rooms and how to solve them
4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
list of product suggestions for a child's room
5 time-saving kid's room organizing tips

CHAPTER 8: LAUNDRY ROOM -- outlines a complete plan for creating a tidy and functional laundry room...including:

a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
client story of a real laundry room brought back under control
detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your laundry room
4 common problems of laundry rooms and how to solve them
4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
list of product suggestions for the laundry room
15 time-saving laundry room organizing tips

CHAPTER 9: GARAGE -- outlines a complete plan for organizing your garage...including:

a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
client story of a real garage brought back under control
detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your garage
5 common problems of garages and how to solve them
4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
list of product suggestions for the garage
3 time-saving garage organizing tips

CHAPTER 10: DOWNSIZING -- helps guide you through the process of cleaning out and slimming down (whether voluntarily or involntarily simplifying your life)...including:

reasons to downsize
client story of a real downsizing situation
asking the hard questions
detailed instructions for using the 10-step process to downsize
20 time-saving downsizing tips
the author's grandma's story
4 tips for moving forward

CHAPTER 11: WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THAT PAPER -- offers some suggstions for weeding out those stacks and piles on your desk or counter...including:

35 types of paper you should toss
what to do with the mail
getting off the mailing lists and reducing junk mail
5 steps for processing your mail on a daily basis
storing important papers
5 items you should always store at home
filing categories for your vital documents
access to your information in case of emergency

CHAPTER 12: PHOTOS AND OTHER MEMORABILIA -- describes some effective methods for getting your treasures in order...including:

5 common problems of memorabilia and how to solve them
sorting printed photos into categories and labeling
storage and scanning
what to do with negatives
avoiding damage to your photos
storing digital photos on your computer or CD/DVD
naming conventions and file structure
photo organizing software and web-based albums
6 tips for storing non-photo memorabilia

CHAPTER 13: MAINTENANCE -- offers 5 simple tips for maintaining the changes you've made and the systems set up...on a daily basis so you avoid clutter in the future