How to Win Friends: Still great at 75 years

Dale Carnegie first penned his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, in 1936.  I'm reading it as part of my Program Mentor training with the Institute for Challenging Disorganization.  Imagine my surprise when I sourced a copy at the Toronto Public Library, I found there were 17 copies and all were on loan or on reserve.


I highly recommend this read.  It is easy to get through with short, succinct chapters.  The material is as relevant today as I think it must have been over 75 years ago.  The behaviour Carnegie recommends of us does not take a university course to apply and could be initiated by anyone immediately.  A surprising amount of his directives are good common sense that we fail to remember and therefore neglect to apply with authenticity and sincerity.


Happy Birthday "How to Win Friends..."

Wired

I've just been given the latest issue of Wired magazine to read... "Look! There's an article about organizing in here!" Of course I wasn't surprised, as organizing touches every aspect of our lives. They've featured four room makeovers with a range of organizing ideas, from simple fixes to high-tech solutions.

In 'The Office' the use of rolling filing cabinets adapted well to the work habits of the owner. Using the label maker to identify both ends of power cords is an easy way to keep wires straight. My favourite tech solution is the Sony PS3 in 'The Media Room'. It removes the need for dusty shelf space to store all of those DVD cases!

Check out the July issue of Wired to read the full article on page 91, or read online at http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/06/ff_makeover/.

Books - ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize your Life

If you or someone you know/love struggles to organize under with ADD then this is the book for you. ADD-Friendly ways to Organize your Life by Judith Kolberg and Kathleen Nadeau, is even written to hold the attention - but not the hyper focus - of individuals with ADD.

It's seven chapters, including one with further Resources, are chock full of information, strategies, suggestions and ways to adopt new behaviours to make your life the organized world you desire. This book has been written in a light-hearted vein but addresses the seriousness of disorganization in the world that individuals with ADD know so well. Solutions are broken down into those that you tackle by yourself and those that require additional support from friends or professional sources.

Even if you don't struggle to organize with ADD, but are looking for a book full of strategies that have been proven to work for organizationally-challenged individuals, you will find this one a good read and a helpful manual.

Books - Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui

Today's book is a little lighter read. Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, by Karen Kingston is a handy feng shui and space clearing primer. It is an easy read with practical tips in language that is understandable even to those of us who usually get hung up on the direction finding side of feng shui. In addition Karen addresses the background of clutter and helps identify what it is and how it accumulates - all in 163 pages.

If you are in the Toronto area, you may be interested in the upcoming speaking tour of one of Karen's students. Tracey Stanton will be in Toronto April 18th to 20th and will be teaching space clearing and clutter clearing in a three day workshop. I have recently heard Tracey speak on clutter and space clearing and recommend this workshop to both professional organizers and their clients who are serious about understanding more of the underlying issues of clutter. For more information contact Cecilia Moorcroft at 416 535 6007.

Books - Buried in Treasures

For this week, I am focussing on organizing resources and for now, sticking with books.

I recommend Buried in Treasures by David Tolin, Randy Frost and Gail Steketee, for packrats and their friends or family. In the past month alone, I have received three phone calls from family members who are distressed by the hoarding or packrat behaviour of siblings. This is the book for you. The authors explain underlying issues associated with packrat behaviour, along with assessment tools and strategies to understand their degree of severity. In addition, they provide concrete strategies for changing behaviour.

This book is very readible and information rich. Hoarding and packrat behaviour in yourself or a loved one can be a stressful and heartbreaking situation. This book may let a little ray of hope shine through.

Books - Enough Already

Peter Walsh's most recent book Enough Already is now available on Amazon. I highly recommend this to those of you who are overwhelmed not only by your clutter, but by your life in general. True to his character, Peter handles not just the stuff in our lives but the issues of emotional and mental clutter.

Whether you are tackling little clutter, big clutter at home or at work, I recommend this read to you.

Right Brain Organizing - For Messies

Your best friends are engineers. You cringe at the thought of straight books on a shelf. Your world is full of colour and ideas - and mess. And you are tired of it. The mess that is (engineers are ok). How about tailor made organizing support for the right brain world.

Organizing for the Creative Person is just that. Dorothy Lehmkuhl and Dolores Cotter Lamping have captured the world of the right brained soul and provided clear, concise information on how to harness your gifts to end your world of mess. For a taste of their humour and understanding of the issues consider the following excerpt:
"The acronym 'PUT OFF' can be used to summarize the specific causes of procrastination:

• P = Priority
• U = Unknowns
• T = Time

• O = Overload
• F = Fears
• F = Feelings

An easy read, great suggestions for all you right brain creative folks who have fatigued of living with the mess. Enjoy.