OA Book Club: Review of "Organizing From the Inside Out"

Talk to any professional organizer (including our very own Sara Caputo, the Productivity Guru) and you'll probably hear the name "Julie Morgenstern" at least a few times. As the foremost authority in professional organization, Julie developed most of the systems used in the field today. Her book, Organizing from the Inside Out, outlines these key concepts and provides practical, tangible strategies that anyone can implement to bring more order to their home, office and life.

The book makes some big promises right from the beginning. The systems are described as "foolproof" and readers are told that they will "discover [their] own power to get organized, stay organized, and bring out [their] own personal and professional best." That's a serious goal. And, after reading this book cover-to-cover, I feel pretty confident saying that it's no exaggeration.

Organizing from the Inside Out offers a straight-forward, step-by-step guide for establishing physical order. Julie uses a three step organizational process - analyze, strategize, attack - that can be applied to any space or situation. Here's a breakdown of what each step looks like:

1. Analyze: Take Stock

• What's working?
• What's NOT working?
• What's most essential to you?
• Why do you want to get organized?
• What's causing the problems?

2. Strategize: Create a Plan of Action

• Define your zones
• Map out the space
• Rearrange furniture
• Estimate the time

3. Attack: Get the Job Done

• Sort
• Purge
• Assign a home
• Containerize
• Equalize (this is where ongoing discipline is addressed)

Morgenstern uses the entire second half of the book to walk through this three step process, applying the technique to various spaces in homes and offices. These pages are literally bursting with helpful and unique ideas. Personally, I successfully applied a few of her tips for handbag organization (yes, I created "zones" in my purse) and bathroom organization (I found her jewelry tips particularly helpful). And while these specific tools certainly add an enormous value to the book, the true golden nugget is the process itself.

As for the reasons so many of us fail when it comes to organization, Morgenstern dedicates a chapter or two at the beginning of the book to analyzing the various factors involved. She boils them down to three fundamental issues: technical errors, external realities, and psychological obstacles. I found this information insightful and it definitely helped me identify my own issues (FYI: I suffer from a need for perfection and a fear of losing creativity).

All in all, I found this book helpful and I would definitely recommend it to someone who is looking to take control of chaotic physical space. It's engaging to read and the systems are easily applied to real life. I think Morgenstern does an exceptional job covering the various aspects of the organization issue - from causes to remedies to the ongoing discipline required. This final point is one that is overlooked in many books on this topic. Organizing from the Inside Out is comprehensive and realistic. You can tell that the author has seen it all before. She knows what works and what doesn't and we can all feel confident that these strategies have been put to the test many times over again.

Next Month's Selection:

In the month of November, the OA Book Club is focusing on the employee/boss relationship. We're picking up the new book by bestselling authors (and OA contributors) Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster, Working for You Isn't Working for Me.

If you're struggling with a difficult boss, or just looking to improve the professional relationship, this book is for you. Instead of acting out or giving up, you can take control by applying the practical four-step process in this book. Filled with the concrete examples of bad boss scenarios, this book will help readers take back their power from even the most challenging authority figures - Chronic critics, yellers, unconscious discriminators, control freaks, pathological liars and more.

Pick up your copy today and share your thoughts throughout the month with the OA Book Club.

Want to learn a few tangible techniques you can implement right away AND get a preview of the new book? Join the Premium webinar on Thursday, November 12th presented by Kathi and Katherine. Learn more and register.