Leah's Bookshelf
Likes: Horror, macabre, fairy tales, ghosts, hauntings, serial killers, zombies, werewolves, shapeshifters, vampires, time travel, orphans, clones, thrillers, classics, gothic
I like to read anything that tells a good story, duh ;) Genre doesn't really matter much but I tend to read dark fiction and fantasy the most. I skip chick lit and romance novels with a few exceptions for the extraordinary.
My ratings system:
5 stars - ADORED; plan to read over and over and over.
4 stars - ENJOYED; will likely read once or twice more.
3 stars - LIKED; may or may not read again ... someday.
2 stars - MEH; no plans to read again.
1 stars - I didn't enjoy the story and was lucky to finish.
0 stars - I couldn't or wouldn't finish for reasons that may or may not be listed in the review box.
Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern
Rating: 4 of 5
Something finally clicked for me while reading Organizing from the Inside Out. Over the last 10 years, after reading mountains of pages on organizing my life, this was the first author who helped me figure out where my once orderly and well-managed life went hinky.
Morgenstern advised to work with natural habits and tendencies instead of against them. For example, if I constantly have a pile of books beside my bed instead of the reading chair in the library, it's probably time to put a bookshelf close to or next to my bed rather than forcing myself or hoping I'll eventually keep all those books just in the library.
I appreciated Part One (Laying the Foundation) and Part Two (Secrets of a Professional Organizer) almost as much as the how-to, activity-focused Part Three (Applying What You've Learned) and Part Four (Tackling Time and Technology). Morgenstern included lots of examples which I always like to see in a how-to book. And I've already made several copies of Appendix A, "Organizing Your Project worksheet."
Projects/areas covered in detail (with examples for each step of her "program" as well as estimated time needed to complete the project) include:
* Handbags, briefcases
* Suitcases
* Traditional offices and filing systems
* Home offices
* Cubicle workstations
* Mobile offices
* Home information centers
* Attics, basements, garages
* Bathrooms* Bedrooms
* Closets
* Kids' rooms
* Kitchens
* Living rooms
* Photographs
Pay attention to the book's title, though, as it truly does put a strong emphasis on pinpointing why your past attempts at implementing organization have failed or, in other cases, why you haven't ever even attempted to get organized. If delving into the reasons behind your actions and habits turns you off, then skip this book.
