By Stacey Platt
I just proved how badly I need this book because I just spent 20 minutes tearing the room apart trying to find it so that I could tell you the author's name. I found it, of all places, behind my dirty laundry basket. The room I spent 10 minutes cleaning up this morning is now trashed. Again.
About 6 years ago I was officially diagnosed with ADHD-Inattentive. My parents had me tested after my 3rd or 4th car accident at 17 (I caused 5 before I was 18). I was put on medication which made me more productive than I have ever been in my life, and more boring than I had ever been in my life. I went off the things about half way through my undergraduate studies. I decided that I would rather change my habits than change my personality. That transition probably would've been a lot easier if I had bought this book sooner.
Unofficially, I also have a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (which is becoming as popular as ADHD). This is what I get for having a creative, ADHD father and a logical, OCD mother (how did that happen?). So while I'm completely disorganized, I'm also completely overwhelmed by the disorganization and go into these moods where no matter what one does, you can't stop me from cleaning EVERYTHING! Labeling is one of my favoritest things in the whole world. I plan on asking for a label maker for christmas, the office manager at the prep lab won't let me use hers anymore.
Anyway, a few days ago, my boyfriend and I are at Barnes & Noble trying to kill time and use up my $25 gift card. I browse for a while and decided that I wante to read Eat, Pray, Love. Then I find the display table labeled something along the lines of "For the new college student". I'm intrigued. I'm a very old college student, but I know that I should have been more educated on the college process/life before I had entered it. One of the first books I find is this book to help disorganized people because have you ever seen a college boy's room/house -- disgusting. It's the perfect demographic. Again, I wish I had had this book in college. So I buy it. I leave the store with Eat, Pray, Love; What's a disorganized person to do?; and A Year Of Living Biblically: One man's humble quest to follow the Bible as Literally as Possible (more on that book some other time).
Anyway, I immediately opened this book when I got home. I went through the entire thing cover to cover in about an hour and half. Throughout my readings, I kept yelling at John to listen to the "coolest thing ever" and kept commenting about how much I love this book. The sad part for me was that I'm living out of a storage unit right now, so I have no home or even drawers to organize. So the next day I mention to John that maybe it's time for him to move his dresser out of his closet and do some reorganization that would result in all of his nice clothes neatly hung up and a couple shelves for his few other clothes. He, God bless him, agreed to let me have my way with his closet.
It's nice having this book now, while I'm kinda homeless, because when I do finally get my own home again I can start organize from the beginning and maybe be able to find things more often.
The book itself is full of little tips from how to reduce junk mail to how to organize your toolbox to what to save for tax purposes and how to organize it as you go to reduce the stress of doing your taxes.
If you are a disorganized person, even if you're an organized person who just wants some pointers on how keep things organized more easily, I strongly recommend this book.
Anyone know of other books with good life advice?
