How to Organize (Just About) Everything

by Peter Walsh

Professional organizer Peter Walsh presents this witty and enormously practical guide to getting it—and keeping it—all together.With more than 500 easy-to-follow how-to instructions, How to Organize (Just About) Everything is packed with shrewd advice and insider tips to make your home, your workplace—indeed, every imaginable aspect of your life—run more smoothly. Step-by-step solutions help even the most organizationally challenged take Kids Schedules Storage Photos Lists Politics Education Remodels Meals Weddings Finances Holidays Parties Vacations Emergencies

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Reference, How To, Productivity

1341 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 28, 2004

About the author

Born and raised in Australia, Peter moved to Los Angeles in 1994 to launch a corporation to help organizations improve employee’s job satisfaction and effectiveness. He considers himself to be part-contractor, part-therapist in his approach to helping individuals attain their goals.

When not wading through clutter and large-scale disorganization, Peter divides his time between his work in Los Angeles and visiting Australia as frequently as possible. Peter’s passions include mid-century architecture and design, home renovation and transforming chaos into order.

Reviews

[Rachel H · Rating 1 out of 5]

Peter Walsh has gained a reputation for his home and life organizational abilities through appearances on HGTV and Oprah, and I like his no nonsense approach, so for this book I had similarly high expectations. Walsh has always impressed me with his efficiency and non-nonsense style that also addresses the "why" to help us understand why this generation is drowning under so much stuff.

This book undermines that reputation by being inefficient and a case of either hubris or terrible editing. Walsh includes lists so outside the realm of what anyone might want or expect in a book of this variety, including: how to organize an international adoption, how to plan to spend Christmas solo, to my favorite, how to become a physicist. If I had wanted instructions on how to become a stunt person, I doubt I would have referenced this book, which is why I think he may need to add a chapter entitled, "How to hire a good book editor."

There are useful items in the book that you would expect like organizing closets and how to schedule yard work, but in including over 500 pages that include disjointed and all over the place lists like how to become a rabbi or how to plan a baptism, the book itself undermines Peter Walsh's hard earned reputation as an efficiency expert, let alone someone who can organize his own ideas concisely.

[False · Rating 2 out of 5]

576 pages of a hardcover book, and you don't even get the burning of Atlanta. I didn't expect much of this book. I already have good organizational and planning principles in place. For a beginner? It might give them a jumping start, but there isn't enough detail in any one section to see you through, and then beyond. Plus so much is "fluff,": How to Become An Astronaut," "How to Win An Oscar." Amusing (and sensible) but a waste of paper. This book isn't supposed to be about waste, but rather controlling it. I'm so organized (laughing) I read a section a day. Also, with an earlier publishing date? He needs to beef up his section on technologies and organizing all of "that": Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, web page domains, etc. plus the equipment.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well Peter covers just about anything you can imagine. It is really overkill, and the book is quite overwhelming. I would have preferred a condensed version with diagrams or pictures on typical home organization situations. There were many topics that the average person will use such as, "Become an Olympian, outsmart Pirates (yes not a typo),plan to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, become a cowboy," I will give him props for coming up with so many situations and listing all the measures to take. Out of 576 pages, there were maybe 200 that was stuff I could actually use. I still found it somewhat entertaining so I am giving it 3 stars.

[Michelle Funderburg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I seriously think this book was meant to be a joke.

[Lauren Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

How to organize just about everything: More Than 500 Step-by-Step Instructions for Everything from Organizing Your Closets to Planning a Wedding to Creating a Flawless Filing System
I love Peter Walsh and I loved Clean Sweep, but…. This book is not as useful as I’d hoped. Great on some basics: “how to organize a school locker” was one of my favorites. Unfortunately, Mr. Walsh builds his instructions on HUGE assumptions. He assumes his readers can move through their houses without getting distracted, so they can single-mindedly gather the shoes, or photos, or late library books. He assumes his readers can write lists without getting confused. He assumes his readers can look at piles of paper without feeling overwhelmed. He assumes they have lots of money. There are too many examples of such assumptions throughout Mr. Walsh’s book.

I do consider this book valuable as a guide to problems each of us needs to think about, from brainstorming about career paths to getting life insurance. But use Mr. Walsh’s ideas to find your own strategies: don’t get caught insisting that his will be right for you!

[Bree · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Very disappointing. It’s massive, complex, dry & completely overwhelming. There’s a bunch of totally random information (eg, How to Fire Someone, How Mastermind a Break Up, How to Become a Rabbi). Try his other books ‘It’s All Too Much’ or ‘Let It Go’. They are excellent & fun to read.

[Mehul Sheth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good starting point for huge variety of activities. Great to delineate the steps to accomplish a goal, but will definyhave to lean on many other activity-specific resources to effectively complete.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 of 5

How to Organize (Just About) Everything truly covers "just about" every dang thing a person would need to organize. From the common, "37 Conquer Clutter," to the rare, "472 Fight an Ebola Outbreak," I daresay if you want a general overview on how to organize or plan it, the steps are in this ginormous guide.

I found the action plans too broad for my style, but I guess "broad" had to be expected from a book covering such a wide range of activities. Contents were organized into:

* Get Organized
* Life's Nitty Gritty
* Daily Debris
* Heart & Home
* Yard & Garden
* Storage Solutions (I found several nuggets of useful info)
* Education & Career
* Business & Work (I found several nuggets of useful info)
* Financial Plans
* Family Affairs
* Food & Entertaining
* Celebrations & Events
* Community Works (I found several nuggets of useful info)
* Travel & Adventure
* The Unexpected (This is where Terrorist Attacks, Ebola, etc were listed)
* In Your Dreams

And the Index was quite useful.

I'd recommend this book more to the person looking for a quick, all-in-one reference guide for a specific project than the person looking for an in-depth how-to.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the sillier lists, like Becoming an Astronaut, Winning an Academy Award and Becoming President to be interesting and gave a good perspective. Also, there's a Pirates one talking about literal modern day pirates- people who come on your boat and steal your stuff, not rum-drinking one-legged pirates of yore. I hadn't thought of that before.

Everyone's situation is going to be different- it'd be impossible to write a book that addresses every minutiae for varying situation. But it's easy to get the basic ideas- for instance, to organize anything, you need to take everything out of the space, and then put the stuff you still want back in the space. That's an astoundingly simple but good solution. It gave me good ideas on food trees, car rallies, and block parties, too.

[Jen B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love anything to do with organizing, so I love books by Peter Walsh. His advice is usually very practical and makes the sometimes daunting tasks of organizing seem pretty easy. But I have to wonder what the heck he was thinking with this book. Some of his lists (How to organize your files, how to plan for retirement) are very practical and offer good advice. But then half the lists in the book are just kind of silly -- How to Become a Nun, Become a Rabbi, Develop a Reality TV Show, Become a Movie Star, etc. My guess is that if you're actually going to do any of those things, you don't really need his book to tell you how. This one would've been much better had it just stuck to practical topics.

[Martine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a book you read from cover to cover, it's more like a dictionary type book where you pick and choose the categories / subject matter and read the section. There is about a page for every subject imaginable, from organizing a specific room, to planning a trip, a school paper, a family, choosing a school.....the list goes on. The ideas / tips are very broad and vague, but if you're just getting started on your organizing, this is a good place to start.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this primarily for wedding information. It's very succinct; the kind of thing you'd photocopy and thrust at the groom-to-be to give him an overview of what wedding planning involves. The rest of the book covers an incredible number of topics. I might skim back over the closet organization! This book is HUGE.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a dork and love to just read books like this!!! What is sad is I do not even have enough space to really organize much of anything. It would be fun to read through this again if I ever bought a home.

One tip I am excited about using has to do with an umbrella stand and wrapping paper....you will just have to come over to see what I am going to do with them.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping Peter would enlighten me as to how to keep the never-ending flow of receipts at bay in my home. Unfortunately, each section was too short for what I was hoping for at this time. I feel like I already knew the hints he was giving for what I was looking up. :(

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't really a book your "Read". it is a reference book with, literally, info on how to organize everything. Someone else put a hold on the book before i had a chance to really go through it, but i will check it out again after i clean sweep my house.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I obviously didn't read this cover to cover, but it is an amazing reference guide for organizing everything you can possibly think of. I'll reference it when I'm ready to tackle organizing projects.

[Beth Yeh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I ordered this one having really enjoyed Walsh's other books. It was not as exciting. It was more of an encyclopedia than a book, so there wasn't an engaging point of view. So I skimmed it and returned it.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great resource--an organizing book in encyclopedic format, so you can easily look up a current project, without having to read an entire book just to pick up an organizing theory with a few embedded tips.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were so many items covered that there was no meat to any of the items. And seriously - "How to have an amicable divorce" doesn't belong in a book on organization. Don't waste your time with this book.

[Emlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I didn't read it word-for-word but there are a lot of good organizing tips in here... arranged like an Encyclopedia. I've been on an organization kick since the January issue of "Better Homes and Gardens." My FAVORITE tip is #183 "Organize an Archaeological Dig."

[William Schram · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of a reference than a book you read straight through, this book has exactly what it advertises. It has systems of organization for your broom closets and for your bedroom. Now I just need to act upon the advice it gives...

[Heidi J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very entertaining and a great jumping-off point for ideas to tackle projects that I've always wanted to. However, this is not the source to turn to if you need detailed organizing help for specific projects.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like step-by-step instruction, this is a book for you. I can't say I love all then ideas but gets me started in ways to solve my organization issues. I use it as a reference. This is not a "cover to cover" read. It is like a dictionary.

[Malina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book of lists is fun to browse thru and a great starting place for projects. It isn't comprehensive, but more of guiding principles.

[Wells Crandall · Rating 2 out of 5]

"How to marry up." Hilarious.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't read the whole book from cover to cover. I refer to it as I tackle a different room or area. I'll be buying this one.

[Jamie Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would have been fantastic if I had actually did what it told me to do. Maybe one day I'll get it from the library again and actually follow what it says.

[Stevie · Rating 3 out of 5]

more of a reference than a read...

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Resource! set up like an enyclopedia for organizing litterally everything. Will use it frequently.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a handy reference. It's VERY THICK and VERY DETAILED.