Organize & Create Discipline: An A-to-Z Guide to an Organized Existence

by Justin Klosky

A professional organizer’s complete guide to getting—and staying—organized.
 
As a child, Justin Klosky loved to count, analyze, and categorize everything in sight. Eventually diagnosed with OCD, he found ways to tap the benefits of his condition. Today, he’s founded a successful firm, O.C.D. Experience, building on the principals of Organize, Create, Discipline to help high-end clients take control of their lives through time management skills, getting rid of clutter, simplifying their habits, and rethinking storage solutions.
 
Carefully arranged into more than 300 A-to-Z categories, Organize & Create Discipline explains organization methods for everything from laundry to legal documents, shoes, toys, kitchen drawers, medicine cabinets, utility closets, overflowing email inboxes, and dozens of other sources of daily detritus. Klosky’s unique advice yields peace of mind and radically improves productivity. With a clientele that includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Julie Chen, and Saks Fifth Avenue, Klosky now makes his unrivaled techniques to staying organized available to all.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Personal Development, Reference, Productivity

320 pages, Hardcover

First published December 26, 2013

Reviews

[David’s old account S.S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is nearly 10 years old and although much of the book is still relevant some are outdated. Specifically the digital music and scanning solutions as well as digital music, etc…. It can be modified but it feels 10 years old it it’s recommendations.

Worse is the organization of topics. It’s so random that it becomes unhelpful. We go from pots and pans in the kitchen to hobby supplies to children’s toys to digitizing (scanning) all your documents…. Why can’t we do rooms of the house or work, hobbies, children etc as topics or chapters? So frustrating.

I DNF’d after 25% in. Maybe there are other books that are better and require less organizing to organize 😂

[Autumn Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not helpful at all. Author tries and grossly fails at humor which is distracting. The book is organized like a dictionary. You basically have to know what your problems are before you start to get anything from the book. There are pages dedicated to how to organize medical marajuana and only one sentence for boots. I think the whole book was worthless. I'm glad I checked it out of the library and didn't spend good money on it.

[Kevin Orth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well ordered, insightful book.
If I could provide Justin a personal message. In the introduction he shares about his experience being sexually assaulted and sadly muses that he must have been a magnet of some sort for the mistreatment. Truth of the matter is no child deserves abuse of any sort. No child brings abuse upon themselves. It may seem that way from the child's perspective but it not true.
Children are magnets for love, support, encouragement. Adults' job is to protect, defend, shelter, and assist.
You truely are a being of light and you in no way brought the abuse you experienced upon yourself.

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author has been diagnosed with OCD - he has used his OCD traits to start a professional organizing business. There wasn't really much in the book that is new - his main idea seems to be to scan and store everything possible electronically. And he pretty much lost me when he suggested that people would love to have you as a houseguest if you take if upon yourself to clean and organize the guest bathroom while you're visiting.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

this has changed my life in a positive way! I am tackling every single section of my life and it feels great to let go of everything holding me back!
I owe Justin more then a cup of coffee and brunch <3 Thank you!

[Jbussoli · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave it two stars but Barb gives it a zero! All obvious tips. :)

[Lauren Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A courageous organizer helping people fine-tune their lives

I have TREMENDOUS respect for Mr. Klosky, who has taken what can be a crippling disorder and turned it into a source of amazing strength. And I can't begin to explain how much I admire his courage in admitting that he is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. But this is a love it or hate it book. Mr. Klosky's insights are right on target, he has a playful sense of humor, and I was awed by the comprehensiveness of his list (I've encountered everything he mentions, but I would never have thought to list it all out and catalog possible techniques). He is extremely empathetic: he deeply understands that his techniques need to be adapted for each individual who is following his advice. But I am concerned that his methods really are most suitable for people with OCD, very much counterproductive for people who don't like or really can't use computers, and difficult for the ADD-abled to follow. But for the ADD-abled in particular, Mr. Klosky's book may be a wonderful starting place for them to consider their needs: his step-by-step fine-tuning can help them find the gaps in their understanding of their tasks, possessions and possibilities.

Lauren Williams, Owner, Casual Uncluttering LLC, Woodinville, WA, USA

[JoAnne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Justin starts off with his personal history with OCD and how his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder developed and how he (with professional help) was able to turn it into a positive, by helping others organize their space. This was the most enlightening part of the whole book. His story explains so much about how we can have that pinpont focus.
This A to Z guide is an example list of: 1) items you could benefit from organizing in your home, 2) tools to use for organization tools and 3) tools to use to clean. For example: B is for Backpack. Justin suggest going through all the items in it and to only take what you need daily. When arriving back home, hang it up in 1 place, (not leaving it on the floor one day, or sitting it on the kitchen counter the next). B is for Books. Suggest you could have a set at school and a set at home so you dont have to transfer daily. (wouldn't that have saved our backs).

[Justin Klosky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciate reading these reviews especially the ones that are more recent given that the book was written in 2011 and some of it is still relevant and even ahead of its time. I don’t disagree that if you’re reading it now that it could possibly be outdated, since the business of professional organizing has been completely dissected since I started mine in 2008. The next place we are going is digital organizing and I’m glad in 2011 I was telling people to organize their digital data because now we’re almost in a place where that will become a very busy part of our lives. Looking forward to sharing the next book with you which is going to be about how to organize your digital life in congruence with your physical world !

[Meghan Davis strader · Rating 2 out of 5]

The introduction was good, but I found the actual book to be way too overwhelming. Instead of giving the reader a place to start, or some method of organizing the chaos of their life, he gives an alphabetical index of how to organize each subject category. I think this would work fine if you first go through your house and separate everything into piles (academic records, bills, bathroom items, etc) and then follow his advice, but for most of us, that just isn’t practical.

[Jenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Almost all of these tips are obvious. There's also repeated unrealistic assumptions and severely slanted opinions, such as how to support your husband in a 1950's June Cleaver kind of way. (Not sure how back rubs for your husband factor into organization.) Nothing I haven't seen on Pinterest or blog articles before.

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tips that are all obvious and just common sense. I was excited to get this book when i saw that it was alphabetized according to items, rooms, etc but there was nothing new to learn.

[Mrsculpepper · Rating 3 out of 5]

a reference but not a complete system. the only organization book I've ever read that includes a section devoted to the organization of your weed stash.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like Justin to come to my house. The book was fine, but it's difficult to write out organizational instructions when everyone has different organizational issues.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard the author interviewed on the radio & became interested in his book. I'm looking forward to getting just a handful of organizational tip from this book, but I'm already annoyed by each subtopics appearing in bold anytime the word is used in a sentence. Seems like somehing the editor would have sen as a distraction. And the preamble before the hints reads like the text from a potential infomercial for his system/company. I'm hoping the hints themselves make up for this.

Didn't quite finish this one but I don't really need to. All the hints involve scanning pretty much everything & most of the other hints are incredibly time consuming. Wish I could have gleaned more from this read.

[Maruca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a ton of interior design books, books on organisation and decluttering. I LOVE how this book is not made in chapters and text but just entries by topic. I could just jump from topic to topic and read the relatively short entries instead of having to comb chapters about a certain room or similar! Loved that!

Our new home is looking better and better thanks to these amazing book and I love Justin's motivational and humorous style of writing these entries.

[Jill Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for a book to help me organize my home, but found that Justin's book is mainly about HIM, not organizing. While some of the tips in the book are helpful, most of them are run-of-the-mill standard ideas that didn't help me at all. And the way that the book is put together -- alphabetically -- was WAY less than helpful to me. Justin may do a great job at organizing spaces in real life, but his book was about useless to me.

[Karyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this on the shelf at the library and brought it home to flip through. I do enjoy reading "organizing" books. I wouldn't say this was the best I've ever read, but it was okay. I think the key to organizing is to continually get rid of unneeded items. Having less to organize truly is the keep to keeping organized.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a good book to have on hand to flip through on-demand, but it doesn't work as well as an audiobook without item-by-item bookmarks. Still good ideas though, just not as revolutionary as I'd hoped.

[Mcvalens · Rating 4 out of 5]

not bad. most of the info is logical, however it is a fun and easy read. always good to refresh your thoughts on organizing your home and life.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an A to Z book on how to organize almost anything. Nothing really new in it.

[Susan Cobb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but too much information for me.