The Spirit of Getting Organized: Twelve Skills to Find the Meaning and Power
By Pamela Kristan
Reviewed by Lorrie Kazan for Whole Life Times

Are you organizationally challenged, overwhelmed by paper or possessions that somehow seem to be everywhere except in your hand when you need them? If so, this book will speak to you. It not only renders wise tips about the physical process of organizing, it also addresses the psychological and spiritual aspects.

Apparently the average clutterer often enters a kind of blame/shame haze. I know I do, and what I found in this book helped me realize that there are issues which underpin my lack of discipline. In other words, I’m not just a shallow slob; I’m actually resisting making choices, letting go and grieving.

The author shows us how organization requires confrontation. For instance, if I discard an object (or as we who avoid grieving prefer to say, “let it go”), what happens to the memory it represents? Can I hold the memory without the space-consuming evidence? Are we weighed down or nourished by our collections?

“Stuff,” says the author, “gives a sense of participation in the culture; without it we feel disconnected.” Shedding, she tells us, allows us to see and expose our values. It’s an alchemical process that is required in life. Each time we perform essential life skills, we have the opportunity to become more adept, more individuated. This is no less true when confronting the process with our stuff than it is with our relationships.

Early chapters include: “Observing: Gathering Data,” “Acknowledging: Placing Value,” “Ending: Gracefully Disengaging from the Work,” and move on to “Skills for Handling Options,” “Sustaining: Renewing the System,” and “Engaging: Making Connections.”

There is an excellent resource section and also an informative glossary of “Catchphrases.” For instance, one catchphrase, the 80/20 rule is explained: “In any collection of items, 80 percent of the significance resides in 20 percent of the items…in a pile of magazines, only 20 percent of the words hold 80 percent of what we want out of them…”

I found this book fascinating and inspiring. It’s beautifully arranged, cross-referenced and easy to follow.

Red Wheel 2003