Organizing is Fun

Does this Clutter Make my Butt Look Fat - Terrible Book!

Sara Dunton (Land of Clutter) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:42:15 -0500

Shame on you Peter Walsh! For publishing a book so purely for money and marketing reasons. Sure, you were probably convinced by your publicist or editor to do this book, but honestly, your integrity as an author has been severely compromised here. How could you? The book "Its All Too Much" was GENIUS! It was hands-down the best self-help book I have ever read. And I read a lot. "Its All Too Much" was my inspiration to take steps to start my own business (I read it a year ago). I have recommended it to countless friends and family members since then.

"Does this Clutter Make my Butt Look Fat" is an obnoxious title, and the content is extremely shallow and thin. I bought it mainly because I have overweight parents and thought I would get some good ideas from the book that could help them. However, there were none! Absolutely nothing of value that wasn't already covered in the prior book, except for some anecdotal stories of people Peter Walsh has helped.

So my advice is, don't ever buy this book! And if you do, return it and buy "Its All Too Much", or watch Oprah when Peter Walsh makes guest appearances, since those are usually very good shows involving compulsive shoppers or hoarders. Peter Walsh is of course also involved in TLC's show "Clean Sweep" though I don't recommend that show either because its fairly unrealistic in terms of how quickly things can change (the show uses many teams of people behind the scenes to complete the projects), and I believe the show doesn't spend enough time delving into what the homeowners need to do going forward so the house doesn't end up cluttered again.

Bottom line - If you like Peter Walsh (and I do!), read "Its All Too Much" or watch him on Oprah. Or if you are a professional organizer, his book entitled "How to Organize Just about Everything" is a nice resource, though the topics are extremely broad and scattered. And if you are overweight and have a cluttered house, read Its All Too Much, and if you have the resources, hire a professional organizer, it really does help pychologically, Peter Walsh got that part right.

The Screened-In Porch: Underrated!

Sara Dunton (Land of Clutter) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:48:12 -0500

In Northern VA you see a lot of newer McMansions and they all seem to have this sunroom off the side of the house, or maybe a sunny breakfast room, and then usually a deck. A lot of times this sunroom seems to go unusued, especially with a McMansion when they have more room than they need anyway. Well, what about an in-between room? The screened-in porch seems to have fallen out of favor with a lot of the newer house designs and I think this is a bad trend. Think about all the benefits of the screened-in porch:

1 - You can use it 7 or 8 months of the year in the DC area, certainly you would use it more than the back deck that goes totally unused all winter from November to March.

2 - You can get some fresh air! In this age of technology there have been a variety of studies showing how both we and our kids don't get enough time outside. Now sitting in a screened-in porch isn't exactly hiking through the wilderness, but hey, its better than sitting on the sofa inside (this goes without saying but for godsakes don't put a TV on the screened in porch that would totally ruin the whole point).

3 - It makes a nice transition from outside to inside, or the other way around. You know how people talk about the "flow" of the house? Well if well-placed, the screened in porch can help with the flow and encourage people to want to go outside, especially if you do a little landscaping or do a point of interest, like plant a garden out back.

4 - Lets say you are entertaining and there are people at your party that want to smoke, well instead of stinking up your house, or banishing them to the garage or huddled on the front porch, send them to the screened in porch. No matter how cold it is outside, its still better than actually being outside. And it will air out by morning.

5 - If you have kids, it makes a great playroom for them (again the fresh air thing), and they can listen to or observe nature from the safety of your home and under your supervision. And it can help keep the toys out of your living room!

6 - The screened-in porch is a godsend if you live somewhere buggy like DC. The District of Columbia was literally built on a swamp so when it gets hot, the bugs come out to play. Don't let that ruin your warm summer evenings! Gather the family together on the screened in porch and watch the fireflys, put a few good reading lights in and make it a technology-free zone.

7 - The screened-in porch makes a great sleepover or pseudo-camping area for your kids, or for the young-at-heart adults. Personally I do not enjoy camping and like the comforts of my own home, but I do see the fun in "sleeping under the stars" and listening to the creatures that come out at night. So this way you can do it on your own porch. Take a hike in the morning or something, and you've practically spent the weekend camping!

With all these desirable benefits, why has the screened-in porch been designed out of homes?

Who Designs Showers?

Sara Dunton (Land of Clutter) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:59:01 -0500

Who designs showers? Because I am convinced they are people that do not shower. Here's why:

1 - There are often no lights above the shower, especially in older houses. And I don't think this is just a female-I need to shave my legs issue, what about men trying to shave in the shower using a mirror? (which is supposed to be better for the skin, right, to shave when it is steamy). The light from the rest of the bathroom, no matter how good, is often blocked by the shower curtain. Someone pointed out that builders sometimes aren't allowed to put lights above the shower - there must be a way around this. Recessed lighting? Lighting closer to the shower from the ceiling?

2 - There is nowhere to put your shower products. I am not talking about an unusually large number of bath gels and cleansers, I'm just talking about the basics. Why are we all forced to trek to Bed Bath & Beyond to purchase ugly shower organizers that inevitably threaten to fall down our heads? Why not build in a shelf at the end of the tub so that you can have your shower products in the shower with you without having to purchase something extra. Or so females don't have to balance like a gazelle trying to shave their legs. Or if you are a bath person, so you can light some candles, maybe have a glass (plastic cup) of wine. Or if you have kids, you can keep their rubber duckies right there in the bathtub basket without them laying all over the tub. Furthermore, why not build into the shower spaces for your products that are actually at arm level so you don't have to bend over to pick all these silly things up? I mean, hotels do this, why can't the place we shower everyday have the same luxuries?

3 - Why are the only showers that have these niceties the newer McMansions? The basics of taking a shower and getting clean haven't changed that much over the last 50 years, right. Are house designers/architects just figuring this out now? Is it really that much more expensive to put a long shelf at the end of the tub or built-ins at arm level, as opposed to the 1-inch slippery rim with tiny corners all the way around?

What is my point? I just think if you are designing a new house or renovating an old house, you should not feel like your shower has to look like they always have, and consider some of the above. You should spend $ on the things you use each and every day right? Well aside from the occasional lazy weekend day spent in our pajamas, showering is a daily ritual.

Follow up:

You might ask why i would be blogging about showers if my business is professional organizing, or decluttering people's homes. Let me explain...

The shower organizer, the flimsy plastic container your razor sits in that just gets moldy and doesn't really serve any purpose, the plastic mat on the tub so you don't slip and fall (which I find you don't really need unless you are old or pregnant and falling is a serious danger), these items, in the end, fall in the category of "clutter". Your shower or bath should be a relaxing, rejuvenating part of your day. Or at the very least it should serve the utiliatarian purpose of getting you clean in a quick efficient manner. So how is that accomplished? Well the shower should make sense. That was the point of the above. It should be designed so that you don't need this extraneous stuff in the shower, just the bare minimum of products and a place to put them.

For example, consider getting rid of those really expensive products your hairdresser convinced you to buy and you don't use but you feel guilty throwing them out. Its a sunk cost! Or the shower gels and loofah sponges that came in holiday gifts from years past from your friends/relatives that didn't know what else to get you. Give these things away - to a charitable organization or your trashcan. How about the lids to the shaving gel or other products? Do you really need to keep them? Do you really need to take them on and off everyday? Not if you aren't going to pack them in your suitcase (and based on the new weight and bag limits of the airlines, you better be buying a travel size of these things anyway). Remove those things that are just for show and don't really serve a purpose. That is half my business, helping people to see that difference, and the difference it can make in your surroundings.