PREFACE: LAURA'S STORY -- shares the author's own personal journey of discovery about what "stuff" is really important and what can be let go of

CHAPTER 1: THE ORGANIZING PROCESS -- leads you through some basic steps and considerations to make as you work through the clutter in any room of your home...including:

• 2 major mistakes people make when organizing
• dedicating time to the project
• gathering your supplies
• establishing a staging area
• the right way to sort
• 5 tips for making purging easier
• assigning categories
• evaluating your space
• shopping for the right organizing products
• maintaining the changes you made

CHAPTER 2: BEATING PROCRASTINATION -- helps you understand what causes procrastination and how to overcome it with practical systems...including:

• what kind of procrastinator are you?
• 8 excuses for putting things off
• 8 ways to overcome those excuses
• your to-do list
• priorities, scheduling, and completion dates
• 12 steps to avoid procrastinating with this book!

CHAPTER 3: PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONS FOR CLUTTER -- examines true stories about the mental causes of clutter in your life and ways to overcome each obstacle...including:

• depression
• denial
• grieving
• thrift
• a cluttered upbringing

CHAPTER 4: KITCHEN AND PANTRY -- outlines a complete plan for getting your kitchen and pantry areas in order...including:

• a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
• client story of a real kitchen brought back under control
• detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your kitchen
• 4 common problems of kitchens and how to solve them
• 4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
• list of product suggestions for the kitchen
• 19 time-saving kitchen organizing tips

CHAPTER 5: CLOSET -- outlines a complete plan for creating a workable system in your closet...including:

• a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
• client story of a real closet brought back under control
• detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your closet
• 3 common problems of closets and how to solve them
• 4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
• list of product suggestions for the closet
• 11 time-saving closet organizing tips

CHAPTER 6: HOME OFFICE -- outlines a complete plan for taming your desk and home office work area...including:

• a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
• client story of a real home office brought back under control
• detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your home office
• 10 common problems of home offices and how to solve them
• 4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
• list of product suggestions for the home office
• 10 time-saving home office organizing tips

CHAPTER 7: CHILD'S ROOM -- outlines a complete plan for getting your kid's room under control...including:

• a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
• client story of a real child's room brought back under control
• detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your child's room
• 7 common problems of kid's rooms and how to solve them
• 4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
• list of product suggestions for a child's room
• 5 time-saving kid's room organizing tips

CHAPTER 8: LAUNDRY ROOM -- outlines a complete plan for creating a tidy and functional laundry room...including:

• a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
• client story of a real laundry room brought back under control
• detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your laundry room
• 4 common problems of laundry rooms and how to solve them
• 4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
• list of product suggestions for the laundry room
• 15 time-saving laundry room organizing tips

CHAPTER 9: GARAGE -- outlines a complete plan for organizing your garage...including:

• a project breakdown of the time involved for each step
• client story of a real garage brought back under control
• detailed instructions for using the 10-step process in your garage
• 5 common problems of garages and how to solve them
• 4 pages of color photos showing the process and organizing solutions
• list of product suggestions for the garage
• 3 time-saving garage organizing tips

CHAPTER 10: DOWNSIZING -- helps guide you through the process of cleaning out and slimming down (whether voluntarily or involntarily simplifying your life)...including:

• reasons to downsize
• client story of a real downsizing situation
• asking the hard questions
• detailed instructions for using the 10-step process to downsize
• 20 time-saving downsizing tips
• the author's grandma's story
• 4 tips for moving forward

CHAPTER 11: WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THAT PAPER -- offers some suggstions for weeding out those stacks and piles on your desk or counter...including:

• 35 types of paper you should toss
• what to do with the mail
• getting off the mailing lists and reducing junk mail
• 5 steps for processing your mail on a daily basis
• storing important papers
• 5 items you should always store at home
• filing categories for your vital documents
• access to your information in case of emergency

CHAPTER 12: PHOTOS AND OTHER MEMORABILIA -- describes some effective methods for getting your treasures in order...including:

• 5 common problems of memorabilia and how to solve them
• sorting printed photos into categories and labeling
• storage and scanning
• what to do with negatives
• avoiding damage to your photos
• storing digital photos on your computer or CD/DVD
• naming conventions and file structure
• photo organizing software and web-based albums
• 6 tips for storing non-photo memorabilia

CHAPTER 13: MAINTENANCE -- offers 5 simple tips for maintaining the changes you've made and the systems set up...on a daily basis so you avoid clutter in the future