If only it was that easy...

We all seem to go through life hoping beyond hope that there is a simple, painless solution to all of life's difficulties. Eat less and exercise more? Surely there's just a pill I could take to lose weight. Does your house look like a bomb went off in it? Mine does, and I love the fantasy that there is some easy way to organize all the clutter. Perhaps the answer lies in one of our two new books on organization: The Organized Life: secrets of an expert organizer by Stephanie Denton and Easy Home Organizer: 15-minute step-by-step solutions, by Vicki Payne. In both of these books, the authors promise that a clutter-free life is easy to obtain and easy to maintain. You just need a plan, a checklist, and about $10,000 worth of boxes, baskets, jars, containers and totes (and about half an acre of closet space). Payne is a big proponent of labeling and slide-out shelving. She also has a project idea where you use fabric and upholstery braid to convert a plain cardboard magazine holder into an attractive cardboard magazine holder. (Frankly, if I had that kind of spare time my house wouldn't look like a dump). Denton takes more of a 'hints from Heloise' approach. The book has very few photos, but page after page of suggestions and tips for creating a more controlled life. She is all about efficiency. One fabulous tip: choose a gift theme at Christmas - her example is 'books' - and that way you only have to go to one or two stores to do your Christmas shopping. (An overabundance of shopping destinations is a serious issue in Southeast Alaska. Don't let it get you down this year). So go ahead and check out both books and see which organizational style works best for you. And when you get your house all organized, you can come do mine.