Wolf - New order: a decluttering handbook for creative folks (and everyone else)

Thanks for opening this handbook. And a high five for doing so. Perhaps youre here because you have an inkling that life might be a little sweeter if you had less stuff and more order. And youd be right. The decluttered life does indeed taste (a whole lot) better.

I didnt know how much better until I started to teach it to others. For the past ten years, Ive had the pleasure of helping hundreds of good people streamline their lives. From the outer clutter of closets and kitchens to the inner clutter of artists who are afraid to step out into their spotlights.

Howd I get into this biz? At the end of 2005, sparked by the loss of my supercool dad, I decided to get into the drivers seat of life. For me, that meant becoming my own boss. A small foray into personal assisting for some friends revealed that I had a knack for making sense of their papers and their lives. And when I learned that there was an occupation called professional organizer, sweet choruses of angels began to sing. So I became one.

People regularly ask me, Whats the craziest thing youve seen in someone elses space? And sure, Ive seen a lot of intimate (and highly confidential) stuffbut its usually the same as the next guys. So that question kinda misses the point. The most compelling thing that I see, day in and day out, is that almost every one of us struggles with clutter and productivity, in a normal, everyday kind of way. We just dont talk about it. Its not about other people. Its about us. And our own deeply rooted emotions and fears surrounding whats ours.

Its always hard to start. It feels overwhelming. It feels too precise and precious. It feels like a huge undertaking that you simply dont have time for. And it feels like if you havent quite reached a Hoarders- level situation, then maybe you can put it off for another day or three. Kicking these kinds of thought patterns to the curband slamming the door behind themis what lights me up. And thats just the beginning.

New Order has a bent toward the creative, whether that means clearing physical space to set up a drum kit in your living room, reclaiming mental space to let the great ideas flow, or paring down your schedule so you have time to go rock climbing once a month. This book is for anyone who wants to do, well, anything new or a little different from what youre doing now. The endgame is not just the cleared space and the slimmed-down inbox. The endgame is how this new way of living makes you feel, how it allows you to operate, and what it inspires you to do next.

Im in deep love with my clients. I work with all genders, young and old, wealthy and scraping by. Many are creative folks who know what its like to encounter blocks to getting what they really want. And Im one too. While running New Order, my organizing business, I simultaneously enjoy a life as an artist, both as an actress and most recently as a singer-songwriter (to which youll find a few allusions in the pages ahead). In other words, Im right there in the trenches with you, figuring out in real time how to make the decluttered and multidisciplinary life a reality. Its an ongoing journey of discovery, and Im thrilled to share some of the things that have worked for me, and for my clients, thus far.

Along the way, Ive seen some pretty gratifying stuff: a corner heaped with piles of dirty laundry turned into a music nook, a dusty garage turned into a craft room, an overstuffed closet turned into a voiceover booth. The even better payoff is then seeing my clients creative work flourish and grow as a direct result. And of course, Ive witnessed a thousand smaller miracles, too, like the work-from-home parent whose day-to-day life greatly improved just by hanging up a simple corkboard (and using it).

By doing even some of this work, your life will actually change. For the better. Every time. Sothere are only two ways this can go:

WELCOME TO YOUR

NEW ORDER.

MY NAME IS FAY,

AND ILL BE YOUR GUIDE.