...of organizing classics. With, perhaps, a few surprises.

Huysmans, J.-K. Against nature. London : Oxford University Press, 1998. [1884] The "breviary of decadence," the book with which Lord Henry "poisoned" Dorian Gray. Actually, a "novel" with one character, Duc Jean des Esseintes, the ultimate decadent aesthete, whose "adventures" consist of wandering about his "comfortable hermitage," organizing and re-organizing his ever more refined collections of rare books, paintings, perfumes, etc. Together with the Goncourts' story, "An artist's house," the first modern classic of personal organizing.

Inspirational quote : "My God, how few books there are that are worth rereading!"

Lehmkuhl, Dorothy. Organizing for the creative person. Right-brain styles for conquering clutter, mastering time and reaching your goals. New York : Three Rivers Press, 1993. The book that started it all, for me and many other "unusual" people. Organizing methods and tools tend to be designed by, and for, the already highly organized, left-brained types. What about the creative minority, whose wholistic, visual, right-brained habits rebel against hiding everything away in file cabinets? The answers are here, in plain sight. Test: which would help you more, a closet full of neatly labeled boxes, or a wall full of open shelves?

You're not disorganized, your a highly creative individual!

Morgenstern, Julie. Organizing from the inside out. The foolproof system for organizing your home, your office and your life. New York : Holt, 1998. As seen on public tv! The bible of organizing. Her four step method will help anyone organize anything, and stay organized.

And two books for inspiration:

Walter, Dawna.  Organized living. London, Conran, 1997.  I found this in London, and dragged it home on the plane.  Lovely pictures, practical advice; from getting started through each room, including one-room living. 

Wolfman, Peri, and Charles Gold.  A place for everything: organizing the stuff of life.  New York: Potter, 1999.  Something to read in the bathtub.  Also large format, Wolfman seems to have persuaded all her Soho friends to let her husband photograph their high-end storage systems.  But she starts with the incredible "everything closet" in her own loft: the greatest walk-in closet/linen closet/laundry room combination you've ever scene!  Worth trading your whole apartment.

And for another point of view...