Organizing from the Inside Out for Teens

September 2, 2002
Another mother/daughter team joins forces in Organizing from the Inside Out for Teens: The Foolproof System for Organizing Your Room, Your Time, and Your Life by Julie Morgenstern with Jessi Morgenstern-Colon. The comprehensive volume opens by assessing the symptoms of disorganization, providing a diagnosis and offering a prescription for change. Subsequent chapters put readers in "Analyze-Strategize-Attack" mode as they take on messy bedrooms, backpacks and cluttered social calendars.

January 1, 2003
Gr. 7-12. Morgenstern, author of "Organizing from the Inside Out "(1998) for adult readers, teams up with her daughter Jessi to offer practical advice to teenagers who want to get organized. After considering what might be holding them back and the three steps to success (analyze, strategize, attack), the discussion shifts to the two major areas of concern: managing space and managing time. Readers who aren't interested in reshaping their entire lives could benefit from reading a section of the book devoted to a specific challenge, such as getting long-term school projects done. To her mother's practical approach, Jessi adds her own comments and experiences as a teenager learning to bring order to her messy room and overcrowded schedule. In addition to small charts and diagrams that bolster the text, occasional cartoon drawings enliven the presentation. Useful advice in an accessible paperback format. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)