THE NEW MESSIES MANUAL

The Procrastinator’s Guide to Good Housekeeping

Author: Sandra Felton

Publisher: Fleming H. Revell
Date of Publication: 2000
ISBN: 0-8007-5726-2
No. of Pages: 256 pages

About the Author Wisdom in a Nutshell

Sandra Felton
Sandra Felton is a graduate of Columbia
International University with a B.A. degree
and the University of Miami with an M. Ed.
A career high school teacher, Sandra left
teaching to write and give full time to
helping others get organized. Sandra, a
mother of three adult children, lives in
Miami, Florida with her husband in Miami.
Is the trash can in your house overflowing? Do you keep all the sentimental
tokens from your past and present relationships? Do you tend to leave your
clean laundry out in the open? Do you have magazines (some you have read
and others in the to-do list) lying around the house? If you answered “yes” to
one or more of these questions, then you must be a certified Messie.
This book will help you take control of your life and clutter. It will help you
organize and simplify your activities, pay your bills on time, keep your house
clean, plus a whole lot more.

Sandra Felton is the founder of Messies

Anonymous and is the author of several
books, including the best-selling Messies
Manual with more than 350,000 copies
sold. She is a frequent guest on national
radio and TV shows and lives in Miami,
Florida.

Sandra has been featured in many

newspaper articles such as Newsweek,
People Magazine, and the ever popular
National Inquirer. She has been on many
television shows around the country
including The Gayle King Show, P.M.
Magazine, and The Richard Simmons
Show. She has produced a daily radio
feature syndicated to about 300 stations
nationally. In addition, she is a frequent
guest on the radio programs of James
Dobson's weekday Focus on the Family
and the Moody Broadcasting Network's
Published by BestSummaries, Building 3005 Unit 258, 4440 NW 73rd Ave, Miami, Florida 33166
Midday Connection withAndrea Fabry. ©2003 BestSummaries All rights reserved. No part of this summary may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior notice of BestSummaries.com
 THE NEW MESSIES MANUAL By Sandra Felton
Part 1 - Help! House Out of Control
Messies Classified
The one thing that Messies have in common is the
low housekeeping rating. Aside from that, they have
different styles of messiness. Below are the different
classifications of Messies:
· The Perfectionist Messie has very high
standards on individual jobs. She
concentrates on doing one job or getting one
area very clean leaving out the rest.
· The Rebellious Messie has psychological
hang ups from childhood. Her parents may
have always insisted on cleanliness and
order. Now that she has grown up, she is
showing her independence by not doing or
being anything like her mother or father.
· The Relaxed Messie's philosophy is “Since
the world outside is unpleasant and full of
pressure, the home should be the place to
relax and be away from any pressure, so
why work?”
· The Sentimental Messie's clutter is due to
the numerous tokens she has kept from past
and present memories.
· The Spartan Messie's approach to
housekeeping is to cut out the things they
have to handle and make life simpler. Like
having only one pot or cooking in one pot so
that she has only one pot to clean.
· The Clean Messie believes that as long as it
is clean, it is ok to leave it out in the open.
· The Safe Messie wants everything to be
safe that she is afraid of everything, like not
waxing the floor in the fear that someone
might slip and get hurt.
· The Old Fashioned Messie wants to do
things the old-fashioned way. This idea
keeps them from doing any housekeeping
because doing it is “just too much work”.
· The Idealist Messie is a dreamer who
seldom notices the mess of her home and
Copyright 2004 BestSummaries
instead concentrates on her thoughts and
ideas.
Outlooks That Hinder
Why do Messies have a hard time doing
housekeeping? Here are some outlooks that hold
them back:
· Task Orientation. Instead of viewing
housekeeping as a group of individual job,
look at it as part of the overall goal to attain a
clean house. Be goal oriented instead of task
oriented.
“Since the world outside is unpleasant
and full of pressure, the home should
be the place to relax and be away
from any pressure, so why work?”
· The Purely Practical Approach. Practical
ideas such as leaving the bed unmade
because you are going to use it in the
evening hinder your goal of achieving a
beautiful and clean home.
· The Myth of Creative Disorganization.
· Living in the Clouds. Being too much of a
dreamer can lessen your chances of doing a
lot of other things that you consider
important.
· Psychological Hang-Ups. You see
housekeeping as an unpleasant chore that
has to be done.
· Depression or Emotional Upsets.
There is a Reason - It is Not Laziness
Aside from the reasons cited above, here are some
factors that handicap Messies:
· Poor memory. The Messie is absent
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minded and has difficulty in remembering
the simplest things. She may put off doing
some simple chores only to forget about it
later on.
· Distractibility. She is easily distracted and
can jump from one job to another leaving
the previous one half done.
· Disorganized Thinking.
· Visual Tune-Out. The Messie simply
“tunes-out” the mess in her space and does
not acknowledge that she needs to
organize and clean her space.
· Slow Movement. The Messie thinks that
the job requires too much process and
takes too much time, thus having an
adverse reaction to housekeeping.
There is always
room for change.
Reasons for the Reasons
Here are some interesting explanations for the
reasons cited above:
· Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
Experts say that those who excessively
horde can be suffering from Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder.
They keep things for the following reasons:
o Save for the past.
o Save for the future.
o Save to define themselves with
their possessions.
· Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
Messies who are disorganized, absent-
minded or easily distracted can be suffering
from this.
Copyright 2004 BestSummaries
· Overlapping OCD and ADD
characteristics. These characteristics
can be poor memory, organizational
inability, distractibility and hesitation in
decision making.
Part 2: Turning ThingsAround
Developing OrganizationalAttitudes
How to be more organized:
1. Learn organizational strategies that make
sense and will work for you.
2. If it is easy, it will be faster for you to do things.
Find simple ways to get things done.
3. Simplify your life. Having too much things
can be frustrating and time consuming. You
can also simplify your wardrobe, your eating
habits and other activities in life.
4. Make incremental but permanent changes.
5. Take breaks when things get spacey.
6. Take time to refuel your spirit.
7. Join a support group.
8. Use organizational books.
9. Read books on ADD.
10. Get “another pair of eyes”
Attitudes for Success
· If you fail, don't give up. There is always room
for change.
· Practice self-care. Living in a disorganized
and messy house can be a cause of stress.
· Encourage self-confidence.
· Seek passion.
· Ask for help.
· Delegate.
· Be willing to make adjustments.
· Seek serenity.
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· Value your differences.
· Go with the flow of your own personality.
· Honor your need to create.
· Be cheerful.
· Forgive yourself quickly.
· Accept your weakness.
· Get rid of a make-do mentality.
· Dream bigger dreams for yourself.
Goal Setting
How do you want your house to look? Start writing
down your goals, if it is written, you will have
something like a contract. A written goal concretizes
your commitment.
To reach your goal, you need to embrace the three
C's into your life:
1. Change. Changes are hard to accept but
be open to the idea of change.
2. Commitment. Dedicate yourself to the task
of cleaning up and keeping your house in
order.
3. Control. Learn self-control. Make decisions
based on your priorities and learn to say no.
The Diamond of Control
1. Definite Goal. For a goal to be successful
and meaningful it must be specific,
measurable, attainable, and time bounded.
2. Sufficient Motivation. Have a “winning”
attitude. See yourself doing the jobs you
have planned, leaving the house in order
and returning to a clean house.
3. Planned Action. Once you have planned
on something to do, do it wholeheartedly.
Don't leave things half done.
4. Meaningful Evaluation. Stop and assess
if you have attained your goal. Was it easy to
achieve? Do you need to do some changes
in your approach to housekeeping?
Five Pitfalls for the Wanderer in Messieland
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1. Storage or Organization. It is hard for
Messie to maintain an elderly drawer or
storage space.
2. Neatness. Messies seldom entertain at
home because it is too much work to clean
and organize.
3. Paper. Messies keep too many papers
(newspapers, notes, magazines, etc.) in the
hope that they could use them again or have
time to read them all.
A written goal concretizes
your commitment.
4. Bills and Banking. This is an area that
requires organization. Failure to do so can
spell disaster.
5. Collecting. Sometimes messies feel that
they have to hold on to something concrete
from the past, or hold on to something that
they feel they will need in the future. Too
much collection can lead to a messy house.
Part 3: The System
The Mount Vernon Method
Making Those Hard Decisions
You have to think of your goal (total house
organization). Start with opening those drawers. After
which, being sorting the piles of paper and other stuff
you see. Throw out the things that you don't need or
haven't used in the past two years.
Pacing Yourself
Pace yourself. Remember that overdoing it can be
frustrating. Remember, a goal should be time
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bounded and attainable. You will not be able to
accomplish everything in a single day, so go slow and
steady. Do only the things that you can handle for that
day.
Overcoming Obstacles
To get around obstacles such as fatigue and stress,
take a day off or reward yourself to something extra
special after a “big job”.
Working the Plan
Make a list of the things you want to accomplish for
each day before you start the “Mount Vernon Method”.
Throw away every piece of junk that you have
accumulated and be serious about it. Have four boxes
with you - the throw away box, the give away box, the
put elsewhere box and the ambivalent box.
Simplify, Sort and Store
Organization is easy to do and easy to maintain once
you have embraced these three simple concepts:
1. Simplify. Separate things that you want to
keep from those you want to get rid of.
“A place for everything
and everything in its place”.
2. Sort. Always keep these sayings in mind, “A
place for everything and everything in its
place.” and “Birds of the same feather flock
together.”
a. Group. Put things that are alike together.
Have different centers for your items.
Have a photo center, a music center, an
art center, a CD/DVD center, etc.
b. Label. Labeling helps in making your
organizational system “official”. It helps
you remember what system was devised
and it makes things easier to find. It tells
other people in the family where to put
things and hones your organizational
skills.
Copyright 2004 BestSummaries
3. Store. Below are five rules to storing
things successfully:
a. Have enough storage space.
b. Keep stored items visible.
c. “Containarize” your belongings.
d. Label what you store.
e. Store in proximity to use.
Storing the Leftovers
Everything needs to be properly stored so that they
can be easily retrieved. Here are some rules to
follow:
· Write on the side boxes for record keeping
(i.e. write what items are in the box).
· Sort the stuff.
· Label the boxes.
· Group the boxes.
· Make a master list of the boxes and what
items are in those boxes.
The Flippers Keep it in Order
A system is needed to keep things in order. Keep it
simple and stick to the ones that work. While the
Mount Vermont Method will help you keep it that way.
It puts you an easy-to-keep daily maintenance
schedule.
How to Get Organized
1. Get the flipper and the cards.
a. The flipper - a photo album that has
plastic sleeves arranged in a staggered
series and attached to a larger, heavier
sheet of card stock.
b. The cards - Look for index cards or cut
out a card that could go into the album.
2. Put the cards in the flipper.
3. Distribute jobs onto the cards - write down
daily and weekly activity housework
schedules. Distribute work evenly. Each
family member must have a weekly and
daily household chore such as laundry,
cooking, washing of the dishes, etc.
4. Follow-up on the work. Mark off the work
when it is done.
The flipper card works because it helps solve
several challenges such as:
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· Memory. The flipper cards remind you what

jobs to do on a daily and weekly basis.
· Decision making. Since the activity is decided
before hand, you are free from making daily
decisions on what to do and who is in charge
of doing them.
· Computer. You can use the computer to
organize your life. With its large storage
space, you can store as much information as
you want (addresses and phone numbers,
calendars, etc).

· Boundaries. The cards set the boundaries on

what you should do for a particular day or
week and keep you from overdoing stuff.
Keeping Up with the Info Flow
Most Messies love information and their need for
information can be a cause for a messy home (i.e.
overflow of books, newspapers, magazines, etc). Here
are some proposals on how to lessen information
clutter
:
· Non-paper information. Get your information
through radio, television and the Internet.
· Cancel all newspaper and magazine
subscriptions or limit yourself to only one. Buy
magazines only if it contains something that
you are interested in.
· Unsolicited documents. You have no
responsibility to read any of the unsolicited
documents that you receive. Throw them out.
Handling Chosen Information
Keep the information you want on the following:
Most Messies love information and
their need for information can be
a cause for a messy home.
Closets and the Kitchen
Clean out your clothes closets based on the seasons.
Throw out or give away clothes that you have not worn
for the past two or three years. As for the utility
closets, use open plastic baskets. Label them
according to categories (shoe things, repair things,
light bulbs, garden stuff).
Hang or attach brooms and mops on to the wall. Leave
the floor as bare as possible. Hanging things keep
surfaces clean and also adds more storage to the
room.
Three Easy Steps to a Cleaner Kitchen
1. Outlaw snacking unless you are present.
When cooking, clean as you go along.

· Information Box. You can keep your business 2. Feed the animals in the garage.
records, billing records, newspaper clippings,
and recipes in information boxes. Carefully 3. Eat out.
label each folder or division of the box for easy
retrieval.

· Telephone/address book.
Part 4: Helping the System Help You
· Notebook, planner or organizer. You can list
your things-to-do, your activities for the
day/week/ month, items you need to buy, etc. On Procrastination
In other words, it can be your “memory book”.
Something that you can carry with you and Why do people delay doing things or put things off until
where you can write down your ideas, the last minute? The reason may be any of the
activities, and other bits of information. following:

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 THE NEW MESSIES MANUAL By Sandra Felton
1. Some people may not be organized to do a
job.
2. Some people may not have a plan for doing
the job.
3. Some people may hate the job they are
supposed to do.
4. Some people may be busy with other things.
5. Some people may think that the job is not
important.
Whatever the reason may be, delaying the job (i.e.
housekeeping activity), makes the mess bigger. Do
not let big jobs develop because it will make things
harder for you. Embrace the idea of doing small jobs,
clean as you go along, and store items right away.
On Making and Saving Time
Remember that when you say you don't have enough
time to do stuff, it merely means that you have an
organizational problem. You usually have small
windows of time and it is up to you to get organized and
to manage your time. Simple minute management can
do wonders in helping you keep your house or room
clean and in order.
Whatever the reason may be,
delaying the job,
makes the mess bigger.
According to the book, Cleanies value little minutes.
They use little bits and pieces of time whenever they
have them and consequently get a lot done without
ever seeming to have to do long hours of housework.
Here are some of their “tricks”:
· Cleaning the tub or bathroom as soon as they
are finished using it.
· Washing the dishes immediately after a meal
and washing the pots and pans right after
cooking.
· Wiping the sink after brushing their teeth.
· Folding and storing the laundry after it has
been washed and dried.
· Making the bed immediately after waking up.
· Making a weekly menu to lessen cooking
preparation.
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· Having a list when doing the groceries.
· Storing the groceries and items bought
immediately after getting home.
Other time stretchers are:
· Double-up entertaining.
· Know where things are.
· Plan for easy maintenance.
· Don't do too much. Never over-extend
yourself and your schedule.
· Store things where they will be used.
· Manage telephone and visiting time.
· Move fast. Have a definite time schedule for
finishing the job.
· Ask for help.
Getting the Family to Cooperate
Training Your Children
Children should be trained early on how to be
organized. They should have a simple and easy-to-
follow plan that will not pressure them. Treat them as
an adult. Tell them early on that it is their responsibility
to keep their room clean and to help around the house.
Here are some tips on how to do just that:
· Teach by showing.
· Make it a team effort.
· Organize schedules.
· Make it easy for the kids.
o Every child needs a filing cabinet or box
for his school and personal papers.
o Store toys in boxes.
o Make it easy for the child to reach their
clothes. Lower the bars on their closets.
o Limit clean-up time.
o If it takes only 30 seconds to do a job, the
job should be done immediately.
o Make a checklist by the door or light
switch for the child to check before
leaving the room in the morning. List
should include - make bed, hang clothes,
put dirty clothes in the hamper.
More Tips on Organizing
· Clear surfaces, table and counter tops.
· Keep tops and surfaces clear of clutter.
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· Clean as you go along.

· Be proactive.
· Deal with the sentimental past.
· Get rid of distractions and other unnecessary
stuff.

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