New Order
A Decluttering Handbook For Creative Folks (And Everyone Else)
Celebrating its 10th year
Published by Ballantine Books. Order through Penguin Random House or your usual wholesaler.
Can a decluttered space fuel a creative mind? Heck yes, says organizing expert Fay Wolf, who has helped everyone from Hollywood celebrities to schoolteachers to work-from-home parents achieve a simpler, more fulfilling life. Here, Wolf outlines her basic rules for saying goodbye to the stuff crowding up your space and hello to new habits that free you up for the things you’re passionate about. And it can all be done in as little as a few minutes a day. Learn how to
create productive to-do lists • stem the flood of paper • downsize digital clutter and social media • arrange your space to spark creative juices • curb your desire to accumulate • collaborate and connect with others for support • embrace imperfection • keep up the momentum
Wolf also shares her favorite productivity apps and resources for donating your many, many items. From the outer clutter of your home to the inner clutter of your chatty mind, this handbook will help you make room for artistic inspiration and invite you to treat yourself to less.
Illustrations by Jeremy Gates.
Or check your local library
Kind words
Clarity, control, peace and quiet: All of these ‘nebulous golden nuggets’ can be obtained by following Wolf’s sensible decluttering program.
The New York Times Book ReviewLess stuff. Less paper. Less digital. These are some of the ingredients for a decluttered life to be found in New Order.
Los Angeles TimesNew Order seriously changed my life.
Emily Deschanel, actor and producer, Bones, Devil in OhioFay Wolf is some kind of superhero.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, actor, Modern Family, Take Me OutFull of millennially minded tips that will help you clean-attack your space.
Refinery29The KonMari alternative you’ve been waiting for . . . [Wolf’s] approach is about reducing chaos so you can focus on more important things, like creative pursuits. . . . The New Order method resonates with me.
PopSugarFay Wolf is living proof that being highly organized doesn’t have to mean being sterile and rigid.
Apartment TherapyHer message is about fun and freedom, rather than healing and fixing.
The GuardianHow can one possibly be productive when faced with so many obligations? Enter: The Triangle of Productivity.
InStyleMy life can essentially be divided into two periods: Pre-Fay and Post-Fay.
Josh Radnor, writer, director, actor, Fleishman Is in Trouble, How I Met Your MotherNew Order will change the way you interact with your space, your creative practice, and your everyday life. I was blown away. Grab it.
Clea DuVall, actor, writer, director, Veep, Argo, The Intervention, American Horror StoryFay has been a great ally in helping me get my shit together.
James Valentine, lead guitarist, Maroon 5New Order makes the impossible possible.
Liz Feldman, four-time Emmy Award-winning writer and producer, Dead to Me, No Good DeedFay Wolf approaches her work as an organizer the way she approaches life—as a spiritual warrior and an artist.
Brooke Berman, playwright, screenwriter, author, No Place Like Home: A Memoir in 39 Apartments, Ramona at MidlifeWolf is a rare talent. Part therapist, part creative thinker, and part best friend, she’s the right messenger to heal a whole new generation’s organizational woes.
Maxwell Ryan, founder and CEO, Apartment TherapyFay is dynamic and engaging and full of life in her approach to simplifying spaces in the home, in the head, and in the heart.
Zachary Quinto, actor and producer, Brilliant Minds, Star Trek