Topic of the Month
February 2026

This Month: Let's Get Organized & Boost Productivity!
How are those New Year's Resolutions coming along? Feeling the itch of spring cleaning? These should help!
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter
by Margareta Magnusson

The original, official, bestselling guide to Swedish death cleaning--a charming, practical, and unsentimental approach to putting a home in order while reflecting on the tiny joys that make up a long life. In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning death and städning meaning cleaning. This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage but should be done sooner than later, before others have to do it for you. In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, artist Margareta Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace minimalism. Her radical and joyous method for putting things in order helps families broach sensitive conversations, and makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming. Margareta suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you'd ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children's art projects). Digging into her late husband's tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta introduces an element of fun to a potentially daunting task. Along the way readers get a glimpse into her life in Sweden, and also become more comfortable with the idea of letting go.
The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future by Ryder Carroll
The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future
by Ryder Carroll

New York Times bestseller! There's a reason this system for time management, goal setting, and intentional living has been adopted by millions around the globe: it works. Not only will you get more done, but you'll get the right things done. All you need is a pen, paper, and five spare minutes a day. In The Bullet Journal Method, Ryder Carroll, the system's founder, provides an essential guide to avoiding all-too-common beginner mistakes and building a core discipline from which you can personalize your practice. You'll not only learn to organize your tasks, but to focus your time and energy in pursuit of what's truly meaningful to you by following three simple steps: * Track the past. Create a clear and comprehensive record of your thoughts. * Order the present. Find daily calm and clarity by tackling your to-do list in a more mindful, systematic, and productive way. * Design the future. Transform your vague curiosities into meaningful goals, and then break those goals into manageable action steps that lead to big change. Whether you're a frustrated list maker, an overwhelmed multitasker, or a creative who needs some structure, The Bullet Journal Method will help you go from passenger to pilot of your own life. (This book is a Charlotte County Library staff favorite!)
Zen to Done: The Ultimate Simple Productivity System by Leo Babauta
Zen to Done: The Ultimate Simple Productivity System
by Leo Babauta

Zen To Done is a simple system to help you get organized and productive--keeping your life saner and less stressed--with a set of simple habits. Zen To Done takes some of the best aspects of popular productivity systems (GTD, Stephen Covey, and others), then combines and simplifies them, giving you just what you need--and no more. Simply put, ZTD teaches you: (1) The key habits needed to be organized and productive. (2) How to implement these habits. (3) How to organize the habits into a simple system that will keep everything in your life in its place. (4) How to simplify what you need to do. (5) How to implement an even simpler version called Minimal ZTD. If you're tired of doing things the hard way and just want a simple, easy, yet effective way to accomplish your goals, Zen To Done is just what you need.
Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by Bj Fogg
Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything
by Bj Fogg

The world's leading expert on habit formation shows how you can have a happier, healthier life: by starting small. BJ Fogg is here to change your life - and revolutionize how we think about human behavior. Based on 20 years of research and Fogg’s experience coaching more than 40,000 people, Tiny Habits cracks the code of habit formation. With breakthrough discoveries in every chapter, you’ll learn the simplest proven ways to transform your life. Fogg shows you how to feel good about your successes instead of bad about your failures.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
by Marie Kondo

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo’s clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list). With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house “spark joy” (and which don’t), this international bestseller will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire. (This is another Charlotte County Library staff favorite. This is the book for those of us who fear having to get rid of too much, but still want to be organized!)
When Organizing Isn't Enough: Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life by Julie Morgenstern
When Organizing Isn't Enough: Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life
by Julie Morgenstern

Expert organizer and New York Times-bestselling author Julie Morgenstern has made a career out of helping her clients get organized. But in the process, she discovered something surprising: for many of her clients, organizing isn’t enough. For those who are eager to make a change in their lives—a new job, a new relationship, a new stage in life—they need to get rid of the old before they can organize the new. They need to SHED their stuff before they can change their lives! So Julie created the SHED process—a four-step plan to get rid of the physical, mental, and schedule clutter that holds back so many of us. But SHEDing isn’t just about throwing things away! Julie teaches that its just as important to focus on what comes before and after you heave the clutter, so that the changes you make really stick in the long term. 
Work-From-Home Hacks: 500+ Easy Ways to Get Organized, Stay Productive, and Maintain a Work-Life Balance While Working from Home! by Aja Frost
Work-From-Home Hacks: 500+ Easy Ways to Get Organized, Stay Productive, and Maintain a Work-Life Balance While Working from Home!
by Aja Frost

Be as productive as possible at work while never leaving your home with these 500 easy-to-follow hacks that will instantly improve your work-from-home experience. As many have discovered during the Covid-19 pandemic, working from home certainly has its perks. But it also comes with its challenges. How do you avoid distractions around your home? How can you remain as productive as you are in the office? That's where Work-from-Home Hacks comes in to help! With over 500 quick and easy solutions you can implement in your daily life, you'll find yourself staying more productive, organized, and happier than ever. You'll learn useful tips like: -Create a designated workspace at home -Figure out what background noise works best for you -Use a different internet browser for work -Change your clothes before you start work -And so much more! So whether you're adjusting to a new, permanent work-from-home schedule, are looking to make some changes to a long-standing remote work routine, or just need some advice for the occasional WFH days, this book is here to help you stay as productive as possible so you can maintain a healthy work/life balance and make the most of your days outside of the office!
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
by James Clear

James Clear presents strategies to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that help lead to an improved life. He draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
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