Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What's Holding You Back [Paperback]

Brooks Palmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2009

Piles of junk in garages and closets, overflowing papers on desks, items unused for years, masses of unanswered email, clothing never worn, useless gifts that collect dust — all these things, says Brooks Palmer, come weighted with shame and guilt and have a suffocating effect on spirit and soul. In this insightful book, Palmer shows how to get rid of the things in our lives that no longer serve us. By tossing out these unneeded items, we are also eliminating their negative influences, freeing up energy, and unlocking our potential.

Loaded with inspiring anecdotes and practical tips, Clutter Busting is based on the premise that your things are not sacred, but you are. The book explores such fundamental topics as the false identities we assume through clutter, the fear of change those junk piles represent, the addictive nature of holding on to objects, how clearing clutter makes room for clarity and sweeps away confusion and stasis, and much more. With Brooks’s upbeat and compassionate guidance, you’ll find yourself clearing the way for new and exciting things to come into your life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“I have needed this book for years, and I loved it! Brooks’s advice helped me clean up clutter, which gave me more time, energy, and creativity.”
— Robert J. Kriegel, PhD, New York Times bestselling author of If It Ain’t Broke, Break It!

“Clutter Busting literally changed my life. Brooks’s gentle yet firm voice inspired me to act, to widen my eyes and take a fresh look around — and undo pockets of clutter, not only in my closet and the trunk of my car but also in my heart. This book is filled with practical, useful wisdom.”
— Marc Lesser, author of Less: Accomplishing More by Doing Less

“If you want to make your space into a transformative tool that supports your life and work, you need Clutter Busting.”
— Julia Mossbridge, PhD, author of Unfolding: The Perpetual Science of Your Soul’s Work

About the Author

BROOKS PALMER helps people get rid of things they no longer need. He has been featured in national and local media and has performed stand-up comedy for many years. A popular speaker to diverse groups, he divides his time between Los Angeles and Chicago. www.clutterbusting.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: New World Library (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781577316596
• ISBN-13: 978-1577316596
• ASIN: 1577316592
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,104 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #50 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating

More About the Author

In his ten years of Clutter Busting in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City, Brooks Palmer realized the intense emotional connection most people have with material possessions, and that internal clutter must be addressed before external clutter can be discarded. He created his Clutter Busting method to help people let go of those things they no longer need and to open the doors for new possibilities.

Brooks Palmer's Clutter Busting business took off by word of mouth when people began calling, usually out of sheer desperation. He has since been featured in The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Business Journal and Daily Candy, and on Living Live, Chicagoing and the CBS Channel 2 Nightly News. Brooks travels between Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City, working with clients and offering seminars on getting rid of the clutter in our lives. He lives in Chicago.

Brooks speaks regularly to diverse groups around the country, including: businesses, women's groups, Rotary Club, health expos, senior citizens groups & yoga centers. Brooks also enjoys writing cartoons, drawing pastel paintings, and performing comedy at live venues. Brooks is also a singer-songwriter. His alternative folk album, Brooks Takes His Time, is available on Amazon MP3 downloads.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His Inspiration Works, October 2, 2009

By 

G. Charles Steiner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What's Holding You Back (Paperback)

Brooks Palmer tells the reader more than once his purpose in writing his book is to inspire you to get rid of your clutter. I am writing this review to let the reader know the author's inspiration is not mere self-help inspiration based in some kind of Eastern wisdom but is wholly domestically practical, and the psychological aspects of his approach are pragmatic: it works!

I've been a big fan of Don Aslett and in particular his book "Clutter's Last Stand." In Aslett's book, the writing is as clear as a red fire truck and the advice is as strong as the blare of the fire truck's siren. You can readily see what needs to be thrown out and then you just do it.

With Palmer's book, the path is more indirect but no less powerful and no less clear. Palmer tells stories about his former clients and their issues with clutter. In one tale,the reader finds him accepting a client based on trading a full body massage for clutter advice; in another, he assists a young lady who works as a [...] model. His stories range from the middle-class yuppie who cannot throw out the expensive electronics he never uses stored in his garage to the weirdly intimate and bizarre clutter of women lost in past romances and previous identities. Through these often astonishing tales, the reader begins to identify hidden and often subconscious areas of clutter, some quite small and others quite embarrassingly obvious. One quickly discovers that no story is completely without some practical and beneficial relation to the reader and his or her clutter, no matter the gender, age or circumstance.

Three pieces of insight I found particularly worthwhile are (1) you need to get rid of stuff that you spent a lot of money on and are not using to avoid being continually reminded of how much money you wasted; (2) 75% of the stuff you own is worthless and unnecessary to you for your present happiness and peace of mind; (3) don't hesitate to get rid of your clutter as quickly as possible: garage sales are just a form of procrastination and many things may land back inside your place.

I threw out lots of stuff that I didn't need or want as a result of reading this book and gained new courage for tossing out items I'd hesitated over many times. I also learned new techniques in identifying what is really clutter that aren't on the list in Don Aslett's books.

93 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Changing Revelations, March 22, 2009

By 

Gautam Desai (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What's Holding You Back (Kindle Edition)

I must say I wasn't expecting much out of the book. I knew I had a problem with organization and a tendency to acquire things that I quickly grew tired of. This book has changed the way I view my home, people around me, and life in general. It's premise that if something isn't adding value to your life may mean it's clutter is a critical revelation. The only negative is that you start noticing the clutter-rich behavior of those around you (read: your family) and I find myself asking them to get with the program.

In the end, in just two weeks I have rid myself of a truck full of old electronics, computers, and junk in a local e-waste recycler, 10 huge bags of recyclables, and 20 cardboard boxes. I have a lot to go and can't wait to get back to it.

I now feel great about the evolution of my home as a peaceful place to spend time with the family. I never knew what agitated me so much in the past, now I do.

Finally, I have stopped spending money on things that I now realize have no long-term value and would probably end up junk. The money on the book has paid for itself hundreds of times over already. This book has my highest recommendation!

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Clutter Book, November 17, 2009

By 

Digital Dori (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What's Holding You Back (Paperback)

I have read a lot of clutter books over the years and this one is clearly the best. The author does not start out with the typical "get 4 boxes for keep, charity, trash, recycle..." He also does not talk about plastic containers, except to promote the concept that once you declutter, you won't need them; plastic containers are just expensive trash cans. Rather he delves into the mental/emotional aspects of clutter. He enables the reader to view clutter as ...well... clutter. I found my perspective change from seeing an item I might need to keep, to seeing an item I realized was clutter and I could easily toss. After reading the first few chapters, I was able to fill an entire roll out container in a couple days. I am eager to do more and work 30-45 minutes each day on decluttering with the goal of filling the roll out container each week. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in decluttering. And to avoid adding more clutter, I got this book at the library.