Customer Reviews

Clutter Junkie No More: Stepping Up to Recovery

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Okay, I admit it. I am a messy person, albeit mostly in my home office.

However, this book is about Clutter, with a capital C--with clutter as a symptom of underlying problems. Hmmmm, people say I could have a nice clean office if I just wanted to (like we say to those with other addictions--"just change/quit").

This book is NOT about organizing messes, but about why people let clutter overwhelm them--to keep the world out.

What brings people to the place of being a "clutter junkie?" When the addict outside cries out for control, what happens?

"All addictions are based in fear and are used for avoidance. Fear of other people, an inability to trust, self-esteem issues, and the feeling of not fitting into the world around them," so the author says in the introduction.

Rogers, who has been in recovery from her own additions, deals with clutter addiction with a 12-step program adapted from AA. These 12 steps move you from the admitting you are powerless over clutter to personal intervention to having a spiritual awakening where the addict practices the 12 steps every day.

Clutter is having too much of anything, nesting comfortably with these things: books, magazines/newspapers, pets, collections--anything that fills the "hole" that brought them to this addiction in the first place--and takes them to a "comfortable place" where they feel in control of one thing in their life, even if its unhealthy.

The 12th step is "we" to show we are not alone in this. Living in clutter keeps others away and feeds our poor self-esteem--like we are living in a box.

The chapters are written around the 12 steps, and the book ends with an entire section about The Serenity Prayer and some wonderful affirmations. It is NOT through acceptance, courage and wisdom that we are given serenity. For the clutter addict that means giving up the chaos, the excuse for being overwhelmed.

Armchair Interviews says: Unlike addictions that we read about all the time, clutter seems like such a small deal--unless the addition happens to you or someone you love.

I am sure there is someone who could be started on a helpful path by this book, but it contains far too little content about clutter itself. Even the discussions about the psychological reasons for accumulating clutter are thin and need stories with more details. The book is mostly generic praise for 12-step programs, and the last part is full of God-talk that will be off-putting to many people. Too much of the book could be rewritten with few changes for a 12-step program to address some other problem unrelated to clutter.

This book basically tells you to go to an AA, NA, GA type meeting for people who like to clutter. Skip the book and go to the meeting instead. Doesn't really offer any advice about how to stop cluttering your life.

The Clutter Junkie has been very helpful to me and showed me how clutter is affecting my life in general. I have went through a lot of changes in my life the past few years, but had reached a point where I felt my life was at a stand still and there was something that needed done for me to move on. It made me realize there are a lot of things that need organized to clear my mind of all the clutter. I immediately began making a list of these things and taking one item at a time and ridding my life of this clutter and making it a priority to continue keeping the clutter out. Not being a patient person with clearing clutter this book has helped me to take one tiny step at a time and what a wonderful feeling to clear my mind of all this and know that my mind is much healthier. I would recommend this book to anyone.

If you have a problem letting go of possessions, this book is a MUST READ.