Customer Reviews

Clutter's Last Stand: It's Time to De-Junk Your Life!

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1 star:		(10)

 

 

A friend told me that "You own the thing; then the thing owns you." So true. This is not an organize-your-possessions book as much as it is a pare-down-your-possessions book. In fact, Aslett refers to storage cubbies (china cabinets, desk organizers, closet racks, shadow boxes, extra shelves) as "junk bunkers," irrestibly beckoning us to fill them up, and he refers to "things and stuff" catalogs as "junk pornography." If you're like me, you'll be ready to throw out half your possessions when you finish the book. When I was reading this book (not at home), I was dying to get home & start cleaning out drawers & closets -- When I got home, I immediately ran to my spare bedroom closet & loaded up thirty-three beautiful but seldom-worn and too- tight dresses for Goodwill. I was equally ruthless with books I don't read, nail polish I don't use, plastic cups, old race tee shirts, stuffed animals from high school boyfriends, old lamps without shades, my ten-year-old skis and boots, old ice skates, ratty towels, clothes to "paint" or "work" in. The boxes of "stuff to sell on e-bay" (that have been int he garage for months) have been redesignated "stuff for Goodwill."

Aslett shows how cluttering your life with stuff really gets in the way of enjoying life. He points out the burden that results from excessive ownership -- pointing out the fallacy of acquiring inexpensive (or "free") things that cost us much more in the long run, the problems created by owning several of the same item (when one would suffice), for saving things for the future.

Aslett doesn't advocate stark minimimalism or an all-out blitz; he does have some sympathy for things to which you may be emotionally attached -- but he suggests ways of evaluating and miniaturizing junk (saving a scrap of fabric or a button from your prom dress, rather than the whole thing). He doesn't judge whether your possessions are treasure or junk; he gives you the framework for deciding whether YOU are better off keeping an item or getting rid of the item.

This isn't a new age simplify-your-life book, but Anslett doesn't hesitate top explain (near the end of the book) how filling your life with junk (possessions, food, draining "friends") can lead to depression and anxiety. It's laugh-out-loud funny in parts, readable, and painfully honest. Read it -- Goodwill, Salvation Army, Bottomless Closet, Disabled Veterans -- someone will be glad you did.

Don Aslett doesn't know me, but he has influenced my life perhaps more than anyone. When I first started out in life, I was carefree, happy, and serene. I slept at night. Over the years, I found myself with a lot more things, but a lot less happiness. I tried "looking within", but it was all the stuff "without" that was making me depressed. Then someone gave me a copy of this book and I realized that I didn't need to suffer anymore. Although my home was clean, it was cluttered, as was my schedule, my life, my whole existence. During a big move, with Don Aslett's encouragement, I sold or gave away almost everything except those few precious things that really mattered to me. In my new (all white) house, I brought in only the bare necesseties and only objects that I felt I couldn't live without. My home looks beautiful now - light and airy. I dejunked my schedule and some not-so-good acquaintances and learned to say NO!. Since I had no junk to take care of, I had time to get a couple of degrees, learn to play the piano, and really have fun with my man and our child. I have read every one of Don's books - he has an incredible sense of humor and love for life. Don, you are the saint of orderliness and peacefulness. God bless you - and thanks for giving me my life back. Dr. D.

I first came across this book in the mid 80's.It is the best book on the subject of de-cluttering your life that I've ever seen.It was first published in 1984,and has been on bookstore shelves ever since.Just look at the reviews here;they go back for years.
Don Aslett has been billed as America's Cleaning Expert for at least 25 years.He started in the building cleaning business while in university,and by the time he graduated he was employing many to work for him and even had a fleet of trucks.He is so proud of his profession that he travels around the country carrying a briefcase that looks like a toilet.
In this book, he gives you the benefit of all his years in the business.You quickly learn that the biggest element in cleaning is dealing with clutter.
He is so good of taking the ordinary things that clutter up our life and sap our strength,and writing about it in such a humorous way ,that you'll have tears coming from your eyes from laughter.
It is almost uncanny how he addresses every excuse we've ever used to convince ourselves that clutter is worth keeping,sorting,arranging,storing,piling,labeling,boxing,hanging,stacking,packing,guarding,cleaning,keeping as spares,keeping in case someone else might want it,and on and on.
I was showing this book to a neighbor who has a double car garage ,and can't put any of his three vehicles,with a combined value of over $150K ,inside out of the searing sun in the summer and snow and ice of the winter;for the simple reason ,it's full of clutter.If you think Aslett's examples are exagerrated,this fellow has boxes of National Geographic magazines the Thrift stores won't even take.He even showed me a box of marine charts he collected when he had a boat.The boat's been gone for 15 years.He offered them to me;but No Thanks!Oh well,I'll just keep them,someone might use them.I asked him if he still had an anchor.He thought for a minute."I'm sure I do...somewhere.Do you want it? " No,I said,just wondering.
You have probably seen other books on getting rid of stuff,also numerous magazine and newspaper articles;but this is the real bible on the subject.Why else is it still being sold and reviewed after 20 years?
Aslett has been a popular speaker on the subject.He has also written books,"Is There Life After Housework" and"Do I Dust or Vacuum First?" He has also put out tapes that are hilarious.
His books are full of quotes and one of his best tests to evaluate if something is junk,just try to give it to someone.
I have a friend who often says;"Everything you get,takes looking after." That about says it all.
In the end,you may not learn too much from this book;it is intended to motivate you,not teach you.Everyone knows junk when they see it;getting rid of it is the challenge!
Here's to de-junking your life.


"

I've read and re-read this book a dozen times. Each time I gain something new, either a strategy for getting rid of junk. Or motivation. On the surface, it's a fun book with great illustrations, and info broken down into small bits. You can pick it up and start reading anywhere. But as you read, a philosophy emerges. I think its point (and any good book on decluttering) is:

1. Find out what is currently important in your life;

2. Get rid of the things that don't contribute to that;

3. Take good care of the things that remain.

Easy to say, but hard to do when you're looking at a closet overflowing with stuff.

The thing I like about Aslett's writing is that he addresses all the reasons people hold onto things. I mean, getting rid of your stuff can be emotional. It's not just the things, but what they represent. Like projects we've started, but never finished. (getting rid of them means admitting dedeat.) Keeping broken stereos and appliances in the garage, thinking we'll fix them (but never will.) Holding onto your dead grandfather's set of horseshoes (because you think getting rid of them would be disrespectful.)

The tragedy of clutter is that it distracts us from living fully in the present. And after reading Aslett's book, I was genuinely motivated to make some changes. Big changes. No, I didn't throw away everything I owned. But I did get rid of a lot. And I can safely say that I haven't regretted a single removal. The benefits have been that I appreciate what's left so much more (I actually READ the few remaining books, actually LOOK at the few remaining photographs, actually FINISH the remaining craft project, can actually FIND things when I need them.) The philosophy has trickled down and helped me be selective in my purchases and accumulating now. I only bring something new into my home now if it enhances my life. No more recreational shopping. What freedom. And I sincerely thank Aslett for this book, and his dedication to his profession.

Decades ago, I was a new mom, and I was overwhelmed with housework. I read "Is there life after housework?" by Don Aslett, and not only was my house clean, but I had time to relax, and my friends were asking me how I did it. Then I got "Clutter's Last Stand" and started throwing things away. (I remember I had three cribs in the garage, but we had no plans of having more babies. And what about all those grocery bags under the sink?). I got rid of a ton of stuff, and I was able to not take in too much more stuff.

Years later, I went with a family member to help clean out an elderly woman's house. What a horror!! She had gone to the thrift stores for years, and filled bags full of clothes, then piled them on the beds and floors of her three bedrooms until you could not take one step inside the room, and the junk was piled six feet high. Also, every time she got the mail (for decades), she put it in a bag without sorting it, and put it in the bedrooms too. Love letters and old photos were mixed with sales flyers from years ago, and everything infused with silverfish. The bedrooms had not been used for 20 years, but the rats had chewed through the walls, and had been living in the clothes and mail all that time. When everything was finally thrown out, it turned out that one buried bed had fallen through the rotted floor and down to the dirt. We had to throw out the floor too. And the whole time we were throwing out pooped-on, chewed-up toxic trash, family members were saying, "No, you can't get rid of THAT!" What was the point of saving all that stuff? It made the bedrooms unusable, and invited vermin and disease into the house. Plus, if she had spent that money and time on decorating instead of accumutaing junk from the thrift store, she would have had three nice, usable bedrooms. In the end, all her "treasures" desintigrated to trash and had to be burned. When I got home, I revaluated the things I was accumualating. I want a pretty, peaceful home, not a huge trash bin. If I am not using it, I am getting rid of it.

Get Clutter's Last Stand now so your grandkids won't need pitchforks and snowshovels to clean out your bedrooms.

I think this is a great book. I know some people are put off by Don's brashness, but with clutter being the problem it is today I think he is doing us a great service by showing us how we are just bogging down our lives by holding on to so much junk! I know numerous people who have read this book and they all have wonderful things to say about it. This book has helped change my life. It has helped me realize how much of my life was being used up by dealing with junk, physically and mentally. People are more important than things and the present is more important than the past. If you are looking for a way to organize and keep all the junk you have this book is not for you. But if you want to be set free from the bondage of junk this book will help.

Being a child of depression parents I have lived with and been overwhelmed by "clutter." Having had the phrase "you never know when you might need it" drilled into my head from birth, has made my life a living nightmare. The emotional struggle to give up even the smallest little item (which might be useful someday) has caused so much stress and frustration in my life and cluttered my brain that at age 45 I am an emotional wreck. I stumbled on "Clutter's Last Stand" while shopping at a second hand store (something which I am trying to get away from because it feeds that "something I might need" thought process) and just after reading the first few pages knew it was for me. I absolutely love the illustrations. Pages 12 through 16 show the genealogy of junk; how we are conditioned to become the junk collectors we are as adults. I could have written the chapter entitled "101 Feeble Excuses for Hanging onto Clutter" and I am the monkey on pages 28 & 29.
On page 38 it says "no matter how sharp you are, what you own, how famous you are -- if you eat, wear, live, and love junk it will cause ugly bulges somewhere on your person or your psyche." There is truth in that statement and I'll leave it at that.
Page 42 -- Clutter Makes Everything Take Longer. I knew that before I read it. I can never find what I want when I need it because things are never where they are supposed to be. By the time I find everything it takes to do the task at hand I'm either too tired to do the task or else I've forgotten what it was I was doing.
I highly recommend this book for other people who are children of "Depression Era" parents struggling with the same problem that I am.
It's funny and practical.

This is one of those books that should be included in everybody's essential reading list. I cannot recommend it too highly. It is easy to read, amusing, and brings home a very important message.
Are you a pack rat? READ THIS BOOK!
Is your house bulging at the seams? READ THIS BOOK!
Are you a Do-It-Yourself storage genius? READ THIS BOOK!
Modern life teaches us to acquire more and more 'things', to gather around us oodles of unessential items. This book helps put perspective back into ownership.
I first read it back in the mid-80s, on the recommendation of a friend. It is not my usual style of reading matter but I decided to 'give it a try'. My eyes were opened to just how much clutter I had gathered around me and Clutter's Last Stand helped free me.
I have since recommended it to countless other hoarders, especially friends who are moving. Without exception, everyone who read it commented positively about the help they gained from doing so.
Reading this book, all those years ago, changed my life (for the better, I might add). Five years ago, when moving to the States from England, I found it as amusing and instructive the second time around. Give it a try. You will not regret it.

This book changed my life. Dejunking has become a lifestyle for me and my wife. Don Aslett shows you that alot of stuff we accumulate is junk, but he also teaches that other parts of your life can be cluttered-up as well. His no-nonsense approach to dejunking your *life* needs to be heard by so many people! After reading his book, I began to give every aspect of my life a hard, dejunking look. "Do I really need this *thing*?" Or, "Is this person someone I really want in my life?" Or, "Do I really need to eat this?" This book should be required reading in school so kids have a chance against this consume-happy society. Excellent book!

This book forever changed the way I look at possessions. I tend to be a packrat, but after reading this book I was able to "let go" of a lot of junk and take loads of boxes to Goodwill, take other stuff to the dump, etc. Don Aslett is a very humorous and entertaining writer. His books are among my all-time favorites! I feel "lighter" in every way when my possessions are pared down. I reread this book every year or two to recharge and unload!