Customer Reviews

Let Go of Clutter

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am very interested in the concept of ridding oneself of clutter, as well as the art of Feng Shui. My 2002 new years resolution is to free myself of one third of the "stuff" in my home. I am truly thankful I have found Ms Schechters book. She explains why we collect, from a sociological viewpoint. She also admits that this book is NOT for packrats (which I think is very big of her) unless of course they are really willing to change and their hoarding habits are causing real pain to them.
I didn't realize this was an obsessive compulsive disorder and may really require professional intervention.
I love all the helpful hints like..."Use large waste containers that stand up" instead of itty bitty ones or just a floppy large plastic bag. There is real joy in tossing "lotsa" dust collectors away in a sturdy container. All of these gems (and there are many) of info really do add up to a happy successful clutter purging. I also like the fact that she does not go into things like "how to organize your closet" etc. You come to realize that your precious time will be free of "organizing" when you are free of all the overabundance in your life. Since I do clean my own home "decluttering" makes this job much easier. Any surface that has no knicknacks takes just seconds to clean and dust. If Harriets book doesn't motivate you to happily want to "declutter" I dont think that another book out there would. I have read many others, and I feel this one is the best.

As a professional organizer for over 20 years, I tend to be tough on the new organizing books that come out. It's easy to call yourself an expert and dispense advice, but for me what counts is the "understanding" behind the advice. And Harriet's approach, along with excellent pointers that are well-organized themselves, manages to combine a real compassion for the reader/client that is missing in so many "how-to-do-it" books that are on the market today. Harriet obviously understands the people she works with and teaches, and presents this understanding in a way that is not at all condescending. By combining her humor-filled observations with very practical step-by-step directions, she demonstrates that people learn best when they're treated with informed intelligence and respect.If your problem is clutter (and that includes most of us!), this is the book you should read.

I've read many books on decluttering and organizing, but this one was by far the best. It was the first one that really helped me to get the clutter out of my life. It is well-organized and easy to read, with some excellent motivational tips as well as practical tips.

One of the ideas I liked best was to take "before" photos of all your cluttered areas. In my case, I photographed my entire house! The photos really open your eyes to how much clutter you really have, and serve as a wonderful comparison when you've finished with an area.

The book has helped me tackle one of my most difficult areas - my office. In a few days, I threw out several boxes of papers and other useless clutter. I never thought I would get this room in order again, and just seeing my progress has given me motivation to tackle other areas.

I recommend this book for anyone just embarking on de-cluttering, as well as people who have read other books on the subject without success. Whenever I feel myself backsliding and need inspiration, I just re-read parts of this book. It keeps me on track, and I can't wait till the rest of my house is finished.

Conquer your clutter. Stop being a slave to your stuff. Understand why it's so hard to get rid of things.

What would your life be like if you could accomplish these three things? How much happier would you be? How much more peaceful would your life be?

Author Harriet Schechter gives you a step-by-step solution in her book, Let Go of Clutter.

In the first chapter, Why Letting Go is So Hard to Do, Schechter explains why we may be biologically programmed to accumulate, why the fear of regret keeps us from discarding stuff, and how society encourages us to gather more and more.

Chapter 4, Purging Paper and Preventing Piles, is another favorite chapter. The author walks us through the method she uses with her clients to quickly sort and purge paper piles. She recommends a File Index, and shows you how to set it up for your household.

The last part of the book looks to the future and explains how to keep your home clean once you've decluttered it.

This book is filled with lots of fill-in-the-blank forms and step-by-step pathways to take you from clutter-filled to clutter-free.

If your clutter is taking over and you've reached the end of your rope with no idea where to start, check out Let Go of Clutter.

This is a workbook, complete with checklists, that will help you assess & conquer your clutter problems. I've read many books on this subject; this is one of the better ones. I found her sections on "purging papers" to be particularly useful -- as papers are often an overwhelming problem area. Schecter also discusses the value of being choosy, and give tips on how to maintain a clutter-controlled environment once you've established it. I found this to be a useful tool book, with solid, practical tips. For motivation to get started decluttering, for inspiration and funny (as in "yikes, that sounds like me") stories about people with serious clutter issues, read Don Aslett's "Packrat" and "Clutter" books -- they're very entertaining & you'll want to stop every chapter or so to clean out a drawer or closet. Follow up Aslett with this book, which has more practical tips

Educational and entertaining. Brimming with insightful information, Harriet Schechter's "Let Go of Clutter" presents facts, checklists, and questions to help even the most severe clutter bug cases determine what and where clutter is and what to do about it. Each page contains useful tips in easy to implement, bite-sized nuggets. You'll actually be eager to begin and follow through on your decluttering projects using this book as a motivational map for success. As a budding professional organizer, I've read dozens of books on organizing, this one is the best yet for clearly presented, useful, and interesting information. I highly recommend it!

The reviews for this book are so overwhelmingly positive, I figured it *must* be good. Bad assumption! I gleaned very little usable information from this book. The author uses far too much space defining terms, relating her own experiences, and trying to be cute.

Even worse, as another reviewer noted, the author's tone is a bit condescending. Despite her purported years of experience as a professional organizer, she doesn't seem to have a good handle on what causes people to develop clutter problems. Her extensive use of coined words is annoying. The material is poorly organized, jumping around at times. Also, the writing drags in places; it could have used a more thorough editing. Overall, the writing and material presented is of low quality.

For example, in a chapter on how to clear out sentimental clutter, the author's advice can be distilled into one largely unhelpful sentence, "Save only objects that evoke pleasant or poignant feelings; don't keep anything that makes you feel stressed or upset." Okay, that makes sense, but is that really going to do me any good? I could have used suggestions on how to mentally unhook objects from memories. Then the author goes on to introduce terms such as "clutterabilia" and "memorabiliac." (And she's just getting started! Watch out for "paperosis" and "redundabundance.") Is having a coined word going to solve anything?

In dealing with the fear of getting rid of something and then regretting it, the author admonishes, "If you do find yourself grieving over the loss of something that was never alive to begin with, you need more help than I can give you, and I urge you to seek counseling." At this point, I think she has dismissed most of her readers. She continues without compassion, "Your regrets are...a poor excuse for you to keep hanging onto clutter." Tough love?

Some people might find the author's tone helpful, but I was totally put off by it. I would recommend a thorough perusal of the excerpt available online before investing in this book. It should have been a giveaway to me that so many copies are available used. Maybe the sellers took the author's suggestion to only hold onto things that are useful.

I bought both this book and the one by Don Aslett and I have to say this one is head and shoulders above his. He occasionally had some good suggestions about things not covered in detail in this book (photos, especially, which are a particular weakness of mine), but in general, his book was silly and repetitive. By contrast, this is a clean, concise, well-written and humorous book with step-by-step instructions for just about every clutter area of your home. It gives you specific processes to follow and offers some structured guidance on how to organize things (particularly your files). Using the worksheets helps you honestly evaluate your own clutter situation and then she leaves it to you to make smart choices about what to keep and what to toss. She explains the psychology behind the impulse to collect and the fear of letting go and offers workable strategies for getting rid of the stuff that's weighing you down and preventing future clutter acquisition.

I know I'm practically raving about this book but I got rid of a closet full of unworn clothing, plus some icky furniture and shelves full of dusty old knick knacks and I've still got lots of momentum. The process is liberating and as far as I can tell, this is the best guide out there.

I believe this book may have saved my marriage. My wife's cluttering habits were driving me crazy. After reading it twice to absorb all the thought which went into it, I begged her to read it, and the results have been dramatic. She has been getting rid of so much stuff, I never would have believed it could happen. This is the first book I've found which actually seems to be geared for both the organized and the cluttered. As a bonus I was surprised how it was entertaining and fun to read. Step-by-step instructions, clear advice, nonjudgmental tone. I highly recommend this book, wish I could give it 10 stars!

This book about clutter is written in a humourous style which will inspire you to clean up the clutter in your life. I like her use of Latin to describe various disorganizational illnesses. She explains the past, present and future of clutter: how you got there (past), what to do about it (present), and how to avoid it (future). There are overviews at the beginning of each chapter, summaries at the end, and checklists all over to make it easy for you to understand her points.