Lighten Up!: Free Yourself from Clutter [Paperback]

Michelle Passoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 1998

Lighten Up! Free Yourself from Clutter is the first book of its kind to view cleaning clutter not as a burdensome chore but as a transformational experience. If those piles of stuff are draining you of energy, if they‘re not supporting and nurturing you, then get out from under them! Lighten Up! Free Yourself from Clutter is a practical yet inspirational guide that encourages you to approach clutter cleaning as a fun, creative, soul–enriching endeavour.

Michelle Passof takes you step–by–step through the process of lightening up. First she helps you identify what you want to make room for in your life, then she outlines how to overcome the physical obstacles that get in the way of achieving your goals.

Lighten Up! Free Yourself from Clutter! shows you how to:

do away with piles of paper

choose the right filing system for your records

find the courage to toss out clothes you never wear

distinguish memorabilia from useless junk

create rooms in which you can relax

and much, much more!

Maybe you don‘t know exactly what you want your life to look like, but if you start eliminating clutter, your true self is sure to surface.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (February 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060952652
• ISBN-13: 978-0060952655
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,273,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! Helps you recognize & tackle clutter hang-ups!, May 5, 1999

By 

Shari from Omaha 4/99 ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lighten Up!: Free Yourself from Clutter (Paperback)

I've already sent an email to the author thanking her for writing this very enlightening book. I got the book, read it, and used it that weekend as my aid in decluttering our messy home office. The office is now a clean and effective place to work. Now on to the other rooms...

This is the first book I've found in my years-long search for answers to clutter-cleaning problems. The most profound thing this book did for me that no other has is that the author helped me weed out and address mental or philosophical issues that kept me from effectively dealing with clutter. After offering different ways to address those issues, the author then shows--step-by-step--how to work through clutter in each room in the home. She wisely instructs you not to buy anymore filing or organizing apparatus until you've decluttered. She encourages you throughout the book, repeating ideas like "leave no stone unturned" to help you forge through the decluttering process. She even recognizes that you'll need to keep the book right there while decluttering, and tells you what sections to read for mental reenforcement when tackling tough decluttering issues--like items belonging to deceased loved ones.

Throughout the book, the author is very warm-hearted and positive, and offers unique alternatives for dealing with clutter that we are sentimentally attached (or tied down) to. It's a great tool, and gives you the mental resources needed to EFFECTIVELY recognize and deal with clutter both at home and at work. I plan to buy this book for my mom, brother, friends...

99 of 100 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book could really help you, January 9, 2000

By 

Maggie Zellner (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lighten Up!: Free Yourself from Clutter (Paperback)

Over a period of about four months, I saw a friend of mine (who I thought would always be disorganized and cluttered, like me) really transform her apartment by following this book. Her home now looks like a grownup lives there! I've started using the book. I began with one of my closets yesterday, and I've already had one little "de-cluttering miracle" as Passoff would put it. She suggests that before you start de-cluttering, you take some time to think specifically about what you are clearing space for -- what you would like more of in your life. One thing on my list was "having friends over to make music." I had mentally added "buy a guitar pick" to my list of things to do. When I finished emptying out the first closet, I remembered another piece of Passoff's advice -- "leave no stone unturned." So I grabbed a dustrag, wiped out the inside of the closet, and lo and behold, I found a guitar pick! If I hadn't turned that last stone, I would not have seen the black pick lying against the black floor. Suffice it to say that I'm engaged with the decluttering process and it's actually fun and enlightening.

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent self-help for all levels of clutterdom., April 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lighten Up!: Free Yourself from Clutter (Paperback)

Who hasn't wished for a fairy godmother to come to our homes and, with a tip of her wand, transform our overstuffed closets into streamlined wardrobes, and our uncontrollable papers into files that actually help us? Well, with this book she has arrived, and I expect she will stay in my own household for some time. I have read many, many books about how to simplify and organize your life; Lighten Up! is one of the very best. Its tone is logical, thorough, practical, and compassionate. Author Michelle Passoff leads you step-by-step through the dreaded process, however long it will take, of reclaiming your home and the objects within it. But she offers far more than that, by linking physical de-cluttering with the metaphysical process of surrendering your old emotional and spiritual "baggage" and opening up your life to the miracles that will surely follow. Don't expect to dive right into your closet during the first chapter; instead, Passoff starts with a grand overview of the most important questions, such as: what do you want from this life, anyway? From there, she helps you attack your clutter methodically, from surveying your home (without scolding yourself), to learning the vocabulary of clutter, to aquiring the correct receptacles and storage options, to actually dismantling the clutter, one item at a time. Throughout the book, she graciously lets YOU take the lead, deciding what to approach, when, and how long it will take. I highly recommend this book to people with all levels of clutter: there is something for everyone here.