Customer Reviews

Too Much Stuff: De-Cluttering Your Heart and Home

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Yes, I have too much stuff including a collection of books instructing me in the art of decluttering. That collection offers me pages and pages of practical solutions for the sifting, the sorting, and the removing of all of my crippling clutter. I'm overwhelmed with everyone's decluttering advice!
Katerine Porter's book has those practical suggestions too, but I found it to be more helpful that overwhelming. TOO MUCH STUFF, unlike most of those other decluttering books, adds spiritual weapons to it's de-cluttering arsenal. Without getting pretensious or clinical Ms. Porter addresses some of the underlying factors that compel us to collect and clutter. She uses examples from her own life to uncover the reasons we surround ourselves with too much stuff. She asks us to see the problem as a spiritual one, not just as an aberration of consumerism. Porter also forces us to see that there are other types of clutter in our lives besides "things." I have more uncluttered space in my life now because I took Porter's advice to heart.

I have really enjoyed reading this book and putting the principles into action. I related to almost everything she said about her own life, esp. "Having a presentable home seemed like an impossible dream, yet I knew it was possible because other people did it." This sentence gave me the encouragement I needed instead of the defeat I usually feel when I think of other's "perfect" homes. I also loved her friends very practical advice, "You can't keep everything and keep a clean house." And Kathyrn repeats that sentence a lot, which is good for me. I love how she gives an overview plan, but also gives detailed tips (like buying Glad Flex bags and how to do laundry). Her book isn't only about decluttering, it's about cleaning too. Overall, this is a wonderful book...very encouraging and very practical. Thanks Kathryn!

If you struggle with holding onto clutter in your home, it can be an act of deep faith to let it go. Kathryn Porter understands a woman's desire to keep "too much stuff."

In her inspiring book, she bares her heart to readers with the story of how she grew up in a cluttered home and took these habits into her adult lifestyle. When she reached a point of desperation, she prayed to God for help and enlisted the advice of wise friends.

In learning to rid her home of material junk, Katherine began to feel deep spiritual cleansing, uncovering peace and joy. She wants to help YOU do the same.

Her book is a powerful tool for today's busy women who need help letting go of things to make room for God. (If you love FlyLady, you'll love this book, and the principles for decluttering come from a Christian perspective.)

--Christian Women Online Book Buzz

Too Much Stuff is a great way to take the first steps toward clearing the mind, heart and house off all the crap we've stored over the years. Porter's "down home" approach to getting rid of the stuff of accumulated years and generations may seem hard to take at first, but anyone who is serious about doing more than "clearing a path" around their home and their heart could really benefit from this book.

What really attracted me to this approach was the way I relate to many of the situations described in the book.. My wife and I have boxes of stuff we've saved over the years and our kids are the same.. We have several Christmas and birthday's worth of toys the kids don't play with anymore that could easily be boxed and donated to Goodwill.

The lessons in Too Much Stuff need to be acted on, not contemplated.. This book is a great guide to getting started!!

This book gave me the motivation I needed to finally get the decluttering done! She also gets to the root of why we become pack rats and gives us permission to throw things away...yes, even sentimental things. This book is a must read for anyone who struggles with clutter of any kind.

Too Much Stuff is stuffed from cover to cover with techniques on how to de-clutter both your heart and your home. This advice is given in a clear, easy-to-read manner which has us eager to decontaminate our homes of unwanted, unneeded, and unused items. Not only does Mrs. Porter help us make our homes cleaner and our space more effective, but she also gently encourages us to de-clutter our hearts - which is where the clutter really begins.

Kathryn begins the saga of de-cluttering by sharing her own heartfelt story of growing up in a cluttered home and how she brought those habits with her after she'd married and moved out on her own.

Each chapter brings us deeper into our clutter and gives prudent advice on how to start shoveling our way to a neater home. Topics range from defining clutter, planning how to de-clutter in an orderly way, working in the main rooms such as kitchens to less seen rooms like bathrooms and bedrooms. She also tackles the dirty job of paper work and bills - those seldom touched piles on our desks.

But Mrs. Porter doesn't stop there. How does clutter begin? Why do we `need' to keep things? Are we so cluttered in home and mind that we push our time with God aside? Do we go to God with real needs for `food and raiment' or for those sale items we can't seem to pass up?

When I finished reading Too Much Stuff I was taking a second look at my home and my heart.

This is the best book I've ever read on de-cluttering and organizing your home. BUT...it also tells you why you have the clutter in the first place. It also guides you thru de-cluttering your life... the emotional clutter we carry with us, which takes up space and prevents us from reaching our goals and full potential.

This is a must read for anyone who struggles with self-worth and self-discipline. Kathryn does a beautiful job in sharing heart-rendering personal moments to becoming a disciplined woman of the Word, not only in her housekeeping but life in general.

The author shares how to set up a system that almost works itself in maintaining a home and a heart free of clutter. With the applications suggested in her book and God's help, all things are possible.

I would recommend this for a really good Christmas gift to all the harried people out there who are standing around with bows in their hair and tinsel in their hands, asking themselves what to do next.

Paulette L. Harris
Author/reviewer

I bought several books on de-cluttering and this was the least useful for me. It's from a Christian perspective, which I thought might be helpful, but that seems rather superficial. I found Cindy Glovinsky's books much more helpful -- especially "Making Peace with the Things in Your Life." (They're not specifically Christian.) Glovinsky gets deep down into your heart much more effectively, I thought. I'm going to de-clutter "Too Much Stuff" by putting it in my giveaways box.

This book has literally changed my life! I was a pack rat... not the boxes and papers everywhere type, but one that clustered up my shelves, drawers, and closets. I was very sentimental and thought everything had too much meaning to ever part with it. Though this book takes extremes in a few instances, I gleaned a lot out of it and highly recommend it! It will change your life and help you declutter your mind and spirit as well.