Too Much Stuff: De-Cluttering Your Heart and Home

by Kathryn Porter

We love stuff. Clothes. Shoes. Make-up. Jewelry. Books. Pictures. Movies. CDs. Letters. Recipes. Magazines. STUFF! Our consumer-driven society is constantly enticing us to want more, and before we know it--it’s just too much!We collect things for someday--recipes we plan to bake, craft projects we want to make, or gifts we hope to give. And unfortunately, what begins as an innocent collection of odds and ends soon grows into heaping mounds of clutter and chaos. Before we realize it, clutter seeps in and sucks away our time, our peace of mind, and our freedom. And if we’re not careful, our possessions end up owning us. Clutter mentally and physically sucks the life out of us and traps us in a life we were never meant to have. But there is hope.In Too Much Stuff, author Kathryn Porter challenges us to dig into the clutter of our homes and attack the attitudes and behaviors that allow this chaos to immobilize us. While giving practical steps on how to de-clutter our homes, she shows us how to de-clutter our hearts by realizing that God loves us through the messes we make and has a plan for us that doesn’t involve being confined to clutter.Too Much Stuff questions within each chapter to help you assess the extent of your clutterRoom-by-room de-cluttering techniques and practical advice on how to keep a clutter free, beautiful homeHomebuilding sections to remind you to seek God and His word as your foundationPrayer points in each chapter that help you focus on God throughout your de-cluttering journeyAn internal assessment for understanding how our childhoods and choices affect the way we deal with clutter and how to end the destructive cycle

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian

168 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2006

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author grew up with a mother who was a hoarder and used that experience to guide her writing of this book. After reading about the habits and beliefs of hoarders, I have confirmed that I do not have hoarding habits. I have, however, always struggled to keep a lovely, organized home. I fall on the excuses of being too busy or too exhausted after such long, busy days. While the cleaning and organizing habits in this book are very straightforward, it was still helpful and motivating to read something about housekeeping. I particularly liked the chapter about the “invisible clutter” that overwhelms our lives. My mom got me this book when I was a young mom living in a home that was overtaken by baby stuff, but I never prioritized reading it until now. I love books that remain relevant and helpful over time. Now I need to get up and actually do the cleaning and organizing that I have just read about. :)

[Ruthmgon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay this one is actually surprisingly likeable....There are stories of the author's childhood and her hoarding mother interspersed throughout... that are worth reading. But it frankly is a little weird to run across scripture here and there. It makes sense from a the point of view of: comforting and making sense of struggles in the world.


She also shares struggles that other family members had with cleaning up. I have a need to hear other peoples stories as it relates to what they are telling me to do. I can remember the instruction or idea much better that way.

But I think the strongest part is that she knew she needed to ask for help and contacted people who were good at housecleaning. That she needed them to teach her as if she didn't know anything about it. That seems very brave to me. I find it easier to read a few books (obviously from my collection here of these types of books) that to ask someone to paw through my ridiculous collections of XYZ with me. More power to her.

Her tips are solid, and they are pulled from a wide array of other books, tv shows and personal experience. Not all of it related to me, but there were alot more common threads than not.

[Katie F · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was pretty good. For those of you who have read the Fly Lady's book, this is just a more coherent and better edited option, but all the same good organize-your-life material. The thing that makes this book stand out to me, though, is how the author REALLY inspires you to get rid of clutter...even stuff that you would never ordinarily think of parting with. She calls them "sacred cows" (ex: artificial Christmas trees or wedding dresses). While I personally am not there yet, I have taken quite a few donations to Goodwill since having read this book. I also like how she ties in spirituality, presenting the argument that out-of-control lives hinder us in our relationship with God.

[Glocal Family · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has changed how I view my home and the time it takes to clean it. I started going through EVERTHING and got rid of so much and we have so much more room in our little condo. I still need to trim down, but we're definitely working on it. My favorite part of the book is a sample chore schedule: like what to do daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. If you keep it up, your home will stay looking great and you won't have any more last minute clean-up sessions when your husband calls to say he's bringing home the boss!

[BoringLibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and found it to be very helpful (and worth at least another read!). For me the most important thoughts were: (1) you can't keep everything and keep a clean house; (2) having too much stuff is not just about "stuff", but also activities and emotional baggage; (3) how many things do you need to keep in order to honor a loved one's memory (grandma's dishes, aunt's furniture, mother's china....).

[Tiffani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to further my research into the Minimalist lifestyle- and I was not disappointed! I found this book incredibly helpful. Mrs. Porter approaches decluttering and keeping a clean home in both a physical and spiritual way, which I appreciated very much.

More about how I felt about it here: http://tiffaniberthold.wordpress.com/...

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've already read this book once and love it! The main thought in the book is "You can't keep everything and keep a clean house." That is so true! Katheryn helps you figure out how to get rid of a lot of your stuff so you can keep a clean house.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just the book you need to kick your pack rat a**. It's Christian-based and she loves Fox News (eye roll here...) but it's great. Declutter your mind, heart and home.

It's just too much work for me, but this was helpful. You can't keep a clean house if you keep so much stuff.