The Clutter Cure

by Judi Culbertson

Your prescription for the organized and beautiful home you desireThat old doll collection. Twenty years of pay stubs. All the trophies your child ever won. It's difficult to love your home when every inch is packed with possessions. "The Clutter Cure" gives you the power to toss the things that are holding you back from living a full life and finally having a beautiful home--one that's more than a giant container for your stuff. In three steps, you'll learn to: Understand your compulsion to hold on to thingsBuy fewer but better quality itemsEnvision and create rooms that make you comfortable and happyTake action by donating, discarding, or selling your stuff

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Reference

224 pages, ebook

First published February 26, 2007

Reviews

[Cresencia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just had an epiphany. I'm reading this book about clutter as an e-book. Guess what, I don't have to put it on a shelf, and when it's "due" it will return itself to the library. This title addresses our relationship with stuff and does it without requiring more accumulation. Awesome!

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

An in-depth look at the emotional reasons behind clutter, as well as step-by-step directions on how to move it out of your house. Her dot system seems slow to me, but for those who struggle or get overwhelmed, I'm sure that approach is helpful.

I did appreciate the room-by-room breakout, rather than focusing on types of items like some other books do.

[Kbpage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this decluttering book. Slightly different approach more into the why we keep stuff and good questions to ask to release things into the wild. Endangered species guilty of some. Each section has examples of someone the author helped and us relatable. I admit I didn’t do the worksheets but I can see the visual aid being helpful. Long list of items finding core issue. I am also guilty of caretaker of things and giving them life. Reminding us that item came off an assembly line helps it’s an inanimate object.

[Marley · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent but there's a lot of writing to cover the same basic idea--throw stuff away and stop being so sentimental. Also, take a picture, it'll last longer.
I read this for the work-bookclub. and got to meet the author, too, and she's sadly not the hip young thing on the cover.

[Jerilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book motivated me to really look at all the stuff I've collected and actually give some of it away. I don't have to keep things because "I might use it in the future" or "This was a gift from someone." I now have fewer boxes stored in closets and the guest room can be used by a guest.

[momloves2read · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt like this book was almost written for me.

[Analie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always amazed at how quickly clutter grows. This book explains how to deal with the emotional attachment to our stuff and discern what we really need and value. I loved the insightful questions the author suggests asking yourself, such as, "How will this make my life better?" and "If this were lost in a fire or flood, would I replace it?" I rent a small space, and I am using this book to make it not just organized, but focused on what brings me joy and meets my needs, without all the clutter in the way.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't super helpful... it had a lot of basic information. It was more for people who haven't decided if they want to let go of things. I was looking for more of a step-by-step way to get rid of clutter and organize.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is targeted at trying to help you get rid of stuff. She goes through a variety of reasons you might be keeping something. After describing the reasons, and providing some thought processes for how to let go of stuff, she has you list everything that you are keeping for that reason, and put sticker dots on things to give away or get rid of. She has you envision the rooms you want as motivation for getting rid of stuff. At the end she provides suggestions for *where* to get rid of stuff. I think the strategies she suggests are very useful. I personally do not find it useful to write down all my items -- this seems more exhausting than just pulling everything out and sorting through it. The categories also didn't resonate with me -- in other words, she grouped things in a way that isn't intuitive for me, making it likely I'd overlook lots of items in each category. In that way, the KonMarie method of taking "like items" all out and putting them on the floor seems like a much more fool-proof way to make sure you don't have hidden items all over your house that you really should get rid of. In addition, once I decide to purge, I don't want to take the step of attaching stickers to objects, I just want to act. However, when compared to Marie Kondo, this book has many more psychological/emotional/mental strategies for dealing with feeling resistant to get rid of items. And, for those really struggling with getting rid of items, this method is a bit softer, with fewer cheesy statements (compared to Marie Kondo) and more specific strategies.

[Carolyn Vandine West · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great ideas to purge all the stuff that we drown in and kills our joy in our homes. Great ideas of how to find homes and renovate the things you are keeping. A place for everything really enjoyed the step by step process. Took me forever to read this because I'm in denial about needing it. Really I'm a very slow reader of nonfiction

[Rebecca Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

It inspired me to walk around the house with a box for Goodwill! I am, in general, a person who likes to keep things clean. This book reminded me how I can still declutter! Inspiring.


Review: The Clutter Cure by Judi Culbertson (McGraw Hill, 2007) helped me refocus my efforts at keeping my home nice. In her book, Ms Culbertson helped me identify my weak areas for accumulating clutter, recognize what I really want out of my space, and undertake some easy solutions for eliminating clutter without guilt. As I read her short book about clutter, I felt inspired to walk around my home with a garbage bag and box (for donations). More at my blog

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The scope of this book was a bit too comprehensive for me to find useful (at least not at this stage of my life). I'm in the "need to get rid of the clutter" stage and the idea of trying to figure out decorating themes for all of my rooms and applying them was overwhelming. She did have some ideas I found useful right now, such as changing my thinking about things so I don't hang on to them when I don't really like them or use them or need them.

She also referenced some fen shui ideas and I'm not interested in that.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's the end of another year and time to prepare for the new one. most folks already have a system in place to stay organized; this book attempts to address the emotional side of clutter. mostly common sense suggestions, but helpful if you really want to make a lifestyle overhaul and fulfill that new year's resolution...watch out for a rise in donations and piles for the landfill as people purge some of their old things from their homes.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the way the author described the connection that we have to useless items. As she described different reasons we struggle to get rid of the junk we have, I often found that items that I have been holding on to for a long time coming to mind. It was a helpful motivator to sort through my "junk room", clothes closet and everything to simplify my home.

[Emkoshka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt a little alienated by the American perspective, but the structure and advice was excellent and very inspiring. I originally borrowed this book from the library to lend on to my parents, but ended up becoming immersed in it myself and using it as the motivator I needed to address my own apartment. Very empowering to start pushing through those psychological blocks!

[Colorado Buck · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a good book on why are you keeping all your stuff - to understand the emotion behind it and the motivation to keep vs. get rid of stuff. need to take notes on it... and apply it to my life. ha ha

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good advice for finally ridding yourself of memorabilia and other things which are difficult to discard.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had a few good suggetions and resources, but not much that really inspired me.

[Elasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as an e-book. This book differs from other books I have read about de-cluttering in that it addresses the reasons behind holding onto things, not just how to de-junk.

[Just · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good ideas about why you hold onto stuff.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good, more about the base line philosophy of what makes you keep things.