Lose 200 Lbs This Weekend: It's Time to Declutter Your Life

by Don Aslett, Carol Cartaino (Editor), Craig Lagory (Illustrator)

Junk Junkies alert - dejunk now and experience the freedom of having a clutter-free house, mind, and body! Using humor and anecdotes to help readers classify their clutter-collecting tendencies, Aslett gently shows readers how less junk leads to lower stress. Just reading Aslett's motivational guidance will have readers feeling better right away. Each chapter explores a different aspect of his proven philosophy, providing quick tips and easy solutions readers can apply to their daily lives immediately. Fun, inspiring and packed with practical advice, this book is sure to be another Aslett bestseller.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1996

Reviews

[Cydni Perkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about my tenth time reading this book, and I think I will probably declutter it in the next purge. It was inspiring to me for many years and it motivated me to get rid of a lot of things. Don Aslett has written some things that have really stayed with me over the years. Like where he asserts that we think having two homes will be double the wealth, but in reality it's double the worry and double the responsibility. Or where he says that things die in storage, which I think is really true. It was the books I had in boxes under my bed that got ruined, not the ones on display in the bookcase. His advice has influenced me to choose simpler apartments that cost less money, fewer items of furniture and decoration, fewer of everything in general. An apartment with two bathrooms will mean double the cleaning. Looking back, lots of the decisions I've made about material possessions over the last twelve or so years have been based largely on his advice. When I ignored his advice, I learned that he was right.

Trouble is, I'm not a very good dejunker because I end up regretting getting rid of things after the fact. Then I hold onto things more because I don't want to lose them. And I think it's the idea of going through my belongings with the motivation to just chuck everything that is to blame. I'll follow rules about how I have to get rid of items because I haven't used them in a certain amount of time, and I'll get rid of something I really loved. That sort of thing. That's why I think the Konmari method is working better for me. Konmari advocates sorting your belongings with the idea that you're picking out your favorite things that you want to keep, rather than furiously getting rid of things. It's a subtle difference, choosing what you want to keep rather than what you want to throw away, but to me it's profound. I had my most successful dejunking session ever after reading The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up, and I think I want to use the Konmari method from now on. I would still wholeheartedly recommend Don Aslett's books to someone who needs a good kick in the pants dejunking their house. I'm still remembering and following a lot of his advice. But I want to go with Konmari's method for actually sorting my belongings and deciding which ones belong in my house from now on.

[Haines Borough Public Library]

View in catalog here: http://haines.evergreencatalog.com/op...

Holly says: "[I] actually [recommend] everything related to de-cluttering and house-cleaning that Don Aslett has written – he’s so funny and has such great ideas!"

The Haines library owns 3 other Aslett titles related to decluttering:
, , and .

Search for these titles in the library catalog, check one out today, and get inspired to de-junk and clean your house!

[Sue Eckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still the best inspiration for decluttering out there!

The very first decluttering book I ever read, when my kids were young, was a book by Don Aslett. I passed it on to a friend, never got it back, but that book spurred me on to declutter and be the minimalist I am today! Itbwas wonderful to see this book available on Kindle, and once again, his writing style is so motivational that I couldnt put this book down until I was finished. Mr Aslett, with his cleaning experience and great common sense, is a wonderful cheerleader for those looking to give up excuses and just dejunk. His words are kind yet no-nonsense. I love his books as much as I did ten years ago!

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with a lot of self-help or how-to books, the front matter is the "why" you should be doing this, which I think most readers who've selected such a book have already bought into the why and do not need. The areas of focus at the end are more helpful. There are some good guiding principles for decluttering.

[Jeanne Brewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words for the wise

If you are tired of moving piles and boxes of stuff from one place to another, let the author help you understand how less really is more and how you can benefit from simply letting go of your junk. Start now!

[Libbeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've already read lots of decluttering books and blogs but there was still valuable insights and motivation here. Just what I need for the last few boxes of my mammoth task of emptying the attic that spans the house.
I found it very enlightening to read that he has never yet come across anyone who found that some old piece of clutter they were hanging on to for it's "value" was really treasure and not the trash that it actually was. Many items I have decluttered nearly didn't make it to the donate bag because of helpers declaring "oh but it might be worth a fortune" which makes it doubly hard to part with old things.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will change your perspective on your STUFF. As someone that has been bringing stuff into my house for five years without ever getting rid of any stuff, this book has given me a new perspective on what I need to do, and why. Great read - funny, too - for someone wanting to de-clutter their house, or their lives in general.

[Kimberly Mace · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay, so I grabbed this book, and all my husband said was "we don't have clutter, you know there is such a thing as being too organized." He is right, but this book is AWESOME and I would highly recommend it to all you have to de-stress and become more organized!

[Kristen MacGregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing what you can learn about yourself when you read a self-help book! This book is all about the clutter and junk we surround ourselves with: how it affects our lives, and how to get rid of it! Definitely implementing some of this soon!

[LaSchelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

No nonsense tips in organizing. My nephews loved reading this as well. They kept taking my book and reading it themselves.

[Bryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book actually improved my life. It has great ideas in it!

[Jennifer]

great inspiration for de-junking, but it IS interesting that he had to write 10 books on teh subject

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on de-cluttering. I'm obviously reading it again to get rid of the clutter in my house.

[Reina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good, but more about why you should than how to actually go about it. It got pretty redundant after awhile.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a followup book that regularly refers back to some if his older very popular books. One chapter was very preachy, but just move on and you will enjoy. Good push to get going on decluttering.

[J Crossley · Rating 3 out of 5]

As you can guess, the 200 pounds referenced in the title o the book is 200 pounds of clutter. Don Aslett makes his points with humor and funny pictures.

[Laura Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of humor and some good ideas.