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Breathing Room: Open Your Heart by Decluttering Your Home
Cleaning out your cupboards isn’t just about a tidier kitchen. Find peace, repair your past, and live a more fulfilled life with this uplifting guide to the spiritual practice of decluttering.Bless your clutter. Yes, you heard Bless it. Bless everything in your life that is superfluous, broken, burdensome, and overwhelming—because it is all here to teach you an important lesson, perhaps the most important lesson there what really matters. Everyone’s lives could use some serious decluttering. But decluttering isn’t just about sorting junk into piles and tossing things in the trash. Decluttering can inform us of our burdens, help us to understand our attachments, and aid us in identifying what is truly valuable in our lives. Written by a medical doctor and a spiritual intuitive, with case studies of people just like you, Breathing Room takes you on an enlightening room-by-room tour where each room in your home corresponds to a “room” in your heart, and where decluttering will not just make space but improve the spirit. So, if it’s weighing you down, if it’s become an obstacle, if it’s making it near impossible for you to find the things you really love—it’s time for you to let it go and find a little breathing room.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2014
59 people are currently reading
1049 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Rosenfeld
4 books3 followersLauren Rosenfeld, M.A., M.ED., believes that the mundane details of our life are the stepping stones on our intimate path of the spirit. She is a professional Soul Declutterer who helps her clients let go of physical and emotional clutter that are preventing them their Breathing Room. She co-authored Your To Be List and blogs at LGRosenfeld.com where she shares lessons on how our daily lives shine with spiritual lessons. She is an unapologetic hippie-peacenick-pluralist-dreamer who resides in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband and four children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
December 27, 2014
I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
This is who this book is intended for:
- Middle-aged women (mostly due to the style of language, and due to all of the anecdotal stories in the book focusing on middle-aged women)
- Those who have mild to moderate clutter difficulties
- Those who want to enact change in their lives and already have sufficient motivation to do so
The book may not be so helpful for:
- True hoarders - i.e., those who have more than just a mild to moderate amount of clutter
- Those who do not think they have a problem or those who do not have the motivation to change their ways
Given that I have several people in my life who fall into the latter category (i.e., are true hoarders), I was a bit disappointed that "Breathing Room" did not turn out to be the sort of book that I thought could be given to them as a form of help. Instead, this book would certainly be useful for those who have "untidy" areas of the house and want to improve the situation, but could simply use a bit of inspiration in order to tackle those areas.
I was a bit distracted by repetitive reference to "the Divine One," the "Divine," and other terms that referenced a "higher power" and "nurturing Mother Nature." I felt that this language was unnecessary, but I suppose it is meant to foster a source of comfort and meaning for the reader.
I found useful the general spiritual guidance repeated throughout the book, which mainly relates to clutter inside the heart being directly related to clutter in the home.
Overall, I recommend this book for those with a mild to moderate clutter problem who want to tackle the problem and who would like a bit of "spiritual inspiration," but not for those facing a major hoarding situation.
This is who this book is intended for:
- Middle-aged women (mostly due to the style of language, and due to all of the anecdotal stories in the book focusing on middle-aged women)
- Those who have mild to moderate clutter difficulties
- Those who want to enact change in their lives and already have sufficient motivation to do so
The book may not be so helpful for:
- True hoarders - i.e., those who have more than just a mild to moderate amount of clutter
- Those who do not think they have a problem or those who do not have the motivation to change their ways
Given that I have several people in my life who fall into the latter category (i.e., are true hoarders), I was a bit disappointed that "Breathing Room" did not turn out to be the sort of book that I thought could be given to them as a form of help. Instead, this book would certainly be useful for those who have "untidy" areas of the house and want to improve the situation, but could simply use a bit of inspiration in order to tackle those areas.
I was a bit distracted by repetitive reference to "the Divine One," the "Divine," and other terms that referenced a "higher power" and "nurturing Mother Nature." I felt that this language was unnecessary, but I suppose it is meant to foster a source of comfort and meaning for the reader.
I found useful the general spiritual guidance repeated throughout the book, which mainly relates to clutter inside the heart being directly related to clutter in the home.
Overall, I recommend this book for those with a mild to moderate clutter problem who want to tackle the problem and who would like a bit of "spiritual inspiration," but not for those facing a major hoarding situation.
September 10, 2016
Non-Fiction
*G/R Giveaway - First Reads*
The authors explore and explain the connection between cluttered rooms and having emotional "clutter". Moving room by room, decluttering the space, as well as processing emotional issues are explored.
The reader is advised to "listen to your clutter. Yes, clutter speaks. It speaks volumes! It can tell us about our attachments, fears and worries." (page 25)
Specific exercises are shared when dealing with the emotions that cause clutter, or stop a person from dealing with the clutter.
This is a very helpful book. In trying to declutter my home and keep it that way, I previously had only struggled in terms of time and motivation. I couldn't seem to find the time, when in reality I have plenty of time. Motivation was a huge stumbling block.
This book discusses decluttering in a very different light, which has been helpful to me to reframe this problem in a way that's easier for me to process.
This book has helped me tremendously, to view the order and decluttering in a gentle and positive way, instead of feeling frustrated and overwhelmed and guilty. Those emotions, as the authors point out, are not useful - the authors offer specific exercises to defuse the guilt and other negative emotions. This alone is worth reading the book for. Just acknowledging and letting go of these negative reactions releases a burden and transforms the decluttering efforts into a gentle and positive way.
This is a book I'll reread, or refer back to certain sections, when I need help keeping the clear areas in order.
*G/R Giveaway - First Reads*
The authors explore and explain the connection between cluttered rooms and having emotional "clutter". Moving room by room, decluttering the space, as well as processing emotional issues are explored.
The reader is advised to "listen to your clutter. Yes, clutter speaks. It speaks volumes! It can tell us about our attachments, fears and worries." (page 25)
Specific exercises are shared when dealing with the emotions that cause clutter, or stop a person from dealing with the clutter.
This is a very helpful book. In trying to declutter my home and keep it that way, I previously had only struggled in terms of time and motivation. I couldn't seem to find the time, when in reality I have plenty of time. Motivation was a huge stumbling block.
This book discusses decluttering in a very different light, which has been helpful to me to reframe this problem in a way that's easier for me to process.
This book has helped me tremendously, to view the order and decluttering in a gentle and positive way, instead of feeling frustrated and overwhelmed and guilty. Those emotions, as the authors point out, are not useful - the authors offer specific exercises to defuse the guilt and other negative emotions. This alone is worth reading the book for. Just acknowledging and letting go of these negative reactions releases a burden and transforms the decluttering efforts into a gentle and positive way.
This is a book I'll reread, or refer back to certain sections, when I need help keeping the clear areas in order.
November 5, 2015
A beautiful, enlightening book about being compassionate with ourselves and our clutter. By creating breathing room in our homes and hearts we can lead fuller, happier, more meaningful lives. I have truly been inspired to work on the space I live in (both heart and home) to open up the world that was meant to be lived.
I received a free copy of the book through a Goodreads giveaway, and am truly grateful, but in no way influenced my opinion or review of the book.
I received a free copy of the book through a Goodreads giveaway, and am truly grateful, but in no way influenced my opinion or review of the book.
December 12, 2018
Очень новаторски (никак не связана эта книга с миллионами томов, которые я зачем-то храню)
May 8, 2018
I read tons of books about decluttering. This one was excellent! The first part was about getting clear on the intention of each room. Each chapter offered a blessing for that room as well, and I liked that blessing a lot. The second part of the book dives into spiritual decluttering: heart, mental and emotional clutter, relationships, roles and responsibilities. I particularly loved the concept of passing your clutter through the three gates of meaning: "Is it true to my intentions? Do I use it? Is it kind to my heart and spirit?" I highly recommend this book!
November 5, 2023
I borrowed this book from the library, but I think I will buy it now. It has so much wisdom and I really enjoyed the three parts with the physical decluttering, the stories, the blessing, but also the 10 principles. One of my favorite books this year!
April 10, 2018
Лёгкое чтиво для вдохновения перед разбором бардака. Интересны параллели: разберитесь в доме, разберитесь в отношениях, разберитесь в себе. Действительно, похожие процессы в разных областях.
January 22, 2025
This book was mentioned in a Youtube video I was watching on decluttering and I decided to read it. This book was not just a guide to declutter our homes, but a spiritual guide on how we can approach the journey with different questions, mindsets, and applicable stories of real people they worked with. I loved the spiritual journey I went through in the book and the questions that prompted me. There are a couple of key passages that stood out to me:
• Introduction: “If you declutter your home without doing the same for your heart, you are carrying around emotional clutter and will not be able to be present in your decluttered home. If you declutter your heart without decluttering your relationships, you will quickly find yourself drawn into conflict (or conflict avoidance) that will fill your heart back up with anger, guilt, and resentment. If you declutter your home, your heart, and your relationships without attending to your roles and responsibilities, you will find yourself so exhausted and burned out that you can’t find the energy to enjoy your life.”
• On emotions: “if you are in a difficult place, the only thing that can change your situation is love and acceptance. You cannot change it by pushing it away, denying it, running from it, or excusing you…”
• Decluttering your relationships with acceptance: “We must accept people for who and where they are in their lives. This is the only way to have honest and fulfilling relationships. We must be able to see them and ourselves fully, with openhearted clarity.”
• On spirituality: “Spirituality is not about self-denial, it is about self-enlargement.” Decluttering is not about not having things, but filling our space with things that provide value and comfort to us.
• On what to have in our home: “you are the biographer of your own life. It’s your job to tell your story, to find and highlight the essential meaning of your life. Don’t leave it for other people to figure out after you’re gone. Tell it now! Make it your priority. Remember, decluttering is not just making the meaning of your life clear to others – it is about making the meaning of your life clear to you!
• On releasing things like complaints: “Trimming our complaints like this allows us to see the blessing shining from behind the burden. Give your complaints a little trim and see the blessing within. You job now is to take a look at your so called burdens and give them a trim so you can see the blessings that reside underneath.” Ex: Complaint: I have so much work. Trimming: “I have so much.” Or “I have work.” Which is a blessing.
• Introduction: “If you declutter your home without doing the same for your heart, you are carrying around emotional clutter and will not be able to be present in your decluttered home. If you declutter your heart without decluttering your relationships, you will quickly find yourself drawn into conflict (or conflict avoidance) that will fill your heart back up with anger, guilt, and resentment. If you declutter your home, your heart, and your relationships without attending to your roles and responsibilities, you will find yourself so exhausted and burned out that you can’t find the energy to enjoy your life.”
• On emotions: “if you are in a difficult place, the only thing that can change your situation is love and acceptance. You cannot change it by pushing it away, denying it, running from it, or excusing you…”
• Decluttering your relationships with acceptance: “We must accept people for who and where they are in their lives. This is the only way to have honest and fulfilling relationships. We must be able to see them and ourselves fully, with openhearted clarity.”
• On spirituality: “Spirituality is not about self-denial, it is about self-enlargement.” Decluttering is not about not having things, but filling our space with things that provide value and comfort to us.
• On what to have in our home: “you are the biographer of your own life. It’s your job to tell your story, to find and highlight the essential meaning of your life. Don’t leave it for other people to figure out after you’re gone. Tell it now! Make it your priority. Remember, decluttering is not just making the meaning of your life clear to others – it is about making the meaning of your life clear to you!
• On releasing things like complaints: “Trimming our complaints like this allows us to see the blessing shining from behind the burden. Give your complaints a little trim and see the blessing within. You job now is to take a look at your so called burdens and give them a trim so you can see the blessings that reside underneath.” Ex: Complaint: I have so much work. Trimming: “I have so much.” Or “I have work.” Which is a blessing.
July 3, 2018
A good read, probably one of the few decluttering books that directly talked about the link between stuff and emotional health. Some of the word choice was a bit too new age mystic sounding for me, but there were good points made.
July 31, 2021
I’m actually not entirely sure what to rate this book. I ended up skipping to the last chapter (which I loved, btw) because the content wasn’t really speaking to me. I didn’t NOT like it, I think it just wasn’t for me.
July 29, 2017
L.O.V.E.D I.T!
May 30, 2018
Nice and quick read
March 2, 2020
Kon Mari Method is far more effective. Not bad though.
February 17, 2021
De-cluttering with a spiritual approach. Letting go of items that are filled with grief, regret and worry. Thought-provoking.
April 1, 2021
One of a kind!
This book will not only transform your home but your mind and spirit as well. Not an exaggeration to declare it truly life changing. Don't miss this opportunity.
This book will not only transform your home but your mind and spirit as well. Not an exaggeration to declare it truly life changing. Don't miss this opportunity.
January 1, 2024
Really enjoyed this book. I underlined many passages. Will definitely revisit this one. The perfect book to finish on New Year's Eve!
March 31, 2024
Currently reading. It’s motivating me to eliminate stuff I don’t want or need to keep around.
June 11, 2024
It has some good points, but overall it felt a little hippy.
April 5, 2018
Много интересных мыслей. Рекомендую почитать. Желание расхламиться появилось сразу, книжка справилась с поставленной перед ней задачей.
February 26, 2023
Breathing Room: Open Your Heart by Decluttering Your Home by Melva Green and Lauren Rosenfeld
288 Pages
Publisher: Atria Books, Atria Books/ Beyond Words
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Nonfiction, Self-Help, Health, Mind, Body, Spirit, Home, Garden, Clutter, Cleaning
The book is divided into the following.
Opening Your Heart
Nature of Clutter
Stop and Listen
Intend
Clear the Energy: The Ten Principles of Spiritual Decluttering
This book is not only a book about physically decluttering. It is also about decluttering your spiritual life and your mind. The two authors share their knowledge in their respective fields. One is a psychologist and the other is a declutter expert. They give advice and exercises for their different perspectives. This book is written so it is easy for the reader to understand the concepts. If you have excess baggage in any area of your life, this is a great book for you.
288 Pages
Publisher: Atria Books, Atria Books/ Beyond Words
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Nonfiction, Self-Help, Health, Mind, Body, Spirit, Home, Garden, Clutter, Cleaning
The book is divided into the following.
Opening Your Heart
Nature of Clutter
Stop and Listen
Intend
Clear the Energy: The Ten Principles of Spiritual Decluttering
This book is not only a book about physically decluttering. It is also about decluttering your spiritual life and your mind. The two authors share their knowledge in their respective fields. One is a psychologist and the other is a declutter expert. They give advice and exercises for their different perspectives. This book is written so it is easy for the reader to understand the concepts. If you have excess baggage in any area of your life, this is a great book for you.
January 13, 2015
A special thank you to Atria Books/Beyond Words and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was my first book by Melva Green or Lauren Rosenfeld – what a dynamic duo! I loved BREATHING ROOM: Open Your Heart by De-cluttering Your Home, from the first page, and prior to finishing the first chapter found myself bookmarking each page, as so inspiring! (loved reading their background).
Two wise and passionate women, guide readers with clarity-- how to learn from spaces where we live, and create rooms that reflect peace and nourishment. They offer sensitivity and humor as each demonstrate the connection between living and heart space. There are fabulous spiritual exercises throughout the book, with valuable information and stories, as you create a more healthy and balanced life of self-reflection and learning.
For me, it was not about the stuff in my house; however, more importantly my heart, mind, and spirit offering a clear guide for your inner self, not just your physical world. Sometimes it is hard for me to be still long enough to meditate, and this engaging book was so Zen, to help me on my journey.
Step One: Stop and Listen; Step Two: Intend, Step Three: Clear the Energy. Final section covers Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life (how to stay in in this attitude). The spiritual method is called SLICE an anagram for Stop and Listen. Intend. Clear the Energy. A holistic approach to de-cluttering. You have to de-clutter both your home and heart as they work hand in hand together.
Breathing Room was so much more for me than about decluttering the home, since this has been achieved. However, this book is about uncluttering your mind spiritually and emotionally (as failed to do this step). With social media, technology at our finger tips 24/7, and tons of websites to update daily, demands, feeling overwhelmed, and stress - this is another example of clutter within in our minds. We need to disconnect totally at times.
Love this quote from the book: “The heart is often a forgotten sacred space. The heart is meant to be touched by joy, laughter, happiness and innocence. Instead it often carries suffocating burdens, anxiety, fear, and worry.” We live in a world of stress, burnout and breakdown.
This book was SO for me in this regards. As a Type A, high achiever, and perfectionist, it is hard to stop working and achieve balance with personal life. Breathing Room was so helpful, as a guide to train you to take care of yourself and learn to say, NO to things which take away your time and energy and what is best for you. Keep a journal – of those emotional blockages --it works!
This is not just a, “read once”, kind of book. Breathing Room is a continued resource guide with a wealth of critical and healthy information, as you find your own breathing room.
I am also a vegan, which I find a very healthy choice for myself and my lifestyle. It is a way of life and with the help of these two fine authors and this brilliantly written book, I can now start de-cluttering my mind and attitude, in order to open up new and endless possibilities. I highly recommend for any woman or man of any age.
Judith D. Collins Must Read Books
This was my first book by Melva Green or Lauren Rosenfeld – what a dynamic duo! I loved BREATHING ROOM: Open Your Heart by De-cluttering Your Home, from the first page, and prior to finishing the first chapter found myself bookmarking each page, as so inspiring! (loved reading their background).
Two wise and passionate women, guide readers with clarity-- how to learn from spaces where we live, and create rooms that reflect peace and nourishment. They offer sensitivity and humor as each demonstrate the connection between living and heart space. There are fabulous spiritual exercises throughout the book, with valuable information and stories, as you create a more healthy and balanced life of self-reflection and learning.
For me, it was not about the stuff in my house; however, more importantly my heart, mind, and spirit offering a clear guide for your inner self, not just your physical world. Sometimes it is hard for me to be still long enough to meditate, and this engaging book was so Zen, to help me on my journey.
Step One: Stop and Listen; Step Two: Intend, Step Three: Clear the Energy. Final section covers Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life (how to stay in in this attitude). The spiritual method is called SLICE an anagram for Stop and Listen. Intend. Clear the Energy. A holistic approach to de-cluttering. You have to de-clutter both your home and heart as they work hand in hand together.
Breathing Room was so much more for me than about decluttering the home, since this has been achieved. However, this book is about uncluttering your mind spiritually and emotionally (as failed to do this step). With social media, technology at our finger tips 24/7, and tons of websites to update daily, demands, feeling overwhelmed, and stress - this is another example of clutter within in our minds. We need to disconnect totally at times.
Love this quote from the book: “The heart is often a forgotten sacred space. The heart is meant to be touched by joy, laughter, happiness and innocence. Instead it often carries suffocating burdens, anxiety, fear, and worry.” We live in a world of stress, burnout and breakdown.
This book was SO for me in this regards. As a Type A, high achiever, and perfectionist, it is hard to stop working and achieve balance with personal life. Breathing Room was so helpful, as a guide to train you to take care of yourself and learn to say, NO to things which take away your time and energy and what is best for you. Keep a journal – of those emotional blockages --it works!
This is not just a, “read once”, kind of book. Breathing Room is a continued resource guide with a wealth of critical and healthy information, as you find your own breathing room.
I am also a vegan, which I find a very healthy choice for myself and my lifestyle. It is a way of life and with the help of these two fine authors and this brilliantly written book, I can now start de-cluttering my mind and attitude, in order to open up new and endless possibilities. I highly recommend for any woman or man of any age.
Judith D. Collins Must Read Books
April 27, 2014
This is a home related book that I couldn't wait to curl up on the couch with and see if I could declutter my home. My first instinct was to look for pretty pictures and interior design inspiration but this was not that kind of book. It seemed I had to reach much deeper than that and look both on the spiritual and practical side.
This book talks about how we declutter our homes of paperwork and stuff in the same way we should declutter our minds and our hearts to let more joyful things in. It made me realise that its not just about clearing the stuff at home but also the stuff inside of me that are unwanted things.
The first part of the book is about the rooms in your home and going through them. Then the second part of the book is about clearing the energy and how you can do that - letting go and saying no to clutter. The concept is simple - if it's weighing you down, if it's become an obstacle, if you can't find the things you love, then it's time to let it go and find a little breathing room.
This book is spiritually thought provoking but it is also action oriented. The spiritual method is called SLICE an anagram for Stop and Listen. Intend. Clear the Energy.
This book was quite easy to follow but you had to be in the mood to concentrate it wasn't just a nice fairy land story you could get lost in. You had to read and think and self reflect all the way through. I found it to be quite hard work to read through in one sitting and actually had this book on the go for about 3 months before I finished it. This is not a read once kind of book and I know I'll use it as a reference book for many years to come.
I recommend this book to home lovers who want to see a different side of your home and yourself and who need a helping hand to clear your clutter at home and within yourself.
This book talks about how we declutter our homes of paperwork and stuff in the same way we should declutter our minds and our hearts to let more joyful things in. It made me realise that its not just about clearing the stuff at home but also the stuff inside of me that are unwanted things.
The first part of the book is about the rooms in your home and going through them. Then the second part of the book is about clearing the energy and how you can do that - letting go and saying no to clutter. The concept is simple - if it's weighing you down, if it's become an obstacle, if you can't find the things you love, then it's time to let it go and find a little breathing room.
This book is spiritually thought provoking but it is also action oriented. The spiritual method is called SLICE an anagram for Stop and Listen. Intend. Clear the Energy.
This book was quite easy to follow but you had to be in the mood to concentrate it wasn't just a nice fairy land story you could get lost in. You had to read and think and self reflect all the way through. I found it to be quite hard work to read through in one sitting and actually had this book on the go for about 3 months before I finished it. This is not a read once kind of book and I know I'll use it as a reference book for many years to come.
I recommend this book to home lovers who want to see a different side of your home and yourself and who need a helping hand to clear your clutter at home and within yourself.
March 29, 2014
Goodreads First Reads Giveaway Book.
------------------------------------
Many people want to simplify their lives. Breathing Room: Open Your Heart by Decluttering Your Home provides you with ideas, along with why, you should remove un-needed things from your life. In fact, we all could use some serious decluttering, which according to the authors is a spiritual process that links us to what’s really important.
The authors embark on a room-by-room tour of the typical home and discuss its spiritual importance, linking it to the rooms in your heart. The main problem discussed in the book is if you absorb more than you let go, the room will become a cluttered drain in your life. The real solution if that you need to let go of those things that weigh you down and detract you from finding the things you really love, giving you more breathing room.
The authors are Lauren Rosenfeld and Melva Green, both who are qualified to discuss the book’s topic. Rosenfield has a couple of graduate degrees, which she uses as a professional Soul Declutterer. Green is a board-certified psychiatrist who serves as an expert on the A&E show Hoarders.
Breathing Room is good book to help you with giving you more breathing room in your life. If you add this to your library and don’t follow its advice, it’ll just add more clutter to your house.
------------------------------------
Many people want to simplify their lives. Breathing Room: Open Your Heart by Decluttering Your Home provides you with ideas, along with why, you should remove un-needed things from your life. In fact, we all could use some serious decluttering, which according to the authors is a spiritual process that links us to what’s really important.
The authors embark on a room-by-room tour of the typical home and discuss its spiritual importance, linking it to the rooms in your heart. The main problem discussed in the book is if you absorb more than you let go, the room will become a cluttered drain in your life. The real solution if that you need to let go of those things that weigh you down and detract you from finding the things you really love, giving you more breathing room.
The authors are Lauren Rosenfeld and Melva Green, both who are qualified to discuss the book’s topic. Rosenfield has a couple of graduate degrees, which she uses as a professional Soul Declutterer. Green is a board-certified psychiatrist who serves as an expert on the A&E show Hoarders.
Breathing Room is good book to help you with giving you more breathing room in your life. If you add this to your library and don’t follow its advice, it’ll just add more clutter to your house.
October 20, 2015
*I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway.*
I wish I had a book like this a long time ago, it would have been very useful in many ways.
This book teaches you not only how remove physical clutter from your home (there are sections to read for each room), but also teaches you how to clear spiritual and emotional clutter, and clutter in relationships. You learn how to understand whether or not a particular item, thought, person, etc. is really serving your present life, and how to kindly let go if it is not.
This book had amazing points, stories, and quotes. It's contents are broken up quite well, just in case you want to skip back and forth through different sections, instead of reading it from beginning to end.
There some (mostly journaling) exercises in each section that help your work through your feeling about your clutter. I admittedly found a few of them silly at first, but the point is to get you to face emotions in attachment that you have been avoiding. I found it all pretty useful.
I found this book to be a very refreshing and realistic approach to tackling obstacles that many of us have to deal with, either physically or emotionally.
I would recommended this book to anyone who is struggle with different types of clutter, and is ready to try a different approach.
I wish I had a book like this a long time ago, it would have been very useful in many ways.
This book teaches you not only how remove physical clutter from your home (there are sections to read for each room), but also teaches you how to clear spiritual and emotional clutter, and clutter in relationships. You learn how to understand whether or not a particular item, thought, person, etc. is really serving your present life, and how to kindly let go if it is not.
This book had amazing points, stories, and quotes. It's contents are broken up quite well, just in case you want to skip back and forth through different sections, instead of reading it from beginning to end.
There some (mostly journaling) exercises in each section that help your work through your feeling about your clutter. I admittedly found a few of them silly at first, but the point is to get you to face emotions in attachment that you have been avoiding. I found it all pretty useful.
I found this book to be a very refreshing and realistic approach to tackling obstacles that many of us have to deal with, either physically or emotionally.
I would recommended this book to anyone who is struggle with different types of clutter, and is ready to try a different approach.
May 1, 2014
I really like the gentle, inside-out approach this book takes towards all sorts of clutter, both the standard clutter of material stuff and the brain and schedule clutter that goes along with the stuff. I was encouraged as well as disappointed to find that many of the suggestions the authors make are things I've already implemented. (Encouraged because perhaps I'm on the right track and disappointed because I was hoping to find more I could do to clear out those things that leave me feeling overwhelmed.)
I plan to dip back into this book in the months to come as I engage in the ongoing process of working through my calendar and my home. I think it will help to keep me on track to be reminded of the suggestions. I'm also hoping that the authors' guidance will help me more consciously teach my children how to recognize what's feeding their growth and intentionally fill their lives with these things and remove from their lives what's extraneous to their becoming the people they hope to be.
I plan to dip back into this book in the months to come as I engage in the ongoing process of working through my calendar and my home. I think it will help to keep me on track to be reminded of the suggestions. I'm also hoping that the authors' guidance will help me more consciously teach my children how to recognize what's feeding their growth and intentionally fill their lives with these things and remove from their lives what's extraneous to their becoming the people they hope to be.
October 31, 2015
I think this is the kind of book you have to own - more clutter! - to keep reminding yourself how to declutter. It was an interesting and enlightening take on more of the same old thing - the authors propose that decluttering is more than just getting rid of the physical possessions around you. It is also a matter of freeing up your heart and your mind. That makes a lot of sense - once you have cleansed and forgiven yourself it is easier to let the "stuff" you are hiding behind go. I would have given this book four stars but by 3/4 of the way into it I found it to be so repetitive as to be irritating. I think it would be a good reference book to have on hand to use when clearing out a specific room or area - it gives in depth directions on how to clean each room or area in your living space - or to remind me to be compassionate to myself, let things go (mental or physical) and breathe.
October 29, 2015
I really like this one. If you want to change the emotional reasons that people clutter, you have to address the home and the heart both. I've taken more notes from this book than I have from any organizing book in a long time. The wording has clarified thoughts for me that I was struggling to put into words. I highly recommend it. The recommendations are easily adapted to any person, and the author resonates with my own thoughts and philosophies in organizing and spirituality.
It also addresses thanking your things (sort of like that other book, you know the one) but without being woowoo or anthropomorphic. Gratitude is about you, not your things, just as it ought to be. But that's a minor point, glossed over in one section only.
It also addresses thanking your things (sort of like that other book, you know the one) but without being woowoo or anthropomorphic. Gratitude is about you, not your things, just as it ought to be. But that's a minor point, glossed over in one section only.
February 28, 2016
I wanted to eliminate clutter in my house to make it easier to keep clean and make it a more calm space. This book gave me a lot of positive encouragement and tools to use to get the job done step by step. Before I read this book, I read the famous Lifechanging Magic book and found it very stressful and it didn't resonate with me. This book, with its gentle encouragement as well as its focus on visualizing how you want the rooms to make you feel became my companion as I tackled my house. I didn't read it all at once, saving each section for when I was tackling that area of the house. I am very thankful for this book.
June 18, 2020
Got through all but last chapter this summer. Rather than leaving in the to do pile putting it up for now. Pretty good but Japanese book on decluttering is better. Definitely want to reread. Rereading fen 2015 makes even more sense now that I am in the letters project.
Rereading again in 2020 getting more out of the spiritual part, the emotional aspects of clearing. This is short on the mechanics, long on meaning. Best take away: it is only by editing that can truely appreciate what really matters in stuff, emotions, relationships. Purchased this book at Omega.
Rereading again in 2020 getting more out of the spiritual part, the emotional aspects of clearing. This is short on the mechanics, long on meaning. Best take away: it is only by editing that can truely appreciate what really matters in stuff, emotions, relationships. Purchased this book at Omega.
December 3, 2015
Another great book about decluttering. What makes this book different from the others is its focus on the spiritual/psychological basis of physical clutter. That is to say, that physical clutter originates with a cluttered heart, and affects our whole life. Throughout the book, the authors give practical examples of how clutter manifests in our homes, our hearts, our relationships and our schedules, and then ways that we can gently and lovingly decluttering these parts of our lives. There is some real wisdom to be found in this book. Let us open up breathing room in our homes and our hearts.
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