Conquer the Clutter: Strategies to Identify, Manage, and Overcome Hoarding

by Elaine Birchall, Suzanne Cronkwright

Why does Cliff, a successful lawyer who regularly wins landmark cases, step over two-foot piles of paper whenever he opens his front door? Why do Joan and Paul ask Children's Services to take their three children instead of decluttering their home? Why does Lucinda feel intense pressure to hold onto her family's heirlooms even though she has no room for them? They have hoarding disorder, which an estimated 2% to 6% of the adult population worldwide experience.

Conquer the Clutter offers hope to anyone affected by hoarding. Real-life vignettes, combined with easy-to-use assessment and intervention tools, support those who hoard--and those who care about them. Written by Elaine Birchall, a social worker dedicated to helping people declutter and achieve long-term control over their belongings, the book

- provides an overview of hoarding, defining what it is--and is not- explains the difference between clutter and hoarding - describes different types of hoarding in detail, including impulse shopping, closet hoarding, and animal hoarding- debunks myths about hoarding and hoarders - explores the effects that hoarding has on relationships, on work, and on physical and financial health- presents a practical, step-by-step plan of action for decluttering- contains dedicated advice from individuals who have successfully overcome their hoarding disorder

The most comprehensive work about hoarding on the market, Conquer the Clutter discusses special populations who are not often singled out, such as the disabled and the elderly, and includes numerous worksheets to assist individuals in determining the scope of their hoarding disorder and tackling the problem. Over 40 pages of additional resources are available online at jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/conquer....

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

296 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Cathryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are many books out there about clutter and hoarding that are much better than this one. I found this book disjointed, overly wordy, and filled with industry jargon. The author(s) refer to tips and ideas in future chapters, which is annoying. Am I supposed to skip ahead, and then go back? Also there were several cutesy footnotes which felt out of place, immature, and just odd. It's like a textbook written by high-schoolers. I did not find this book helpful or informative at all.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected! I thought I was getting a self-help book about how to deal with clutter (along the same lines of the KonMari book), but what I got was an academic book about hoarding disorder. I found it extremely interesting to learn about the psychology behind hoarding, as well as the author's experiences working with hoarders. I even found a few helpful tips and perspective that I am using in my own decluttering.

[Veda DeVille · Rating 2 out of 5]

While interesting to explore the psychology behind hoarding, this is not a book to help with clutter. I was definitely expecting a more "self help" but what I got was much more academia.

[Rosz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the cover.

The author knows her stuff, but translating it for the general reader is not her forte. The text is a disjointed collection of academic points and self-promotion interspersed with some interesting and helpful bits of information.

There is a lot of filler in this book before you get to the important bits. If you are looking for helpful tips, you will have to skip and sift. (I have a short attention span at times. I’m sure I’ll get more from this on my second flip through).

It almost seems like promotional text to sell the book, or things that might have gone on the back cover have been added into the main text. There are advertorials for her practice and her radio show too.

If you like lots of personal stories, you might find it rewarding. These stories, plus the relevancy of the information, make it of value to professionals trying to help people with hoarding issues, so I’d say that’s the audience.

The buying experience for the Amazon Kindle version wasn’t fantastic. It would have been nice to know how many pages the book had, and to see more sample pages (which I did find on Google, which then convinced me to buy it) like the contents list.

I like page numbers on kindle pages. Sure the app tells you, but it’s not the same.

[Athena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, but not engaging enough. I did struggle some days to want to read this book. I felt that the personal stories were used as filler more often than not. I was looking for a book on how to help someone with hoarding and they even mention in the book this is not a therapeutic guide. As they felt others had done that better. Overall, a nice jumping off point for someone who hoards or if you’re looking to help someone who hoards

[D · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so disappointing. I felt like it was so scholarly & dry I could never connect to the stories or people in the book. I guess it did give some instructions on how to overcome hoarding & made valid points~ but I just couldn’t get past how it was presented. Much better books out there on the subject!

[Bryony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear and concise guide to helping yourself. Well written by understanding and empathetic authors.
I would recommend this book to anyone feeling lost and helpless.