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Full title: Scaling Down: Living Large in a Smaller Space. Got it from the library.
This is a book about how to manage when you have too much stuff. It would be helpful and appropriate in a variety of situations, including moving to a new home, retiring and moving from a large home to a smaller one, moving in with a partner and combining your things, cleaning out a relative's home, or even just wanting to make a change and declutter your ordinary life and get that "vacation beach house" feeling every day. It's a smart, practical book full of hands-on advice to help you not just scale down, but also get past the emotional problems that lead us to accumulate too many material things.
This book was interesting and well written, fun to read, but I felt like I was not really the target audience. I am pretty good about keeping my stuff manageable, just because I've moved so much. (Anyone who has ever helped me move is totally laughing right now.) Not that I don't have my weak spots (books, obviously, and stuffed friends, memorable knicknacks, etc), but even with those, I tend to purge regularly. I got rid of a bunch of books and clothes before I left Boston, and I find myself continually purging clothes all the time. My apartment is small, but the majority of my things fit well in it (except for cds, which I have no room for), and I am fairly good at utilizing space. I'm not the best declutterer by any means, but I'm nowhere near the worst at this, either.
No, while I definitely learned a lot from this book and plan to photocopy some sections for future reference, I am not the target audience. The target audience for this book comprises people who are likely to think this book is a good idea, buy it, and stick it on a shelf or table or in a box somewhere, where it will sit for months or years, unread and contributing to the preexisting clutter in the person's home. I found myself getting very amused at this image as I read. I wonder if the authors thought of this as they wrote the book? I wonder how many books geared towards this sort of audience are stacked up somewhere because their owners plan to get around to reading them someday?
One thing this book assumes is first of all that its target audience will actually read it, and secondly that they will be able to move beyond their fear and discomfort to actually put its teachings into practice. The book gives good pointers for doing this, but sometimes it's just too difficult and painful, or the habits are so ingrained it's impossible. Which is why the book references the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), because you can search on their website for local pros in your area.
(Speaking of which, I took a look on the NAPO website, and they offer classes and resources for starting your own professional organizing business. If someone were interested in doing that. Bobbi, you should check it out. I plan to bookmark that link myself for future reference.)
I recommend this book, but only if you're serious about making a change and dedicated to making the change happen. Otherwise, it will make you feel sad and uncomfortable about your clutter paralysis, or it will just sit around adding to your clutter. But even if you're dedicated to changing just one thing (scaling down your wardrobe, maybe, or one problematic area), then this book is worth a read.
This is a book about how to manage when you have too much stuff. It would be helpful and appropriate in a variety of situations, including moving to a new home, retiring and moving from a large home to a smaller one, moving in with a partner and combining your things, cleaning out a relative's home, or even just wanting to make a change and declutter your ordinary life and get that "vacation beach house" feeling every day. It's a smart, practical book full of hands-on advice to help you not just scale down, but also get past the emotional problems that lead us to accumulate too many material things.
This book was interesting and well written, fun to read, but I felt like I was not really the target audience. I am pretty good about keeping my stuff manageable, just because I've moved so much. (Anyone who has ever helped me move is totally laughing right now.) Not that I don't have my weak spots (books, obviously, and stuffed friends, memorable knicknacks, etc), but even with those, I tend to purge regularly. I got rid of a bunch of books and clothes before I left Boston, and I find myself continually purging clothes all the time. My apartment is small, but the majority of my things fit well in it (except for cds, which I have no room for), and I am fairly good at utilizing space. I'm not the best declutterer by any means, but I'm nowhere near the worst at this, either.
No, while I definitely learned a lot from this book and plan to photocopy some sections for future reference, I am not the target audience. The target audience for this book comprises people who are likely to think this book is a good idea, buy it, and stick it on a shelf or table or in a box somewhere, where it will sit for months or years, unread and contributing to the preexisting clutter in the person's home. I found myself getting very amused at this image as I read. I wonder if the authors thought of this as they wrote the book? I wonder how many books geared towards this sort of audience are stacked up somewhere because their owners plan to get around to reading them someday?
One thing this book assumes is first of all that its target audience will actually read it, and secondly that they will be able to move beyond their fear and discomfort to actually put its teachings into practice. The book gives good pointers for doing this, but sometimes it's just too difficult and painful, or the habits are so ingrained it's impossible. Which is why the book references the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), because you can search on their website for local pros in your area.
(Speaking of which, I took a look on the NAPO website, and they offer classes and resources for starting your own professional organizing business. If someone were interested in doing that. Bobbi, you should check it out. I plan to bookmark that link myself for future reference.)
I recommend this book, but only if you're serious about making a change and dedicated to making the change happen. Otherwise, it will make you feel sad and uncomfortable about your clutter paralysis, or it will just sit around adding to your clutter. But even if you're dedicated to changing just one thing (scaling down your wardrobe, maybe, or one problematic area), then this book is worth a read.
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Date: 2007-10-15 08:13 pm (UTC)From:Strangely enough (for me), I did read it almost all the way through, and while I haven't effected the changes in any real way, it has helped me change my attitudes and views on holding onto Stuff...it didn't actually make me feel bad, which other organizing books and sites have.
So yeah, for decluttering, I highly recommend it.
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Date: 2007-10-15 08:17 pm (UTC)From: