You might recognize Peter Walsh Peter Walsh from Oprah's show as well as the TLC Clean Sweep - the man is an organizing genius. He says it like it is, and I appreciate that. Who needs books and organizing items if they don't help? Now I rarely cut and paste book descriptions on here, but this one time I will paste part of the book description:
It seems as though not a day goes by that we don’t think about money. We cut back on spending. We chase a bargain. We try to save more. We strive to use less credit. We worry about funding our retirement and our children’s education. Yet we continue to spend money on things that don’t matter.
I feel almost like I should be throwing in an AMEN! right there. Trust me, this is coming from a guilty party too (it doesn't help that I am married to a sort of hoarder), but most of us are out of control. How many pairs of shoes and jeans does one person need? How many video games does a child need? All of these things contribute to clutter in our homes and drain our bank accounts. Why do we let "stuff" overtake our lives?
One of the things I have noticed when watching any of the assortment of "hoarding" shows on the TV is that many of them are super shoppers - they go in hunt of the bargains and end up with so much STUFF! I can't help but cringe at how much money is spent on items that they cannot even enjoy because there is no room. Sure, you get the joy and the thrill at scoring the deal, but if you cannot enjoy that item once you walk in your front door - ask yourself why you just purchased that item.
In Lighten Up, Mr. Walsh will help you (and your family!) change the way you measure happiness. You'll learn to face your financial situation and set realistic priorities - we all know skipping a coffee out can save money. It's great, but that cup of coffee you just cut out is not the root of most of our problems. And as you go along, you'll learn to create space for what really matters in your home and be happy with what you have. (It's rather scary to calculate the value of your home vs the square footage and realize exactly how much each square foot in your home is worth - why fill it with junk? Yikes!)
I really can't drag you out and force you to buy a book, but I can tell you, clutter is poison. Clutter drains your mind and body and sets you up to FAIL. It takes over your life. You can do cleaning binges and try to get rid of "stuff" that you question why you even bought in the first place - but you really need to get to the root of WHY you keep buying and buying.
And I'm not saying you shouldn't shop and buy pretty things - shopping is fun! - but sometimes you need to sit back and second and ask yourself WHY you're shopping. I love shoes - oh gosh, I LOVE shoes - but if I am buying shoes I might only wear once or not at all - why am I buying them? Is there something better I could funnel my happiness onto? And the answer to that is YES! Instead of spending $100 on a couple of pairs of sale shoes when I already have several good pairs, I'd rather turn that $100 towards a wonderful vacation spent with my family, having a blast together. Because that's really what matters, right?
Lighten Up: Love What You Have, Have What You Need, Be Happier With Less by Peter Walsh is a paperback self help book published by Free Press. It is 204 pages long. The suggested cover price is $15.00, but Amazon has it available for $10.20 as of this posting. It is also available as an e-book for the Kindle and other e-readers. And if you find yourself with shelf after shelf of books, and really shouldn't add any more - check your local library to see if they have a copy available.
I received a copy of this book in order to read it and share my thoughts on it. All opinions are my own, and not that of the author(s) or publisher.
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