It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff
by Peter Walsh
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Book Summary Information
Author: Peter WalshEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-11-06
ISBN: 0743292650
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Free Press
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780743292658
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
- Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?: An Easy Plan for Losing Weight and Living More
- It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff
Book Reviews of It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff
Book Review: "We are at the center of an orgy of consumption..."
Summary: 4 Stars
Living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl
- Madonna; chorus for Material Girl
Well, we live in a "material culture." Consumerism abounds. It's all "get, get, get" and "have, have, have."
The stuff piles up. And piles up. Then... where is the dining room table top? When did the master bedroom become the toy storage area? Where should a decade's worth of Gourmet magazine be kept?
Got stuff?
Peter Walsh has suggestions for you. He was an organizational expert with the short-lived series on TLC called "Clean Sweep." And in It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff, Walsh has ideas for you.
Now, this isn't a particularly well-written book. I was expecting to give it the "It's OK" rating. But there are some gems of advice in here, particularly on how you can make decisions about what to keep and what to part with. Without those decisions, it's either a random choice (scary) or the status quo (also scary).
Here are some of the ideas I appreciated:
"We are at the center of an orgy of consumption, and many are now seeing that this need to own so much comes with a heavy price..." (p. 2).
Walsh asks, "Did the stuff they owned contribute to the lives they were hoping to achieve, or was it getting in the way of that vision?" (p. 17).
"We all know it's smart to plan ahead. We all have projects that have to wait for later. And most of us experience changing bodies and changing fashions that put our clothes into what might only be temporary storage. It's hard to let go of things that don't seem to have fulfilled their purpose" (p. 33).
I needed to listen to his words regarding "Art and Schoolwork - To Keep or not to Keep" (p. 118). I think I suffer a bit from the syndrome, "if you toss out some of your kids' artwork, you lose a bit of your soul." It adds up.
And all those books? There are those "... who derive a great sense of security and contentment from knowing that they own the book. In many cases, they feel that owning the book is equivalent to owning the KNOWLEDGE in the book, as well. For these individuals, letting go of a book is tantamount to throwing that knowledge away - no matter whether they have read the book or not and whether the book still interests them or not" (p. 127). Luckily, I found Bookmooch!
And do we all have a "junk drawer" in the kitchen? Walsh suggests "No. Junk. Drawer. Do I make myself clear?" (p. 167).
Here was an excellent idea... keep a "charity bag." Put the clothes and other objects you don't need or use right into the charity bag and, when full, take it to your favorite charity that accepts these items.
Finally, Walsh discusses the "bigger picture." Why are we in an "orgy of consumption?" What is it that leads to clutter, at home and in our lives. Here's an example: "We have a weight problem in this country and it is killing us. Two out of every three Americans are overweight and one third of us are obese. In the space of a generation, we have become a nation of fat people and our children are right there with us. It's no coincidence that at the same time our waistlines are expanding, the problem with clutter in our homes is becoming so widespread. The two are intimately connected" (p. 223).
So Walsh's advice started growing on me. I'm working to "de-clutter" my office, my book closet, and today I tackle the garage. Walsh convinced me that it's not too much to get started.
More It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff reviews:
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