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Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What's Holding You Back
Piles of junk in garages and closets, overflowing papers on desks, items unused for years, masses of unanswered email, clothing never worn, useless gifts that collect dust — all these things, says Brooks Palmer, come weighted with shame and guilt and have a suffocating effect on spirit and soul. In this insightful book, Palmer shows how to get rid of the things in our lives that no longer serve us. By tossing out these unneeded items, we are also eliminating their negative influences, freeing up energy, and unlocking our potential.
Loaded with inspiring anecdotes and practical tips, Clutter Busting is based on the premise that your things are not sacred, but you are. The book explores such fundamental topics as the false identities we assume through clutter, the fear of change those junk piles represent, the addictive nature of holding on to objects, how clearing clutter makes room for clarity and sweeps away confusion and stasis, and much more. With Brooks’s upbeat and compassionate guidance, you’ll find yourself clearing the way for new and exciting things to come into your life.
Loaded with inspiring anecdotes and practical tips, Clutter Busting is based on the premise that your things are not sacred, but you are. The book explores such fundamental topics as the false identities we assume through clutter, the fear of change those junk piles represent, the addictive nature of holding on to objects, how clearing clutter makes room for clarity and sweeps away confusion and stasis, and much more. With Brooks’s upbeat and compassionate guidance, you’ll find yourself clearing the way for new and exciting things to come into your life.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
80 people are currently reading
847 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews
June 26, 2018
Non-fiction challenge
I listened to this one on audio for free on Hoopla (through my library). It was a pretty good listen- a bit of a different perspective on decluttering, but much of the same also. The author narrated this book and did a good job.
I listened to this one on audio for free on Hoopla (through my library). It was a pretty good listen- a bit of a different perspective on decluttering, but much of the same also. The author narrated this book and did a good job.
December 22, 2014
This is THE best book on the subject I have ever come across. Everything Brooks Palmer says is true. Here are some of the truths: Clutter can be very neat. It can be arranged nicely on your shelves or in your closet. Clutter is anything that no longer pertains to your life. 75% of what we own is clutter. I did some of the exercises in this book and was AMAZED at what I discovered to be clutter.
Here's just one example of this book working for me: In one exercise you look around the room and let your eyes fall on whatever is no longer "alive" in your life. My eyes immediately halted on a jewelry box I've had for over 10 years. I never even thought of getting rid of it b/c I got it in France, and it was gift from a very lovely lady. But when I really forced myself to consider it, I realized that I never really liked it that much. So I took it down off the shelf. Then I went through it. Over half of the stuff in that box was stuff someone gave me that they didn't want anymore, or something I wore at one point in my life but was never going to wear again. So the box and all that unwanted jewelry went. And the feeling of lightness came, as Brooks promised it would. It's amazing how the hold that the stuff has on you is broken as soon as you release it. It's gone, I don't miss it, I don't want it back.
The exercises in this book really work. They help you finally see what is clutter, b/c chances are it's invisible to you. I couldn't believe how it was invisible to me. But this book really unearthed it. Getting rid of "dead" stuff is so freeing. Brooks Palmer helped to give me the power to see the dead stuff as dead and release it. I got rid of an entire box of photographs that were completely dead. They didn't make me happy and they reminded me of a sad time in my life. So what if I had paid a fortune for my hair to be professionally styled in this picture, and so what if it looked amazing. SO what??? I finally realized: I don't HAVE to keep this! I have a completely different life now! I've held on to them for over a decade!!! When they went I felt like I lost 50 lbs. On the flip side, I was able to sort, organize and manage the photos that I do love and put them in a totally accessible space.
This book has been great for me. The best thing was when my aunt came over and mentioned how the house looked so open and clear. I didn't think anyone else would even notice. Now when it gets messy, it's just a casual mess that can get swept up and put away in a half hour. What a difference. But I'm not done yet. This is just the beginning, but I'm off to a really great start. Thank you, Brooks.
Here's just one example of this book working for me: In one exercise you look around the room and let your eyes fall on whatever is no longer "alive" in your life. My eyes immediately halted on a jewelry box I've had for over 10 years. I never even thought of getting rid of it b/c I got it in France, and it was gift from a very lovely lady. But when I really forced myself to consider it, I realized that I never really liked it that much. So I took it down off the shelf. Then I went through it. Over half of the stuff in that box was stuff someone gave me that they didn't want anymore, or something I wore at one point in my life but was never going to wear again. So the box and all that unwanted jewelry went. And the feeling of lightness came, as Brooks promised it would. It's amazing how the hold that the stuff has on you is broken as soon as you release it. It's gone, I don't miss it, I don't want it back.
The exercises in this book really work. They help you finally see what is clutter, b/c chances are it's invisible to you. I couldn't believe how it was invisible to me. But this book really unearthed it. Getting rid of "dead" stuff is so freeing. Brooks Palmer helped to give me the power to see the dead stuff as dead and release it. I got rid of an entire box of photographs that were completely dead. They didn't make me happy and they reminded me of a sad time in my life. So what if I had paid a fortune for my hair to be professionally styled in this picture, and so what if it looked amazing. SO what??? I finally realized: I don't HAVE to keep this! I have a completely different life now! I've held on to them for over a decade!!! When they went I felt like I lost 50 lbs. On the flip side, I was able to sort, organize and manage the photos that I do love and put them in a totally accessible space.
This book has been great for me. The best thing was when my aunt came over and mentioned how the house looked so open and clear. I didn't think anyone else would even notice. Now when it gets messy, it's just a casual mess that can get swept up and put away in a half hour. What a difference. But I'm not done yet. This is just the beginning, but I'm off to a really great start. Thank you, Brooks.
July 25, 2012
I expected this to be full of useful tips on decluttering. Instead it's cheap psychologizing from someone who is not a psychologist but rather a stand-up comedian (and no, the book is not funny).
Here's a sample exercise:
"Find an item that you haven't used in more than a year...Place it on a chair and sit across the room from it. Start simply with small talk. Introduce yourself. Tell it about your day. Mention that you've had no interaction with it for a long time now and you're wondering why it's still here. Either intuitively hear what the thing has to say, or speak the item's words out loud. Whatever comes up is the truth. Accept the answer."
Clutter Keeps Us Living in the Past, is one chapter heading. I agree. This is an issue that needs to be addressed. But not all clutter from the past is equal (he encouraged a couple to take down pictures of their children off their walls, which immediately rejuvenated their marriage - and I'm betting he wants me to throw away old letters from loved ones - they're from the past!). A gift a deceased loved one gave you, which occupies four square inches and is the only thing you have connected to that person, is not the same as a big stack of newspapers from 7 years ago, or pairs of hardly worn shoes now out of style. Palmer believes that any emotional connection you have to an object is suspect. Your memories should be enough. The object itself is merely clutter. He has stopped taking photographs, because he would rather live in the moment than have a memory of the moment. Most photographs are emotional clutter that weigh people down. But if you are hanging on to a photograph to "honor a memory" rather than to live in the past, it's okay. Got that?
I agreed with three things he wrote:
- Have only one TV in the house.
- You can't organize until you toss the clutter.
- Put nothing in storage.
Palmer is a miracle worker, according to Palmer. When people follow his advice and unload their clutter packed with memories and emotions, the lines immediately leave their faces. When one woman tossed her stuffed animal collection "she actually looked thinner!" People who looked ill before decluttering suddenly look healthy after. He solves people's marital problems. When he declutters a writer's office, he solves the man's writer's block. He helps a celebrity enjoy her pregnancy by explaining how she is creating strands of DNA and a spinal column.
The book manages to be written in a tone both condescending and stupid.
Nearly every anecdote involves a client crying, and finishes with a deep sense of inner peace. "She began to cry big sobs into a towel. It was quickly soaked." After a conversation with Palmer, "she looked reborn." Palmer makes people "glow" and "gleam."
He mixes stories of ordinary clutterers, people whose decluttering can be accomplished quite easily, with hoarders (in the chapter "Clutter is an Addiction"). Though true hoarding is a mental and psychological disorder and he has no professional expertise here, he is able to cure a woman's hoarding problem instantly.
For a book on clutter and hoarding by people who actually know what they're talking about, read Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things. If you need a how-to book on decluttering, this is not it.
Here's a sample exercise:
"Find an item that you haven't used in more than a year...Place it on a chair and sit across the room from it. Start simply with small talk. Introduce yourself. Tell it about your day. Mention that you've had no interaction with it for a long time now and you're wondering why it's still here. Either intuitively hear what the thing has to say, or speak the item's words out loud. Whatever comes up is the truth. Accept the answer."
Clutter Keeps Us Living in the Past, is one chapter heading. I agree. This is an issue that needs to be addressed. But not all clutter from the past is equal (he encouraged a couple to take down pictures of their children off their walls, which immediately rejuvenated their marriage - and I'm betting he wants me to throw away old letters from loved ones - they're from the past!). A gift a deceased loved one gave you, which occupies four square inches and is the only thing you have connected to that person, is not the same as a big stack of newspapers from 7 years ago, or pairs of hardly worn shoes now out of style. Palmer believes that any emotional connection you have to an object is suspect. Your memories should be enough. The object itself is merely clutter. He has stopped taking photographs, because he would rather live in the moment than have a memory of the moment. Most photographs are emotional clutter that weigh people down. But if you are hanging on to a photograph to "honor a memory" rather than to live in the past, it's okay. Got that?
I agreed with three things he wrote:
- Have only one TV in the house.
- You can't organize until you toss the clutter.
- Put nothing in storage.
Palmer is a miracle worker, according to Palmer. When people follow his advice and unload their clutter packed with memories and emotions, the lines immediately leave their faces. When one woman tossed her stuffed animal collection "she actually looked thinner!" People who looked ill before decluttering suddenly look healthy after. He solves people's marital problems. When he declutters a writer's office, he solves the man's writer's block. He helps a celebrity enjoy her pregnancy by explaining how she is creating strands of DNA and a spinal column.
The book manages to be written in a tone both condescending and stupid.
Nearly every anecdote involves a client crying, and finishes with a deep sense of inner peace. "She began to cry big sobs into a towel. It was quickly soaked." After a conversation with Palmer, "she looked reborn." Palmer makes people "glow" and "gleam."
He mixes stories of ordinary clutterers, people whose decluttering can be accomplished quite easily, with hoarders (in the chapter "Clutter is an Addiction"). Though true hoarding is a mental and psychological disorder and he has no professional expertise here, he is able to cure a woman's hoarding problem instantly.
For a book on clutter and hoarding by people who actually know what they're talking about, read Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things. If you need a how-to book on decluttering, this is not it.
August 13, 2010
I'm guilty of buying "declutter" books before with marginal results in real life. This book is different -- it doesn't address "organizing" but instead focuses on why you have all that "crap" in the first place. The book is full of stories of other people's struggle with emotional ties to things, and Brooks always has a lighthearted way of exposing the silliness of how we think about our stuff. I feel lighter already, and looking forward to filling up some trash bags (mostly for donation or recycling).
July 27, 2018
Clutter Busting is a book that taught me two Goodreads lessons: first, try to identify and stay away from New Age crap. Second, take other reviewers' warnings seriously.
I bought this book with the expectation that it will provide material on life simplification. How to identify which things, routines and thinking patterns would be considered clutter, and how to deal with this. And so on.
This book has nothing on that. Everything that this book says can be summarized in one A6 sized booklet that can be distributed in your local gas station or office reception. Essentially it says "things are bad, mkay?". That's it, period. It just repeats this over and over again, illustrating this with the examples from his real life "clutter busting" services. So I went to her house, and there were boxes of stuff, then I said, let's throw this out, and she said no way, and then I said it makes you sad, and then she cried and then we gave the boxes to charity, and then she smiled for the first time in years. It is horrible (facepalm).
In fact, it is so horrible that I was curious what will happen next. Instead of returning this book back to Audible which I should have done, I stayed with it for all of its length.
As an additional bonus, the Audible narration was done by the author himself using incorrect hardware setup. The mic picks up all the tiny noises that happen inside the mouth and throat. If you listen on the headphones, you can almost hear what he has eaten for breakfast. This reason alone is enough to avoid the book.
To sum up, this is a book written and narrated by a former bartender who has decided that he will go into people's houses, clean their junk and give bad life advises in the process.
I bought this book with the expectation that it will provide material on life simplification. How to identify which things, routines and thinking patterns would be considered clutter, and how to deal with this. And so on.
This book has nothing on that. Everything that this book says can be summarized in one A6 sized booklet that can be distributed in your local gas station or office reception. Essentially it says "things are bad, mkay?". That's it, period. It just repeats this over and over again, illustrating this with the examples from his real life "clutter busting" services. So I went to her house, and there were boxes of stuff, then I said, let's throw this out, and she said no way, and then I said it makes you sad, and then she cried and then we gave the boxes to charity, and then she smiled for the first time in years. It is horrible (facepalm).
In fact, it is so horrible that I was curious what will happen next. Instead of returning this book back to Audible which I should have done, I stayed with it for all of its length.
As an additional bonus, the Audible narration was done by the author himself using incorrect hardware setup. The mic picks up all the tiny noises that happen inside the mouth and throat. If you listen on the headphones, you can almost hear what he has eaten for breakfast. This reason alone is enough to avoid the book.
To sum up, this is a book written and narrated by a former bartender who has decided that he will go into people's houses, clean their junk and give bad life advises in the process.
May 1, 2014
I have a weird little addiction to these kinds of books. They all say the same thing but it's oddly comforting. This one deserves special mention because the author apparently thinks literally every problem can be solved by clearing clutter (save your marriage! get a raise! escape from your life as a fetish prostitute!) and also because he at one point describes someone as being in a crock pot of emotion.
Also, every time he talked about 'busting' I imagined he was making a reference to Ghostbusters.
Also, every time he talked about 'busting' I imagined he was making a reference to Ghostbusters.
January 2, 2023
I as many people, found myself unsatisfied with the tidiness of my house and office, so I picked up this book to help me with the situation, I don't think this book helped me in any real way. The tips are not of how to de-clutter but, motivation to do so, and that I already had. I did throw many things and ordered better my surroundings but that was my goal before I read the book.
I am not a person who gets easily attached to things, so I found hilariously unplausible when the clients of the author all cry and have eureka moments when he tells them that they need to throw their things away. If I were to pay someone to de-clutter my house/office that is exactly what I would expect him to tell me, so I don't really understand how that would come as a surprise to his clients.
Apparently every problem in his client's lives was linked to their inner or outer clutter in some way or another, which I think just shows the high regard the author has of himself and his job.
It is funny this is a clutter busting book when it's author is so full of ... himself.
I am not a person who gets easily attached to things, so I found hilariously unplausible when the clients of the author all cry and have eureka moments when he tells them that they need to throw their things away. If I were to pay someone to de-clutter my house/office that is exactly what I would expect him to tell me, so I don't really understand how that would come as a surprise to his clients.
Apparently every problem in his client's lives was linked to their inner or outer clutter in some way or another, which I think just shows the high regard the author has of himself and his job.
It is funny this is a clutter busting book when it's author is so full of ... himself.
March 24, 2012
I LOVE this book. It isn't about organizing or cleaning. It's about getting to the emotional roots of a clutter problem. In each chapter, the author addresses the various emotional reasons people gather and keep clutter. Due of our materialistic culture, we believe things will make us happy and give us stability, but obviously this is a lie. Palmer walks the reader through the process of divorcing emotions from inert objects, through client stories, exercises and tips. I've come to realize a couple of deep-seated emotional reasons for my clutter and am in the process of busting through.
My only advice - get this book from the library, so it doesn't add to your book clutter problem, that you undoubtedly have if you're a member of goodreads. :)
My only advice - get this book from the library, so it doesn't add to your book clutter problem, that you undoubtedly have if you're a member of goodreads. :)
December 4, 2023
Both negative and positive aspects that lead to my 3-star rating:
I didn't enjoy the author's choppy writing style, oversimplification of people's issues, and presentation of decluttering as a cure-all for said issues. And his approach was more than a little bit woo-woo. I'm glad I could speed-read my way through a print copy of this book, so that it didn't take up too much of my time.
However, I still came away with valuable thoughts for approaching my clutter (both physical and mental).
On grasping for physical things:
On sentimental clutter:
On digital clutter:
On paper clutter:
On buying things:
On the connection between mind and matter:
A helpful exercise:
I didn't enjoy the author's choppy writing style, oversimplification of people's issues, and presentation of decluttering as a cure-all for said issues. And his approach was more than a little bit woo-woo. I'm glad I could speed-read my way through a print copy of this book, so that it didn't take up too much of my time.
However, I still came away with valuable thoughts for approaching my clutter (both physical and mental).
On grasping for physical things:
You were born with nothing, and you will die with nothing. While you’re alive you grasp things hoping they will improve you as a person, give you pleasure, make you win, get you attention. Grasping is a symptom of anxiety – intuitively you know that nothing gives lasting pleasure, that nothing is eternal.
On sentimental clutter:
The item is just a thing. . . . But you’ve embellished the thing through your memories and your attachment. You see it for more than it really is. You believe that if you toss it, you’ll toss the joy you felt in your initial encounters with it. We’re not talking about tossing the actual joy, just the memories of the joy. Or the joy you thought you would get from the item. Those are the unfulfilled expectations that you’re still waiting to get from the thing. These beliefs are based on fear. You’re telling yourself that happiness is rare. You’re saying, “It’s probably not going to come to me again, so I’d better trap and protect this essence.
On digital clutter:
It’s valuable to see your computer as having space. In the same way your home has rooms, so does your computer. When you are checking your email, you are in the email room. When you are surfing the Internet you are in another space. When you create a folder on your computer’s desktop, you have created a new room. All these areas have functions that can assist you. However, when your email room is cluttered with unanswered or old emails, or when your computer’s desktop space is flooded with outdated and extraneous folders, you are influenced by the clutter in these spaces and are operating from a chaotic and overwhelmed state of mind.
On paper clutter:
If you don’t have a filing system and think that they are a waste of your time, know that living without a filing system is like having places fly around your bread without a place to land. They continue to fly around in their circles burning precious fuel: your attention. If these papers don’t have a good home, they keep flying around in your unconscious mind using up valuable energy. Build the airport. It’s very simple. You’ll notice how much better you’ll feel when the planes land and are neatly parked in hangars. Your mind will be freed.
On buying things:
When you are standing in line to purchase something, you don’t think, “One day I’m going to toss this in the trash.” But one day you will. It will break, wear out, or outlive its usefulness to you. When you’re shopping, it helps to look at even nonperishable things as if they have an expiration date.
On the connection between mind and matter:
The disarray in your mind reproduces itself in your environment. Your home and life are carbon copies of the activity in your mind. If there is chaos in your brain, it will be in your home. If there is peace in your mind, your home will be a joy to live in.
A helpful exercise:
Imagine that you have died. Your stuff is still in your home. Pretend that you are the new person moving into the space. Sort through the stuff and remove the things you have no interest in. Keep the things you like, but put them in a place that would better suit you.
Now imagine you have died but that you’re not totally gone because you’re a ghost. No one knows you’re dead yet. But they’re going to find out very soon, and they’ll be coming to your home and going through your things. Find the insignificant junk that you’ve been hanging on to for years and toss it out before everyone discovers it.
April 21, 2017
Clutter Busting is a MUST READ, whether you think you have clutter or don't. Because newsflash: everyone has clutter. If there's stuff under your bed, in your closet, or stored in the garage or a storage unit, you have CLUTTER. And you don't need it in your life.
I have to admit this book changed my life. I'm not a hoarder, I'm a regular person who is downsizing, and I promised myself I would get rid of stuff. BUY THIS BOOK if only for the permission to throw out stuff you're hanging onto for the wrong reasons. Palmer not only tells you how to bust your clutter, but he goes into the emotions of why you might be hanging on to things. Once you understand the emotions and psychology behind WHY you're trying to keep something you don't need, it makes it easier to LET GO and THROW IT AWAY.
It's easy to read, with fascinating anecdotes about the author's experiences clutter busting with families, celebs, and even single people like me.
I have to admit this book changed my life. I'm not a hoarder, I'm a regular person who is downsizing, and I promised myself I would get rid of stuff. BUY THIS BOOK if only for the permission to throw out stuff you're hanging onto for the wrong reasons. Palmer not only tells you how to bust your clutter, but he goes into the emotions of why you might be hanging on to things. Once you understand the emotions and psychology behind WHY you're trying to keep something you don't need, it makes it easier to LET GO and THROW IT AWAY.
It's easy to read, with fascinating anecdotes about the author's experiences clutter busting with families, celebs, and even single people like me.
January 9, 2010
WOW!!! I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I learned so much about myself while reading this book... things that made so much sense, that were so simple... and have made me clutter-bust my house like never before :) I have at least 3 carloads waiting to go to Goodwill, and I'm not even done, yet! The stuff isn't junk... it's just not useful to me NOW. Read this and change your life. Oh, and it also touches on emotional and mental clutter - very insightful!!!
June 9, 2012
To paraphrase another review of this book, this is not a book about how to de-clutter but rather WHY to de-clutter. Which would be perfectly fine...except that it's not at all what I was looking for when I chose to read it. What I really need is a how-to manual of tips & tricks to get and stay clutter-free.
I am a clutter-magnet, especially for paper, and I know this is primarily because of two reasons: 1) I forget about anything I can't see (apparently I missed a brain development stage as a toddler!), so I can't put something away until I've finished dealing with it, and 2) I'm too tired and lazy by the time I get home every day to deal with most things right then & there. However, my home & my desk at work are merely cluttered, not piled high with accumulated junk--or "treasures," depending on your point of view--like the dozens of people and examples Brooks Palmer talks about in this book.
Palmer's former clients seem mostly to be hoarders, and his stories are about helping people break free of their OCD habits caused by various types of trauma, negative thinking, denial, addictions, etc. The book is cataloged with subject headings like "house cleaning" and "storage in the home," but obviously the person who assigned the subject headings never actually read the book. I would classify it as self-help or therapy. There are a few tips--"exercises"--included in grey-shaded boxes here and there amongst the chapters, but overall it's designed to help readers make the mental shifts necessary for letting go of excess stuff.
If you are a person whose possessions (or even thoughts) have become a prison of sorts, this book might very well rate 4 stars. For people like me who just wanted tips on organizing my living room & office, it's not that useful.
I am a clutter-magnet, especially for paper, and I know this is primarily because of two reasons: 1) I forget about anything I can't see (apparently I missed a brain development stage as a toddler!), so I can't put something away until I've finished dealing with it, and 2) I'm too tired and lazy by the time I get home every day to deal with most things right then & there. However, my home & my desk at work are merely cluttered, not piled high with accumulated junk--or "treasures," depending on your point of view--like the dozens of people and examples Brooks Palmer talks about in this book.
Palmer's former clients seem mostly to be hoarders, and his stories are about helping people break free of their OCD habits caused by various types of trauma, negative thinking, denial, addictions, etc. The book is cataloged with subject headings like "house cleaning" and "storage in the home," but obviously the person who assigned the subject headings never actually read the book. I would classify it as self-help or therapy. There are a few tips--"exercises"--included in grey-shaded boxes here and there amongst the chapters, but overall it's designed to help readers make the mental shifts necessary for letting go of excess stuff.
If you are a person whose possessions (or even thoughts) have become a prison of sorts, this book might very well rate 4 stars. For people like me who just wanted tips on organizing my living room & office, it's not that useful.
October 1, 2015
Like The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, this book focuses on the emotional connections we have with our stuff. However, while Marie Kondo helps you to let go by acknowledging the role an item has played in your life, honoring that emotional connection in the process, Brooks Palmer wants to delve further into your psyche and let you know what's wrong in your life and mind based on what's messy about your house. Which is a bit more personal, sometimes insightful and sometimes insulting, and ultimately not as helpful as Kondo's approach for me. Palmer's book is a bit too full of patting his own back as well - his success stories seemed exaggerated and Hallmarky. I don't want to be analyzed through a book, I just need a bit of guidance when it comes to what to save and what to release. Clutter Busting was interesting, there were helpful bits, but reading it close on the heels of Marie Kondo highlighted the differences between the two, and Clutter Busting is a distant second.
May 20, 2012
When I bought this book, I had already bought, and not finished, several others on the topic of "how to get organized." This is the one that actually INSPIRED me to get up off my lazy reading BUTT and attack those boxes of books and papers. A few years later, I am still whittling down my piles, and attempting to digitize my life whenever time & money allows. For a long time I couldn't find the book...but the point is, if you have a problem with clutter, READ THIS BOOK! Then go to a Clutterer's Anonymous group--they exist!
November 11, 2018
This book helped me get rid of more stuff! Let go of past objects that may be holding me back or more so, keeping me busy with things that don't matter. For me being surrounded by beautiful things that hold memories, laughter and sometimes life, has to be balanced with clutter and "too much" or not necessary things. Its not just getting rid of the what is no longer needed or necessary but also just not accumulating and being freer to travel spontaneously and leave things behind. Thank you for a wonderful friend who lent it to me then left it with me to share with others great gift!
March 7, 2021
I like to listen to decluttering and minimalist books on Hoopla as background while I work. Unfortunately, this audiobook was made by the author himself using substandard equipment that picked up on all his mouth noises, making it unlistenable to anyone with the slightest bit of misophonia. As to the content itself, there actually was some good cognitive therapy stuff, though I was bothered by his advice to several clients to ignore their doctors, attributing most of their health issues to mental negativity generated by clutter and manifested as physical mess.
February 5, 2010
I seem to give a lot of 5-star ratings to books, but there are also tomes I never finish. So when a book keeps my interest and inspires me greatly, I will give it a great review. Brooks Palmer's Clutter Busting book is among the best I have ever read. He not only talks about clutter busting on the outside, but he gets into the psychology of it as well. I am so inspired by this book that this is one of the few that I will purchase.
March 12, 2019
Not just a book on how to sort through your stuff productively but also a guide through the mental & emotional blocks that make stuff hard to let go of. Motivating, even inspiring. Reconnecting with your real self, not just the more superficial self we get used to in everyday life in this society, makes letting go look downright attractive.
August 29, 2016
This is the second book I have read on this topic but this one I found to be much more helpful. It did contain topics that did not apply to me but it did give a lot of practical information.
February 1, 2025
i. love. this. book. !!!! I had to stop myself from highlighting the entire thing...it's insightful, uplifting, and inspiring. Not at all a book about organizing or aesthetics, it focuses on what clutter represents and the freeing experience of "clutter busting."
Some key takeaways:
-"You are sacred. Your stuff is not." Palmer writes, "You are born with nothing, and you will die with nothing. While you're alive you grasp things that give you pleasure, make you win, get you attention. Grasping is a symptom of anxiety." What are we grasping for? What is the underlying anxiety?
-Clutter can stem from desire, chasing the rush of uncomfortable excitement when we want an item and the relief of acquiring it. "The idea of lack was introduced...[to you] by ads and unhappy people.... But that's a mirage. You're doing better than you think."
-Clutter can represent aspirational identities. Most people are fixated on getting others' approval and being accepted, which can itself be a form of clutter. Similarly, many objects come from aspirations about who we want to be, and clutter reminds us of how we aren't living up.
-Our clutter is one way to cling to the past. "Change occurs in every second of your life." There is no going back to any past moments, and even when we try, our memories often distort how the experience actually was. There is peace in letting go and instead having the courage to know that you already have what you need to fully face the true present.
-Our clutter can represent a desire to feel a certain way. We look to items to reliably deliver us joy and positive feelings, but nothing can deliver an everlasting feeling. Think of music. At first, the song made you feel elated, excited or happy. But if you listen to it for days on end, the song can get annoying. Like an overplayed song, objects cannot be relied upon for lasting fulfillment.
I loved this book and how it applies to both physical clutter and the metaphorical clutter of my habits. I'm excited to dive into the exercises and keep mulling over this insightful read.
Some key takeaways:
-"You are sacred. Your stuff is not." Palmer writes, "You are born with nothing, and you will die with nothing. While you're alive you grasp things that give you pleasure, make you win, get you attention. Grasping is a symptom of anxiety." What are we grasping for? What is the underlying anxiety?
-Clutter can stem from desire, chasing the rush of uncomfortable excitement when we want an item and the relief of acquiring it. "The idea of lack was introduced...[to you] by ads and unhappy people.... But that's a mirage. You're doing better than you think."
-Clutter can represent aspirational identities. Most people are fixated on getting others' approval and being accepted, which can itself be a form of clutter. Similarly, many objects come from aspirations about who we want to be, and clutter reminds us of how we aren't living up.
-Our clutter is one way to cling to the past. "Change occurs in every second of your life." There is no going back to any past moments, and even when we try, our memories often distort how the experience actually was. There is peace in letting go and instead having the courage to know that you already have what you need to fully face the true present.
-Our clutter can represent a desire to feel a certain way. We look to items to reliably deliver us joy and positive feelings, but nothing can deliver an everlasting feeling. Think of music. At first, the song made you feel elated, excited or happy. But if you listen to it for days on end, the song can get annoying. Like an overplayed song, objects cannot be relied upon for lasting fulfillment.
I loved this book and how it applies to both physical clutter and the metaphorical clutter of my habits. I'm excited to dive into the exercises and keep mulling over this insightful read.
June 8, 2021
One of the best decluttering books I’ve read so far. Really foregrounds the emotional weight of belongings and how they are a physical representation of emotional baggage. When you let the things go, your life opens up to new possibilities. Very empowering.
April 21, 2024
Just another book on my never-ending job of decluttering. I especially liked the part on mental clutter.
September 1, 2024
I’ve read many books on this subject but this is by far the most thought-provoking and thorough. If you’re looking for a more concrete follow up to Marie Kondo, this is it.
February 14, 2025
Not my favorite decluttering book but helpful.
August 28, 2019
Fairly straightforward with some fun examples, lots of great tips on how to get rid of crap in your life. Dry sense of humor is appreciated throughout
August 9, 2022
This was my first book on clutter Busting and I must say I absolutely loved it! Thanks Brooks!
March 3, 2021
While a lot of these books do give the idea that if you just declutter you'll magically fix other parts of your life- some of this is true, if you declutter you'll likely be in a better headspace and have an easier time working out or applying for better jobs or whatever else, but this just pumped that up to a ludicrous level.
The number of times that just committing to cleaning out a closet made the person he's helping just magically at THAT MOMENT suddenly look like they magically lost weight and became healthy.
IT TAKES TIME TO GET TO THAT POINT, WE HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN RID OF ANYTHING YET.
Or the people who he magically cured of their diseases by just getting them to say that they were going to get rid of their medical documents and books and stuff. Sure, maybe some of those people were just neurotic and it is possible that someone will be in a better health if they can clean their place better, but I'm sorry, if you're legitimately dealing with illness the way to get better isn't just saying 'you know what, I'm not sick anymore!'. And like before, THE CLUTTER WAS STILL IN THEIR SPACES so it's not like cleaner environments is going to have started helping them feel better. It's just the thought of removing the stuff. There's benefit here, yes, but jfc dude.
And that's not even getting into the married couple he was counseling that apparently didn't speak each other's languages (wtf??). The guy decides to get rid of a crib he doesn't like and other clutter and all of the sudden they can communicate! I wish I could magically learn a language by taking some junk to the curb but that is not how any of this works.
There are better and less fictionalized/sensationalized decluttering books out there, lol.
The number of times that just committing to cleaning out a closet made the person he's helping just magically at THAT MOMENT suddenly look like they magically lost weight and became healthy.
IT TAKES TIME TO GET TO THAT POINT, WE HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN RID OF ANYTHING YET.
Or the people who he magically cured of their diseases by just getting them to say that they were going to get rid of their medical documents and books and stuff. Sure, maybe some of those people were just neurotic and it is possible that someone will be in a better health if they can clean their place better, but I'm sorry, if you're legitimately dealing with illness the way to get better isn't just saying 'you know what, I'm not sick anymore!'. And like before, THE CLUTTER WAS STILL IN THEIR SPACES so it's not like cleaner environments is going to have started helping them feel better. It's just the thought of removing the stuff. There's benefit here, yes, but jfc dude.
And that's not even getting into the married couple he was counseling that apparently didn't speak each other's languages (wtf??). The guy decides to get rid of a crib he doesn't like and other clutter and all of the sudden they can communicate! I wish I could magically learn a language by taking some junk to the curb but that is not how any of this works.
There are better and less fictionalized/sensationalized decluttering books out there, lol.
August 16, 2020
Mostly him talking about his clients.
Some tips for how to change how you think about your stuff.
But mostly as it relates to his clients, and not info you can use for clearing out specific areas of your home.
The weirdest was a depressed fetish model that he helped realize her desire to make a change from being a kinky mostly nude model to being the one behind the camera. He helped her to make a museum in her home, of her artifacts. Um,... ? Weird! Could have done without that one.
Seems like books that give case histories should be helpful to the person reading it, but who will relate to that?
Some information was contradictory. Such as, get a kid to sit with you while you declutter and 'have the child ask you questions about the value of your stuff. Let his observations reach you. Follow his advice.'
'Make sure to pay the child when you are done. In this way he will learn the value of helping people and of service.' (Odd.)
The contradiction comes later in the book when it is mentioned a couple times not to ask people to help you decide, that you have to make your own decision what stays and what goes.
Um, so ARE we getting children to help us decide or aren't we?
Another thing I don't love is decluttering books that give the choice to 'keep it or toss it'.
TOSS IT was mentioned many many times, and donate to a charitable organization was hardly ever a choice. There's so much waste in the world, so I don't appreciate that advice. I get it, he wants the stuff GONE immediately, but it still rubs me the wrong way.
Some tips for how to change how you think about your stuff.
But mostly as it relates to his clients, and not info you can use for clearing out specific areas of your home.
The weirdest was a depressed fetish model that he helped realize her desire to make a change from being a kinky mostly nude model to being the one behind the camera. He helped her to make a museum in her home, of her artifacts. Um,... ? Weird! Could have done without that one.
Seems like books that give case histories should be helpful to the person reading it, but who will relate to that?
Some information was contradictory. Such as, get a kid to sit with you while you declutter and 'have the child ask you questions about the value of your stuff. Let his observations reach you. Follow his advice.'
'Make sure to pay the child when you are done. In this way he will learn the value of helping people and of service.' (Odd.)
The contradiction comes later in the book when it is mentioned a couple times not to ask people to help you decide, that you have to make your own decision what stays and what goes.
Um, so ARE we getting children to help us decide or aren't we?
Another thing I don't love is decluttering books that give the choice to 'keep it or toss it'.
TOSS IT was mentioned many many times, and donate to a charitable organization was hardly ever a choice. There's so much waste in the world, so I don't appreciate that advice. I get it, he wants the stuff GONE immediately, but it still rubs me the wrong way.
January 14, 2011
So helpful! I am feeling very motivated and excited to continue my clutter busting adventures after reading this book. The book is very easy to read, and the author has a sense of humor which makes it easy to digest. It's not just someone chastising you for holding onto a bunch of crap. Brooks Palmer teaches you to toss the things that no longer serve your needs or promote growth in your life. The advice is gentle, yet powerful. His approach uses intuition, emotion, and a ruthless practicality that will set your living spaces free - and thus open your life to new opportunities.
My one criticism of the book is that some of the anecdotes in the book feel a little contrived - as if by cleaning out from under your bed will instantly transform you and set you free of all emotional baggage and negative patterns.
What I at first thought was a criticism as I read the first few chapters, I now think is an effective approach. You will find repeated patterns, lessons, and points that Palmer brings up in his teachings. I realized by the end that this has helped me to internalize those new ways of looking at stuff. The tenets are repeated, but often in subtly different ways so that it can resonate with different readers and with different stuff they're trying to let go of.
Now I really feel equipped to let some major things go and just can't wait to get to them. You should see my list of things that I've decided to toss and I've barely even started!
My one criticism of the book is that some of the anecdotes in the book feel a little contrived - as if by cleaning out from under your bed will instantly transform you and set you free of all emotional baggage and negative patterns.
What I at first thought was a criticism as I read the first few chapters, I now think is an effective approach. You will find repeated patterns, lessons, and points that Palmer brings up in his teachings. I realized by the end that this has helped me to internalize those new ways of looking at stuff. The tenets are repeated, but often in subtly different ways so that it can resonate with different readers and with different stuff they're trying to let go of.
Now I really feel equipped to let some major things go and just can't wait to get to them. You should see my list of things that I've decided to toss and I've barely even started!
December 13, 2018
Gentlest tough love I've ever read.
Brooks Palmer is a stand-up comedian who regularly performs in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, so I was surprised, even disappointed, that Palmer didn't write Clutterbusting with humor. Once I got over that twist, I found compassion, wisdom, and the most absurdly creative exercises that I have ever read to help ANYONE loosen ties to stuff. If someone gets this book and only reads the exercises, they will draw huge benefit from it.
Much of Palmer's orientation reminds me of other works I've read which emphasize Zen and Feng Shui practices. Palmer believes that anything can be clutter. He also holds that clutter has emotional foundations; finding your emotional underpinnings of your attachment to any item allows you to let go of the thing. It's a theme echoed in books from many other authors, from Julie Morgenstern to Cindy Glovinsky to Karen Kingston. Palmer's orientation, while just as gentle as theirs, is more blunt. For example, he's fond of words other Professional Organizers avoid: trash, garbage, dirty. And he believes in getting to the core emotions as quickly and thoroughly as possible. No hiding, no gradual approach. The minute you realize what's holding you back - analyze, react, acknowledge, embrace... Not easy, but worthwhile.
Lauren Williams, Owner, Casual Uncluttering LLC, Woodinville, WA USA
Brooks Palmer is a stand-up comedian who regularly performs in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, so I was surprised, even disappointed, that Palmer didn't write Clutterbusting with humor. Once I got over that twist, I found compassion, wisdom, and the most absurdly creative exercises that I have ever read to help ANYONE loosen ties to stuff. If someone gets this book and only reads the exercises, they will draw huge benefit from it.
Much of Palmer's orientation reminds me of other works I've read which emphasize Zen and Feng Shui practices. Palmer believes that anything can be clutter. He also holds that clutter has emotional foundations; finding your emotional underpinnings of your attachment to any item allows you to let go of the thing. It's a theme echoed in books from many other authors, from Julie Morgenstern to Cindy Glovinsky to Karen Kingston. Palmer's orientation, while just as gentle as theirs, is more blunt. For example, he's fond of words other Professional Organizers avoid: trash, garbage, dirty. And he believes in getting to the core emotions as quickly and thoroughly as possible. No hiding, no gradual approach. The minute you realize what's holding you back - analyze, react, acknowledge, embrace... Not easy, but worthwhile.
Lauren Williams, Owner, Casual Uncluttering LLC, Woodinville, WA USA
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