Book Review - Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life by Gail Blanke
Category Book Review Gail Blanke Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter Find Your Life
This is a book I *really* needed... Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life by Gail Blanke. I look around my office (aka, the "mancave") as well as my house, and I see plenty of "stuff" that needs to leave. Blanke uses a very personal, chatty style of writing to walk you through her process for decluttering your life. And beyond just the physical clutter, she also helps you "throw out" emotional clutter that may be keeping you from reaching your goals.
Contents:
Introduction: Fueling the Urge to Purge; Making It to Fifty; Getting Started
Part One - Getting Rid of the Physical Stuff: Your Bedroom; Your Bathroom; Your Kitchen; Your Living Room; Your Dining Room; Your Attic; Your Garage
Part Two - Your Office - Paring Down the Professional Clutter: Clarifying Your Brand; Keeping What Works, Eliminating What Doesn't; The Phoenix Rises from the Ashes
Part Three - Attacking the Mental Mess: If You Think You Can Separate the Physical from the Mental Clutter, Forget About It!; Letting Go of Feeling Inadequate, Irrelevant, and Just Plain Not Good Enough; Letting Go of the Type of Person You Think You Are - or Aren't; Letting Go of the Regrets and Mistakes of the Past; Letting Go of Being Right About How Wrong Everybody and Everything Is; Letting Go of the Need to Have Everyone Like You; Letting Go of Thinking the Worst; Letting Go of Waiting for the Right Moment; Letting Go of Needing to Feel Secure; Letting Go of Thinking That You Have to Do Everything Yourself; Making It to Fifty - The Celebration
Part Four - Stepping into the Clearing: Your Vision for the Future; Taking Energy from Your Defining Moments; Being Unforgettable; Find Your Song - and Sing It!; Your Declaration to the World
Appendix: Your Throw-Outs
Resource Guide
Index
The basic plan for the physical clutter is easy... You get three trash bags, label them Trash, Donations, and Sell, and start cleaning. Blanke advises that you keep a running list of what you've cleaned up and how many things you've trashed. You don't get to count every individual item on your way to fifty. For instance, if you have 100 old magazines, throwing them out equals one item, not 100 (sorry!). Once you start going and you see the numbers add up, the momentum can carry you into all the other physical areas. Conceptually, I like the idea that Blanke puts out there, and I think it will work well for me as I declutter the physical stuff in my areas.
When I picked up the book from the library, I *wasn't* aware that she also included emotional clutter in her program. I agree that getting the physical cleaned up can lead to a cleaner emotional life, but she goes beyond that. Her emotional cleanup requires a whole lot more work than just dumping things in a garbage bag. Her ideas here are as valid as the physical decluttering, but the results will be more difficult to dig out and make your own. It's easy to say I won't imagine the worst anymore, but it's something else entirely to actually follow through with that promise the next time you're faced with something you dread. It's worth the effort to work towards those outcomes, but it won't be fast or painless...
For purposes of getting physical clutter removed from your life, I'd definitely recommend Throw Out Fifty Things as a way to jump in and see quick results. For emotional clutter, it's not quite so easy or quick. Cleaning out emotional clutter is where the bigger and deeper changes will occur, but just be prepared to work at it.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed
This is a book I *really* needed... Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life by Gail Blanke. I look around my office (aka, the "mancave") as well as my house, and I see plenty of "stuff" that needs to leave. Blanke uses a very personal, chatty style of writing to walk you through her process for decluttering your life. And beyond just the physical clutter, she also helps you "throw out" emotional clutter that may be keeping you from reaching your goals.
Contents:
Introduction: Fueling the Urge to Purge; Making It to Fifty; Getting Started
Part One - Getting Rid of the Physical Stuff: Your Bedroom; Your Bathroom; Your Kitchen; Your Living Room; Your Dining Room; Your Attic; Your Garage
Part Two - Your Office - Paring Down the Professional Clutter: Clarifying Your Brand; Keeping What Works, Eliminating What Doesn't; The Phoenix Rises from the Ashes
Part Three - Attacking the Mental Mess: If You Think You Can Separate the Physical from the Mental Clutter, Forget About It!; Letting Go of Feeling Inadequate, Irrelevant, and Just Plain Not Good Enough; Letting Go of the Type of Person You Think You Are - or Aren't; Letting Go of the Regrets and Mistakes of the Past; Letting Go of Being Right About How Wrong Everybody and Everything Is; Letting Go of the Need to Have Everyone Like You; Letting Go of Thinking the Worst; Letting Go of Waiting for the Right Moment; Letting Go of Needing to Feel Secure; Letting Go of Thinking That You Have to Do Everything Yourself; Making It to Fifty - The Celebration
Part Four - Stepping into the Clearing: Your Vision for the Future; Taking Energy from Your Defining Moments; Being Unforgettable; Find Your Song - and Sing It!; Your Declaration to the World
Appendix: Your Throw-Outs
Resource Guide
Index
The basic plan for the physical clutter is easy... You get three trash bags, label them Trash, Donations, and Sell, and start cleaning. Blanke advises that you keep a running list of what you've cleaned up and how many things you've trashed. You don't get to count every individual item on your way to fifty. For instance, if you have 100 old magazines, throwing them out equals one item, not 100 (sorry!). Once you start going and you see the numbers add up, the momentum can carry you into all the other physical areas. Conceptually, I like the idea that Blanke puts out there, and I think it will work well for me as I declutter the physical stuff in my areas.
When I picked up the book from the library, I *wasn't* aware that she also included emotional clutter in her program. I agree that getting the physical cleaned up can lead to a cleaner emotional life, but she goes beyond that. Her emotional cleanup requires a whole lot more work than just dumping things in a garbage bag. Her ideas here are as valid as the physical decluttering, but the results will be more difficult to dig out and make your own. It's easy to say I won't imagine the worst anymore, but it's something else entirely to actually follow through with that promise the next time you're faced with something you dread. It's worth the effort to work towards those outcomes, but it won't be fast or painless...
For purposes of getting physical clutter removed from your life, I'd definitely recommend Throw Out Fifty Things as a way to jump in and see quick results. For emotional clutter, it's not quite so easy or quick. Cleaning out emotional clutter is where the bigger and deeper changes will occur, but just be prepared to work at it.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed
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