Saturday, July 21, 2018

How to Conquer Clutter by Stephanie Culp – Book Review

Pictures of the clutter in my living room
The 'clutter' shown in these photos is my house at the present time. My house does not normally look like this ~ this is the result of weeks of sorting and packing to make a major move.  But if your house frequently assume a look such as this, you might be ready for this book by Stephanie Culp titled “How to Conquer Clutter”


Clut`ter To fill with scattered or disordered things that restrict movement or efficiency.  A collection of things lying about in an untidy mass.

Or, as the author says, “all that stuff you've got all over the place that everybody keeps telling you to get rid of." 


Normal Clutter Invasions



Sorting and packing to move - dining room
(c) Wednesday Elf Sorting & Packing to Move

We all deal with some form of clutter from time to time, no where near as bad as my current chaotic "moving mess". 


  • The children scatter their toys throughout the living room because they want to play where their special adults are instead of in the playroom or their bedrooms. 
  • We get out a project and the dining room table stays cluttered while we are working on it.
  • You get interrupted in the middle of a long-term desk or computer project and would lose your place if you put it away before you were finished with it. 
  • You have a sewing or crafting project that will take several days to complete and putting it away before you are done would be wasted effort. 


The clutter referred to in this, and similar, books refers to the stuff that starts as a small problem and, over time, becomes a very large and overwhelming situation. By that time, we make excuses for not dealing with it. Now the 'clutterbug' handles it by saying “I'll just put it over here 'for now'. But soon 'for now' becomes forever and here  comes that clutter crisis.


Author Stephanie Culp


Stephanie Culp is an organization and time management consultant who has written several books on getting organized. Her organization firm has helped people and small businesses get – and stay – organized since 1982. 


How to Conquer Clutter


Desk cluttered with a mountain of paper
Source: Pixabay

In How to Conquer Clutter, Stephanie helps you get yourself organized and reduce or eliminate the clutter that has taken over your life. This book is informative and humorous and will give you simple ways to take back control of your stuff. 


Pack Rat – A large, busy-tailed rodent from the Rocky Mountains that collects and stores food and miscellaneous objects. Just like you!

How to Conquer Clutter Book Cover
Available on Amazon
Stephanie includes a “Pack Rat's Excuse Almanac to help you deal with the mess in your life, a 'clutter quiz' to help identify problem areas and 19 'Clutter Checklists” to provide practical ideas for storing everything you cannot live without. She deals with each area of clutter from A to Z, from addresses to ziplock bags and everything in between.  Included are areas inside the house, outside the house and under the house! Culp even tells you how to use this book by defining the worst area of clutter in your life and identifying specific problem areas so you will know where to begin. 

How to Conquer Clutter is a helpful guide to get control of and 'conquer' your clutter!  Having read this book myself (which helped me especially with my admittedly biggest clutter problem area ~ dealing with paper - filing, purging, processing, etc), I am now passing my copy of the book on to my daughter, who is an admitted  'pack rat' just like her dad. 

(c) 2018 by Wednesday Elf











Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


8 comments:

  1. We are a household of pack rats! The occasional clear attack on individual rooms or areas often strikes our home, but it requires two or more working together. I always enjoy the cleared areas for the week or two that they last. Open spaces seem to be an invitation. I recently had a real belly laugh when my husband cleaned out his storage cabinet and called me back to take a look. It looked really nice and easy to find things now. What caused the laugh you ask, the pile of "stuff" that now needs a new home on the bedroom floor. Don't tell anyone, but that pile is still on the bedroom floor waiting for a new home. But, hey! They inside of the cabinet looks great! The book might give me some worthwhile suggestions, but I do fear habits are hard to break!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ANY habit is hard to break, Mouse. Just depends on how much you want to change it. LOL. I'm normally pretty neat and organized (except for paperwork - MY downfall), but having spend many, many years living with a pack rat hubby and a very messy daughter (whose messes are now HER hubby's problem... LOL... and the bane of his existence), I know what you are saying.

      Delete
  2. Not a pack rat at all, but married to one. I need to get him a book on how to conquer clutter, but it would probably end up on top of the pile he has stashed in his studio and thus be part of the clutter. LOL

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    Replies
    1. Ha, ha... part of the clutter.... you may have something there, Heather. I fear that's what will happen when I pass this book on to my Pack Rat daughter.... LOL.

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  3. Clutter is a big problem for many, myself included. It's just so easy to leave well enough alone. But clutter once it starts seems to grow exponentially! Once you start it is a slippery slope and many find themselves hand tied to do anything about it. I think I will have to take a good hard look at this book.

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    Replies
    1. I think we all deal with some form of clutter now and then, Olivia. The trick is to not let it get out of hand. LOL. Thanks for stopping by.

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  4. Pat, lol, it's so easy to accumulate clutter. Clutter is like algae it just keeps spreading! I've been an organizing sort of person my whole life though, but as I've gotten older I'm a little more relaxed than my 'Type A' personality days. The book sounds like a helpful tool for sure!

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  5. Pat, I'm definitely a "clutterbug." In fairness, I came by it honestly - my Dad's method of filing was to make growing piles of paper around every chair he sat in, lol! After many, many years, we've finally gotten the living room in shape. My craft room, office, bedroom and (OMG!) large basement, on the other hand, are disaster areas. I may need to bite the bullet and buy this book!

    ReplyDelete

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