Book Review: Unstuffed: Decluttering Your Home, Mind, and Soul by Ruth Soukup

I think we all have been there. Every time we move we wonder where all this stuff has come from and what do we do with it? Donate it? Keep it? Store it? There is never an easy solution, but still when the next move comes, we go through the same problem again. Rather than limiting what we bring into our house, we accumulate and then need to get rid of stuff somehow. Ms. Soukup obviously is no exception and this book is her way to tackle the "stuff problem". Shoe not only tackles kids toys or clothes, but also paperwork that keeps accumulating and gets delayed. In a clear, no nonsense language, she presents plans to limit what we bring into our house, how to take care of paperwork before we have a pie on our desk that seems to delay even longer the start of the let's tackle this point and also throw in for good measure how to not feel bad if the gifts that we really do not need can disappear without being rude to other or feel guilty about the separation process.

available on amazon.com

 Even someone like me, who has moved too may times and has now cut spending on anything but groceries and clothing down to a minimum for the family could still learn from this book. If nothing else, it shows you as the mother of the coop that getting rid of stuff or preventing things from adding clutter is not being mean, but simply approaching the question of what is important by focusing on non-material things first. We tend to invest now in experiences rather than goods, so the experience is taking a weekend and going to the zoo (the pictures are nice lasting memory that can be stored on a harddrive), while we may be in past years would have bought another outdoor toy that ended up cluttering the garage during the winter months. Not only will the decluttering be positive for your checkbook, not rushing to buy the latest and greatest will make you focus on what is important in life, your family and a lot of immaterial things such as health, happiness etc.
This book is well written and easy to read. It brings in a few chapters the reader to a point where de-cluttering is an doable task. The impact of this book can be really positive for the whole family.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. The opinion in this post is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.