It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh (2006, Hardcover)

We are drowning in a sea of possessions. We keep mementos from our infancy up until the time of our death. We buy things that we think will enhance our life only to find out they just end up cluttering our homes. We buy clothes we never wear, take pictures we never put into an album, buy things on sale we end up mothballing in a closet or a rented storage unit, and buy multiple items we think we got a bargain on only to find out that by the time we have a use for them, they are damaged by mice or moths or are out of style. We inherit our relatives belongings and keep them, useful or not and often so homely we would not give a second thought to putting them in the trash except for their sentimentality. We buy bigger and bigger homes to adequately store our "stuff", paying higher utility bills and taking a toll on the environment with increased energy demands. We are drowning in our possessions.

This book puts that in perspective. It addresses our need to consume and hang on to what we so often spend our time and energy obtaining and storing and maintaining. It gives us an option to our materialistic lifestyles. Sell it, give it away, or throw it away because it is broken or obsolete or useless. Keep only what adds value to our lives and serves a direct purpose. Clean out your home, clean out your mind, take a burden off your shoulders you might not have realized you were carrying, remove a financial burden if you are spending money for storage units or to buy things you don't really need, or sell excess belongings and pay off debt, removing another burden. Enhance a relationship with a loved one who has been irritated but tolerant of our aquisitive nature. Free up space in a cluttered home and have friends over for dinner without being embarassed about what they might see. Teach the next generation by example that it is good to have an uncluttered home and maybe break a cycle of hoarding that has continued for generations. This book was so eloquent and so to the point and written by a gentleman that has been through this experience hundreds of times in his professional life helping clients clean up their lives. It helped me realize that it was OK to keep my sewing machines because I have a need to use them frequently, but it was time to let go of craft projects half completed and taking up space in a modest home for several years. It helped me to realize that photos are OK appropriately albumed or stored on external computer hard drive, but not hanging around for decades in a box from several generations of my family, many that I did not even know. I truly got a perspective on what is valuable while selling my "treasures" at my own garage sale and seeing things I thought were irreplaceable go for $.25 during the last hour of the sale after being passed over numerous times by people I thought would be ecstatic to have a chance at owning what I had for sale. I gained new insight into the word collectible after seeing items I had collected with a passion end up being sold for dog toys. I now shop with an eye for what I truly need and what I will get true use from as I shop with the thought in mind of what that item will bring in a few years at my next garage sale. I don't buy something just because it is on sale, but I try and buy things I truly have a desire and need for as cheaply as possible. If you use the principles of this book as they are presented, you can achieve a tidy, clutter-free, peaceful home.