Comments on: Book review: Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?

By: Terry Bugera

Terry Bugera — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:51:11 +0000

I can say from recent experience that this is why i have opened up my kitchen by tearing down a few wall. I wanted a space that i would enjoy being in. I am in the process of designing my new kitchen but just having the space opened up has inspired me to cook more and eat healthier foods. Even without having all the new bits that i plan to install. One thing I did is that I left my computer in the kitchen. This is truly my multimedia center. I surf the internet, get recipies, help my son with his homework, listen to itunes and also hooked it up to my cable tv and now watch the new while I cook or watch prerecorded programs. So it is not necessary to stop watching the tube, just try to be productive while you are doing it.
Along a similar line of decluttering, i built a large attached garage with plenty of space for my toy, this allows me room to work on my toys in a clean organized space.

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 03:44:31 +0000

@Eponin — He makes the points that you’re making, but he goes on to say to give television up completely for a month.

By: Jo

Jo — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:53:21 +0000

his points are of course new to me, but I did unclutter a lot last year from july through to end of september. In October I started my new plan for health and I’ve lost 20 lbs up to now. Uncluttering works.
Now for not eating in front of the tv…. that will be a bigger task

By: Eponin

Eponin — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:23:39 +0000

I’m not sure he meant don’t watch television at all, but possibly don’t watch television while eating. TV is a distraction, and one of the best ways to lose weight is to pay attention to your body so you learn the cues to stop eating when you’re body is satisfied. If you’re watching TV while eating, not only will you not taste your food, but you’ll miss that cue and, quite often, will overeat.

By: LV

LV — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:38:05 +0000

As a newlywed, it’s a Big Hairy Deal to me that my husband and I eat as many home-cooked meals as possible. I love to cook. Nah, I LIVE to cook. And dinnertime is a very important time for us to slow down, talk and enjoy ourselves.

But this just isn’t the case for many people. So many of the couples & families we know don’t cook regularly, if at all, and the dinnertime routine is generally making a choice between take-out, fast food, frozen food and waiting for a table at Applebees. Not just newlyweds like us, but couples with kids and without, young and old, comfortable with money or struggling, healthy or with a list of dietary restrictions as long as my arm.

The thing I hear most is that cooking is a “waste of time” because you can get just as full eating food from anywhere as you can cooking it yourself. Therefore, it’s all the same.

No way. We get a lot more out of a home-cooked meal than filling our tanks. We get a more wholesome meal than we would from even a soup and salad “healthy” restaurant. We get to ease into a nice evening instead of yelling into a speaker and getting grease on our car seats, or standing in line for a table with other cranky hungry people. We get to save a LOT of money in the long run, instead of having to eat at ever cheaper places to make up for the cumulative financial damage of living on food prepared by others.

If you end up still sitting at your dinner table so late at night that you miss American Idol, trust me, that’s not a BAD thing!

By: Robin M.

Robin M. — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:47:27 +0000

I will concur that decluttering goes along with weight loss. I don’t have a tv and I don’t eat out that often, but I needed to lose more than 20 pounds.

About two years ago, I began a decluttering project, that cycled in and out with a weight loss program. In the end, I lost about 1/3 of my body weight and about 1/3 of my possessions. I feel much better now, in both ways.

In both cases, it was about being ready to shed the things that were getting in my way.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:19:23 +0000

I’m not sure that television is Peter’s bread-n-butter. Looking at his web site it seems he does far more untelevised work than his name recognition would lead one to believe. So, while I don’t doubt that TV has helped increase Peter’s exposure (and name recognition), I doubt very much that TV was “a large factor in how he made his name.”

By: mamacita

mamacita — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:53:26 +0000

Good call, Erin. I’ve preordered it from the library. I have to give him credit for saying “turn off the television,” in spite of it being his bread-and-butter.

By: amy

amy — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:53:12 +0000

NB Botty Clutter by the Fly Lady is on this same theame – it’s a good read actually

By: Mary Anne in Kentucky

Mary Anne in Kentucky — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:35:19 +0000

I have to say my anecdotal evidence is different. I don’t eat away from home as often as once a month, I haven’t had a television since 1996, I have no clutter, and I need to lose twenty pounds. So, should I read the book?