Comments on: 2009 Gift Giving Guide: Ultimate uncluttering

By: Oliver

Oliver — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:09:57 +0000

Just bought it in Switzerland as a Christmas present for my dad. Luckily, I don’t have to be sensitive with this, as he knows very well he has a ridiculously huge amount of stuff (he lives in a house with 8 rooms, alone!)… this is one example where the clutter of one person influences the life of another, namely me

By: Sharon

Sharon — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:01:53 +0000

Just bought a copy from Amazon as a Christmas gift to myself!

By: sherrybanarsi

sherrybanarsi — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:17:16 +0000

I’m definitely going to look into the book.

By: L.

L. — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:57:11 +0000

Okay, but could we have another ultimate-gift idea, too?

By: Kayla

Kayla — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:31:51 +0000

Hi Erin –

This is my first post here. I wanted to let you know that I heard about your book from the very popular blog Zen Habits. I bought your book right after it came out. Because of you, I am a different person. I am not a naturally organized person. I have subscribed to another organization website for years, but my house was still a cluttered mess – 15 minutes here and there is never going to cut it. Your book – with its systems for actually staying organized – has transformed my house. I was not able to do it all in one week. But the mere fact that you can do it in one week, motivated me. I plan on using your systems (my 4 kids leave their backpacks in the hallway before we enter the kitchen) which really makes the house so clutter free. What a great first step. My closet and home office could win organizational awards. Thank you.

Kayla

PS – Why aren’t you on Oprah??? (or perhaps you have been and I’ve missed that:)

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:29:36 +0000

@Kaye — It really depends on YOU. When I went through the process it took me less than a week to get rid of all the physical stuff. (And I had a LOT of physical stuff.) It took me six months, however, to figure out the hows and whys of it all. I explain this in the “Erin’s Story” section of the book. It doesn’t matter if it takes you a week or two or a month — the results are exactly the same. Work at the pace that works best for you.

Something to keep in mind, too, is that the television show Hoarders is only in people’s homes for three days when they film an episode. From start to finish, the whole house is sorted, purged, and organized. Sure, there is a team of people working there — but I even recommend working with a team in my book. In fact, you’ll probably be more successful if you have a buddy or two working with you. Check out page 15 for the scientific evidence supporting this. You don’t have to go it alone. And, like I said earlier, go at the pace that works best for you.

By: Jon

Jon — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:25:57 +0000

Since you mentioned the Kindle, do you know of any way to gift a kindle book to someone who has one? I know people can add “real” books to a wish list, but I can’t seem to find a way to buy a book that will show up on someone’s kindle. Are we stuck giving gift certificates that say “here! Buy this book for your Kindle!!”

By: Sandi

Sandi — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:42:27 +0000

The book was an early gift to me from me and was worth much more! Not only does it help one unclutter, it helps one STAY uncluttered, AND gives a ton of increase-your-productivity-tips-so-you-have-time-for-fun … Gotta’ love that too!

By: Kaye

Kaye — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:39:53 +0000

I’ve signed up for the forums so I can ask there, because I haven’t seen anything about this on the site yet (I’m a newish follower, so I may have missed something).

I recently bought the book for myself and believe it will be helpful to me in my continuing quest for an uncluttered life. But is the “seven days” convention just to break it up into useful pieces? Because no one honestly expects me to clean out my entire closet and drawers on Monday morning before work, right? I’m honestly not being purposely contrary here, but I have to say I was led in by the title and then when I saw the tasks for each “day,” was a bit disappointed.

(Maybe it’s like the Bible, where each of the seven “days” represents a geological era….)

By: infmom

infmom — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:19:46 +0000

I bought the book for my husband and me already, and followed it up by buying some Margin Makers from Levengers so we could write all over the book without actually marking up the pages.

By: Simpler Living

Simpler Living — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:31:33 +0000

My sister is getting a copy this year. She doesn’t have a clutter problem, but she’s a big fan of Unclutterer. She’ll like all the productivity tips, too.

Cheers,
Naomi

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:48:15 +0000

I’m definitely going to have to put this on my Wish List this year and give it a whirl!