It's All Too Much: Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff

by Peter Walsh

book data

669 ratings, 3.76 average rating, 289 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		22%
4		42%
3		25%
2		7%
1		1%

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published

November 6th 2007 (first published 2006) by Free Press

binding

Paperback, 240 pages

setting

The United States

isbn

0743292650 (isbn13: 9780743292658)

description

When Peter Walsh, organizational guru of TLC's hit show Clean Sweep and a regular contributor to The Oprah Winfrey Show, appeared on national televisi...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Goodreads Librarians: Setting Field	17	58	04/21/2009 11:36PM
All Ears Audiobooks: Clearing the Clutter: How's it going for you?	21	46	04/18/2009 10:36PM
life-changing	2	9	10/14/2008 07:57PM

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03/05/08

Bryan rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

Read in March, 2008

recommends it for: the desperate disorganized.

This book is for people who are overwhelmed by the accumulation of stuff in their homes. They yearn for clean, empty spaces, but they just don’t know where to start.

Peter Walsh is the Dr. Phil of neat and tidy. If your house looks like the bargain basement of the local discount store at the end of the Boxing Day sales, and you’re sick of it, you need this book.

Walsh is a lively enough writer to keep you modestly entertained while he is putting his ideas across. H...more This book is for people who are overwhelmed by the accumulation of stuff in their homes. They yearn for clean, empty spaces, but they just don’t know where to start.

Peter Walsh is the Dr. Phil of neat and tidy. If your house looks like the bargain basement of the local discount store at the end of the Boxing Day sales, and you’re sick of it, you need this book.

Walsh is a lively enough writer to keep you modestly entertained while he is putting his ideas across. His fundamental philosophy is that you cannot just start tidying aimlessly - the stuff will creep back just as the weight creeps back when you go on a diet (if you ever manage to get rid of either of them in the first place).To clean up your house, you must first decide what kind of a life you are trying to achieve, then you must decide how your house should contribute to your life, and you must determine the purpose of each and every room in reaching your objective. Only those items in the house that truly support your vision should be kept. The rest of the stuff is clutter and should go.

But knowing where you want to get to is, as scientists and mathematicians are wont to say, necessary but not sufficient. Walsh provides solid, workable mechanisms for applying his philosophy. You will, for example, inevitably have disagreements with the other occupants of the house. He tells you how to resolve them. He understands that the problem of clutter lies in the difficulty of letting go, not of an object itself, which is just a thing, but of its associations - the dreams it was to help you fulfil, or the memory of the grandmother who gave it to you or the child who played with it twenty years ago - and he helps you separate the real from the false.

If you buy this book, don’t just add it to the pile in your living room. Use it and you won’t have a pile in your living room.

Now, if only I could figure out why my daughter gave it to me. I don’t need it. But she did, and she is my daughter, so I guess I’ll have to keep it in case I hurt her feelings.

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02/16/08

Ginny rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

Peter Walsh is a self-styled expert in the area of organizational consulting. According to his website he considers himself to be "part contractor and part therapist in his approach to helping individuals attain their goals." He doesn't mention any particular credentials.

I disagree with Walsh about clutter in general; he seems to have zero tolerance for it while I don't think there is anything wrong with a little bit of clutter. A few piles of assorted stuff around a home ...more Peter Walsh is a self-styled expert in the area of organizational consulting. According to his website he considers himself to be "part contractor and part therapist in his approach to helping individuals attain their goals." He doesn't mention any particular credentials.

I disagree with Walsh about clutter in general; he seems to have zero tolerance for it while I don't think there is anything wrong with a little bit of clutter. A few piles of assorted stuff around a home make it look interesting, lived in and human, IMHO.

When I took his clutter quiz (twice, and I cheated the second time), I scored as a "hard-core hoarder." I'll be the first to admit that I have too much stuff and could stand to be a lot more organized. But I can find all of my important documents and my keys, and there is plenty of room in my front closet for guests' coats. My poor test score results largely from the fact that I have some outdated prescriptions in my medicine cabinet, a couple of dirty coffee cups in my sink, and I own 2 or 3 pairs of jeans that no longer fit. (Walsh's quiz is an all or nothing approach; you get the same score whether you have one pair or 100 pairs of unusable jeans in your closet)

He does share some excellent ideas for controlling clutter and a few philosophical observations that are worth taking to heart. But there isn't much here that is new. There is lots of organizational folk wisdom which may or may not be true ("we wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time") and makes sweeping recommendations that may or may not be valuable in all cases ("if you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it"). He's very bossy, too. For example, he forbids you to put a desk in your bedroom even if that's the only place in the house for it, and he doesn't want anything stored beneath the bed. (This made me think immediately of Amy Dacyczyn of "Tightwad Gazette" fame who said if your home was tiny with limited storage and you wanted to make some frugal bulk purchases, why not store cases of canned goods under your bed? I wonder what Peter Walsh would think about that!)

Some of his ideas were simply lost on me. While I know that I'm pathologically sentimental, I also know that a photo of my mom's teapot is not the same as having the teapot itself.

Finally, Walsh attaches a bit more meaning to some cluttery habits than they probably deserve. The reason people don't want to give away their books, he suggests, is because they believe that "owning the book is equivalent to owning the knowledge in the book." He urges readers to "declutter their parenting," (I have no idea what this means) and notes that if your home is cluttered, you are telling your children that "we are all powerless to change things in our lives." Now I know that he is often talking about the kind of home where children have to tunnel through 6-foot high stacks of newspapers to get to the kitchen for a snack. But the problem is that the people who create these homes have psychological issues that even a part-therapist like Walsh can't fix.

For anyone who just wants to pare down a little and neaten things up around their house, this book has some useful tips, but most of them could have been summarized in a magazine article.
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4 comments

02/14/08

Lisa rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in February, 2008

I have always considered myself to be an organized person, but in the past few years, with two kids, a full time job and a slew of volunteer commitments, that intrinsic organizational skill seems to take a vacation.

I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend and also because I loved Peter Walsh on Clean Sweep.

While my home doesn't even remotely look like the ones he worked on for TLC, I confess to the problem of "too much stuff". My cabinets, drawers an...more

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08/23/07

Theresa rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

Read in August, 2007

I've read several home organization books, and this one was a little different, in a good way. The author has you visualize what kind of life you want and how you want each room of your house to look and feel, before you even start decluttering. He claims that the clutter really isn't about "the stuff," and I know that to be true. There ends up being a lot of shame and guilt about clutter, self-recriminations, "why can't I keep the house straightened?" Etc. Visualizing wh...more

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06/08/07

Cynthia rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: any one who lives in a pig-sty!

Wow, this book was helpful. See, I'm a second generation pack-rat; I grew up with piles of papers on the dining room table and clutter everywhere. I've actually read quite a few of these self-help organization style books, but this was the first one that addressed the real issue with living you life in a pig-sty: you are cheating yourself out of the life you want to live. When put that way, parting with all the crap I've been lugging around since I moved out of my parents' house has become muc...more

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05/14/08

Abby rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

Read in November, 2008

Okay, I thought this book was fine, but I didn't love it. It may not even be the author's fault. I might have liked it a lot more if it was the first book I read about de-cluttering, and before I had gutted 75% of my house last spring.

I have another book that I loved 100 times more. It was more detailed, more convincing on why to de-clutter, and totally funny. And inspiring. I read it, and I stayed up until midnight for days on end, went without sleep, food or exercise in favor of c...more

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8 comments

01/23/08

Em rated it:

Read in March, 2008

I swear I did not know this was a self-help book. I read about "It's All Too Much" on a blog and ordered it sight unseen from my fabulous local library, expecting a sociological look at the greed and materialism of American life. Instead I got a how-to manual on making your home clutter-free. And since it was on my "to-read" shelf, goodreads guilted me into finishing it.
For what it is (a self-help guide to clutter control), it's not bad. Walsh helps you think thro...more

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04/01/09

Valerie rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Nice to have a book on organizing that approaches the problem from a different angle. Instead of what containers/system would work best, Peter Walsh asks what do you really want out of your life? Is your home getting in the way of that? What do you want to use this room/space for? What things in this room get in the way of that? Sparks a more heartfelt approach to decluttering that helps keeps your stuff from getting in the way of your life.

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06/20/08

Loren rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

Read in May, 2008

recommended to Loren by: book store display
recommends it for: overwhelmed and disorganized people

This book rocked my world! The title says it all, really. I've never watched the author's show, but I love this book! The author has you analyze your stuff and why you're keeping it. It's a great shot of perspective, and has practical ways to go about methodically going through your stuff and thinning, trashing or caring for your things. I found my attachment to what is essentially "junk" disappear after reading this; there is something profound in his analysis of how we value and o...more

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09/24/08

Julie rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

bookshelves: simplicity-organization

and my obsession with organizational books continues…
I liked this one. Seems like a cool guy.

2/2009: edit to add another star and this note:

Apparently I more than liked this book. I have read it two more times. This is odd. I don't have clutter and am somewhat of a minimalist. Why has this book been almost a spiritual experience for me?

He asks Big Questions. What do you want your life to be like? Does your living space reflect that? I love his messag...more

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08/19/07

Jess rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

bookshelves: non-fiction

good advice on how to analyze your belongings and the role they play in your life. what I liked most about the book was that the author stressed repeatedly that your belongings shouldn't impeed you from living the life you want, and that this often is the case, even on a small scale. while i'm definately not a pack rat, it made me rethink our living space, belongings and the purpose for each room in the house. the book is a good guide for how to purge and weed, as well as tips that everyone, ...more

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02/22/09

Kirsti rated it:

(review of isbn 0743567692)

bookshelves: nonfiction, practical-stuff

Read in February, 2009

Peter Peter Peter. Must you ask me to reflect on my goals for my life and my living space? Can't you just tell me how to stop being a slob? I AM AN AMERICAN . . . I expect solutions to be immediate and painless.

Actually, I thought this was quite good. The author has a TV show called Clean Sweep, which I don't think I have ever seen. The book is really designed for a woman who lives in the suburbs, is married, has small children, and has a house and a yard and a garage. However, Walsh...more

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06/21/09

Sterlingspider rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

This book was exactly what I needed, a comprehensive "how to de-clutter and take control of your stuff" book that actually spoke to me both about the how and the why. Walsh approaches it realistically with the knowledge that he's talking to pack rats (not neat freaks in a freak house cluttering accident), and acknowledges the fact that different people have different lifestyles and may need to attack things differently. Furthermore he presents things in a way that don't make you feel d...more

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04/05/07

Tracy rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

Read in April, 2007

recommends it for: Anyone who needs to declutter their lives!

"How to live a richer life with less stuff..." when I saw this book at my store, it spoke directly to me. I finished it within a couple of hours, and it actually made me want to go upstairs and trash those old term papers that I haven't looked at since college! The part where Walsh talks about book clutter was especially relevant, but I don't think I'm ready to part with any of mine. He has some sensible, easy to follow advice that I'd better start listening to.

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01/25/08

Heather rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: people who want to de-crap

here's the deal:
Peter Walsh v. the Container Store.

I'm downsizing my life, which I meant to do when I got back from Louisiana two years ago, as I expect natural disasters every day. The less stuff I have, the less stuff I'll mourn over...be prepared and all that. Plus, I have a lot of crap. This book may help you let go of your crap. Or maybe it won't. Maybe I read it because I wanted to get rid of it all. it's like a diet book for your stuff.

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07/07/08

Angela rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in July, 2008

recommends it for: anyone who wants some de-cluttering motivation

This is decent for what it is - a somewhat fluffy anti-clutter self-help book. Sure, the info could have been covered in a short magazine article, but really, the main purpose of this sort of book is not to inform, but to motivate. And it does a decent job of that - so much so that I'm thinking of tackling the surface of my desk as soon as I finish this review. (Now if it had inspired me to clean the bathroom, we'd have been looking at 5 stars...)

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05/11/09

Luann rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

bookshelves: 2009, adult, nonfiction, tv

Read in May, 2009

Since I don't have a house or kids, I felt like a lot of this didn't apply to me. And SOME of the things he suggests, I already do! Okay, only a few. But at least I'm not a completely hopeless case! :) I certainly do need to take control of my clutter and change a lot of the things I do. As Walsh was so fond of pointing out, if I didn't, I wouldn't have read the book! But he does give some good advice and a nice system for actually changing the way you do things and not just getting rid o...more

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05/20/08

Anne rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

Read in June, 2008

Great, ass-kicking advice about how to frame your thinking about decluttering. A few trips to worthy charities ensued, as well as my first Craigslisting (a success!). Wished he'd have gotten a bit further into the "richer life" part, but I suppose that will come in time, after I've finished resetting my setting.

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01/10/09

Amy rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

AUDIO version review; I won't say this is the best written book primarily because of redundancy, but he did drive home the point. He convinced me to stop fretting over stuff and hanging onto to those "just in case" items. To stop holding onto so many "treasures" (?) from the past, and free myself to live life NOW based on today's priorities.
He gave very good counterarguments to the ones in my head and used humor to boot. I also liked his philosophy of planning life w...more

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02/13/09

Rachael rated it:

(review of isbn 0743292642)

Read in February, 2009

This was disappointing to me. After waiting and waiting for my library copy, it was mostly a sales pitch for getting rid of stuff. It felt much longer than it needed to be and mostly targets extreme clutter (turns out I'm doing a LOT better than I thought!). Sure, there were good tips about organizing your home, but the emphasis was about throwing stuff away and that doesn't need to be much more than a magazine article if you ask me. I might check out his other book "How to Organize (Ju...more

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