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SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life
Are you eager to make a change but unsure what's next?
Organizing works when you know where you're going but don't know how to get there. But sometimes organizing isn't enough. When you're eager to make a change in your life, but you are unsure of your new destination, you need to SHED.
Expert organizer and New York Times bestselling author Julie Morgenstern has developed th
...morePaperback, 288 pages
Published
March 3rd 2009
by Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
(first published June 3rd 2008)
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Listened to the Audiobook. Ridiculous amounts of "stories" from four fictional archetypes going through different life changes bludgeon you over the head with the same points over and over, and there's really nothing new here.
- Envision the outcome of your change.
- Does your current status and/or stuff support this change?
- If not, get rid of it.
Organize what's left over according to the "kindergarten" cubbyhole method outlined in JM's Organizing from the Inside Out:
- Everything has a home
- Labe...more
- Envision the outcome of your change.
- Does your current status and/or stuff support this change?
- If not, get rid of it.
Organize what's left over according to the "kindergarten" cubbyhole method outlined in JM's Organizing from the Inside Out:
- Everything has a home
- Labe...more
I am fast becoming a connoisseur of books on organizing and this probably is the best so far.
Julie Morgenstern offers important insights and but her key ideas are based around SHEDing: Separate the treasures, Heave the trash,Embrace your identity and Drive Forwards.
Simple and logical but difficult to do. Until she suggested that we should look at this as a change in life. Which of course it is! But to give this change a sense of change we should give the life before a theme or a name. We should...more
Julie Morgenstern offers important insights and but her key ideas are based around SHEDing: Separate the treasures, Heave the trash,Embrace your identity and Drive Forwards.
Simple and logical but difficult to do. Until she suggested that we should look at this as a change in life. Which of course it is! But to give this change a sense of change we should give the life before a theme or a name. We should...more
Feb 20, 2011
Dolly
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who want to clear the clutter in their lives
Shelves:
2011,
nonfiction
I'm not sure what made me borrow this book. I am sure I saw it here on Goodreads and thought it might be interesting and helpful. I'm not much of a self-help fan, but I do have a lot of clutter and am willing to take steps to reduce it. I'm probably a good candidate for one of her consultations and should take her words to heart. The fact that I read this immediately after I finished Saint Maybe, where the main character Ian marries a professional cleaner/organizer got me thinking that perhaps t...more
Unfortunately, a busy work schedule left this library book sitting on the nightstand unread through the three weeks before it was due back, and also the two week renewal. It is several days late and needs to go back tomorrow. I'll have to check it out again.
I liked that it went beyond the normal "organizing" or "throw it all out" books out there. The first step is to separate out your treasures. Next, you heave the trash. What was different was the step where you envision your life right now and...more
I liked that it went beyond the normal "organizing" or "throw it all out" books out there. The first step is to separate out your treasures. Next, you heave the trash. What was different was the step where you envision your life right now and...more
Different from many other books about getting organized: besides shedding physical stuff that no longer serves us, Morgenstern also addresses paring down our overcommitted schedules and our non-productive habits.
I really like her approach, which starts *not* with tossing stuff out out willy-nilly, but with figuring out which "treasures" we want to keep--the stuff and activities that genuinely enrich us and support our vision for the direction we want our lives to take. Only after identifying wh...more
I really like her approach, which starts *not* with tossing stuff out out willy-nilly, but with figuring out which "treasures" we want to keep--the stuff and activities that genuinely enrich us and support our vision for the direction we want our lives to take. Only after identifying wh...more
This one is a hard read for me, she does not seem to be able to break the book down into little chunks like the other books in this genre seem to.I do come across some interesting bits here and there.
She advocates a slower approach to tossing your stuff, That if you keep certain things, that they are inspirations and clues to your new life ahead. She has you name a theme for your life previous and your life in future. She has you keep only 10 percent of a type of thing, like 2 things from your...more
She advocates a slower approach to tossing your stuff, That if you keep certain things, that they are inspirations and clues to your new life ahead. She has you name a theme for your life previous and your life in future. She has you keep only 10 percent of a type of thing, like 2 things from your...more
enjoyed Morgenstern's ideas about Shedding objects, activities, skills, by discovering which are important,
SHED: S is for separating the Treasures (practical, meaningful)
SHED: H is for Heave the Trash - trash, recycle, donate, sell; chose 1 category to get started (ie books, magazines, clothes, time attachments (list of backlogged tasks). She offers interesting exercise to determine what the task represents to you, the potential time gain you will have by completing the task,
SHED: E is for Emb...more
SHED: S is for separating the Treasures (practical, meaningful)
SHED: H is for Heave the Trash - trash, recycle, donate, sell; chose 1 category to get started (ie books, magazines, clothes, time attachments (list of backlogged tasks). She offers interesting exercise to determine what the task represents to you, the potential time gain you will have by completing the task,
SHED: E is for Emb...more
This book was as much philosophy of why people hoard as a how-to on
getting rid of "stuff." The basic premise was:
S eparate your treasures
H eave your trash
E mbrace your identity
D rive yourself forward
Morgenstern encourages 'material detachment and radical generosity.'
Maryann Hershey: "May your walls know joy; may every room hold laughter
and every window open to great possibilities."
William Morris: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be
useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Mark Twai...more
getting rid of "stuff." The basic premise was:
S eparate your treasures
H eave your trash
E mbrace your identity
D rive yourself forward
Morgenstern encourages 'material detachment and radical generosity.'
Maryann Hershey: "May your walls know joy; may every room hold laughter
and every window open to great possibilities."
William Morris: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be
useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Mark Twai...more
I expected this to be a book that would give me ideas on how to organize the piles of junk threatening to take over my house, but was surprised to find out that is only part of this book's plan. Julie Morgenstern identifies three areas of clutter than overwhelm our lives (physical clutter, time clutter and bad habit clutter) and gives detailed plans on how to SHED them. I appreciated this, because I have bad habit clutter that is leading to physical clutter, so it seems wise to get to the root o...more
Oh how I love to throw things away! I even still watch the garbage truck come every week - it's just so exciting! I admit it - I should avoid the middleman and never get some of my junk in the first place. I've read many books on clutter, and my favorite clutter guru will probably always be Don Aslett. Julie Morgenstern's view is unique in that it doesn't really just tell you to throw it all out. She suggests coming up with a theme for your goals in life and then seeing what stuff, time, and hab...more
May 22, 2012
Meredith
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Barbara Bruneau
Recommended to Meredith by:
Rochelle Melander
I found a lot to consider with how Morgenstern lays out the idea of clearing both physical, mental, and temporal space to live into our goals. Definitely a thoughtful was of processing what needs to go in one's life - throw out the "bathwater", but keep the "baby" that inspires.
It concerned me a bit that she seems to delve into something close to a therapist with helping her clients figure out what is the emotional/mental road block holding them back. But she never suggests to her readers (or he...more
It concerned me a bit that she seems to delve into something close to a therapist with helping her clients figure out what is the emotional/mental road block holding them back. But she never suggests to her readers (or he...more
I listened to the audio of this book over the last three days as I've been cleaning out my study/studio/extra bedroom. While I'm not a hoarder (I don't fit the clinical definition by another book I'm listening to written by a psychologist! Thank God!), I do tend to make clutter and become overwhelmed by clutter. I thought this was a great approach to thinking about how clutter can hold us back from our potential. As with any "self-help" book, one should take what one needs from the text and forg...more
This wonderful book from organizing guru Julie Morgenstern has changed my life for the better. Usually this type of advice says "do this, do that..." but this book aims the arrows into the heart, which is where we all need to start. And then she guides you into discerning the next steps. Her book - "Time Management from the Inside Out" is great as well, helping you get hold of how you really want to be spending your days. The trick to appreciating her SHED book is actually doing the work, not ju...more
• The “SHED” program enables you to get rid of the possessions, time commitments
and bad habits that have become burdens in your life so you can start anew.
• Use the program to make a change or when unwanted change is thrust upon you.
• SHED stands for “separate” your treasures, “heave” your trash, “embrace” yourself,
and “drive into the future.”
• Before you shed, develop a new theme for the life you want in the future.
and bad habits that have become burdens in your life so you can start anew.
• Use the program to make a change or when unwanted change is thrust upon you.
• SHED stands for “separate” your treasures, “heave” your trash, “embrace” yourself,
and “drive into the future.”
• Before you shed, develop a new theme for the life you want in the future.
An excellent book for anyone feeling like they're not sure what to do with their current life. I read it in spurts, so I sometimes lost the flow of the example clients referenced, but I definitely plan to reread it. Offers lots of insight into discovering your own unique identity & creating a life theme that fits you. I liked how she helps the reader work out the personal whys behind clutter &/or bad habits.
Jul 25, 2012
Amblingbooks.com
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobooks,
success
Expert organizer and New York Times bestselling author Morgenstern offers her loyal readers an extreme organization intervention--a deeper approach to life management for people who crave a change in their lives.
Listen to When Organizing Isn't Enough on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.
Listen to When Organizing Isn't Enough on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.
I've read some of the other reviews and they're right: there is a little too much time spent on the "real people example" here. None of them fit me and my situation, not even by mixing-and-matching.
Having said that, the practical stuff worked for me. The idea here isn't a didactic How You Organize Your Stuff, it's ideas on how to SEPARATE, HEAVE, EMBRACE and DRIVE your stuff. And not just your physical clutter stuff (like those old tax receipts, the thimble "collection" you picked up when trave...more
Having said that, the practical stuff worked for me. The idea here isn't a didactic How You Organize Your Stuff, it's ideas on how to SEPARATE, HEAVE, EMBRACE and DRIVE your stuff. And not just your physical clutter stuff (like those old tax receipts, the thimble "collection" you picked up when trave...more
Dec 13, 2008
Kirsti
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction,
oh-forget-it
I am taking the first step toward organizing my life . . . by jettisoning this repetitious, simplistic, and blindingly obvious book, which is cluttered with "case studies" that are really just the whining of feckless cake-eaters. Go work in a soup kitchen, you dithering upper-middle-class types, and you'll know how good you have it.
1 like · like · see review
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Julie Morgenstern has a way of making you feel good about yourself in spite of your self-described flaws.
I saw this book on a shelf and grabbed it on impulse. My mother is a fan of Julie Morgenstern from seeing her shows on television, so I picked it up.
This book shows the process she goes through with several people to clear out their junk--emotional baggage making a physical presence in a person's home, or cluttering up their schedules.
I didn't read the whole book cover to cover (it's not nece...more
I saw this book on a shelf and grabbed it on impulse. My mother is a fan of Julie Morgenstern from seeing her shows on television, so I picked it up.
This book shows the process she goes through with several people to clear out their junk--emotional baggage making a physical presence in a person's home, or cluttering up their schedules.
I didn't read the whole book cover to cover (it's not nece...more
This book takes over from basic organizational strategies. If you are ready to take a Steven Covey type approach to life change, this might be a helpful tool. Too heavy for my purposes now, but may be appropriate for others facing a more emotional "decluttering" process and those wishing to take the next step.
I was thinking of my messy basement when I checked this out of the library. This book surprised me ~ both in content and delivery. It made me think more about my mental clutter.
I almost think it would be a valuable book to have on everyone's shelf as a reference guide for clearing out home and head.
I almost think it would be a valuable book to have on everyone's shelf as a reference guide for clearing out home and head.
I was hoping for something a little different, but this turned out to be mostly pop-y self help in the form of getting rid of emotional clutter in the form of physical clutter. Still, pretty useful. Satisfied my reader-nesting-instinct.
Got to about page 43. Don't think I'll read this book. It was recommended to me as a how-to for time management, and it doesn't appear to be that at all. It's more of a therapy guide for coping with the challenges life throws at you.
This was a pretty interesting book about getting through transitional phases in your life. She has a lot of tricks to help you get yourself on track. I am a sucker for books about organizing and this was a good one.
This book I read with interest but it didn't make it up there with Julie's "Organizing From the Inside Out." To be fare it had a different focus which was good and did offer some very good grist for the mill.
Jul 21, 2009
Trena
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Trena by:
Grace
Shelves:
didn-t-bother-finishing
Admittedly I didn't get very far in this book. I got it from the library thinking it might help me part with possessions and get organized. Instead, it is for people whose lives are in transition or who hope to make a big change. I am happy with my life as is and so the message meant nothing to me. Even discounting the irrelevance, though, the book was a little too self-help-y for me. There was a long introduction in the vein of "I have a great idea! You're gonna die when you hear it! No really,...more
This is a good book and the author has a lot of great insights, advice, and wisdom; however, I thought the first half of the book was more helpful than the second half of the book.
OK, so I didn't read this book cover to cover, but I think I got a lot from the parts that I felt I needed. I admit, I am somewhat of a hoarder, a definite clutterbug. This book helps people like me realize why we feel the need to hold on to things, and how we lend ourselves to personal growth by letting go. She suggests devising a theme for the future (mine is Self Exploration/Discovery) and only keeping things that support that theme. The SHED system referred to in the title stands for: S--Sep...more
I needed this book. Didnt read it word for word. Really, just reading the title every few days was enough to get me on my horse and clear out a bunch of clutter from my life.
I like Julie Morgenstern's books and I think this one is great. She really gets to the bottom of things but in a good way. I found this book to be very helpful
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Julie Morgenstern, dubbed the “queen of putting people’s lives in order” by USA Today, is an organizing and time management expert, business productivity consultant, and speaker. A New York Times bestselling author, Julie's five books are timeless reference guides that are insightful, reader-friendly and jam packed with innovative strategies. Each volume features techniques and observations culled...more
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