Prepare to be inspired. The Tall Poppy Project by Kylie Pratchett encourages you to take a good look at yourself to find what it is that will take your life from ordinary to delicious. This book gives you a holistic approach to bringing out the best in yourself, body, mind and soul. By encouraging you to explore the possibilities of improving your life through simple and incremental changes to diet, exercise, relationships, self image and more. Base on her own experiences of redesigning her life, Kylie Pratchett, who went from forensic scientist to Holistic health coach, shares her tips … [Read more...]
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ A Book Review
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom Dirty Secret: A Daughter Comes Clean About Her Mother's Compulsive Hoarding by Jessie Sholl I'll confess, it's a bit difficult to say that I loved a book about someone's painful life struggle, but I really did love this book. It's beautifully written, easy to read, and the author cleverly interlaces story telling and factual information about hoarding. The author, Jessie Sholl, lived with a mother who was initially a pack rat and who became a full-fledged hoarder after the death of her long-term boyfriend. But as Ms. Sholl makes clear, hoarding is just one symptom of … [Read more...]
Book Review ~ Absolutely Organize Your Family by Debbie Lillard
The full title of this book is... Absolutely Organize Your Family Simple Solutions to Control Clutter, Schedules and Spaces ...now isn't that a mouthful. And aptly titled at that as this book is full of simple easy to understand common sense solutions to clutter control in the home. The main focus is on organising life around the little people in your life. And as we all know "happy mother happy family" right so if the kids are organised life runs pretty smoothly for Mom. Personally I found the information far too rudimentary but this is probably because I have been there done that and … [Read more...]
Simple Saturday ~ Book Review – The Overspent American
The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting, and the New Consumer by Juliet B. Schor was published in 1998, but the information seems as relevant today as it did more than a decade ago. The book is geared toward middle and upper-income families, who seem to be caught up in a never-ending cycle of keeping up with the Joneses, no matter who the Joneses are. "The Joneses" are our first error, according to Dr. Schor. In the past, our Joneses (or reference group) would be our neighbors, who all lived in houses about like ours, drove cars similar to ours, and likely had two adults and only one … [Read more...]
Book Review ~ Lessons in Letting Go by Corinne Grant
I usually reserve book reviews for Simple Saturday posts but I have made an exception for this one simply because I really enjoyed it. After reading several self help books about clutter recently it was refreshing to read the real life story of someone who has been there and risen above the lows of hoarding. The fact that the author Corinne Grant is a comedian adds a lightness to the story even though her frustration clearly shows through. Although I have never been where Corinne was when it comes to clutter, the frustation I felt at times just reading about her struggle to get out certainly … [Read more...]
Book Review ~ Lighten Up by Peter Walsh
I have just finished reading this book and I have to say it was full of interesting insights and great tips on not only decluttering your life but how to clean up your finances as well. The world financial crisis has caused many families to rethink the way they spend and what they consider to be important in their lives. Many have realised that living a life with less is a far better option than living up to their eyeballs in debt. Some of the letters quoted in the books show that many people have considered the wfc as a blessing in disguise that has made them realise the errors of their … [Read more...]
Book Review ~ Give it up
Give It Up! ~ A year of learning to live better with less by Mary Carlomagno Unlike the title might suggest, this book isn't about decluttering the material things in our lives so isn't particularly in keeping with the subject matter of my blog. It does however does draw a parallel, as it is about decluttering life in general of excesses that aren't particularly conducive to a healthy, stress-free, balanced lifestyle. The book is about how Mary sets herself the task of voluntarily abstaining each month from a different "vice" that she uses in an attempt to keep life "manageable" and perhaps … [Read more...]