Table of Contents
Introduction: Clutter's Last Stand 9
Part 1 Uncovering the Costs of Clutter
1 Why Your Home Is Cluttered 15
2 Finding Contentment with Living Small 21
3 The Spiritual Side of Clutter 27
4 Recognizing the Real Cost of Clutter 37
Part 2 Why We Buy Stuff
5 Why We Buy 45
6 So Really, Why Do I Keep Doing That? 49
7 Yet More Compelling Reasons to Buy Things 57
8 There's a Whole World of Better Stuff Out There or So We Think 63
Part 3 Why We Keep Stuff
9 What Your Head Tells You About Clutter 71
10 Just in Case 75
11 But So-and-So Gave It to Me 81
12 I'll Put It Here for Now 87
13 But I Spent So Much Money on It 95
14 Dealing with Other Peoples Clutter 101
15 I Want to Be the Kind of Person Who 109
16 It Might Be Worth Something Someday 117
17 But I Have So Much Invested in It 121
18 What If I Don't Have Enough? 131
Part 4 How to Get Rid of Stuff
19 A New Approach to Cleaning Clutter 141
20 Clear Your Decks: The 2000 Things Challenge 151
21 Adopt a Uniform 157
22 Use It Up 163
23 If You Don't Know It Exists, You Will Never Miss It 169
24 50 Things to Get Rid of Today 173
25 50 Ways to Reduce the Stuff Coming into Your Life 181
A Final Word 193
Appendix 1 The Three-Box, Two-Bag System 195
Appendix 2 A Simple System for Dealing with Paperwork 199
Appendix 3 Cheri's Packing List 207