ImAmes's Full Review: Don Aslett - Lose 200 Pounds This Weekend
Sounds impossible right? Lose all that weight in one weekend? Not at all, because we aren't here to lose fat or water weight, we are here to read about how to lose all that unwanted junk from your house and lifestyle. Are you a packrat? Do you see something on a curb, and even though it is broken, dented, and disfigured, as long as it is free you pick it up? When your child brings home pictures he/she made at school, do you keep every single one? Read on to see what kind of packrat you are, and how to lose those unwanted pounds this coming weekend!
Written by Don Aslett and Illustrated by Craig LaGory, this amusing but important book will open your eyes to how clutter really messes up every aspect of your life. First, you may ask yourself why to dejunk in the first place? I say, why NOT dejunk? Finding the reason to de-clutter is something to use as your goal, your finish line. Mine would be to have a pleasant atmosphere with more space with an easier enviroment to enjoy. Cleaning a room or getting rid of stuff can lift your spirits, your self-esteem, and cure the blues, especially during those long winter months.
His first couple of pages have real letters that people wrote in about their cluttered lives. My favorite is:
"I have 50 years of National Geographics. Trouble is, the mice and rats love and have eaten all of the glue on the bindings, so now there are no separate issues, just one giant National Geographic." Too funny!
So what kind of junker are you? He has MANY types listed, and I will share with you what kind I am.
Can't Pass A Garage Sale Junker
---Hear, see, smell, and stop! The brake pedal overrules the gas pedal here!
I Was There Junker
---"Behold-a genuine KEEP OFF THE GRASS sign from Glacier National Park, a petrified praline candy from New Orleans, and barnacles from Plymouth Rock."
Evidence Junker
---"The way I see it--baby's first step or first time you ever stood up--if you don't have real hard evidence of it, it didn't happen."
See how many you are, and he has a scale on how to determine how much help you will need to declutter your life. I had three, so mine was "You are only mildly infected, but watch it!."
Chapter One goes on to talk about how much is to much. That we all should want a high standard of living, and not luxury. A high standard of living should contain freedom, good health, high self-esteem, being debt-free, a stable family, and a satisfying marriage. This chapter will explore on how we keep wanting more and more, and keep discarding the old and perfectly fine, to make room for the new and improved. He goes on to state "We call ourselves consumers, but we don't actually consume, we just keep on purchasing and piling." How true that is!
Chapter Two explores the many price tags of clutter. What have you had to pay for the clutter in your life? Have you had to pay in hours of stress and worry, frustration, depression and hopeless of ever getting out of the hole you have dug? Has it cost you time, money, freedom, patience, respect? Ask yourself what clutter has cost you, and the answer will help you tackle the problem head on. A profound statement that he published from someone else states:
"Since I moved here ten years ago, I've never unpacked my things because there is no place to put them. Everything I acquired in the past, that is, never mind finding room for any current of future stuff." Haven't we all been or are right now in that position? Clutter becomes us, it grows on us and shows people what kind of personality we have. From messy cars, smelly fridges, packed garages, and basements filled to the brim- it shows on our faces and in our attitudes.
Why Dejunk? To feel better, to get more enjoyment out of life, to be able to travel light, to think more clearly, to become a master manager, for the image we give, for better relationships, for space, to save money, for safety sake, and many many more.
Chapter Three deals with when to dejunk our lives. There is no time like the present, and that rings more true than ever when it comes to getting rid of the clutter in your life. People make to many excuses: "I will get to it later, I need that for when I am old, it will be worth somthing someday, or I will get to it when I have time." All of these and more are your roadblock to the road of a happier and stress-free life- let them not block you! Putting it off leaves your messes for generations to come, and embarasses your loved ones. "Freedom is as close as your calender. Let's lose the first 200 pounds this weekend."
Chapter Four helps us on how to shed those extra pounds. Following these simple steps can help you become clutter free!
1. Use all of that time moving and stacking things, to throwing and giving them away.
2. Instead of going on a vacation, use that time to seriously de-junk every room in your home.
3. When you are weather bound, instead of moping and laying around, de-clutter things you have been putting off.
4. Chart your course of action.
5. Choose your attack pattern.
6. Sort through clutter, and if it doesn't have a place already made for it- get rid of it!
7. Items in boxes for more than 6 months should be thrown out!
8. If in doubt, throw it out!
9. Remember that "old" doesn't mean "gold."
10. Avoid organizers that just contain junk, and does not get rid of it.
11. Have a garage sale, donate all items not sold to Goodwill.
Chapter Five reveals what categories clutter falls and should be sorted by. Examples are clothing, furniture, photos, gifts, magazines, books, fitness and sports clutter, paper, packaging, sentimental, fixables, vehicle, real estate, kids, pets, and garage junk are only SOME of what and where clutter comes from in your life.
Chapter Six deals with how the heck do we keep the weight off? Keep things simple and keep in mind of how all that clutter felt to have- awful! Throw junk mail away right away, actively dodge clutter situations such as people offering free items or things on sale, think before you buy or charge, don't go with what the crowd is, remember the difference between wants and needs, and my FAVORITE- Don't look and you won't get took!
The last chapter deals with letters from people who are now clutter free and how good they feel. My favorite letter is: "The biggest benefit I got from dejunking is that now I know what I have and don't have, and exactly where everything is. Three months ago I could never find a pair of scissors when I needed them." How true, how true.
Lose 200lbs This Weekend changed my life and how I purchase and place things in my home. I have always settled for the old instead of new, and have been quite successful buying my daughters name brand clothes at garage sales for 90% less than in the store. I have read, and re-read this book MANY times to remind myself when I falter. It is not how big your house is, how fancy your car is, or how many Beanie Babies you have- it is your relationship with God and your family that will matter in the end. Lose the clutter, and everything else will fall into place.
I highly recommend this book for ANY family- buy it today and start losing the weight tomorrow!
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