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Coming Clean


A story about recognizing where you come from and understanding the ...
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Did this book change your life in anyway?

Created: 07/29/13

Replies: 14

Posted Jul. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
sabrinam

Join Date: 12/04/11

Posts: 4

Did this book change your life in anyway?

I found this book to be life-changing to a certain extent. I began to re-evaluate my relationship with my belongings, questioning the meaning of my need to hold on to certain things. I literally began getting rid of things that I don't use or don't need.


Posted Jul. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
sylviag

Join Date: 03/25/13

Posts: 14

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

I don't believe this changed my life in a permanent way, but I was doing a lot of cleaning as I was reading it!


Posted Jul. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
bonnieb

Join Date: 09/11/11

Posts: 132

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

I tend to 'collect' things like books and yarn. I am wondering where the line is between collecting and hoarding. I'm not a hoarder but I due tend to go overboard with some things.


Posted Jul. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
beac

Join Date: 08/23/11

Posts: 73

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

I, also, began looking around my house for things I could get rid of. Why is it so hard for me to relinquish old clothes that I really like but no longer fit or are so out of date I will never wear them again? Or plastic containers, like margarine or cottage cheese containers, that I have to take from the kitchen and leave in the garage for a while because I have such a hard time finally getting rid of them? Maybe we all have a little hoarding in us.


Posted Jul. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
joyces

Join Date: 06/16/11

Posts: 410

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

I think it did change my life in a small way. It reminded that I need to do a bit of purging in my closet of clothes I have not worn in many a year and probably will never wear again. It is one of those things that I just can't seem to get 'aroundtoit' Also the two small bookshelves of books on my addiction--gardening. Some I have not looked at in years and they really need to go away as nowadays my first step is to 'Google It'.


Posted Jul. 30, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
lynna

Join Date: 04/24/13

Posts: 14

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

Yes. First of all, it gave me a great understanding of what it is like to be a hoarder, and, more important, what the experience of a child of a hoarder is like. If I ever run across someone with that experience, I will have an empathy and understanding that I would not have had before. In addition, I can have a tendency to be a clutterer in some areas of my life, and it helped me evaluate the meaning of this and think about what these objects mean to me and why they don't have their own home, or aren't in it. Putting these ideas into the larger context of this story, I believe, will make it easier for me to let go of things and make more of a regular habit of putting things where they belong. I do not like the clutter, and for me it is primarily a bad habit. I need to change that habit into a better one of having a place for everything, and making sure it gets there.


Posted Jul. 31, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccar

Join Date: 03/13/12

Posts: 548

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

Reading this book did reinforce my relief that I have been able to part with more and more "stuff" as the years go by. I also have tried to buy a lot less in the past decade. No more buying a cute pair of women's slacks that are "too tight" because I vow i will exercise every day and lose inches and pounds. (Then 2 years later give them to a charity with the tags still attached.) That is a waste of money. I'd rather make cash donations to a wide variety of charities than have my closets overflowing.


Posted Aug. 01, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
susanj

Join Date: 06/18/11

Posts: 25

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

It just came along at the right time, as we contemplate moving in the next few years. I need to commit to cleaning out a drawer or two every week, for example. If you can't move because you can't imagine dealing with all your stuff, then you are imprisoned by it. Is my stuff determining where I live??? In my own family I have experienced that a person who has too much stuff becomes unable to cope when a serious illness comes. I do not want my children to have to deal with weeks of work sorting through years of collecting.


Posted Aug. 02, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
iread49

Join Date: 04/10/13

Posts: 54

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

I found myself focusing on the mental illness aspect more than the symptom of hoarding . i can relate to rowing up with a mental ill parent and an enabler. my family spent a lot of energy hiding how we lived, not rocking the boat etc.. I spent many years dealing with my feelings of anger and frustration. i am surprised how these feeling came rushing back. Not while reading the book, more so while reading the discussion.


Posted Aug. 03, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
norahp

Join Date: 04/27/13

Posts: 22

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

It sounds like the best remedy for keeping hoarding/cluttering tendencies in check is to move every few years!


Posted Aug. 04, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
sabrinam

Join Date: 12/04/11

Posts: 4

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

I thought that was interesting that they kept moving too @norahp


Posted Aug. 04, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
CoventryReader

Join Date: 08/04/11

Posts: 27

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

Yes, it did change my life quite a bit. I began to look at some of the things I've been holding on to for years and wondering if I was a potential hoarder. I moved into my present home about seven years ago and as I began to take stock of what I owned and held on to during this time, I began to feel that I might be a potential hoarder. Since that time, I have become more aware of what I need to keep and what I can throw away. I think reading this book was a good experience for me, almost therapeutic because it has changed how I look at my possessions.


Posted Aug. 05, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
gwenc

Join Date: 07/14/12

Posts: 94

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

It gave me motivation to clean my closets and attic.


Posted Aug. 06, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
juliaa

Join Date: 12/03/11

Posts: 271

RE: Did this book change your life in anyway?

It motivated me to accelerate the pace of my getting rid of stuff, such as books I know I will never read again. It was just the impetus I needed to continue on with a purging process I started earlier in the summer.


Posted Aug. 07, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
deby's Gravatar
deby

Join Date: 10/21/10

Posts: 23

RE: Did this book change your life in any way?

I recently stayed with a friend who has become a hoarder over the years. It motivated me as well; I just need to get started!


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