Year of No Clutter
A Memoir
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- € 15,99
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- € 15,99
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Eve has a problem with clutter. Too much stuff and too easily acquired, it confronts her in every corner and on every surface in her house. When she pledges to tackle the worst offender, her horror of a “Hell Room,” she anticipates finally being able to throw away all of the unnecessary things she can’t bring herself to part with: her fifth-grade report card, dried-up art supplies, an old vinyl raincoat.
But what Eve discovers isn’t just old CDs and outdated clothing, but a fierce desire within herself to hold on to her identity. Our things represent our memories, our history, a million tiny reference points in our lives. If we throw our stuff in the trash, where does that leave us? And if we don’t...how do we know what’s really important?
Everyone has their own Hell Room, and Eve’s battle with her clutter, along with her eventual self-clarity, encourages everyone to dig into their past to declutter their future. Year of No Clutter is a deeply inspiring—and frequently hilarious — examination of why we keep stuff in the first place, and how to let it all go.
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Schaub (Year of No Sugar), a lifelong collector of countless possessions, decided the time had come for her to take on what she has dubbed The Hell Room in her house, which was so full of discarded items and such a source of anxiety that she rarely went near it. She thoughtfully and humourously recounts her fascinating project, getting the whole family involved as she figured out whether she was messy and overwhelmed, a hoarder, or something in between. Schaub raises a number of insightful questions: Are you a hoarder if you have a place for everything, like William Randolph Hearst, who built a castle for his prized objects and is seen as a visionary? If, like Andy Warhol, you have a collection of toenail clippings and boxes of old plane tickets and newspapers that he called cardboard time capsules, are you artistic or eccentric? According to the American Psychological Association, 2% 5% of the population are hoarders, and many have other mental health issues, including Schaub, who takes medication for OCD. Those who, like Schaub, are looking for a way to declutter that encompasses finding homes for discarded items rather than simply going to a Dumpster, will appreciate Schaub s judgment-free, instructive, funny approach to being a domestic belonging preservationist with a place for everything that matters.
