The secret to "Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui" was to find why we both were keeping some things. (There is a section with helpful questions about why you keep stuff, such as inheriting it, sentimental feelings, habits, family habits, and even grief.) In our case, a friend from childhood and a parent had both died within two years and this caused a desire to cling to a lot of old things.

Excess clutter is thought to sap energy. It certainly saps concentration and gathers asthma-inducing dust. Now our apartment looks better, breathes better and yes, smells fresher and thanks to this book. First one I've ever read that could help two different people living together because it deals with the individual motivations behind the junk they keep.


great (except for the "internal cleansing" chapter)   December 19, 1999
 116 out of 117 found this review helpful

Being a clutterholic who keeps a lot of stuff "just in case" and for memory's sake (like 2nd grade report cards), this book was truly motivational and much of it made sense (like keeping stuff "just in case" means that not only are we cluttering the house for ourselves, we're also keeping things for people we haven't even met yet!).

Since reading the book, my husband and I have cleared out TONS of stuff in the house! We've had yard sales and donated a lot to the Salvation Army and Goodwill, and the rooms that have been "decluttered" are cleaner and more restful. Plus, with the goal of getting down to just the things we need, love, or use, we've been able to get rid of tacky stuff that we hung onto for no good reason, and stuff that we weren't using. The great thing is that after reading the book I felt selfish for keeping all the clutter- now I feel like I'm helping out by giving my "thin clothes" to people who could wear them before they go out of style. Plus I'm not depressed looking at clothes that I've inadvertantly outgrown. Or, for those gifts you get that you don't really love but feel obligated to keep, you feel better about giving them away because you know it doesn't mean you don't appreciate the thought and keeping it when you don't like it makes the whole thing worse.

I agree that the whole section on colon cleansing is a big wacky and although I read it the first time, I personally skipped over that the second time I read the book (it's the kind of book you can read every time you want a "pep talk" to clean). I recommended the book to my mom and my brother and mom keeps mentioning how dangerous the colon cleansing part could be, but in my mind that was a small section of the book and one that I didn't give much thought to because I'm more concerned with a clean, clutter-free house. So I wouldn't dismiss the book because of one small section. The rest of it, taken with a grain of salt, is the ONLY book I've read that has actually motivated me to DO something and get rid of the clutter! And honestly, we feel so much better about the house now. We still have work to do, but at least I don't feel like I'm living in a junkyard anymore!


Somewhat disappointing....   March 31, 2004
 76 out of 93 found this review helpful

I had heard such good things about this book, so borrowed it from the library. It is a quick read.

The good:
She makes many good points about clutter, why we accumulate it, and how to get rid of it. I would give this part 5 stars. She has a very good way of showing you how to look at your stuff in a much more detached manner, which in turn makes it easier to let it go (hopefully to a good home).

However:
You have to wade through a lot of pseudo-superstitious stuff, some of it feng shui, some of it her talking about seeing auras in people's stuff. Also, as one reviewer pointed out, the author apparently does not have children (or other family) to deal with. It is nice to just take the easy way out and toss everything, but that only works if you have tons of money (to replace things). Also, dumping perfectly good stuff is simply wasteful. You get the idea that the author either eats out a lot, or eats off paper plates.

I got the distinct impression that feng shui is great if you don't really *live* in your house, but merely stay there, like you do in a hotel. The author doesn't really address the issue of say, people who both live and work at home, or stay-at-home parents. What are you supposed to do in these virtually empty houses? Contemplate the wonders of your belly button?

So, bottom line (and the colon cleaning chapter is completely unnecessary as well), try to find this book used. It is somewhat overpriced, even with the Amazon discount, especially since it was printed on cheap newsprint, such as is used for paperback novels--the library copy is already starting to yellow. By the time you wade through all the filler, as others have pointed out, only about 20-40 pages are useful, and this was not a large book to begin with, size-wise.


This book will change your life   November 29, 2000
 73 out of 74 found this review helpful

This book changed my life, and I don't say that lightly . . . I can count on one hand the authors I'd say that of, and Karen Kingston is one of them.

I too have loaned or recommended this book to all my friends, and read it several times myself. At Thanksgiving dinner I heard about someone who was having a tough time, and I mailed her a copy of this book over the weekend. I thought it was the single most helpful thing I could do (in the hierarchy of collectors, she must be near the top). It really is true--when you sort out your stuff, you sort out your life. Having lots of clutter functions exactly as a millstone around your neck would.

As others said, I have read many books on this topic, looking for something that would light a fire under me. This is the only one that ever helped me. It is every bit as motivational as others have said. You will likely stay up most of the night you read it clearing clutter--and you'll feel and be better for doing it. Not only has it helped me clear stuff dating back even to childhood, but it's helped me clear people out of my life who didn't need to be there, and it's taken away my urge to shop for and collect new stuff. I still have collections of lovely and useful things. I just no longer feel the need to accumulate, and I have scaled back somewhat.

A note . . . Karen recommends not examining things too carefully before tossing. I am going through things a bit slower than she recommends (and have found my car title and 2 copies of my birth certificate, among other useful things :), but I've found this actually quite helpful. In reading my old letters, diaries, etc., I've been able to identify old patterns still at play in my life today. It made me so mad to see how the more things changed, the more they stayed the same, that I took immediate steps in my life today to end the patterns. So instead of dumping your boxes of papers wholesale, you may want to look at the items that could give you valuable insight. What this book did for me is completely remove the urge to keep anything that no longer holds real value for me. I immediately cleared out a bunch of books and cassettes that had either never had any value for me, or no longer did.

As far as the "not really feng shui" complaint . . . Karen states, and I absolutely believe she is right, that clutter clearing is the most important part of feng shui, and that her book is a supplement to the vast body of feng shui books available everywhere that never give specific instructions on this point. I don't know how anyone could miss this and expect anything else. Anyone in this category should have his/her shopping license revoked :) Since feng shui is about energy flowing, and it certainly can't flow through a space packed tight with clutter, there is no better place to start than this book.

Sure, there are a few things in the book that are a bit overwrought--for example, she fleetingly refers to lots of evidence that my clearing my clutter can help my ancestors! I'd love to know what that evidence is! But come on, folks, you buy a book with "feng shui" in the title . . . if the author's not stranger than you are, she's just not doing her job.

As far as the clearing your body part that has so many people freaked out . . . I ordered some herbs, used them in moderation, and found them to be helpful.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. I only wish I'd had it as soon as I reached the age of reason (it's been awhile :) but better late than never.