I’m a big fan of Peter Walsh from seeing him on TV helping families declutter their homes, and reading all of his books. He always questioned people as to their vision for their rooms/homes/lives and advised to hold to that vision as they made decisions as far as what to keep and what to discard.

In his latest book, Lighten Up: Love What You Have, Have What You Need, Be Happier with Less his focus is on the opportunity the current economic climate provides to reassess priorities: what truly matters in life (hint: it’s not stuff).

Part One of the book is an overview of moving from living with less to living with more – taking today’s economy as a chance to reevaluate and ask what’s your vision for your life.

Part Two is all about auditing your life as it is, and taking action to get it to where you want to be: personal, financial, and home.

Part Three is about taking what you’ve learned and maintaining it.

I found myself writing down numerous quotes from the book:

• Does this item or thought or response move me closer to my vision for my best life?>
• Clutter (is) anything that stands between you and the vision you have for your best life – it’s so much more than just the stuff.
• You can’t live your best life in a cluttered, messy, disorganized space.
• Ten to fifteen short minutes can transform a life. (it all adds up!)
• Pick a single, doable thing you can do differently that will move you closer to your vision.
• Do justice to your memories. Honor them appropriately.
• An organized life provides the foundation for whatever you want to accomplish.
• Choose just one thing – one thing to change and let that one thing be your launch pad for further change.

I wasn’t expecting to find the financial audit and action section especially useful – it’s one area of life where I feel like we’ve got a pretty good handle on things and we’re on the right track. However, I’m still glad I read it because Walsh spends some time discussing opportunity cost which is something I’ve not always considered as much as I should.

The home audit and action section was where I expected and wanted to be inspired and I was. As much as I declutter and organize it seems like I turn around and it’s back to being cluttered and disorganized before I know it. Funnily enough, he even mentions that there’s a reason for that, and it’s called the second law of thermodynamics. A clean room will not stay that way and it has to be maintained. Since maintenance is much easier than a complete overhaul I need to stay on top of things and do the daily tasks that keep chaos at bay. He does mention that keeping the vision I have for the room/house/my life helps make maintenance tasks easier, and that makes sense.

I read so many of these sorts of books to reenergize myself to do what I know I need to do, and I find Walsh particularly motivating.

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