Unclutter Your Life by Katherine Gibson


Unclutter Your Life: Transforming Your Physical, Mental, and Emotional Space by Katherine Gibson does more than tackle the clutter we see—a messy desk, junk under the bed, stuff in closets or jammed in the attic. In short, coffee-break length chapters, Unclutter Your Life exposes the unseen obstacles that pack the mental and emotional in-basket of life. "I was asked to write Unclutter Your Life when a piece I wrote about living TV-free aired on CBC radio,? says Katherine. ?Writing this book has impacted how I live my life and I am delighted to share what I have learned with others." Unclutter Your Life will show how our creative potential is unleashed when we attack visible and invisible clutter with action, clarity, and a good spring cleaning.
Learn how to:
		Clear out closet-freeloaders
		Trash paper and office clutter
		Become a one-bag traveler
		Liberate yourself from television
		Tune out noise terrorists
		Unclutter the holidays
		Ditch draining relationships
		Put money in its place
		Be rid of guilt, resentments, and self-doubt
		...And more!
Suggestions and resources to unclutter your life are included with each chapter.



Section 1 examines the possessions in our world that do not have a purpose, do not reflect who we are, and do not enhance our lives aesthetically or spiritually.
1.		Clutter: Trash or Treasures
2.		Closet Clutter
3.		The Essential Traveler
4.		Rainy-day Clutter
5.		Office Overload
6.		Paper Clutter: Gutenberg’s Curse
7.		Inheritances: Who Gets Grandfather's Clock?
Section 2 discusses the expectations, distractions and obligations that affect our peace of mind.
8.		Tune Out the Noise
9.		Techno-clutter
10.		The Time of Your Life
11.		Work: Tyranny or Transcendence
12.		TV: Prime Time Clutter
13.		Cluttered Kids
14.		Christmas Clutter
Section 3 explores meaningless activities and self-defeating thoughts that separate us from our highest potential.
15.		Friends: Soulmates or Spirit-vampires
16.		Guilt: Unloading Our Burden Basket
17.		No Doubt About Self Doubt
18.		Don’t Worry. Be Happy.
19.		Money: For What it’s Worth
20.		Nudge That Grudge
21.		The Uncluttered Life


We nearly lost the battle. My husband, Bob, and I were poised to spend ten years’ worth of vacation funds enlarging our house. The spoils of the Good Life had infiltrated the nooks and crannies of our home and taken charge. Clothes spilled from closets. Sports and camping gear, an army of linens, gardening paraphernalia and the bits and pieces of two lifetimes were crowding us out. But it wasn’t just stuff invading our world. There was too much of everything. We sandwiched jobs, family, friends, meetings, volunteering, home duties, gardening, and more meetings into our frenetic lives. God became a word to express frustration and peace was a prize thwarted by the need to have it all. Yet, life was fun. For a while. We gaily careened through our whirlwind lives until we lunged into spin cycle and tumbled out of control. That’s when we jammed on the brakes. Our stuff, along with the daily hassles and spiritual minefields in our grab-and-run world had squeezed us out. And not just the stuff around us, but also invasive technology, information anxiety, noise, deadlines, decisions, and an overload of expectations. Negative feelings, toxic people, resentments and worries created confusion. Somehow, this all ended up on the kitchen table of life. Inside and out, clutter plagued us. According to Clutters Anonymous, an American-based support group, we were not alone. Those affected by clutter are in every level of society. Like us, they feel their possessions are threatening to controlling them. Rather than earmark future earnings to build more room to house more stuff, we decided to take charge and cull what mattered from what didn’t. Feng shui expert Beth Skala offered us a starting point. “If the things we own no longer reflect what we want in life, keep us from realizing our potential, or cease to have purpose, they are clutter—and they’ve got to go.” We yearned for a home that sheltered us from the hurly-burly. We wanted a life that reflected our deepest desires. The “simple life” was not our goal, just a less complicated one. We wanted more time for each other and those we love. Re-arranging the garage on a sunny afternoon missed the mark. So, we pledged to separate what we really needed from what we thought we needed. But we didn’t want to abandon our comforts to take up a Walden-like existence—we liked our comfortable life. We discovered battling clutter isn’t a one-time thing, but a continuous process. It requires a shift from impulsive acquisition to being mindful about what we bring in our home, minds, and hearts. It means pitching what doesn’t serve us and enhancing our life to make room for what does. Most importantly, remaining uncluttered means examining our relationship with our stuff… the purpose of the chapters to follow.

Katherine Gibson can adapt the following programs to suit your audience and your time slot.
1.		Unclutter Your Life This inspirational presentation will challenge listeners to see that a contented life lies in not simplifying life, but simply living. Katherine will show how to create harmony in our lives, inside and out.
2.		Five Secrets to Banish Clutter...Forever End your battle with physical clutter. Katherine’s fail-proof secrets promise to tell you how to transform your physical space. Learn why we clutter, how to release possessions that no longer have a purpose in our lives, and what to do so clutter won’t sneak back into your life.
3.		Four Secrets to Living TV-Free Put more time into your life by reducing or eliminating TV. This workshop provides proven steps to make this significant life-enhancing change. The presentation can be structured for a general audience or focused for parents.
4.		The Essential Traveller Learn to be a one-bag traveler with Katherine’s practical travel tips. Whether it’s a weekend get-away, or a month-long tour, this seminar will prove that one bag fits all purposes. This practical hands-on workshop can be structured to suit the preferences of your audience.
5.		Evict the Closet Freeloaders One of our biggest clutter challenges is clearing our closets of items we no longer wear. This seminar will address what our clothes say about us, why we hang on to old clothes, how to honour sentimental clothing, and tips to organize a workable, uncluttered closet.
To book Katherine for a seminar or presentation contact: hello@katherinegibson.com.


Unclutter Your Life: Transforming Your Physical, Mental, and Emotional Space (Beyond Words Pub. Oregon, ISBN 1-58270-115-6, $14.95 U.S., $20.95 CND) will be available through bookstores April, 2004 or at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.fr. Autographed and personally dedicated copies of Unclutter Your Life are available by emailing your request to hello@katherinegibson.com.