Clutter clearing changed my life
Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston - Readers' letters
Clutter clearing has changed my life
Six months ago I purchased your book, Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui. Your book has literally changed my life! For years I have collected, stored and embraced my stuff (aka my clutter) I believed that it was part of me and essential to my being and existence. That to part with any of it would mean giving up a part of myself.
Since reading your book I realised that I was holding onto the past, both happy and sad times and not allowing myself to move forward and live my life in the now. Within a few days, I gave away or sold 80% of my wardrobe (your theory is so true about only wearing 20% of what we have). I also colour matched my clothes, which really works. The small amount of clothes I have purchased are in colours and styles that make me look and feel great!
Over the past few months, I have been through my kitchen, children's rooms, my living areas and half the garage and made $450 in a garage sale. Additionally, I have sold alot of my clutter on the internet and made over $3,500. I have also taken two carloads of stuff to a charity shop and another three carloads of PAPER to the recycling depot! And this weekend I intend to ninja the rest of the clutter. Since clearing out my financial corner I have had a huge increase in my income and work has been more enjoyable. I have sorted out my finances and made a budget to get me out of debt quickly and now feel in control of my money.
My friends and family, not to mention my ex-husband, are in shock! To the point, they feel concerned that soon I will have given away everything! I have recommended your book to so many people and have four friends who are super keen for me to help them clear their clutter when I am done. So many people say I have more energy and look younger since I started moving my stuff that I am inspiring them to "clear the clutter". Your motivating words and your wisdom and humour is inspiring and I feel blessed to have read your book and for the strength you have given me to start on a new journey and embrace life once more, clutter free! ~ Dawn
I took all my clutter back to the flea market I bought it from
Never before has a book changed my life as much as yours did. Your advice is so practical and seducing. I used to go to the flea market by foot and come home with a taxi full of things....but in the last few weeks I cleared my home, went to the flea market and came home with €759,75! And how beautiful and fresh my flat now is! Thank you very much. I am looking forward to my new life without heavy luggage. I am now working on stopping putting clutter into fleamarket boxes. My neighbour has orders to stop me if I try to get rid of my toothbrush :-) ~ Marei, Germany
A fire has been ignited in my soul
I just finished reading Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui. I am embarrassed to say this book has been sitting in my overcrowded bookcase for longer than I can remember. That being said I am hooked.
I studied Feng Shui several years ago and have practised it on occasion with moderate success, I now have an idea why my past efforts fizzled. After reading your books a fire has been ignited in my soul and I can't wait to re-energize my stuck practice. I have never written to an author commenting on how their book affected me but I had an overwhelming urge to do it in this case. I can't wait to study with you, and since it doesn't appear that you come to the United States I will come to the UK. I will need some time to get the resources together for this adventure but with the help of the information I received in your books I know it is only a dumpster away.
Thank you, Karen, for your wonderful books. ~ Christine, New York, USA
From 90% clutter to 10%, and still clutter clearing
My sister gave me your Clear Your Clutter book about a year ago. I love it so much!!! Thank you so much! I have a very small apartment and it was stuffed with 90% clutter everywhere. Every corner in every room, up to under the ceiling. The 10% things I used were outside of the wardrobes because they were too stuffed, and it always looked messy, which I thought was because it was just too small.
Now I use my wardrobes and cupboards for the things I use and almost all the unused stuff is gone. It is incredible how much stuff you can store in such a small place! I have maybe 10% clutter left now and these items really feel wrong somehow now. I still have a cat tree from my cat that died a year ago, and I know I have to get rid of it but I'm not ready yet. It really feels like it is in the way now and disturbs me every time I see it.
The apartment is still small, but what you say is true - I can breathe better! It feels more peaceful. Now it looks nicer and more beautiful, and I feel much clearer in my head, and lighter, and more whole as a person. I also got 140 Euros from the power company back last year (after the first decluttering) and got 500 Euros as a Christmas present from my dad (normally it is 200 Euros), just a few days after my last huge decluttering. Wow. To me, 500 Euros is a lot of money :-)
I read your book again and again and stand in front of cupboards and think: What could I get rid of? It is really freeing and feels good, and I am always proud of myself when I let go of something. Thank you so much, and God bless you. ~ W.L., Germany
The progress I've made since clutter clearing
I have to tell you about the progress I've made in the last 8 months since I read your book. I have suffered from rheumatism for 10 years now. I've taken a lot of medicine for it and have had periods of pain and immobility where I have been bedridden for weeks sometimes, and unable to go to work for 12 - 15 weeks a year or even longer. I have been overweight (79 Kg, height 155 cm), and sometimes wasn't able to do anything, especially after work. I just wanted to lie in bed.
In April this year, I hit upon your book. Since that time I have read it 4-5 times and started to clear my clutter. It took me about 6 months to get rid of everything I don't really need any more or that made my feel bad. I gave it all away to friends and to charity and threw a little bit away.
When I started to clear my clutter, my life started to change...
- I read books about rheumatism, food and health.
- I changed my eating habits, reduced animal protein step by step and stopped eating beef. Now I don't eat anything that had a face anymore and only a little animal protein.
- I stopped eating industrial sugar and flour. I eat wholefoods now and a lot of organic fruit and vegetables.
- I lost 13 kilos without dieting and feel great - healthy, satisfied and happy.
- I changed my shopping habits. Before I buy something I think about it twice.
- I have a lot of contact with other people now who are on the same spiritual level as me or higher, and that's great.
- I read books about healthy living and spiritual awakening and development.
- Now I am thinking about sun food and changing to raw food.
- I have a lot of goals now and my life is so much fuller. I'm amazed that this is really me.
- My best friend says that I'm even looking different, not only slimmer, but my charisma is more alive and shining.
My next project is the space clearing of my home. I have been so busy with all the changes in my life that I haven't found time to do it until now. I know that I am on my way and that I will find my destination. My life is happier and brighter now. Thanks for pushing me in the right direction. ~ Heidi, Germany
Inspired to live life to the full again
I have just finished reading your book today. I am totally inspired by it and it has helped me move on a huge step in a difficult process I am going through at the moment. I have always been a great person for clearing clutter, but had never thought of it in terms of emotion and stale baggage before, which your book has taught me. For the first time in many years I feel alive and positive again and dying to move on with MY life.
It has, by the way, taken me a few weeks to clear my clutter as I have 4 children to run around after, I have been reading your book off and on, but I have had spurts off clearing in between. You will be glad to hear though that most of my clutter is now stored in my garage waiting to be disposed of in various directions over the next few days and the only area now weighing me down is the attic which (as it is Sunday) I am now off to attack! Thank you for your book and for inspiring me to live life to the full again. ~ Jane, Ireland
Your book changed my life
Well, I read your book about clearing clutter. I'm not kidding. It changed my life! In fact, I was up all night for two nights reading and re-reading it. At the end, I asked myself why I was hanging onto all this stuff? Finally, I came to see that I was hanging onto the past, and not necessarily my past. I then began. I dumped so much that now I have closet space with nothing to put into them.
The language used in the book gave me permission to let go of things and pass them on to someone who needs them. They had served their purpose here and sat around in corners and closets waiting to be useful again. So there they went.
And now for the best part. I quipped to my best friend that by clearing out the clutter, would my live-in boyfriend "go along" too. She laughed and said that I would never get rid of him. Well....one week to the day that I finished the book he moved out because I was able to just let go and when he made his threats I gave him 24 hours. He left. Yes...my home is again a safe place to come home to. The cats are spending more time in the living room and so is my son.
My neighbor laughed heartily when I said (and not once), 'That book has changed my life!' Then she read it and she is now clearing her clutter.
I love this book and yes, you have my permission to share my feelings with the world. I have control of my possessions again instead of visa versa. ~ Elva V.
I have cleared out 80% of the things I own
Since I read your clutter book 3 weeks ago I have sold or given to charity or binned 80% of the things I own. I've made £550, sold 400 books, got rid of half my old comic collection, half of which I had kept just to have an example of that artist's work, not because it gave me any pleasure on a regular basis, or even at all. My furniture is starting to go. My housemate rapidly followed me, and we've rearranged every room in the house barring our other housemates'. He is still blinking owlishly at the whole whirlwind we've created.
I've decided to stuff London at this present time, after 3 years. I'm a northerner by upbringing but my heart has always been in the Lake District. So that is where I am going to live. Now I'm not attached to this stuff I realised that the only thing keeping me here was my friends. And that wasn't a good enough reason, much as I love them all. Job and house lease end at the end of January and I've been wondering what my next step would be for months. I think fate already knew what was in store.
Thank you so much for the books, the common sense, the clear insight, and the practicality. How can you argue with such matter-of-fact truths? ~ Alan, England
