Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

Who hasn't yearned for some really good help in dealing with excess stuff? In a book that is part client stories, part practical advice, with a good bit of infomercial mixed in, author Paxton (host of the PBS series Legacy List with Matt Paxton) takes readers through his experience as a professional declutterer. He offers useful advice, with each chapter devoted to a different step in the process, while entertaining with stories of individuals whose clutter situations are probably much worse than the reader's own. Concrete information and best practices are highlighted with text boxes throughout. His own personal decluttering story winds through the book, making his advice even more relatable. One can enjoy the stories, but the real meat of the book is at the end: pages and pages of resources for selling, donating, or tossing treasures. The information is often mostly common sense, but having a source like this to offer positive reinforcement is useful. Public libraries should find this to be a popular title alongside Marie Kondo's work.

Who hasn't yearned for some really good help in dealing with excess stuff? In a book that is part client stories, part practical advice, with a good bit of infomercial mixed in, author Paxton (host of the PBS series Legacy List with Matt Paxton) takes readers through his experience as a professional declutterer. He offers useful advice, with each chapter devoted to a different step in the process, while entertaining with stories of individuals whose clutter situations are probably much worse than the reader's own. Concrete information and best practices are highlighted with text boxes throughout. His own personal decluttering story winds through the book, making his advice even more relatable. One can enjoy the stories, but the real meat of the book is at the end: pages and pages of resources for selling, donating, or tossing treasures. The information is often mostly common sense, but having a source like this to offer positive reinforcement is useful. Public libraries should find this to be a popular title alongside Marie Kondo's work. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.