Lessons Learned: De-cluttering Junkie

Background for De-cluttering Junkie:  I started writing Confessions of a De-cluttering Junkie on my personal blog a few years ago.  I’d been reading blogs and message board posts that seemed to take a good thing (removing the excess from our lives) and almost turned it into an obsession.  I admit that I saw myself in both sides of Kaye–the tendency toward extreme.  My nature is to be “all or nothing” in almost everything.  I wrote the book to encourage myself and a friend of mine who is much like me.

Characters: All of the characters in De-cluttering Junkie speak to the issue of how we deal with our excess in different ways.  Some of us close our eyes and pretend it’s not there, others embrace the stuff for various reasons, and some of us, once we feel the freedom and lightness that comes with less to clean, to organize, to work around–we go a bit crazy and remove even that which enriches us.

MC:  Kaye is a delightful combination of a simple and a complex character.  At the very core of her, she has one desire–to be successful at something. How she achieves this is quite complex.  I tried to show that she has a history of starting “kicks” like this and never continuing them.  Diets, organizational things, budgets–the works. But like most of us, when something finally pushes her button at just the right time, bam! She finds the strength to keep going and succeed!

Second MC:  Jacob is kind of a projection for me.  It’s kind of how I see most men responding to me and my craziness.  My husband just rolls with the crazy ways I try to fix issues around our house (and with 11 people in 1100 sq. ft. I’ve had some bizarre ideas to try to make it keep working).  But if he were someone else–if he weren’t the longsuffering man that he is–he’d probably freak out on me just like Jacob does.  I kind of feel for Jacob.  Kaye changed the rules.  Every year she goes off on a kick of some kind, and by the end of January or so, she’s back to status quo but not this year!

Third Character:  Every superhero/heroine needs a nemesis, and what better one than a cat?  Cats are legendary for their supposed arrogance and disdain for those who might interfere with their highnesses.  Some of the things Purrlock did, are actual events.  We had a house guest with a cat once.  Let’s just say that when she desecrated our sock basket, she became an outdoor cat.  Ahem.

Theme:  Moderation in application of a principle and respect for others’ differences.  It’s so easy to become wrapped up in a new project and forget that there’s more to life than that project.  But even more than that, I wanted to drive home–more to me than to anyone–that people are more important than houses or stuff of any kind.

Response:

This is a fun story about a woman who is overcome by the chaos in her home and goes “overboard” in her efforts to de-clutter. Her new “hobby” affects everyone around her, and not always in a positive way. Eventually, she finds the balance and in the process learns better relationship and parenting skills while her family discovers the rewards of organization.
Her nemesis is….the family’s cat. Yep.
You will find a clever story line, inspiration and tips for home organization, and an overall enjoyable read.  ~Colleen ND

Once again, Mrs. Havig has written a wonderful story that speaks to the real person. With feline hilarity to break up the seriousness, characters come to life who could be your next door neighbour, your sister or brother, or even yourself. Not only was I inspired to get some cleaning done, but I was reminded to remain consistent in training my children and be compassionate in sharing my convictions with others. I love how she even gave careful thought to the audience members, fleshing out people you could picture in your head and recognize if you came across them in another of her books.   ~Amazon Customer

Confessions of a De-cluttering Junkie is a fun read but also has deeper lessons to take to heart. What started as a good thing – getting rid of ‘junk’ became an obsession. Letting anything take over our lives and becoming a ‘junkie’ has effects on our family and friendships. As a person who recently became a ‘decluttering junkie’ I was cheering her on as she organized her house. But seeing how her attitude affected those around her made me realize that I need to keep others feelings in mind as well.   ~ M Wenger

This story was very helpful to me. I bought it because I have dearly loved every book that Chautona Havig has written. I haven’t been dissatisfied with any book yet. The De-cluttering Junkie was uplifting. It made me want to De-clutter my home and I am working on that. Her nemesis, Purrlock is fun. Just try it, I believe that you will enjoy it as well. Thank you Chautona for another enjoyable read.  ~Betty

Summary:  This book is a lighthearted look at serious problems in many modern Christian lives.  It addresses our tendency toward excess–both in possessions and in our response to things.   We have a tendency toward what I call “the pendulum effect”–our tendency to swing from one extreme to another instead of finding a practical balance.  Kaye overspent and packed their house with stuff, so instead of learning to get rid of what they’d never miss, she tries to get rid of everything they can possibly live without.

And watch for updated short stories over at De-clutteringJunkie.com .  Whether it’s a hunt for a purse, a new obsession, or the Purrlock Report, you’ll find fun tidbits about Kaye, organizing, and keeping the junk from your house’s trunk!