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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Lessons Learned: De-cluttering Junkie

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

confessionscoversmBackground 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!

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 264: A Chat with Romance Author, Sarah Monzon
byChautona Havig

Finally getting a chance to chat with Sarah Monzon was a total delight, and learning all about her latest release, All’s Fair in Love and Christmas was equally awesome.  My copy is here and waiting for me to dive into the battle of the celebrations!  EEEP! Listen in to see what that even means!

Note: I sound like I’m underwater. We heard it during our interview, but I couldn’t make it behave and couldn’t fix it. Sorry!

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

How Does an Intense Christmas Competition Lead to Love?

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas has so much going for it that I don’t know where to start! Fun mom who made our heroine’s childhood Christmases an international delight without ever leaving home?  Check!  Social anxiety adding to the stress of competing for a promotion?  Check?  Romcom hilarity?  Check, check?  And add to all that Sarah’s wonderful writing and delightful characterization?  I’m all in.

We also chatted about why she chose to write about a woman with social anxiety, her preferred reading methods, and some of my favorite books by her. For a refresher, those are The Isaac Project, 12 Days of Snowmen, and Book Nerds & Boyfriends (a collection of three novellas).

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas by Sarah Monzon

Two workplace rivals. One festive competition. And a romance that upends it all.

Every December two things are guaranteed for graphic designer Mackenzie Graham–Christmas celebrations and the annual promotion at her workplace. Those two things are by no means mutually exclusive. In fact, the better an employee is at harnessing the Christmas spirit, the more likely they’ll win the new job. With her social anxiety, Mackenzie never thought she’d be a contender in her company’s holiday competition, so how exactly has she found herself dueling her workplace crush with wrapping paper tubes and using tinsel as her weapon of choice for a much-needed raise?

Jeremy Fletcher’s life is meticulously planned out, including how to win this year’s promotion at work. Not only will the new position fulfill some of his career goals, but as a single guardian to his twin niece and nephew, he needs the salary increase to support his family. Jeremy has barely noticed Mackenzie Graham around the office, but now that she’s his rival, he can’t stop thinking about her. Her quirkiness intrigues him, and he’s afraid that if he can’t get his head on straight, the promotion isn’t the only thing he’ll end up losing to Mackenzie.

“Inspirational rom-com readers are going to love this one.”–BETHANY TURNER, bestselling author of The Do-Over

You can learn more about Sarah on her WEBSITE.  Also follow her on BookBub and GoodReads.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

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Episode 264: A Chat with Romance Author, Sarah Monzon
Episode 264: A Chat with Romance Author, Sarah Monzon
September 26, 2023
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