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    STUFFology 101: Get Your Mind Out of the Clutter
    STUFFology 101: Get Your Mind Out of the Clutter
    STUFFology 101: Get Your Mind Out of the Clutter
    Ebook144 pages1 hour

    STUFFology 101: Get Your Mind Out of the Clutter

    By Brenda Avadian, MA and Eric M. Riddle

    2/5

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    About this ebook

    STUFFology 101 is for those us who want to #de-clutter without being featured on reality TV. We can still use our bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen, but we harbor secrets.

    1. Do you race around to pick up piles when someone's at the door?

    2. Do you close the door to hide your stuff in the spare room?

    3. Do you still have boxes to unpack from your last move a dozen years ago?

    4. Are you unable to focus because your mind is so frazzled?

    STUFFologists Brenda Avadian and Eric Riddle share four decades of experience dealing with STUFF--uhhh, clutter.

    Inside STUFFology 101, you'll find FUN and FLEXIBLE approaches to get your mind out of what YOU DEFINE as CLUTTER.

    After decades of dealing with clutter, Avadian and Riddle help YOU to declutter the Cluttergories in your life--Physical, Mental, Digital, Temporal, and Sensual.

    Funny, serious, and humbling stories are woven with tips to help you clear the toxic clutter out of your life.

    BRENDA AVADIAN, MA author of nine books, was raised by a mother who could not say no to a free offer and a father who had "spare parts for everything." She took steps to reduce the cycle of clutter in her life as she learned to let go.

    "It's mine!" ERIC RIDDLE would say while holding onto his children's stuff for many years. Once he defined his clutter, he discovered that getting his mind out of the clutter is an ongoing process.

    At the end of your life, what will matter most - -THINGS or PEOPLE?

    Are you ready to manage the STUFF in your life?
    STUFFology 101: Get Your Mind Out of the Clutter
    STUFFology101.com
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateSep 15, 2014
    ISBN9780963275271
    STUFFology 101: Get Your Mind Out of the Clutter

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    Reviews for STUFFology 101

    2/5

    6 ratings1 review

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    • 2/5
      This book mentions the difference between OCD and hoarding and I think this book is about helping hoarders. The psychology of both intrigues me.
      Some clutter sections to tackle: pysical, mental, temporal, and sensory clutter.
      Stats: 1.5 million American have so much "stuff" they cannot use their kitchens/bathrooms/bedrooms as they're intended. Another stat was given for how many people have storage units.
      Do you have a storage unit?
      Can you park your car in your garage?
      Two questions to ask while cleaning/decluttering
      #1 If I lost this item in a disaster, would I take the time to replace it?
      #2 What would the area feel like, sound like, smell like (? ew) if you cleaned out the clutter.

      There were some interesting stories and suggestions. I think the female author is a hoarder. (her father sounds like he was). What I didn't appreciate about the book was the soap box suggestion of thoroughly, with extreme precision, (like the author, because apparently that is her OCD; even though OCD and hoarding are different, there are or can be connections/overlap), but I digress. To go through a deceased members items with a fine tooth comb before donating, so as not to accidentally give away a gun. Because a man who worked at a donation store played with a gun (he supposedly thought was a toy), and shot/killed himself. Okay, the real moral of that story is: don't be a fool and play with guns. duh.

      #1 If I bought this book, I would donated it; without going through it with a fine tooth comb to see if there were any papers (or a gun, snark), in between the pages. (gasp!)
      Overall the book was entertaining, but I could have been reading/listening to something better.

    Book preview

    STUFFology 101 - Brenda Avadian, MA

    Brenda and Eric provide a fun, user-friendly, and effective look at what’s collecting in your life, and offer a pathway to freedom from the physical, virtual, and mental STUFF weighing you down. Their personal stories make it seem they are walking alongside you as a friend. If you want to live Clutter-Free, this book is for you!

    Carol Peters, MD, DMin, Host

    Dr Carol Show www.drcarolshow.com

    Brenda and Eric present an interesting and compelling book on clutter. I admire their passion, and their expertise comes through.

    Brooks Palmer, Author

    Clutter Busting

    What a wonderful feeling of surprise and wonder I felt as I finished STUFFology 101. Just like the cover illustration, the pages of this book open up a world of possibility with whimsical, humorous, and poignant stories.

    For people who clutter, STUFFology 101 offers a gentle escape from the prison of more. What struck me most profoundly was: What really matters? Is it the stacks of papers teetering on tables, boxes filled with more stuff, hand-me-downs that clutter the garage, attic, and rooms of your home or is it the heart connections we have with people that matter?

    Like the occasional great teachers we had in school, Brenda and Eric inspired me to think, feel, reflect and, above all, act. I am empowered now to face the clutter and clean up that POOP!

    Thank you for this book that fills a gap in the literature regarding clutter. There is a place for STUFFology 101 between all the books on clutter busting, feng shui, and the scientific literature on this complex and potentially crippling topic.

    Patrick Arbore, EdD, Program Director

    Institute on Aging

    Is too much clutter hiding the true value of your home? Real estate agents are often faced with a Seller’s possessions making it difficult for potential Buyers to envision themselves in the Seller’s home. The process of de-cluttering can be overwhelming to the best of us. STUFFology 101 provides realtors with a framework for dealing with clients with compassion in order to present their home in the best possible light.

    Barbara Benchoff, Broker Associate

    Centennial Realty Group

    Copyright © 2014 by Brenda Avadian, MA and Eric M. Riddle

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, scanning, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

    Barbie is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc.

    Budweiser is a registered trademark of Anheuser-Busch Companies,

    LLC. LIONEL is a trademark of Lionel, LLC.

    Radio Flyer is a registered trademark.

    STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc.

    STAR WARS is a trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. owned by Disney

    ISBN 978-0-9632752-5-7 (paperback edition)

    ISBN 978-0-9632752-7-1 (ebook edition)

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Avadian, Brenda.

    Stuffology 101 : get your mind out of the clutter / Brenda Avadian, MA, Eric Riddle.

    pages cm

    Includes bibliographical references and index.

    ISBN 978-0-9632752-5-7 (pbk.)

    1. Orderliness. 2. Time management. 3. House cleaning. 4. Distraction (Psychology) I. Title.

    BJ1533.O73A93 2014

    646.7—dc23

    2014003437

    North Star Books

    P. O. Box 589

    Pearblossom, California 93553 U.S.A.

    Telephone: 661-944-1130

    Email: NSB@NorthStarBooks.com

    For all who

    want to stop STUFF

    from draining

    their life force,

    their energy,

    and their vibrancy.

    For all who

    don’t want clutter

    to take away

    from the time they spend

    with people.

    This book will help people who want to decrease the STUFF they’ve accumulated in order to reduce their stress and be free to take advantage of life’s opportunities.

    The publisher offers this book for sale with the understanding that the authors have shared what worked to reduce clutter for them and others. The authors have made a good faith effort to help you reduce what you define as clutter.

    The publisher and authors are not licensed professionals rendering legal, medical, or other advice. If you require these, please seek the services of licensed professionals.

    The authors and North Star Books shall not have liability or responsibility to any person and/or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by this book.

    If you do not wish to be bound by the above, you may return this book (in resalable condition) to the publisher for a refund.

    Preface

    PART ONE: STUFFOLOGY 101

    I Can’t Park My Car in the Garage

    1. What is Stuff?

    2. Cluttergories

    PART TWO: DOES STUFF MATTER?

    3. The Station Fire

    4. The Wooden Spoon

    5. A Man’s Home Garage is His Castle

    6. Those Are MY Toys

    7. Stuff Matters, But …

    PART THREE: I WANT MY LIFE BACK

    8. Where Stuff Comes From

    9. The Toy Gun That Killed

    10. The Ghost of Opportunities Past

    11. POOP!

    12. Why Can’t I Play Pool?

    13. Whose House Is It Anyway?

    14. I Want My Life Back!

    PART FOUR: GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE CLUTTER

    15. Define Your Clutter

    16. Write Down Your Thoughts

    17. Focus on Doing One Thing

    18. Dedicate a Workspace

    19. Repeat Small Steps

    20. Do It NOW!

    21. Input, Throughput, Output

    22. Two Magic Questions

    PART FIVE: WIIFM?

    23. What’s In It For Me?

    24. The U.S. Savings Bonds Windfall

    A Deep-Fried Thanksgiving

    25. Unexpected Gifts

    Afterword

    Bonus STUFFologist’s Guide

    Acknowledgments

    Appendix That’s MINE!

    Notes

    Additional Resources

    Index

    About Your STUFFologists

    We Want to Hear From You

    We’re Here to Serve You

    Research shows that after our basic needs are met—and a little more—we are not happier with more stuff.

    After years of conspicuous consumption—and the hunt for bigger and more things—we have finally said, Enough!

    You won’t find us featured on reality TV shows about hoarding, yet we are among those who deal with something insidious. Unlike hoarders, we live in the shadows, struggling with a lifetime of clutter. Our clutter is not compelling enough to be seen on national TV but it does affect our lives severely; diverting us from our life’s purpose and what we deserve.

    Out of public view, in closets and spare bedrooms, we hide stacked boxes, piles of overwhelming paperwork, and collectibles.

    We are among those who still have stuff stored in boxes from our last move—even if it was ten years ago.

    We wander at the edge of the road, trying to get our minds out of the clutter.

    We are among those who park our cars outside, because there is no room in the garage.

    We make piles after our paperwork grows too much—piles that we scoop up and place out of sight when there’s a knock on the door.

    We need to go on a clutter diet. We need to look at all of our stuff and define what clutter is in order to rid ourselves of it.

    If any of this is true for you, then we, the authors, invite you to join the millions living in the shadows for whom this book was written.

    We will be your guides on this journey through the land of STUFF. We are a married couple (not to each other), who share a combined eighty-three years of experience in dealing with clutter. Brenda started accumulating at age eight, Eric at age eleven. We have faced the emotional struggle of dealing with clutter. Want to know a secret? It’s an ongoing process. We know that managing clutter is not a one-weekend or even a three-month endeavor. It may take much longer.

    We’ve needed to be patient and understanding when dealing with our stuff, and our experience has taught us to be flexible while navigating through it.

    What finally motivated us to de-clutter was when we realized that instead of doing what we wanted to do, like spending time with people, we were spending time with things. At the end of our lives, things won’t bring us comfort,

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