No More Clutter
by Sue Kay (Hodder Mobius, $130)
Clutter. We all have it. It's the mountain of paperwork piling up on our desks, the unfiled bank statements, that old coffee machine with the broken switch, the keys dangling from hooks that don't open any doors and the boxes of sentimental mementos - baby socks, birthday cards and letters - hoarded under beds.
But do we need it? Psychologist and professional declutterer Sue Kay says not. Far from it. She says clutter makes modern life more stressful and that what she calls decluttering can be liberating and life-changing, helping you regain control, saving you time and money and energising you.
In her work helping people declutter their homes, wardrobes and workplace, Kay is often told: 'I can breathe again' and 'I feel like a huge block is out of the way'.
In No More Clutter: How to Clear Your Space and Free Your Life, Kay attempts to give similar relief to a wider group of people.
The book starts by taking a look at the eight different types of hoarder - such as the sentimental, the rainy day, the frugal and the rebellious - and the psychology of why we hoard, before moving to a four-step plan to get organised.