Lighten Up Book Review

Lighten Up: Love What You Have, Have What You Need, Be Happier with Less by Peter Walsh looked interesting when I saw it because I had seen Peter Walsh on a ton of different television shows like Oprah.

I didn't really know what to expect because I didn't even read the inside cover of this book but I was hooked from the introduction.  I think that everyone should read this book!  My sister in law was over visiting and I made her read the beginning and she agreed that she wanted to add this to her must read list.  There is a detailed quiz near the beginning of the book which is really interesting and fun to see how you turn out.  Make sure you take time to think about your answers because it is really thought provoking!!

The book is broken into sections as listed below:

Part 1: From Living on Less To Living with More
   1. The Life You Imagine for Yourself
   2.  What Makes You Happy?

Part 2:  From Audit to Action
   3. The Personal Audit: Your Life
   4. Create Space for What Really Matters
   5. The Financial Audit: Your Money
   6. Face the Financials
   7. The Home Audit: Your Stuff
   8.  Change the Way You and Your Family Measure Happiness

Part 3:  From Today to Tomorrow and Beyond
   9. Checkup and Maintenance

The book is talking about cleaning up your clutter to make a better life.  The clutter is broken down into different sections so that it is more manageable to tackle.  The main three categories are:

Personal:  The chapter was about exploring your limits and where you derive happiness.  Is it from people or from stuff??  This was super interesting because I know that I get my joy from my son and my husband but it was even more clear after this section.  If you had to get out of the house in two minutes what would you grab?  There is nothing in my house that I couldn't live without except my son and my husband.  It really makes you wonder why people put such a financial burden on themselves to get more stuff which obviously leads directly into the two new sections.
Financial:  As someone who has never been in debt before (minus my mortgage), I can't really relate to the financial portions of the book but the lessons still hold true for all families who don't want to get into debt in the first place.  Still valuable to read and make sure that you don't get into the same situation.  I am always working on better ways to work within my means and making sure that I am putting money in savings.  Since I have been a stay at home mom, that has been my primary goal because I don't have any income.  Our family of three have to live on my husband's income in an expensive suburban area so living within our means is always my goal.

Your stuff:  My weak point is the chapter on stuff because both my husband and I are pack rats.  I know that it is a horrible thing but we always think that we can use the items again.  I have gotten better at trying to sell things on Craigslist, while my husband used to sell things on Ebay and has stopped since we have had our little man.  We really need to clear out more things from our basement to make sure it is clear and organized, instead of overrun.  I did bring a bunch of stuff to my friends house and had a garage sale.  I sold a ton and made $150 so I was extremely happy.  If I could only have a big garage sale every weekend and clear out the basement!!!  My major goal is getting the basement more under control over through getting rid of more stuff.

There is a list of excuses:

#1 But, it's too important to let go!  It has sentimental and nostalgic value to me, and represents my family history.

#2 But, I might need it one day.  I could sell it and make a lot of money!

Here is hoping that clearing clutter, clears up our lives and makes us closer as a family.  I know that is what every family wants to do and this book gives you all the information on how to do it- one small step at a time.
I am going to be putting the authors other books on my reading list soon.  If they are half as interesting as this book, they will be wonderful books.  Please get this book from your local library or bookstore and check out all the interesting topics that Peter Walsh covers in this book.