I am interviewing Betty A. Sproule, co-author of The Stuff Cure: How we lost 8,000 pounds of stuff for fun, profit, virtue, and a better world.
What a catchy title, Betty, who should read your book?
Our book is for anyone who feels that they have more stuff in their home and garage than they really need. When stuff becomes a burden, rather than a joy, it’s time to slim down. Often people need to unstuff when they are planning to move, a child leaves home, or when they need to downsize. Sometimes people need to move stuff along so they can clear enough space to park their car in the garage.
What about the fun, profit, virtue, and a better world? How can getting rid of stuff help in all those areas?
We know that buying stuff can be fun. We believe that getting rid of stuff can also be fun, if you have the right approach. You can sell your unneeded stuff for cash or you can take a deduction on your taxes. Donating to worthwhile agencies, such as Goodwill, St Vincent DePaul, and Hope, does a lot of good for our community. Reusing and recycling help us to be better stewards of our environmental resources.
When you talk about getting rid of stuff, how do you know what to keep?
We have three criteria to define a keeper. When it’s
- Currently functional,
- Really valuable, or
- Outrageously sentimental
If something doesn’t qualify under one of these three headings, then it’s a candidate for unstuffing.
Once you decide to get rid of something, how do you make it work?
We use the principles of gift, shift, and thrift to find our stuff a better home. We discuss the seven morphs of leading an unstuffed life: Refraining, Restraining, Returning, Reusing, Renting, Recycling, and Rendering into trash. We include a discussion of our Stuff Cure Method and the 7 rules of the game. We share a proven recipe for success in getting rid of excess stuff without regret or guilt. We give a lot of specific suggestions for how to responsibly move your stuff along before resorting to just throwing it in the trash.
When do you need a professional organizer in your unstuffing process?
We recommend using a professional organizer to help you achieve your goals even faster. If you get rid of some of the stuff that you don’t need, it helps you to get more value from the time with your professional organizer and you’ll be more pleased with the result.
Mike and Betty Sproule, co-authors of “The Stuff Cure”
If you’d like to read the book, you can order it on Amazon, in either paperback or Kindle form.
Read more about The Stuff Cure on the website: http://www.stuffcure.com/
Isabella Guajardo, also known as Girl With A Truck™, is a professional home organizer and a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). She travels to work with clients throughout the great San Francisco Bay Area, East Bay, South Bay, Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey Peninsula. She shares simple and creative ways to stay organized and stylish while reducing, recycling and re-purposing.
Call (510) 229-7321 today to schedule a complimentary estimate for your home organizing goals. Gift certificates are available.