Living with Less: How to Downsize to 100 Personal Possessions

I picked up Living with Less: How to Downsize to 100 Personal Possessions at work. I'm not interested in downsizing my own life to 100 personal possessions, but I was interested in how people go about doing it themselves (and in maybe picking up some tips for how to let go of some things in my own life). I didn't realize that Mary Lambert meant "personal possessions" as clothes, electronics, sports equipment, and hobby materials only; she doesn't include things like books, dvds, or your kitchen (because those are shared things in your household, assuming you aren't single). But whatever, this fact didn't bother me as I read it.

Living with Less is very easy to read and follow along with. It has some good tips for clearing things out, but pretty much all of it comes down to "take out your garbage bags and label them "giveaway," "charity/thrift store," and "junk"; take as much time as you need to let go of things with heavy attachments; and "love it, use it, or lose it." Once you get down to your 100 personal possessions goal (which can include whole categories of things - with Lambert's method you'll end up with more than 100 individual possessions at the end), she gives some tips for tackling other areas of the home. I didn't really realize Lambert is a feng shui consultant; talk of feng shui and chi features heavily in the latter part of the book.

I think "Living with Less" is a great place to get you started with clearing out the clutter in your house (as I was reading it, I got inspired to clear out more of my stuff). But if you've more than a beginner or looking for a book on strict minimalism, you should give this book a pass.