Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Year of No Clutter: A Memoir
    Year of No Clutter: A Memoir
    Year of No Clutter: A Memoir
    Audiobook8 hours

    Year of No Clutter: A Memoir

    Written by Eve O. Schaub

    Narrated by Callie Beaulieu

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Eve has a problem with clutter. Too much stuff and too easily acquired, it confronts her in every corner and on every surface in her house. When she pledges to tackle the worst offender, her horror of a "Hell Room," she anticipates finally being able to throw away all of the unnecessary things she can't bring herself to part with: her fifth-grade report card, dried-up art supplies, an old vinyl raincoat.

    But what Eve discovers isn't just old CDs and outdated clothing, but a fierce desire within herself to hold on to her identity. Our things represent our memories, our history, a million tiny reference points in our lives. If we throw our stuff in the trash, where does that leave us? And if we don't . . . how do we know what's really important?

    Everyone has their own Hell Room, and Eve's battle with her clutter, along with her eventual self-clarity, encourages everyone to dig into their past to declutter their future. Year of No Clutter is a deeply inspiring-and frequently hilarious-examination of why we keep stuff in the first place, and how to let it all go.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMar 1, 2017
    ISBN9781515971764
    Year of No Clutter: A Memoir
    Author

    Eve O. Schaub

    Eve O. Schaub is an internationally published author and speaker. The author of Year of No Sugar and Year of No Clutter, she has been featured on The Dr. Oz Show, Fox & Friends, USA Today, and The Huffington Post, among others. She lives in Vermont with her family.

    More audiobooks from Eve O. Schaub

    Related to Year of No Clutter

    Related audiobooks

    Humor & Satire For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Clutter, Be Gone!

      Dec 28, 2020

      Clutter, Be Gone!
      4 min read

    • Article

      Goodbye Things, Hello Life

      May 19, 2020

      Goodbye Things, Hello Life
      7 min read

    • Article

      Decluttering in Retirement (or at Any Age) Frees Space and the Soul

      Jun 7, 2018

      Death cleaning, a common practice in Sweden, sounds harsh. But the purpose of dostadning is to ease the burden on relatives and friends by getting rid of your stuff now, instead of leaving them to deal with your clutter after you die. Margareta Magn

      2 min read

    • Article

      The 7 Emotional Clutter Blocks

      Jun 27, 2019

      The 7 Emotional Clutter Blocks
      5 min read

    • Article

      Longtime Shoeshiner Who Donated $202K To Children's Hospital Of Pittsburgh Dies At 76

      Oct 17, 2018

      Albert Lexie and his purple shoeshine push cart were beloved fixtures for more than 30 years within the hospital's corridors, but his generosity became renowned across the nation. He died on Tuesday.

      2 min read

    • Article

      88 For Inspiring Us To Clean House

      May 30, 2018

      Margareta Magnusson Author Death cleaning—known in Sweden, its country of origin, as döstädning—may sound morbid. But it’s really an act of love, says Margareta Magnusson, the 84-year-old first-time author of The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleanin

      1 min read

    • Article

      Not To Do List

      Jul 29, 2019

      Not To Do List
      1 min read

    • Article

      A PRECIOUS Moment In Time

      Jun 17, 2019

      There’s something about Lambrook Hall that always draws me back and I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been here. I don’t really care if it’s hundreds, to be honest. I can’t resist it. I’m in the dining room again now. Not the ballroom or the lib

      6 min read

    • Article

      Can’t Take It With You

      Apr 10, 2022

      Can’t Take It With You
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Joan of Arc Puppet Show

      Jun 1, 2019

      The Joan of Arc Puppet Show
      14 min read

    • Article

      Table Talk

      Jun 1, 2019

      Table Talk
      9 min read

    • Article

      Chris Erskine: We're In Need Of A Little Refinishing

      May 1, 2018

      We are a house of half-done things. The tomatoes are semi-planted, and the old dresser may never be refinished. The other day, I noticed the electric pencil sharper has a little stub in it from when someone broke off a tip. One of the inmates was pro

      3 min read

    • Article

      Neither Here Nor There

      Jun 5, 2022

      Neither Here Nor There
      2 min read

    • Article

      ‘Cygnet’: Featured Fiction from Season Butler

      Jun 25, 2019

      A excerpt from Butler's debut coming-of-age novel, set in an appealingly rich world with quirky, flawed characters and a dramatic oceanfront landscape. The post ‘Cygnet’: Featured Fiction from Season Butler appeared first on The Millions.

      4 min read

    • Article

      Tif Fussell

      Dec 5, 2023

      Tif Fussell
      4 min read

    • Article

      Phebe Rendulić

      Dec 5, 2023

      Phebe Rendulić
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Man I Should Have Married

      Dec 29, 2019

      The Man I Should Have Married
      11 min read

    • Article

      A Cure For THE GLUMS

      Sep 6, 2023

      You join us for coffee on the terrace at Wendy’s house, not that you’ll really be bothering about the coffee. Or indeed the raspberry and almond muffins. No, you’ll probably be enjoying the view, wondering why nobody has asked to see your National Tr

      3 min read

    • Article

      A room Of Her Own

      Dec 17, 2021

      A room Of Her Own
      8 min read

    • Article

      Mess Wars

      Dec 9, 2019

      I love tidy homes – for other people. I can see how orderly surroundings create a sense that all is right with the world. No running around manically looking for your purse, or the moisturiser you absolutely need to be able to function today. As it i

      4 min read

    • Article

      Good Bones

      Mar 19, 2020

      Good Bones
      18 min read

    • Article

      My Best Friend

      Oct 1, 2020

      My Best Friend
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Year of No Clutter

    4/5

    65 ratings12 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      I liked how the author plumbed the emotional depths our attachment to stuff goes, and how hoarders aren’t that much different than your average person.
      Flip side, it did get to be repetitive.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Promises alot delivers little. Just a story about her struggle with stuff, not much help here.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book if you think you hold on to too much STUFF! I could relate and have been on the journey of "decluttering" for years and have to say, I am much better than before helped only by a new husband of 15 years and 7 moves together. Over many years I have read Peter Walsh, Marie Kondo and quite a few more...they have all helped too.
    • 4/5
      I kind of loved how the author realized where she was on the hoarder scale and the work she did to let go of things. I also appreciated how she knows she’ll never be a minimalist but did work toward small change; she was very funny in her self-awareness.
    • 3/5
      Intermittently funny. Not super relatable (for me).
    • 2/5
      Author's tale of a year spent "cleaning up" her "hell room" -- junk room. Self indulgent, repetitious, and boring. Doesn't work as a self-help book, nor as a riviting narrative. The author's research/musings on hoarding are somewhat interesting, hence the two stars.
    • 4/5
      In this true story, Eve lives with her husband and two daughters. Her house is cluttered, with piles of stuff seeping into almost every room. But Eve's biggest secret is "the Hell room", a room so full that you can not see the floor. Eve decides to start a "year of no clutter," where she will dedicate herself to clearing out the hell room.

      So right off the bat, it felt like Eve's progress was very slow. Although not quite to the level of people on the "hoarder" tv shows, Eve feels a deep connection to everything in her house and finds it hard to let go. She talks us through her thought processes, and slowly she learns that it is ok to not keep everything you own.

      Eve's father is a hoarder, and during the year she goes to his house to help him get ready for a cross country move. Seeing everything that he keeps, that she sees as "junk" helps her in her quest. She begins to take a closer look at the things she is keeping in her own life.

      When I first saw this book, I thought it would be more of a self help guide, to help me deal with clutter. Really, this is a personal memoir, about one woman's struggle. There are some interesting points the reader can take away, and I do feel mildly inspired to tackle some of my problem areas in my house. If you are looking for advice, you might want to look elsewhere. This book was fun to read and I enjoyed the look into one woman's life.

      I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      I found this book difficult to read. Not because it was poorly written but because Schaub's musings on hoarding, "stuff", life, and the end of life to hit too close to home many times. Many times, I stepped away and had to steel myself to return to it.However, despite her insights and efforts, Schaub didn't really accomplish what she set out to do at the beginning of the year, but ended up clearing out a different, smaller room. I found THAT a little discouraging.
    • 2/5
      You know the term that person has a screw loose? Yeah, that fits this author. Also the term, she's certifiable.
      This book is more about the author's hoarding issues and not so much about clutter. It's about her redefining the terms clutter and hoarding and also justifying her hoarding.
      What would you do if you noticed a dead mouse in your house? Would you run and write a story about it as Eve does? Not only does she claim to do this, but also saves the body in a white jewelry box and then later even names him... Samuel.
      pg. 164 In talking about Hearst Castle she says, "Do you think people would come from all over the world to visit Hearst Castle if they called it "Hearst's Hoard"? Don't you think it could easily have been oe if there had been no staff to sort it out and keep it organized?"
      Now mind you, Hearst supposedly kept thinkgs like George Washington's waist coat. That's part of history. How is that hoarding? It doesn't matter if one has staff to organize your dead mouse.
      pg. 167 ...'because it's not the things you keep that make you a hoarder.'
      Want to bet on that crazy mouse lady?
      pgs 227-231 she lists some of her weirdest items she owns. (the mouse is the first on the list, so at least she recognizes it's weird.
      pages 256-257 where she's going through her budding hoarder youngest daughter's art work for a book project, the little girl falls into a fit of hysterical laughter and that is heart warming. The best part of the book. But why do I call the youngest child a budding hoarder? She already saves empty candy wrappers, and a finger nail that came off.
      The psychology is what intrigues me, but if I had this family as clients, I'd have to shower after every session.
      Do I recommend this book? No, not really. There's humor in it, but more so, there's sadness that this woman needs help and she's too busy justifying or renaming. Call it what you want, it doesn't change facts.
    • 1/5
      This personal memoir was probably not for me: the meandering descriptions of horrible clutter were nauseating. The dithering was exasperating. After reading declutter-tidy up books (which Schaub claims to have done with reference to the likes of Marie Kondo), it is very strange she cannot discard anything. Keeping rubbish is obviously a part of her story, so maybe she wanted to connect with the people who are in an extreme mess. It's just a story I had no patience with reading so it hit the DNF graveyard.
    • 4/5
      Title: Year Of No ClutterAuthor: Eve O. SchaubPublisher: SourcebooksReviewed By: Arlena DeanRating: FourReview:"Year Of No Clutter" by Eve O. SchaubMy Thoughts...This is a true story of how Eve who had one horrible secret and that was that she was a collector of things which turned out to being a hoarder [collector vs hoarder]. What may be a surprise to many but this is so true of a lot of us that just start out collecting things as we will see from Eve's standpoint that she had over 500 square feet [secret Hell room] of things that she has keep because it seemed like everything meant so much to her life. So, Eve decides to start a 'year of no clutter.' Now how will this turn out for her? How will she dealt with what to keep, throw away or send to charity? Has all of this stuff given her 'happiness, joy, satisfaction, or simply a connection to various memories?' I know a lot of people can identify with this book including myself! So, as I read this read I kept waiting to get more advice on how to get get of my clutter but it seemed like this read was more about 'Eve's personal journey and growth [her memoirs] rather to the actual organizational how to guide book.' Now, I will say it was quite a interesting read even though it wasn't quite what I thought the novel would be about. I will say I was given some inspired ways to tackle some of my problem areas in my home. By the end of the read Eve did let the reader know that after a year just what she decided to keep, threw out and donate using plenty of scenarios giving the reader some interesting stories. I did learn from the read this wasn't just about her being the only hoarder in this family, for her husband and father had some of these issues to.
    • 4/5
      During my progress update, I wrote this book seems slightly 'cluttered', to use the author's words. However, having finished the whole thing, I feel that it has every right to be. A) it seems totally fitting to the author's character - any other thing would have felt just not right. Good thing too that the editors did not (as I initially hoped) de-clutter the story too much.While this is not a self-help guidebook, the book offers several notes of advice on how to handle and reduce your clutter, just not as straight-forward, but to be found in between the lines (actually, there are even one or two lists that might come in handy for the reader).As for the rest, the book really reads like a kind of memoir (I wondered why it was categorized there) and it got very personal in the process. There were many small anecdotes which at first I deemed 'clutter', but which make reading this book such a likable and honest thing. The author is not some self-proclaimed expert on organizing or cleaning up, but she is one of 'us' - a person that has experienced clutter herself and decided to do something about it, while at the same time admitting she will never be a neat-freak. It was consoling to see so much similarities in her way of thinking and behaving. While I do not have something as large as a complete Hell Room, there are several corners and boxes in my home that have mysterious clutter-magnetic powers. I could relate to the author's outbursts of clearing frenzy as well as her phases of depressed numbness very well. There are certain days where sorting is the easiest thing to do, while on others I can't seem to part with even the smallest thing while at the same time feeling overwhelmed by all the clutter in my life. So I decided long ago to just roll with the tide and do my clearances only when in the right mood - otherwise I will only end up shifting things from one place to another without actually achieving something. Usually spring is my perfect season to declutter, so it was a good thing I read the book now as a reminder and motivation to start another round of me vs. clutter.While any actual practical advice taken from this book was not new to me, the author put in clear words how I feel about my clutter but which was always slightly fuzzy - one thing is the past of things, the memories and feelings they represent and which is hard to let go, even if it means only physically. The other is 'it may be useful to someone some day'. I absolutely share this reluctance to part with stuff that is not broken and still perfectly usable, even if keeping it or trying to find someone who has use for it takes up lots of space and time I could spend in better ways.So while I often feel slightly intimidated by expert guidebooks and sometimes even wonder how they can give advice on something they haven't experienced personally (ha! it's easy for them to talk), this book meets you on 'eye-level', so to speak, and I'm more willing to take advice that has actually been put to the test. While it seems my review got a bit cluttered itself now, I only have good things to say about this book, so I guess that's OK ;)Recommended!