Examine what's in your wallet, your heart, your house, and your mind as the DiMarcos reveal the pleasures and perils of stuff---and the joy, peace, and freedom that comes from learning to live with less. With their insights, you'll learn to de-clutter your life---physically, emotionally, and spiritually---to focus on what really matters. 224 pages, softcover from Tyndale.

Average Customer Rating:

4.4

out of

(5 Reviews) 5

Rating Snapshot (5 reviews)

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5 out of 5100%customers would recommend this product to a friend.

Customer Reviews for Unstuff: Making Room in Your Life for What Really Matters

Review 1 for Unstuff: Making Room in Your Life for What Really Matters

Overall Rating:

5 out of 5

Great Book to Unstuff the Stuff in your life!

Date:January 24, 2011

Chin Jenny

Location:Malaysia

Age:25-34

Gender:female

Quality:

3 out of 5

Value:

4 out of 5

Meets Expectations:

4 out of 5

I love this book! At first I was a bit skeptical at the title, I mean, "Unstuff"? What do you mean unstuff? What is there to unstuff? But oh boy, am I glad I requested this book! As I read further, I realised the message the authors are trying to point out. Now back to the book, it is categorised into 6 sections (Wallet Stuff, Mind Stuff, Body Stuff, Love Stuff, Worship Stuff and Future Stuff)

In the 1st section, (Wallet Stuff), I love the statement of "When we take on debt, we're saying we want more than what God has allotted for us and we go against his command to "owe nothing to anyone" (Romans 13:8)". Which is why I do my very best to clear off any debts I might have, purchase made using credit cards (to collect and redeem points) will be immediately settled the moment the transaction was reflected in my bank account.

I'm also deeply inspired by the statement "no woman does her faith or her man a service by wanting more stuff. And no man does his God or his wife a service by believing that more stuff is what God wants him to provide". I also like the parable of the Delivery Driver and find it inspiring as well!

What I don't like about this book? I don't like that some of the important points they are trying to emphasise are not standardised. You can see the points bolded, italized, capitalised or size enlarged and it is kind of a clutter and hard to read. I do have a bit difficulty in trying to understand whether the points are important or worth noting down.

What I think would be better is to just use the same font size and type and just put a different color, red perhaps to emphasise that the statement is worth pondering on or something. Or if colored fonts is not a good idea, then just plain putting the sentence in bold would do, but not mixing it up with other styles!

Other than that, this book is just perfect! And I like how the authors included snippets of their diary of their life on the road and some inspiring statements here and there which we can use and share on Twitter as well.

If you think you need to unstuff your life, do consider getting a copy of this book. You will not regret it!

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Review 2 for Unstuff: Making Room in Your Life for What Really Matters

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:January 6, 2011

Pamela

Location:NC

Age:35-44

Gender:female

Quality:

4 out of 5

Value:

4 out of 5

Meets Expectations:

4 out of 5

I enjoyed this book very much. It specifically helped me realize that my unnecessary stuff can keep me from what matters most - my precious family and friends. As the authors put is so perfectly, "It's about cherishing the people in our lives and putting them before things."
~Hayley & Michael DiMarco

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Review 3 for Unstuff: Making Room in Your Life for What Really Matters

Overall Rating:

5 out of 5

This book surprised me!

Date:January 5, 2011

Kimberly

Location:Mississippi

Age:35-44

Gender:female

Quality:

5 out of 5

Value:

5 out of 5

Meets Expectations:

5 out of 5

I just finished reading UNSTUFF – Making Room In Your Life for What Really Matters by Michael and Hayley DiMarco. This book really surprised me. I was not expecting to be challenged to this extent.
I am not a fan of “self-help” books because we should not look within ourselves for help. True help comes from the Lord and it is to Him that we should cling. So honestly, when I first received this book I thought it would be just another shallow self-help book. I have to admit that I was wrong. The premise of this book is that everything in the universe falls into one of two categories – God and stuff.

The DiMarco’s confront their love for stuff and take a journey to Unstuff their lives. They spend three month driving across the country in a motor home visiting homeless shelters. They share their story, their failures, their success, and the changes they made to simplify their lives so they could live more fully for God and for others. They share reasons to Unstuff and challenge those who have ears to hear the truths behind Unstuff. I believe their dedication sums it up: “To the One who created all and knows our hearts. May we worship You and not your creation (or the creation’s creations).”

Our society is built around commercialism. We love our stuff. We want more stuff, bigger stuff, and newer stuff. We want the stuff our neighbors and co-workers have. And the truth is that we are so blinded by the idea that we deserve stuff that the tenth commandment seems irrelevant. Unstuff takes a look at not just things that money can buy but also the stuff we put into our minds, stuff we put into our bodies, relationship stuff, worship stuff, and future stuff. The reading is simplistic but the ideas are deep. Do not pick up this book unless you want to be challenged. The only strike from this reviewer would be the Bible translation used. I prefer to use the KJV and it is somewhat inconvenient to stop to look up Scripture each time. However, most will overlook this issue. Thank you Tyndale House Publishers for the book in exchange for an honest product review. It was enjoyable.

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Review 4 for Unstuff: Making Room in Your Life for What Really Matters

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Lots of Food for Thought

Date:December 28, 2010

Organized Chaos

Location:Austin, TX

Age:45-54

Gender:female

Quality:

4 out of 5

Value:

4 out of 5

Meets Expectations:

4 out of 5

The premise of this book is pretty cool. The authors put it this way: "Everything in the universe falls into one of these two categories: GOD... and STUFF." The question is, which are you placing your faith and focus on? Well, the correct answer "should" be God. But in order to shift our focus, we must take inventory and begin to "UNSTUFF" our lives.

The authors themselves went to quite an extreme to do this. For 3 months they lived out of a motor home, traveling across the country (visiting homeless shelters) with very little "stuff". Even though they don't suggest this route for everyone, it's a great example of just how little we really need in order to live life - AND to live it abundantly.

This book is packed with really good information that helps readers become aware of and discern between what is necessary for living and what isn't. The only thing that seemed to be lacking was practical tips on how to incorporate "unstuffing" into everyday life. Not all of us can just take off for 3 months to see how it will go.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tynedale House Publishers as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Review 5 for Unstuff: Making Room in Your Life for What Really Matters

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

good call to simplify our lives

Date:December 20, 2010

Debbie

Top 500 Contributor

Location:Alabama

Age:45-54

Gender:female

Quality:

4 out of 5

Value:

5 out of 5

Meets Expectations:

4 out of 5

Unstuff, Making Room in Your Life for What Really Matters, by Hayley and Michael DiMarco is a book that challenges the reader to take a close look at all the “stuff” in his life that impacts his walk with the Lord.

The authors’ premise is that “stuff” is meant to fill our needs. It is not meant to control our time, our money, and our hearts. We work hard to buy things that satisfy us only temporarily. We expend time and energy maintaining our large homes, cars, and other “stuff.” All of these things leave us little time for what is most important—God and family—and adding to our stress levels.

The authors say, “Stress results from our assumption that God isn’t enough so we have to take up the slack…It is the result of a life that hasn’t focused itself on things above but on things within.”

Unstuff addresses not only the “wallet stuff” that occupies and distracts us, but also “mind stuff,” “body stuff,” “worship stuff” and “love stuff.”

I enjoyed the first part of the book and appreciated the call to simplify. I don’t know how far I am willing to go in letting go of my stuff, but I do know that my efforts over the past few years to simplify my schedule and obligations and to de-clutter have simplified my life and lessened my stress levels. I wish the authors had focused primarily on “wallet stuff,” however. I felt that much of the last half of the book just tried to cover too much material. I think the definition of “stuff” was so broad that the initial emphasis on downsizing our lives was weakened.

I still recommend this book and think that most of us would benefit from this call to simplify our lives.

Thank you to Tyndale House for providing me with a free review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

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