Another day, another diet book. But Peter Walsh takes a different tactic in Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? Describing this book as an easy plan for losing weight AND living more, bestselling author Walsh makes a strong case for the connections between the extra weight we carry on our bodies and the extra clutter we have around the house, the office, and even in our brains.

Behind the weight gain is overindulgence and too much consumption, but not always of food. The author presents a plan for not only losing weight but making life better overall - by decluttering the kitchen, the pantry, the fridge, and really life itself, to make more room for what really works and what really matters. By doing this, you can take control of more than just the numbers on the scale and really make a difference on the inside and the outside.

Again, diet books are a dime a dozen, but this one does go a bit deeper than just counting carbs and calories. If by really cleaning up your life, you can also clean up the excesses that go into the body, it makes sense that putting order in your surroundings can actually be the first step to a leaner, healthier body. Balance is the key, as well as finding manageability and control, and Walsh covers everything in detail from choosing the right foods to preparing meals mindfully to creating the kind of home and kitchen that welcomes and invites well-being. He also discusses the role of exercise and handling emotions, moods and habits, all of which can sabotage the quest for success.

This book may work for those who need to really get a handle on why they overeat, over-consume and overindulge in order to create new thoughts and therefore new habits. If other diets have failed, perhaps it is because they have not addressed the deeper issues behind why we gain weight. Maybe all that closet clutter is the key to a tighter, firmer tush after all! It’s worth a try. At the very least, you will be healthier, lose a bit of weight, and enjoy feeling good about giving all that unused stuff to charity. It’s a win-win thing.