Oprah Show Asks: "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?"

Today's Oprah Winfrey Show featured clutter expert Peter Walsh who claimed that the clutter stored in your house correlates with fat on your body.

The show took the Oprah Winfrey cameras and the clutter expert to a family home in California that was filled with clutter. Producers had put out a call for overweight volunteers with cluttered homes, to open up their lives and home.

Peter Walsh has written a book, names "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? Walsh said that after years of helping people organize their homes, he started to notice that people's lives started to turn around after de-cluttering their homes.

Clutter and weight can be symptoms of unresolved, underlying issues in your life. Eating and buying is an attempt to fill a need for more. Underlying issues need to be dealt with. Oprah said that there is an illusion that things make you happy.

Amber is a 38 year old mother of two. Losing weight is essential for Amber, who is awaiting life saving kidney transplant surgery. She has been told to get into the best possible physical shape to withstand the huge surgery.

Peter started out by taking the family on a tour of the cluttered house. The heaviness of the clutter made Amber feel heavy and exhausted the moment they walked into the door. The biggest problem area in the house was the kitchen. The treadmill is used as the shopping bag holder instead of exercise. The basement and the rest of the house are in desperate need of help.

The entire family of four stepped on the scales and announced their weights to the world, causing Amber to break out in tears. The entire family, weighed a total of 716 pounds. Peter was positive in the face of this, saying that it was essential to be truthful with yourself to make progress. This was the start of a new way of life for the family.

The family was armed with trash bags and set out to de-clutter their home. This family had a crew of people to help them carry out the clutter, which I immediately wished that I had for my house. Peter did say that you can dedicate ten or twenty minutes a day to to through the stuff that is no longer useful and separate it out to throw away or give to charity. Dedicate twenty minutes a day getting ride of clutter, to eat away at the problem gradually. Eventually the clutter will be gone.

During the show Peter uncovered some important treasures, including the ashes of the couple's baby that had died, in an urn, He pointed out that the baby's ashes were being treated disrespectfully along with the clutter. He said that the ashes should be put in a clean place of honor. Disrespecting the things that have meaning also means disrespecting a part of yourself. Peter said "The house, the head, the heart, the hips...it's all connected."

The worst room in the house was the basement, which had 1,000 square feet filled with wall-to-wall clutter. Heather and the two children were put to work sorting through clothing, holiday decorations and crafting materials. Peter insists that they keep some sporting equipment that had been buried in the basement, saying they needed to have the stuff out for the kids to exercise with to get healthier. It takes a team of 13 people four hours to completely clear out the basement. I watched wished for a team of people to clear out my own basement.

Peter continues through the house as they get rid of the clutter room by room. In the kitchen, Walsh confronted Amber with the dirt and clutter. He states that there was no way she could cook a healthy meal in that kitchen. The dirty, cluttered kitchen was the basis for bad dietary decisions. In fact, the family stated they ate out an average of once a day, which added to their collective weight problem. When Peter starting throwing out drawers of excess utensils and broke a spoon, Amber broke down and run out of the house. She stated that she wanted Peter and the television crew out of her house.

Peter followed her out and consoled her. They talked about the burdens on Amber, including her health problems and family burdens. Peter wanted Amber to stop carrying the family's burdens by herself and reach out for help. Amber asked Peter to help her.

Peter and Amber returned to the kitchen to complete the "quick purge" of clutter. After sorting through the dishes, utensils and cook books, it was time to get rid of unhealthy foods. They purge the kitchen of the unhealthy, but Peter says that is just the first step. Amber needs to deal with underlying life issues for a healthy lifestyle.

It took 48 hours for the team of professional organizers to transform the family home from a cluttered, "weighed down" environment into an organized family sanctuary. After the transformation, the team takes the delighted family on a tour of their sanctuary.

After the home is de-cluttered and beautified, fitness trainer, Bob Greene, the author of "The Best Life Diet" visits to help the family create a plan for a healthier lifestyle. Part of this healthier lifestyle is to stop eating meals out. Bob helps Amber plan 21 meals for the week. Organizing the weekly meal plan before going to the grocery store prevents impulse buying at the market.

The family says they are delighted with the results of the house cleaning and excited to proceed with a healthy eating plan to lose the excess weight, just like they lost the excess clutter.

I thought the advice in this show was solid. However, I did think that it would be a,really nice help to get a team of organizers to help de-clutter my home. Like Amber, my health woes have contributed to my weight issues and the clutter in my home. While the whirlwind of activity would be upsetting, as it was with Amber, the results would be worth it.

Peter Walsh says that people can obtain the same results on their own, by tackling the problem twenty minutes a day. It may take weeks to do , but the gradual improvement would be baby steps to an eventual transformation. Peter Walsh gives step by step advice to accomplish this in his book, "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?"

"Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" is a book written by clutter expert Peter Walsh. The book offers insight on topics including: why you eat, breaking bad habits, keeping your kitchen and pantry clean, losing weight and making healthy choices.

The Oprah Winfrey website offers further information about these insightful books, "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" by Peter Walsh and The Best Life Diet" by Bob Greene.

The Oprah Winfrey Show regularly features lifestyle experts, such as Peter Walsh, Bob Greene and Dr. Oz to inform and motivate viewers about healthy life choices.

The website for the Oprah Winfrey Show contains additional information.