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Drowning in Clutter? (Don’t Grab a Floatie! Drain the Ocean!)
Less – post about decluttering some of the junk in my junk drawer
Just Decluttering (Not Organizing)
--Nony
Hi Dana-I am a long time(GRATEFUL) listener/watcher/email post recipient and that podcast about NOT organizing? but just getting rid of stuff?and having LESS stuff? helped me a LOT. It came back into play – as I recently got new floors- and let me tell you- if you ever want to do that- do it BEFORE you move in – or prepare for something worse than moving. At least when you are moving- you have someplace to TAKE your stuff.
I moved here 3 years ago after being in the same place for 16 years and really thought I had tossed and donated and gotten rid of stuff. Well– suffice it to say-repacking ( I had JUST finally got some things unpacked!)and moving and storing stuff I had to-( to get the crap out of the way so the floors could be done) shed new light.. Your voice was in my head the whole time I did that- AND as I start to bring things back in- there you are again with your two questions. So simple. Not easy- but simple. Nothing has been coming back in unless I need or love it– and I am tossing to beat the band. One of the most suprising things is that I kept out a weeks worth of clothing for my daughter and myself and we have done just fine with that. No way do we need all this clothing.( even though I had tossed/donated probably half of what we had)The lack of stress -just from having to figure out what to wear or where to put clothing or what needs to be washed… has been amazing… I look forward to finding out what ELSE suprises me on this little journey. Thank you so much for your honest heart – your funny mind and your odd brain and the courage to put it all out there- WHILE you are figuring it out. Nothing else has helped me so much over the last 3 years.
Blessings-
Teri
I had to come back and comment when I realised I had forgot. This podcast came at the perfect time! I had been waiting for it all week. I needed fresh Nony encouragement to keep going, keep ditching and to de-clutter to. Nothing makes de-cluttering easier then listening to one of your podcasts. You know if you did an 8 hour podcast while you cleaned house and maybe decluttered the garage over a few days it would be awesome. Lots of rambling chatter would be just the thing. Other podcasts are good too, but there just ins’t the same decluttering-ness understanding to them.
This podcast completely hit home. I have a toddler and declutter is always on my list, but sadly my daily routine is about all that gets done (dishes and laundry. Every.day.) today I found myself in the basement doing laundry and I decided to take 2 minutes to look in a bin labeled DH Winter. Upon open it, I found a couple of my t shirts, and some sweaters that should be donated. 2 minutes. Less (unworn) clothing = fewer storage containers. I LOVE to listen to your podcasts while I wash dishes and often share your insights with my mom and sister.
This is so great!!! Glad you are experiencing “less”!!
Oh Dana,
I sometimes feel like you are a long lost friend. Maybe it’s just that every time I hear you talk or read your blog I realize you and I are kindred spirits. THANK YOU for sharing so honestly – for describing the slob brain so accurately, and for finding the path out of the maze of hopelessness. Thank you for giving me hope and giving me a plan! I discovered your blog last summer, I think, and my house has literally been transformed since. But more importantly, my LIFESTYLE has been transformed. I am a pastor’s wife, and have literally felt disqualified for years because of my slob tendencies. It seriously seems like I’m the only one who struggles with this. But then, perhaps everyone cleans up when they know I’M coming to visit, because they don’t know what I’m hiding!
Today was one of those stay-at-home-all-day-and- hope-the-power-doesn’t-go-out kind of days. The blizzard of ’16 is barreling up the east coast, depositing snow and ice in large quantities. School was closed and both our girls were stranded at friends’ houses. My prayer meeting and doctor’s appointments were cancelled, so confined to my house with nowhere to go, I had plenty of work I could do. Thankfully, just turning on your podcast as inspiration kept me motivated through three mind-freeing decluttering projects. I still can’t get over how light my head feels as the donate box and trash can get heavier!
Because of the grace of God and ASCC, I now wash ALL my dishes EVERY night, and run the dishwasher, EVERY NIGHT, whether I think I need to or not. This makes my husband very happy, as the blender is always clean now, and he can make his smoothie without having to wash it by hand. I’m also emptying it in the morning, sometimes even BEFORE I have to leave the house at 6:25 AM to get one girl to school, because I timed myself and it takes me 5 minutes to empty it. (Thanks for pointing this out, but I think you’re faster than I am!) I now have stopped making piles when decluttering, and taking things where they need to go. I have started throwing away things that no one in the house seems to have a use for, even though they look like “perfectly good things”. Today I chucked a BUNCH of used tissue paper, because I had so much that was new and pretty, and I never use old stuff in gifts because it looks tacky (as you so wisely observed).
I’m not sure which podcast to attach this note to, as I’ve probably listened to 20 of your 80+ podcasts in the last 10 days, but in one of them you talked about resisting the urge to buy things on sale, just because they were on sale. So the true test for me occurred on Monday, as I was waiting for my photos to print at Target. They position their mini Dollar Store right there next to the photo shop and the restrooms for a good reason! So I picked up about $4 worth of cute stuff, that I “might” use. But I couldn’t get the Dana White voice out of my head. I’m here to tell you that I put all four of those items back on the shelf, and left Target $4 richer. I got home with ZERO regrets!
I do have a question for you. My mother is truly a hoarder, in every sense of the word. Our entire family is praying for her, but she is very defensive about her habits. She literally attaches almost lifelike qualities to stuff, especially as much of what fills her home was passed down to her from her mother, her sister, her sister in law – all of whom are deceased. It’s like she thinks she is dishonoring them if she gets rid of stuff, even if she never uses it and she has to trip over it to even walk in her home. I listened to your podcast on sentimental clutter today, and her home is the personification of your struggle, on steroids. Do you have any success stories of anyone in the hoarder category reading your blog and being set free from their attachment to stuff? Other people in our family are convinced that this is a mental illness and there is nothing the average person can do to help her, believing that she needs professional help. I’ve thought about reading your blogs to her on the phone, as she lives on the other side of the country, but just wondered what your experience has been.
God bless you – you are an amazing woman! Thanks for saying “yes” to this calling. You are making a difference!