Hi, my name is Dana, and I write about decluttering.
And I still have to declutter my own home. Again and again and again because decluttering isn’t a one time thing and because I’m the world’s best re-clutterer.
Y’know how kids like to put a puzzle together, then tear it apart, then put it back together again? Just for the joy of the putting together?
It’s like that except it’s not like that at all. There’s no joy in decluttering a space again.
But I do it anyway, since I’m an adult and all.
So here was the before.
Yes, I’m horrified, too. I have an amazing ability to function in the teensy amount of space available after being crowded out by the clutter.
It’s a gift/curse.
But y’all, it was getting bad enough that I was struggling to function. And I needed to make a video, so there’s that, too.
I started with trash, moved the easy stuff to already established homes (stuff like 67 or 6700 pens/pencils . . . ), stuck DUHs in the Donate Box, and asked myself my two decluttering questions again and again and again.
And then I consolidated. Moving like things together makes me touch everything. Every single thing. Touching every single thing makes me see trash and easy stuff and DUHs that I missed before.
So here it was after that. After JUST decluttering. So much better.
But then it was even better when I used this idea from one of you!
You should watch the video. If you can’t see it for some reason, watch it on YouTube here.
P.S. I don’t even like puzzles.
P.P.S. I have no idea what happened to the “organizing thingies” I put in this drawer in this post.
Just passing along a tip. It’s easier to keep a drawer like that clean with little plastic bins from the dollar store. Love your blog!
I also was going to post “ why don’t you use cup hooks for your jewelry “
And yes, use Dollar store containers. I found a fabulous pink set of 6 attachable containers that I use. If you gather up your change from the drawer you’d probably have enough to buy one,lol
I adore you and your honesty.
You did a great job with the decluttering, congrats! Our bathroom drawers looks as if they’re dumpsters – they’re filled with all kinds of junk, we’ve never used half of it, and we can’t find anything in there. I will try your method, maybe it will work for us too.
Hello! Long time no read-your-blog! But when I clicked on it, it instantly spoke to me – as usual!!!
My bathroom drawer was decluttered and organized….. but now it’s not….but I’m going to do it again this weekend! Thanks as always for the inspiration!!!!
I ripped the lids off cheap clear tackle boxes to make layered limits for makeup, nail stuff, hair tie and clips, etc. They fit in the drawers and have adjustable dividers. You declutter by taking out the tackle box. The divided compartments force getting rid of duh and trash because your fingers go in a box to get to what you need. Something in their that’s in the way gets super obvious as you use the stuff in there. Don’t use it, dump and repurpose.
Great idea! And the removable dividers make the whole thing easier to clean. You could probably pull the whole thing apart and run it through the dishwasher.
Instead of cup hooks, I used large push pins. They organize my jewelry just as well but leave a smaller hole in the wall.
I used to use clear, regular-sized push pins, but when my jewelry collection grew, I switched to the larger ones. Not only do they hold more jewelry, but the larger pinhead keeps the jewelry on the pin better. Don’t worry though. I’ve decluttered my collection. Now I have fewer pieces per pin for less jewelry and visual clutter.