Hi Dana,You have been a life saver. Literally. My house has been a mess. We are a family of five (including my quadriplegic twins, so add inevitable medical equipment to an over-filled house). It’s a big house, and that has been my downfall. There was a lot of space available and I don’t know how on earth I managed to fill to the brim every cupboard, every room, every drawer. And I was suffering with headaches due to all that mess. Every time I needed something, although I knew I had that specific thing, it took soo much time to locate it.I have been watching you on YouTube for almost three years now. The first year it was only watching. The second year was the action year. This year, the third one, you are my sustainability guru. Really. It took a whole year to manage the house and it’s almost been a year that it’s still sustained and completely under control. I declutter at the go now, very, very often and brutally, with no maybes and no regrets. It’s the only way for me because I’ve vowed that I’ll never go back to how it was.So during my action year I followed what you said:1) I started with the 5 minute pick up daily at noon and late evening.2) The following week, I grabbed a black bag. I threw away A LOT. It took around two weeks for me to go through the whole house and outdoor storage to get rid of things that I knew instantly that had to go. Once the obvious things that had to go were out, I proceeded to…3) Grab a black bag AND a donation box. This was harder but manageable. This step lasted a good 7-8 months to be honest. There was so much to go. When this was done I felt empowered and managed to proceed to…4) Declutter OR organise with the ‘take it there now’ rule. If there was no home for the item I said farewell and I let it go. This was the hardest part because of the guilt of how much money had been wasted on things that I wouldn’t use or it wouldn’t occur to me that I had them. And then I proceeded to…5) Hard decisions and emotional stuff. I thought this would be the hardest but it really wasn’t that bad since I got used to making decisions during the previous steps.May I say that I’m down to having some completely empty drawers and cupboards in EVERY room now, my floor is clear, I can have guests over unexpectedly without having a mini heart attack at how our place looks. And the best of it, even on days that I feel like there’s such a mess, I only need 1 hour to get the WHOLE house dignified again.I can not thank you enough. You are a real inspiration and you offer practical easy to follow solutions.P.S. On the first week of step 2 above, I counted 26 full black bags. Regarding step 3 above, God only knows how many pick ups I had organised regarding the donations, and how many more black bags kept appearing. I regretted none of the letting go or of the donated stuff. None.Love and many many thanks,Irene from Cyprus
428: Qs: Kids Toys, Mother in Law and More
0share 0 0 0 Dana is answering questions submitted at danakwhite.com. Topics include her Patreon group, Kindred Spirits, what to do with thank you notes that were never sent, when do you declutter containers, and more! My books Want to be a patron of the show? Find out how at Patreon. Want to find […]
Read MoreFAQ: How Do I Declutter When The Stuff Belongs to Someone Else?
2shares 0 1 1 THE most common question I’m asked is “How do I get the Other People who live in my house to declutter? What do you do when you are ready to declutter, but you feel stuck because so much of the clutter belongs to someone else? No one likes this answer, but […]
Read More427: 4 Ways to Make Your Kitchen Function Better
0share 0 0 0 A kitchen that functions well makes the whole house function better! Today I’m sharing four ways to make this key space in your home run more smoothly. Below are the two videos I mentioned in the podcast. My books Want to be a patron of the show? Find out […]
Read MoreA Retired Reader Shares Her Decluttering Progress Story
0share 0 0 0 I love this letter from Shelly! (She gave us permission to share.) Hello Dana, I’m writing to thank you for your work. I follow you on YouTube and have three of your books on Audible. I started decluttering my home when I retired 7 years ago and have made much progress. […]
Read More426: Feeling Emotions When You Declutter Without Using Emotions to Declutter
0share 0 0 0 Decluttering can be an emotional task. It can feel like the way to get through it is to squash the emotions, but squashing emotions isn’t an effective strategy. The No Mess Decluttering Process doesn’t use emotions to declutter, but it does allow you to experience them during the process. Feel them, […]
Read MoreIs My Stuff Worth $10,000?? – a Listener’s Story
1share 0 1 0 From Dana: I love this story from one of you! Since I last listened to you, I have taken up sewing and quilting as a hobby. I have a stash of fabric that is getting out of hand. I have great ideas, and then a strong urge to make them […]
Read More425: Helping Others Declutter While Being Respectful to Them
0share 0 0 0 In this episode, we discuss: Letting go of your fantasy self as we move into a new phase of life. Gauging when to move past gentle encouragement over to doing most of the heavy lifting for my overwhelmed daughter. Solving the problem of all the equipment we need being in a […]
Read MoreFAQ: What if the Place Where I Would Look For It First is Full?
1share 0 0 1 I often get asked this question: What do I do if the place where I would look for an item first is full? What if I take it there now, and that place where I take it is stuffed? These questions have been answered in many places throughout the blog, podcast […]
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