Along with blog posts, podcast episodes, and videos, Dana’s books offer the most complete explanation of everything you need to know to change your home.
Decluttering at the Speed of Life
If clutter is your #1 problem and you feel paralyzed by stuff, Decluttering at the Speed of Life covers Dana’s step-by-step, no-mess decluttering process that works even when you're overwhelmed.
How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
If you're completely overwhelmed in your home and can't figure out why keeping it out of Disaster Status feels impossible, start with How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind.
Organizing for the Rest of Us
If you're looking for a visual guide to the basics, Organizing for the Rest of Us is "flip-through-able" and has the basics of Dana's strategies in tip format.
Decluttering Basics
How do I get started decluttering my house? If you’re completely overwhelmed by the clutter in your home, the thought of doing the thing you desperately need and want to do (decluttering), can feel intimidating and unsolvable. Seeing where you are and knowing it’s so far from where you want to end up can make those first steps feel elusive.
I felt the same way when I started my deslobification process. I had to figure out where to start and how to start. I still follow these same strategies whenever I declutter because they work in any situation.
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, spells out my decluttering strategies in thorough, step-by-step instructions to help you work through your clutter, no matter how overwhelmed you feel. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 9/27/22 “My basement is a disaster and it hinders daily life. But I have 4 small kids, homeschool, and no help available. How do I get started when I’m too overwhelmed with just the basics?”
Q&A: 2/21/23 “I have been gleaning lots of advice from your decluttering podcasts, website etc. and I’m eager to dive in! However, I am extremely overwhelmed and feeling paralyzed. Not quite sure how to begin.”
Q&A: 11/24/23 “IEP Papers plus declutter everything else, I’m so over whelmed – where to begin with paper or other stuff in my way.”
Q&A: 2/27/24 “Why can’t I get started? I know I would feel better just getting it done but it’s been years and I still do nothing.”
Q&A: 5/14/24 “It is much easier to watch another than to get started. But even when I have the time I still seem stuck in inertia and play Spider Solitaire instead of doing anything productive.”
Q&A: 5/14/24 “What helps you calm down and get started when you are too overwhelmed to start cleaning?
Additional Resources:
Take Your House Back is a thorough online course I teach with Dawn from The Minimal Mom and Cas from Clutterbug. Thousands of people have truly transformed their homes going through this course.
The number one frustration people have about decluttering is that they end up making a bigger mess. Traditional organizing strategies do often result in making a space worse before making it better, but my five-step No Mess Decluttering Process does not. It guarantees progress and only progress, and never a bigger mess.
I had to figure out a way to prevent the “bigger mess” because dreading it made me avoid decluttering.
If you want the whole process spelled out and applied to all of your home, you need my book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life.
But whatever your preferred method of learning, there’s help for you. Throughout these tabs, we’ve put together lots of different links to places where I’ve taught how to declutter without making a bigger mess through blog posts, podcasts and videos. Listen and watch as you work!
Blog Posts:
How to Declutter without Making a Bigger Mess
Just Decluttering a Kitchen Cabinet (Step by Step, Without Making a Bigger Mess)
Putting the 5-Step No Mess Decluttering Process into Action – a reader’s story
The Worst Decluttering Strategy Ever
How to Not Get Distracted from a Decluttering Project (by Other Decluttering Projects)
Decluttering Basics is a list of blog posts that will help you get started decluttering and build momentum.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 11/7/23 ”I know your “not make a mess” philosophy – on the journey for years …but wonder if to curate what I want in the space, I need to pull out everything.”
Q&A: 11/24/23 “I still freeze up when I have something to put away in an overfilled closet or shelf. I keep telling myself I should empty the whole shelf or closet but that leads to more mess. Any advice for me?”
Q&A: 12/19/23 “I really want to apply the no mess decluttering method, but there are areas I think have to absolutely be completely simplified to sort through. What do I do? Do you have a way to deal with these?”
Q&A: 1/9/24 ”I’m about to start decluttering kitchen cabinets. How do you do ‘no mess’ decluttering of spaces when you need to wipe down/clean the containing space?”
Q&A: 3/5/24 “I have a question about your no mess method. I was cleaning off a shelf in a bookcase. It was full of mostly vases. I wanted to take all the vases off the shelf so I could wash it. I have MANY vases. Then I put some of my favorite ones back. Then my time was done. I still had several vases on the table and no time left to decide where they would go so I left a bit of a mess. Your advice?”
Additional Resources:
From My “Audio Product” Series, Decluttering Deep Dives:
Tortoise and Hare Decluttering: The Whats, Whys, and Hows of Every Angle of Decluttering (Decluttering Deep Dives)
What are my “audio products”? They are a series of six 40 minuteish single audio products in which I go deep into answering decluttering questions I get regularly. They are very similar to podcasts, but they aren’t podcasts. They are paid products available on platforms where audio books are sold. And they were professionally recorded and edited in a studio (as opposed to my homespun podcasts). They are also often available from library systems that offer digital audiobooks. PLEASE NOTE that these “audio products” cost significantly less than an audiobook, usually around $5 (determined by my publisher and the audiobook seller so I can’t say for sure), so don’t use audiobook credits to purchase them since those are often worth around $15.
Courses:
Take Your House Back is a thorough online course I teach with Dawn from The Minimal Mom and Cas from Clutterbug. Thousands of people have truly transformed their homes going through this course.
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? The simple answer is, “When you take something to the first place where you’d look for it and there isn’t room. You make room by removing something easy.
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including daily habits, working through the overwhelm, learning container limits, and the one-in/one-out rule. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 11/29/22 "If I am cleaning a space, and take it something where it belongs but that space is a mess, no room for this item, what do I do?"
Q&A: 5/2/23 "When it comes to having so much still that the "where would you look for it first?" place is too full or things just don't have a home, what then?"
Q&A: 12/12/23 "what to do when working on 1 space & I take things to it's home, that space also needs decluttered, there's no room? I feel like I have to then do that space to make room & nothing gets done."
Additional Resources:
From My Audiobook Series:
Tortoise and Hare Decluttering: The Whats, Whys, and Hows of Every Angle of Decluttering is a short audio book (available on Amazon) which dives into common decluttering struggles such as:
- resisting my “Take It There Now” strategy
- having a “project mentality” when it comes to decluttering
- creating more clutter while decluttering
Courses:
My book, Organizing for the Rest of Us, is "flip-through-able" and has the basics of my strategies in tip format so it is perfect for when you are feeling overwhelmed. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 12/19/23 “Do you have advice for someone like me. That suffers from Chronic Fatigue and RA health issues. There’s no way I can carry one thing to its place at a time.”
Q&A: 12/29/22 “I have a lot of pain in my lower body. I tool around my rolling office chair to declutter and SCOOT to where it belongs.” And you’ll want to keep watching to hear how I respond to this comment
Q&A: 12/29/22 “What is the best way to declutter after working (job) and coming home exhausted?”
Q&A 3/7/23 “I have been diagnosed with a severe health issue that leaves me exhausted. What’s the best way to get energy to declutter?”
Q&A: 10/23/25 "How do you handle decluttering fatigue? I declutter, then realize I’m really far behind in my chores. I feel I’m exhausted after 15 min, and the mess I made is worse."
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life will give you a game plan for decluttering your home, goes deep into grief, and has a chapter about accepting help. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
YouTube Videos:
Podcasts:
057 Awkward Pauses and Daily Tasks – this is one that I’ve heard was very helpful for some with chronic illness
250: Decluttering with Chronic Illness and Exhaustion
446: ADHD & the No Mess Decluttering Process with Megs Crawford
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 12/29/22 "Would you please address the difficult questions of people who are disabled and have limited mobility trying to declutter? I can't do take it there right now simply because I walk slowly."
Q&A: 12/19/23 "Do you advise for someone like me. That suffers with chronic fatigue and RA health issues. There's no way I can carry one thing to it's place at a time."
Q&A: 4/23/24 "Does the TYHB and ADD include modifications for people with chronic illnesses like Fibromyalgia and arthritis's?"
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including a deep dive into containers, finding your clutter threshold, and what to do with various circumstances that come up throughout the process.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Podcasts:
083 Clutter Threshold - How Much Stuff Can I Handle?
319: Working Together When Your Clutter Thresholds are Different
362: The Container Concept vs The Clutter Threshol
441: Your Unique Situation Affects Your Clutter Threshold
433: Five Minute Pickup Or Declutter? Yes.
461: Preparing for Guests, How to Break a Stall, My Container is Too Big!
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 9/17/21 “I am struggling with clothes, what do I do if my containers fit a lot more than my clutter threshold. When I put in all of my clothes, they fit comfortably in my large closet, but in some time they will be all over the place and overwhelming because I can’t handle them.”
Q&A: 9/20/22 “What if my container is too big? We live in huge house and now cannot afford to move. I'm having a hard time getting under my clutter threshold when everything still fits!”
Q&A: 11/28/23 “kiddo has a net for her stuffies&a bean bag chair,but now when I say she doesn't have space for it she uses the" but I have a container!" against me. what do you do when the container is too big?”
Q&A: 1/30/24 “My container (house) is too big. So I struggle with my habit of thinking I need an abundance, but am still over my clutter threshold. So this is next level for me, can you talk a little bit about that next layer since my home is not overwhelming anymore, but the amount of stuff is overwhelming.”
Q&A: 3/19/24 “What do you do when your container is too big and you don't know how much you should keep? We have a lot of farming and homesteading projects.”
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, including how to just get things out and the benefit of having a donateable donate box.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 12/27/22 “What do you do with clothes you want to sell but cannot? When do you just donate? I have a hard time letting go?”
Q&A: 11/12/24 “We have been trying to sell vintage Snow White collector plates on eBay. They’re in a big box taking up space in our little apartment. We could use the money, but should we just give up and donate?
Q&A: 11/24/24 “permission to throw away good stuff? My current life situation keeps me from realistically being able to donate things. Donations are out of hand and preventing progress and the dumpster is available.”
Additional Resources:
The 5 Day Clutter Shakedown! course is a great place to start if you are overwhelmed by your home and need help breaking through clutter paralysis so you can just get stuff out of your house.
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset and breaks down the process room by room, including decluttering closets and clothes.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 9/26/23 “Do you recommend isolating clothing to see if they are really no longer necessary? I just struggle with getting of rid of well made lightly used clothing. I have the space. Amount overwhelmed.”
Q&A: 12/19/23 “My partner and I have so much dirty clothes. All over the floor. I have 7 bags bagged up too. Should I just get rid of the clothes if they've been bagged for a year. We obviously haven't missed them.”
Q&A: 3/19/24 “I have so many clothes of different sizes for pregnancy and postpartum, how do you declutter during a time when you need so many different sizes and styles of clothes?”
Q&A: 4/9/24 “I'm having a hard time decluttering more clothes from my closet. I know I haven't worn them, but, I keep thinking what if we start going back to meeting a lot of people again( before covid) then I would need them. Should I keep them or get rid of them?”
Whether you have 5 minutes or 5 hours, my book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, and provides step-by-step instructions to make real progress in your home with the time you have available.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Podcasts:
035 Schedules and Time Management
231: Helping Kids Declutter, Cleaning with Irregular Schedules & More
226: Energy Takers vs Energy Givers
246: Time Management - Even with Unpredictable Schedules
286: When You Don't Have the Energy to Declutter
373: Decluttering in Slow Times vs Fast Times
398: How to Work Decluttering into Whatever Time & Energy You Have
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 9/13/22 “How much of keeping your house tidy has to do with having older kids? I have five, ages 9 to a newborn.”
Q&A: 10/18/22 “What do you do when it takes all day to do laundry, dishes, & getting meals. Feels like there's no time for decluttering.”
Q&A: 12/27/22 “How to deal with decluttering with so many interruptions with a 6month and 3yr old. I am losing my mind! Please help!!”
Q&A: 4/9/24 “What do you say about tackling dirty jobs (like the dusty garage) but only having minutes at the time?”
Q&A: 4/30/24 “I sometimes grab a big black garbage bag, only to fill it a little bit because life happens. I then find myself w/ a half full trash bag living on my floor. What do you do with the supplies in between?”
Additional Resources:
Courses:
If you’re looking to save time and stress in the kitchen, I have created a two week meal plan course called Make Dinner Happen. If you’ve never felt confident cooking regularly, this course will give you confidence. If you like cooking, but get overwhelmed by it, this course will make it feel easier. If you avoid cooking because you just don’t have the time, this course will give you the tricks to make super fast meals.
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, teaches you the reality-based decluttering strategies and hard-learned lessons I've learned through my own deslobification process, including a breakdown of the two decluttering questions.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 1/20/23 “What if "where would I look for it first" is impractical? Ex: keys on the dining table, that would need to be around for dinner.”
Q&A: 4/11/23 “What if I have no homes for anything my whole house is a giant pit so get stuck on the where would I look for and where does this live questions”
Q&A: 4/18/23 “What is the significance of asking," If I needed this item, where would I look for it?" before asking," If I needed this item, would it occur to me that I already have one?"
Q&A: 11/8/22 “What should I do "if where would I look for this first"? changes for me all the time.”
Q&A: 2/28/23 “Is it ever appropriate to ask question 2 before Question 1?”
Q&A: 10/10/23 “I want to get rid of some old storage containers, which means decluttering what is inside. How do I answer "where would I look for this first?" If the answer is the container I want to get rid of?”
Q&A: 10/31/23 “Love your books and your videos. I’m a senior and have been asking, where would I look for this . . Problem is, some random things I can no longer find…any suggestions?”
Q&A: 11/7/23 “I’ve been reading your blog “backwards” and am almost done with the first year. It’s so fun to see how you developed! I’m wondering how did you come up with the 2 decluttering questions?”
Mindset & Emotional Clutter
When you want to declutter, but you know that a lot of the decisions you’ll face will feel emotional, it can be hard to start. Dealing with sentimental clutter can feel scary. As I decluttered truckloads of clutter from my own home, I faced many of these decisions, so I created strategies to work through these kinds of items.
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, breaking through sentimental road blocks, and how to move forward when you feel continually overwhelmed in your home. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Podcasts:
Sentimental Clutter (Podcast 011)
Decluttering – Giving Up On Dreams Podcasts Part 1 and Part 2
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 5/16/23 “I’m looking for advice on decluttering after the death of a loved one. How do you deal with the overwhelm of memory and emotion and making decisions when my grief is still raw?”
Q&A: 12/12/23 “Question: grief/sentimental clutter. What is your approach? I have a room in my basement FULL of items from my late husband.”
Q&A: 1/9/24 “What do I do with sentimental items that my mother gave me that she still wants, but doesn’t want to keep in her house so now it’s in my house, and I now feel the guilt and burden of keeping items.”
Q&A: 3/19/24 “What if you’ve been decluttering for four years now? And you’ve put off all the sentimental and identity stuff and now you need to deal those items and it’s overwhelming? How to start?”
Q&A: 3/19/24 “Please some encouragement on how to declutter/ sort through kids toys that are sentimental due to memories. Not sure if we’ll be having more kids or not, don’t know what to do.”
Additional Resources:
From My “Audio Product” Series, Decluttering Deep Dives:
Identity Clutter: The Whats, Whys, and Hows of Every Angle of Decluttering
Somewhat confusing explanation: What are my “audio products”? They are a series of six 40 minuteish single audio products in which I go deep into answering decluttering questions I get regularly. They are very similar to podcasts, but they aren’t podcasts. They are paid products available on platforms where audio books are sold. And they were professionally recorded and edited in a studio (as opposed to my homespun podcasts). They are also often available from library systems that offer digital audiobooks. PLEASE NOTE that these “audio products” cost significantly less than an audiobook, usually around $5 (determined by my publisher and the audiobook seller so I can’t say for sure), so don’t use audiobook credits to purchase them since those are often worth around $15.
Courses:
Take Your House Back is a thorough online course I teach with Dawn from The Minimal Mom and Cas from Clutterbug. Thousands of people have truly transformed their homes going through this course.
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, breaking through mental roadblocks, and how to move forward when you feel continually overwhelmed in your home.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 4/4/23 “over 5,000 items decluttered in the last year, but house still feels like I haven't even made a dent in it. So overwhelmed, how do I keep myself motivated to keep going????”
Q&A: 5/16/23 “Finally motivated to declutter. The container concept is still a struggle, the cabinets are at full capacity...how can I build tougher decluttering muscles?”
Q&A: 8/22/23 “Do you have any tips on how to force or trick yourself to get motivated to clean and declutter? I sometimes have days where all I want to do is sleep and just getting up is hard.”
Q&A 11/28/23 “Any tips on getting re-motivated after ADHD-ing away for about a year?”
Q&A: 12/19/23 “I am newly bereaved and live alone in WY now. I have pretty bad health issues, and my children want me to move near some of them so they can tale care of me. I have a daunting amount of stuff to sort, pack, or donate. My question is how to be motivated when merely putting a dish in the empty dishwasher is just too much?”
Additional Resources:
Did you know I now offer Decluttering Coach Training? While the No Mess Decluttering Process is simple, you may benefit from having a coach help you work through your clutter. Our Speed of Life Decluttering Coaches will guide you through the decluttering process and help you experience real success in your home.
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, breaking through road blocks, and how to declutter hobby/craft spaces.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 4/4/23 “I think this is covered in your books where you talk about grieving who you used to be. I feel like, if I ever get around to decluttering, If I have to declutter all my craft things, what will I be?”
Q&A: 4/11/23 “I’m doing take back your house and am stuck on my craft supplies. I have too much but none is trash how can I move forward?”
Q&A: 11/28/23 “My crafts keep overtaking the living room. it belongs downstairs but i crochet in my warm living room. should I just keep 1 tote in the living room?”
Q&A: 12/19/23 “Tips for decluttering the hard or head exploding things- that's all that's left for us!! Specifically home decor and hobby/work related items.”
Q&A: 4/16/24 “What do I do when clutter is directly related to hobbies?"
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including dealing with clutter guilt, and managing the value trap.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 11/1/22 “As an accountant, one thing I tell myself is that some things have fully depreciated. They no longer have value, so get rid of them.”
Q&A: 11/8/22 “My issue is knowing items will be used/appreciated so would like advice for someone who wants all gone but the items left are in the to sell category ( room of craft supplies, eBay items worth money”
Q&A: 11/15/22 “Any advice on how to become brutal in getting rid of stuff without selling it. I would feel better if I could get some money back as it feels less wasteful. Is it really worth selling vs donating?”
Q&A: 4/23/24 “How to deal with the guilt? The value lost guilt. The stuff you don't need, but feel guilty giving away. The sell pile is growing at an overwhelming speed.”
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, valuing space over stuff, and decluttering dreams big and small.
In my book, Jesus doesn’t Care About Your Messy House: He Cares About Your Heart, I dive into the spiritual side of my deslobification process. God created my brain to work the way it works, and the way it works isn’t a mistake. Accepting that I’m designed instead of defective removes the shame. Removing the shame allows me to move forward. I discuss why it feels like a Christian is supposed to have a perfect home, and what Jesus actually says about cleanliness.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
YouTube Videos:
This question is addressed much more frequently within the live Q&A’s, which are under the Live Q&A tab, but in this video I work through my own identity clutter.
Decluttering Identity Clutter: Clearing Out Some Storage Bins
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 5/9/23 “Working through identity clutter and fantasy/aspirational self clutter? Do you keep the best items that - or would you declutter these things instantly be they are tied to a one day version of you?”
Q&A: 10/25/22 “Any advice on conquering “fantasy self” items that should leave the house but just can’t bring my self to let go???? I.e. Target Dollar Spot Goodies! Educational Stuff! Busy bag stuff!”
Q&A: 5/9/23 “Working through identity clutter and fantasy/aspirational self clutter? Do you keep the best items that - or would you declutter these things instantly be they are tied to a one day version of you?”
Q&A: 12/12/23 “How do we deal with that self loathing, are there any good phrases to encourage to keep going instead of giving in to that guilt?”
Q&A: 4/16/24 “How do you handle the regret of keeping so much for so long?”
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including how to deal with clutter guilt, sentimental clutter, and the value trap.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Blog Posts:
Approaches to Clutter Guilt - (Sample Conversations and Videos)
"It's Not You . . . It's Me." Another Clutter Guilt Conversation Strategy (With Video)
The "Please Save Me From My Stuff" Approach - Clutter Guilt Conversations
When All Else Fails (If Snark Is Your Style . . . )
My Favorite Way to Avoid Clutter Guilt
From Our Mailbox: A Reader Stands Up Against "Guilt" Clutter
Why (and How) I Don’t Use Emotions to Declutter
Breaking the Clutter-Guilt Cycle
Give it to Nony . . . She'll Take Anything
YouTube Videos:
Clutter Avoidance Conversation - I'll See What I Can Use
A Last Resort Clutter Avoidance Strategy - "Please Don't Send Me Over the Edge"
Clutter Avoidance - I Already Have One, Thank You.
On the topic of gifts, if you are looking for clutter free gift ideas for your family, these videos talk about Clutter Free Stocking Stuffer Ideas and Clutter Free Easter Basket Filler Ideas.
These sample conversations below were linked in the blogs for this question as well, but in case you missed it, here they are again!
Clutter Guilt Sample Conversation #1 - The Playing Dumb
It's Not You It's Me - Clutter Guilt Conversations Scene Two
Please Help Save Me From My Stuff - Clutter Guilt Conversations
When All Else Fails - Clutter Guilt Conversations (Use This One Sparingly)
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 12/6/22 “How to deal with the guilt? The value lost guilt. The stuff you don't need, but feel guilty giving away. The sell pile is growing at an overwhelming speed.”
Q&A: 1/9/24 “What do I do with sentimental items that my gave me that she still wants but doesn't want to keep in her house so now it's in my house and I now feel the guilt and burden of keeping items.”
Q&A: 4/16/24 “Older neighbors shed full of furniture from parents. Trash, easy stuff, donations, but rest sentimental guilty. How to remind them their goal: less work for kids later.”
Q&A: 4/23/24 “How do you get over the guilt of decluttering a relative's stuff that you just don't have the energy to sell? Or should I hold onto it until I can sell? Money made would help pay her expenses in Assisted Living.”
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including daily habits, dealing with regret, and how to manage head explosion moments. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Blog Posts:
Why (and How) I Don’t Use Emotions to Declutter
Dealing with Decluttering Regrets – What if I’ll Need This Again?
But . . . What If She Wants to Play With It Again?
Oh yeah. I Guess I Do Need Those.
Decluttering Regret Vs Keeping Regret
My Need for Visibility (And How I Lived to Tell About a Decluttering Mistake)
YouTube Videos:
Top Decluttering Regrets & What we'd do Differently - Video with The Minimal Mom and Cass from Clutterbug.
My Two (and ONLY Two) Decluttering Questions to Declutter Quickly
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 7/13/21 “But, what if they stop making pens?”
Q&A: 12/6/22 “ My question is about decluttering things that you later need. How do you deal with the guilt? One ended up buying something because I'd decluttered. The other made do, but they were both annoyed.”
Q&A: 2/21/23 “How do I make peace with myself giving away decorations for the big holidays? I did get some Christmas decorations out. But unfortunately I regret it”.
Q&A: 4/4/23 “Still struggling with letting go of clothes bc of what ifs My space stresses me out bc of the size of the closet. I know I don't wear many of them but am paralyzed to purge.”
Q&A: 4/2/24 “Struggling to justify getting rid of big things air fryer a side table, baskets. The what if things from under the sink.”
Q&A: 4/9/24 “I'm having a hard time decluttering more clothes from my closet. I know I haven't worn them, but, I keep thinking what if we start going back to meeting a lot of people again( before covid) then I would need them. Should I keep them or get rid of them?”
Family, Shared Spaces & Helping Others
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 it’s the only one I give and the only one that will help you move forward (while maintaining relationships): Focus on your stuff and neutral stuff.
It’s easy to see other people’s stuff as clutter, but if you have any clutter of your own whatsoever (and I promise, you do), declutter that. Your home will improve. Everyone living in your home will experience what it’s like to live in a house with less stuff, and they may begin to see their own stuff differently and begin to declutter. But even if they don’t, your home will be better just with your own clutter gone.
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life gives you everything you need to change how you think about your home and your stuff and teaches you the process to get the clutter out! It also addresses this issue in depth. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 2/4/21 My response to a comment “I looked at his stuff and thought that’s where we should start decluttering, he looked at my stuff and thought that’s where we should start…”
Q&A: 4/25/23 “I love the container concept and have been working to implement it among my stuff. However, my partner is a “collector”, and any space I clear, he ends up filling back with his stuff. Any advice?”
Q&A: 5/2/23 “Tips for encouraging my husband and children to help clean up after dinner? It’s usually a 5 minute pickup of putting away easy stuff , but it’s like they can’t see individual items.”
Q&A: 2/27/24 “What do you do when you come across a bunch of your husband’s items and have no idea where they go.”
Q&A: 4/23/24 “My husband is addicted to books. “How do I have ‘the talk’ with him (about decluttering) without him getting defensive?”
Q&A: 5/14/24 “My husband’s “where would I look for it first” is in a mess in a drawer. He won’t listen to the other steps and says he lives in organized chaos. It’s just chaos. He says he knows but he doesn’t lol”
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, breaking through sentimental road blocks, and how to move forward when you feel continually overwhelmed in your home.
My book, Organizing for the Rest of Us, is "flip-through-able" and has the basics of my strategies in tip format, which can be helpful for people who want a book that is easy to flip through and apply one small change at a time. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 9/13/22 “Emptying out my mom's house , she's in a nursing home and still remembers everything she has, she and her current husband were hoarders, all the stuff is also left from us kids & other husbands.”
Q&A: 11/08/22 “You used the example of where would I look for this gun wrapper if I needed it? To help a person realize it was trash. Have you ever used your system with a hoarder?”
Q&A: 1/20/23 “What if I'm beyond clutter? I need to clean my hoarder rooms but can't seem to get physically started?!”
Q&A: 1/20/23 “What do you recommend to a recovering hoarder? I have stuff everywhere so every "take it there now" leads me to another pile to deal with to access that space. same with the stuff in that pile.”
Q&A: 1/24/23 “How do you gently offer help to a friend who is drowning with keeping up her home. She always comments on how her house is a hot mess and doesn’t have people over.”
Q&A: 9/12/23 “How do you help someone who doesn't necessarily want your help? My mom is a hoarder..I know I can't change her, but is there nothing I can do?”
Q&A: 4/2/24 “I have never heard you address how to declutter when married to a hoarder. They reorganize their stuff over and over and over, but are mentally unable to get rid of it. Any suggestions?”
Q&A: 4/2/24 “My mom wants my help organizing but won't declutter. Her house is almost hoarder level. How do I help when what she wants is contrary to how I declutter?”
Q&A: 4/9/24 “I want to help my mother in law who is somewhat of a hoarder. I want to gently and lovingly help her with her house.”
Q&A: 5/14/24 “My mom is a hoarder and so am I... how can I completely let go of things that are valuable to me, which I only keep reorganizing?”
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through helping others, working with spouses, kids, and friends, building a decluttering mindset, and how to move forward when you feel continually overwhelmed in your home.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 9/27/22 “Advice for a slob being married to a "prepper" inspired spouse who wants to save extra of everything despite my saying I cant manage that much (38 towels for family of 5!) and need to declutter!”
Q&A: 10/2/22 “Hubs is on board decluttering theoretically but is still wanting me to keep things "just in case" storage is limited in our home. How should I handle this situation with him???”
Q&A: 1/3/23 “Does your family embrace this process? How long did it take to get them on board?”
Q&A: 2/28/23 “How do I get my husband on board with decluttering???”
Q&A: 12/12/23 ‘What if other family members ( spouse and young children) have higher clutter thresholds? Do I ask my husband to honor my clutter threshold or just grit my teeth?”
Q&A: 1/9/24 “How can I persuade adult children and spouse to declutter too?”
Q&A: 1/30/24 “Tips on getting my husband on board? He cannot handle the amount of stuff he has and all his containers are full. How do I get through to him since I'm the one affected by the mess?”
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through working on decluttering with your kids and how to move forward when you feel continually overwhelmed in your home. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Blog Posts:
Daily Checklist/Chore Chart for Kids - Now With a Printable Version
Teaching Kids to Clean Bathrooms
How to Declutter a Child's Room
Decluttering When (I’m Confident) His Stuff is the Problem
Using the Container Concept with Kids - A Reader's Story
Using the Container Concept When Decluttering with Kids
Teaching Kids to do Laundry - (Laundry Day Lesson Plan)
Age Appropriate Laundry Tasks for Kids
Teaching Kids to Clean Bathrooms
Making Laundry Day Fun . . . ?
Three Reasons We Pay our Kids for Chores
Practical Tips for Teaching Kids to Cook
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 9/13/22 “How much of keeping your house tidy has to do with having older kids? I have five, ages 9 to a newborn.”
Q&A: 10/25/22 “Any tips to help my kids (2 and 6) declutter their things in the room they share, without fighting?”
Q&A: 11/01/22 “How to help kids and husband see individual items when doing a 5 minute pick up? As opposed to having to tell them every single item to pick up”
Q&A: 1/3/23 “I wonder if you have any tips for decluttering and tidying w/kids. I haven't taught them to declutter and am struggling myself. We struggle to let go of anything. My two kids are even collecting.”
Q&A: 3/7/23 “Helping kids say goodbye to things? My 4YO will stuff her "containers" until nothing can go in or out, but "look, Mom! It's in the container!" She has also started COLLECTING LINT sos“
Q&A: 9/12/23 “Tips for decluttering with kids? Should I do it alone? With them? My son is super sentimental and we’d keep a dust bunny if he saw it in the trash.”
Q&A: 9/26/23 “My kids love to keep everything... it seems they are always getting new toys but never want to let go of the old toys. How would you explain to small children that it's ok to let go?”
Q&A: 10/2/23 “What are your favorite tips for teaching kids their clutter threshold?”
Q&A: 10/17/23 “How to kindly offer decluttering help to a friend who is overwhelmed with 7 kids cluttering. Afraid to hurt her feelings”
Q&A: 10/31/23 “Are toys the bane of every mom's existence, or just mine? 😄🙈 Four kids 6 and under”
Q&A: 1/24/24 “How do you get little kids in on 5 minute pickups? I'm struggling to get my little ones to join in, but don't want to be picking up everything myself?”
Q&A: 3/26/24 “Help me convince my youngest that the floor is not for storage. Your steps and questions have been so helpful, but several things live on the floor and he refuses to consider another option?”
Q&A: 3/26/24 “Ideas for a 5 minute pickup when my kids are at the stage of building train tracks or Lincoln logs and I don't want to put away their creations right now, but the visual clutter gets to me.”
Q&A: 4/2/24 “Do you have pre-existing list of easy stuff for my kids to follow?”
Q&A: 4/16/24 “I have five kids ages 10,9,6,4 and 1. We have decluttered so many toys. When do you decide to get rid of actual storage containers versus wait it out on my kids growing out of toy age?”
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including daily habits, working with other people in the household, and making sure the progress lasts. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 11/29/22 “ I love the container idea. What if I HAVE space? I’ve Decluttered so much I have so much space! My family feels they need to put “stuff” in empty spaces.”
Q&A: 4/25/23 “I love the container concept and have been working to implement it among my stuff. However, my partner is a "collector", and any space I clear he ends up filling back up with his stuff. Any advice?”
Q&A: 1/24/24 “How do you cope when others in the house keep getting more stuff? I have tried to minimize my things but it's not really catching on. I don't feel like I have anything left to get rid of”
Q&A: 1/30/24 “Overwhelmed what ideas do you have for discouraging husband from filling spaces as I clear them. Someone suggested a bin in empty spaces. Any other ideas?”
Holidays & Life Transitions
Nothing strikes fear into a messy heart like an impending doorbell. It can be scary to have company when your house is a disaster. I know the feeling well.
My printable e-book, 14 Days to Opening Your Door to Guests, includes the written instructions for getting a messy house ready for guests in two weeks (and allows for adjustments for more/less time and more/less mess). It also includes printable worksheets and checklists.
If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
YouTube Videos:
You can walk through my process for getting your home company-ready for guests with this video series: 14 Days to Opening Your Front Door to Guests video playlist – There’s one video for each day on this playlist!
60 Minutes to Guests? Get the House Clean in an Hour! (or at least CleanER)
Podcasts:
How to Clean a Messy House and Get It Ready for Guests (These are podcasts 008 and 009, so they were a LONG time ago! Part One, Part Two
2 Week Plan for Getting Ready for Guests Podcast Part One and Part Two
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 9/19/23 “I feel so ashamed when my parents come visiting because of all the clutter, but they don’t mind too much and understand I’m a full time working mum. I declutter but it takes a long time. How can I get over this?”
Q&A: 12/19/23 “I am needing to clean the guest room before we have company next month. I’m afraid that I don’t have enough time and often I have so much work to do, the times I plan to work on it, get delayed because I am doing other work for my businesses.”
Additional Resources:
Become a newsletter subscriber to receive a free printable checklist version of the 60 Minutes to Guests plan – sign up right here
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, managing storage spaces, and how to move forward when you feel continually overwhelmed in your home. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 12/27/22 “Should I be worried now wrong time of year to declutter the Christmas decor I did not put out?”
Q&A: 1/31/23 “Any advice about gifts you buy ahead of time... I have a ton of Christmas stacked in the corner.”
Q&A: 4/4/23 “What is the best way to down size/go through Christmas stuff? Do you take on the job before, during or after a holiday season?”
Moving is such an exciting (and totally exhausting and totally overwhelming) adventure! For a long time, I had to give theoretical answers about moving because I hadn’t moved since I started my deslobification journey. When I moved to a new-to-me house in 2021, I learned that the advice I’d shared really did work! (Whew!)
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through the overwhelm of decluttering when life seems to get in the way, and has a full breakdown of getting through the moving process. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Blog Posts:
Here is a blog post that is the story of someone using my process during their move: Declutter While Moving Houses: Using Dana’s Decluttering Methods!
This post includes before and after photos from a follower who used the 5 step process to pack up her house for a move: Speeding Up Decluttering for a Move.
YouTube Videos:
My Top 3 Tips to Declutter for a Move
Planning a Move Using the Container Concept
Packing for a Move Using the No Mess Decluttering Method
Short (and ONLY) Packing to Move Video (my own moving experience)
Podcasts:
This is a great podcast I recorded with a woman who used my No Mess Decluttering Method to make huge and fast progress during her move: Decluttering for a Move Podcast #293
Here is a podcast where I shared my own planning process for planning my move: #307 Project Brain is a Gift, Planning for a Move Podcast
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 12/29/22 “any helpful tips on how to declutter for a potential divorce not sure staying or moving in our home as I’m going through my items…smaller home if I have to move?”
Q&A: 3/7/23 “We’re moving into our in laws old home- they still have tons of stuff they aren’t willing to let go of. Is it worth donating all my own stuff so I’m just using their stuff? My clutter threshold is low”
Q&A: 4/4/23 “Moving to Japan (hot/humid weather. Should I buy new clothes before I go? Grab a few pieces/try to find stuff there? Or just try to cover my body until I get there and then buy stuff that works?”
Q&A: 4/18/23 “I am very overwhelmed. I found out recently we will be moving out of state- very likely to a much smaller home than we have now. I have decluttered so much but it isn’t enough
Q&A: 5/7/23 “What are your best tips for decluttering and packing for a move? Also, what supplies did you find helpful when you moved?
Q&A: 11/7/23 “I’m moving in April. I feel like my new kitchen has less cupboards than my current kitchen. Should I declutter down to the stuff that will fit in my new kitchen now or wait until I get there?”
Q&A: 12/19/23 “Moving from multi-generational home 3 floors, 5 bedroom, where I’ve lived for 33 years. Grandad passed away, so much stuff! Not sure where we end up when probate is done. How to minimize?”
Q&A: 12/26/23 ” I’m moving in the next few months and putting my house up sale. Top tips?”
Q&A: 2/27/24 “What should be done with the last of the random things left when moving is imminent? Been packing and donating a lot, but now moving day is here and there is no time to sort.”
Q&A: 2/27/24 “We are moving before March is over. Piles that contain a lot of easy stuff. Do I take the time to put easy stuff in their homes now, then pack, or just pack and sort in new home?”
Q&A: 4/9/24 “What would you recommend for someone who knows they will be moving in the next year but doesn’t know if it is in 3 months or 12 months?”
Additional Resources:
From My “Audio Product” Series, Decluttering Deep Dives:
Somewhat confusing explanation: What are my “audio products”? They are a series of six 40 minuteish single audio products in which I go deep into answering decluttering questions I get regularly. They are very similar to podcasts, but they aren’t podcasts. They are paid products available on platforms where audio books are sold. And they were professionally recorded and edited in a studio (as opposed to my homespun podcasts). They are also often available from library systems that offer digital audiobooks. PLEASE NOTE that these “audio products” cost significantly less than an audiobook, usually around $5 (determined by my publisher and the audiobook seller so I can’t say for sure), so don’t use audiobook credits to purchase them since those are often worth around $15.
Moving with Decluttering in Mind (my affiliate link)
Courses:
My book, Organizing for the Rest of Us, is "flip-through-able" and has the basics of my strategies in tip format, including the container concept which is great for traveling. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 8/22/23 “How do you mentally deal with the disaster that always happens when you come home from traveling? Or do you somehow not have a disaster when you come home?”
Q&A: 11/28/23 “Tips on unpacking after traveling for the holidays. With four young kids we tend to bring a lot. It’s just so overwhelming and I tend to not know where to start.”
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through a variety of special circumstances that come up throughout this process, how to build a decluttering mindset, and how to move forward when you feel continually overwhelmed in your home. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 11/8/22 “College kid moved home temporarily 3 years ago. Is it’s time to let go of the extra dishes, microwave etc we are not using, as it is making me nuts storing this in our basement.”
Q&A: 11/29/22 “Moved into my 1st home- don't have any 'storage furniture' yet. So I don't unpack (as things don't have a place to go to) AND I wait with buying containers (I don't know what I have).Where to start?”
Q&A: 1/31/23 “Any advice about gifts you buy ahead of time... I have a ton of Christmas stacked in the corner.”
Q&A: 4/18/23 “What do you do if the space where you look for something is not accessible at the moment? We just had a flood and trying to figure out how to put things away while decluttering.”
Q&A: 5/2/23 “We had a flood in our basement and have had to remove things from our basement temporarily, they are currently in a storage unit. Any tips on slowly bringing things back in to less square footage?”
Q&A: 8/22/23 “I had people come to remove a garage full of someone else's stuff, BUT, now I'm faced with a wall of parent's stored old suitcases and trunks full. I walk out there and freeze. Help”
Q&A: 9/5/23 “Son plans to move and attend a university in fall 2023. His room is full of clutter. So as we dig out of this do you have any advice for transitions like this?”
Q&A: 10/17/23 “How do I cope with temporary clutter that isn't mine or balance my stuff in very limited space without getting rid of things I don't want/need to in the long run?”
Q&A: 4/9/24 “What would you recommend for someone who knows they will be moving in the next year but doesn't know if it is in 3 months or 12 months?”
Q&A: 4/9/24 “Any tips for managing grown children's things they want you to keep that are filling up storage spaces in a very small house?”
Q&A: 5/14/24 “Any recommendations on where to fit temporary storage into your process. I'm helping my friend who has to move fast and will be in temporary housing for a short time?”
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through breaking through sentimental road blocks, helping older people declutter, and how to move forward from clutter guilt. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 9/13/22 “Emptying out my mom's house , she's in a nursing home and still remembers everything she has, she and her current husband were hoarders, all the stuff is also left from us kids & other husbands.”
Q&A: 4/25/23 “My mom has inherited a lot of clutter from my grandparents who are still living (assisted living ). How does she take her house back, when it isn't technically her stuff she's drowning in?”
Q&A: 12/19/23 “Moving from multi-generational home 3 floors, 5 bedroom, where I've lived for 33 years. Grandad passed away, so much stuff! Not sure where we end up when probate is done. How to minimize?”
Q&A: 1/9/24 “Ideas of what to do with plants and other items from funeral. My stepdad just passed away and it's overwhelming.”
Q&A: 3/26/24 “I have cultural wear that was passed down to me and it is so expensive to buy but it comes to me in bags and bags. I want to go through it but never have time. What can I do?”
Organizing & Storage
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, dealing with paper clutter, and how to move forward when you feel continually overwhelmed in your home. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 9/6/22 “How do you decide which papers are important enough to keep? (I have 13 years of papers in a filing cabinet from when I got married to now)”
Q&A: 11/29/22 “Is there a fast way to go through boxes of papers? Take it there now takes a long time with each piece of paper.”
Q&A: 2/28/23 “How can I get myself to do the 2nd step of mail or paper sort through? I try to schedule it, but that hasn't been successful so far. Any other suggestions to help me???”
Q&A: 5/2/23 “My kryptonite is paper. You said "doing the thing" counts so I recently sat down with a stack of magazines and it practically gave me anxiety...I froze and put it all back in a pile.”
Q&A: 2/20/24 “What is your paper decluttering method?”
Q&A: 4/16/24 “Paper clutter. I have you talk multiple times about dealing with paper. My problem is the paper that I generate myself. I started making categories. Is that the right approach?”
Q&A: 5/14/24 “Paper question - I've been holding onto various bills to get contact info and account information from. I'm trying to get a better way. Any ideas on what I could do?”
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, decluttering and orgaizing craft and hobby spaces, and how to maintain progress. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 4/25/23 “My question is about my paper crafting supplies...the larger storage room, it is so full I have little room to work. How do I decide what goes there in the middle of the mess?”
&A: 5/2/23 “I will be moving 2 rooms of crafts into a10x16 shed in 4 weeks. I am doing the 5 steps. Any suggestions for “ideal” storage in new space. I do papercrafting, jewelry and sewing”
Q&A: 11/28/23 “My crafts keep overtaking the living room. it belongs downstairs but i crochet in my warm living room. should I just keep 1 tote in the living room?”
Q&A: 1/9/24 “Do you apply the "keep your favorites" to crafts. I own lots of markers and stickers for my reading journal. I know I have duplicates but I'm paralyzed of getting rid of the extras.”
Q&A: 4/16/24 “What do I do when clutter is directly related to hobbies?”
My book, Organizing for the Rest of Us is "flip-through-able" and has the basics of my strategies in tip format, including how to declutter and organize sentimental items. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 5/16/23 “How often do you declutter sentimental items? Also, do the things in your keepsake box change throughout different points in your life?”
Q&A: 10/3/23 “Please help me with the overthinking around the container for things like “memory box”, where I need to decide on how big the actual container is / how many to have… it’s overwhelming math! Ack!”
Q&A: 10/17/23 “What to do if the place where I’d look for it isn’t created yet. Applying this to both “memory stuff” from 4 kiddos and also the huge piles of paper to work through”
Q&A: 4/2/24 “Memory/memento/ keep sake boxes- Is it ok to do separate one for early life, young married/parenting, and empty nester times of life?”
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, decluttering and managing clothing, and how to maintain progress in your home.
My book, Organizing for the Rest of Us is "flip-through-able" and has the basics of my strategies in tip format, including all of my best tips for clothing and laundry. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 12/27/22 “We're a family of 3 living in a small 2 bedroom apartment in NY. So we have seasons, need to store out of season clothes-- can this actually be done without leaving out of season stuff at my mom's?”
Q&A: 5/9/23 “Do you ever put off-season clothes in totes or is that just masking the over abundance?”
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, walks/talks you through building a decluttering mindset, managing baby clothes, and applying the container concept. If you’re looking for additional support, the Q&A tab here has further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 3/7/23 “Kids clothes-- any advice you could offer for how to organize clothes that I am keeping for future children? By gender, season size? Thinking about it makes my brain hurt.”
Q&A: 12/12/23 “Hi Dana! How to live with baby equipment clutter (swing, bouncy chair, etc) when I’ve been decluttering for so long and was at a ‘sweet spot’ (we have 3 boys in school and now a baby at home).”
Q&A: 2/20/24 “How do you deal with baby items some of which are sentimental.”
Q&A: 2/27/24 “Where can I store baby gear, clothes, toys if I'm planning to get pregnant in the next 3 years? I live in a small apartment.”
Q&A: 3/9/24 “Please some encouragement on how to declutter/ sort through kids toys that are sentimental due to memories. Not sure if we’ll be having more kids or not, don’t know what to do.”
My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, is "flip-through-able" and has the basics of my strategies in tip format, including how to declutter and manage photos. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
YouTube Videos:
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 11/8/22 “Should I be decluttering the MANY photos/vids on my phone? How to go about it?”
Q&A: 1/31/23 “How do you tackle all of those digital photos (sometimes thousands) stored on devices and computers?”
Q&A: 4/11/23 “I'm overwhelmed with physical photos and photo albums. Feel paralyzed to throw any away and the pix DO remind me of past events and special moments I had forgotten! Advice on decluttering them?!”
Q&A: 4/25/23 “Do you have a good way to store photos? We have tons and don't want to get rid of them. We could scan them and put them on digital storage but I know at that point we would never look at them.”
Q&A: 5/9/23 “declutter for separation/divorce pics...any suggestion to do with photos of us and kids photos???”
Q&A: 5/16/23 “When my kids were growing up I always developed my photos of them and put it in a photo album. I have since stopped doing this because all my pictures are on my phone. How do I downsize new photos?”
Q&A: 12/12/23 “How to store old photos without albums??”
My book, Organizing for the Rest of Us, is "flip-through-able" and has the basics of my strategies in tip format, including how to manage photos. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 1/31/23 “How do you tackle all of those digital photos (sometimes thousands) stored on devices and computers?”
Q&A: 3/7/23 “No one talks about digital decluttering- organizing emails, files, etc. Did I miss a video?”
Q&A: 2/28/23 “What kind of system do you use to organize your business documents (digital and paper)? Also, do you have a separate phone/phone number and computer for your business?”
Q&A: 4/25/23 “Do you have a good way to store photos? We have tons and don't want to get rid of them. We could scan them and put them on digital storage but I know at that point we would never look at them.”
Q&A: 12/12/23 “Digital decluttering. Do you have any ideas or trainings for that?”
Routines & Maintenance
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including daily habits, and how to make a big difference in just 5 minutes. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 10/18/22 “I've started doing 5mins with my 7 and 5 year old and they love when I act like they HAVE to stop and then they can have a treat after. 4 people doing 5 minutes is huge!”
Q&A: 10/18/22 “how to get a 12 year old boy to help with 5 minute clean ups. Can take an hour to get 5 minutes of work. Need a new tactic or advice!???”
Q&A: 5/9/23 “How to make yourself quit after 5 minutes?”
Q&A: 9/12/23 “Mom of 3 & 1 yr old and having a hard time getting home under control w/two little ones. What do I do when I literally only have five minutes a day to clean/declutter? It feels pointless to try.”
Q&A: 3/26/24 “Is a five minute pickup meant to straighten up your whole house or is it five minutes per room/ area?”
Q&A: 11/12/24 “Can you give us a catalyst for a 5 minute pickup? Scheduled times don’t work for me, but I feel like I need a trigger of some sort. Any ideas?
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including daily habits, maintaining progress, and creating change that lasts. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
YouTube Videos:
Why I Don't Make a Daily To Do List (and what I do instead)
Adjusting Your Housekeeping Habits When Your Daily Routine Changes
The Layers of a Clean House (Why Cleaning Feels so Hard)
Dishes Math is Totally a Thing (Daily Housekeeping Tasks Over-Explained)
The Kitchen: Routines and Decluttering are Codependent
The Two Cleaning Tasks that Will Keep (or Get) Your Home Out of Disaster Status
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 9/6/22 “Do you do a daily reset in certain areas of your home?”
Q&A: 5/16/23 “I’ve been decluttering and catching up with cleaning for some time now. I think it’s time to move from “project” to “maintenance”. I don’t know how. Daily tasks and… what?”
Q&A: 12/19/23 “How to get motivation to do the daily things?”
Q&A: 2/27/24 “I feel like I'm drowning, I have 2 toddlers and I'll so the daily stuff for a bit but life will happen and I won't be able to keep it up and the house is crazy again. How do you keep it under control?”
Q&A: 4/23/24 “ What are the daily five?”
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including daily habits, maintaining progress, and conquering laundry once and for all. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Blog Posts:
Large Family Laundry Day – It CAN be Done!
How Laundry Day Helps Me Declutter
Switching to a Once-a-Month Laundry Day
Using an Awkward Pause to Finish Laundry Day
Rhyme AND Reason – Laundry Day
Teaching Kids to do Laundry – (Laundry Day Lesson Plan)
Making Laundry Day Fun . . . ?
Laundry Day’s Most Important Step
What to Do With Dirty Kitchen Towels When Laundry Day is a Week Away
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 3/28/23 “How do I do laundry day when I live in UK and don’t have a dryer and not many days to hang washing outside. I have to dry washing inside with limited space to hang clothes to dry???”
Q&A: 4/4/23 “One laundry day per week. Then, after one successful month, I am gardening a few morning hrs, then coming in to shower off chiggers and ticks. I cannot wear these clothes again. So close to running out of gardening worthy clothing. Any suggestions?”
Q&A: 4/16/24 “I just watched your laundry day video and you only say "clothes" in that video. Do you also include , sheets, blankets in laundry day or is that a totally separate thing?”
Q&A: 4/16/24 “Sitting in a mountain of laundry, I can't seem to make "a load a day" or laundry day" work for me. What do you do when it seems like nothing works for laundry?”
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including daily habits and the importance of doing the dishes. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Blog Posts:
It really does just start with clean dishes!
Doing the Dishes and Getting The Clutter Out Changes Lives
From Our Mailbox: Doing the Dishes DOES Make a Difference!
A Reader Shares How She Washes the Dishes AND Works a 12-Hour Night Shift
The Reality of Handwashing Dishes for a Family of Five
Five Truths about Cleaning the Kitchen that are Still True If You Don’t Have a Dishwasher
How Long Does It Actually Take to Empty the Dishwasher?
(Lame) Excuse: “But It Doesn’t Fit in the Dishwasher . . . “
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 11/15/22 “You talk about doing dishes as part of routine to help cut down clutter. Our children are in charge of doing dishes. It is important to us to give this responsibility. What would be a different daily task?”
Q&A: 10/3/23 “My dishwasher broke and as a renter I have no control over when it's replaced. Can I use a broken dishwasher as an exception to "do the dishes" rule? Watching this instead of doing dishes.”
Q&A: 12/29/23 “We do our dishes nightly and air dry some pots, pans, sippy cups, etc. when guests come in, that is the first thing they see even if they are clean it still looks "messy". do I dry the dishes?”
Q&A: 2/6/24 “Do you listen to music or podcasts when doing the dishes to make the chores less boring? Any tips?”
Q&A: 3/5/24 “Any ideas for getting through a mental block to finish the dishes? It is hard for me physically, but I have gotten within 1 or 2 items done and I can't seem to get them all done.”
Q&A: 5/14/24 “I understand dishes math. Does the same principle apply to doing dishes as you work? If I do them all at the end of the day, it take 20 minutes, but I feel like my small kitchen is dirty all day.”
You have well-meaning relatives, neighbors, friends. They want to bless you with stuff. It can be hard to say no. But if you’re decluttering, it can be so discouraging and overwhelming to keep having other people’s stuff dumped on you.
Throughout these tabs I’m sharing lots of different places where I’ve talked about this issue.
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including daily habits, dealing with clutter guilt, and learning to say "no" to stuff. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
YouTube Videos:
I had a LOT of fun making these example conversation videos: Declutter TV – Clutter Avoidance Conversations
If you feel like you have to let someone know you’re decluttering something they gave you, these might help: Declutter TV – Clutter Guilt Conversations
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 2/12/23 “My mom has toys she used for therapy with her patients. She wants me to have them and will be mad if I say no. She doesn’t want me to donate them, and she won’t donate them. what do I do?”
Q&A: 3/22/23 “I need some helpful phrases I can whip out to say to my Mother-in-law. She comes into my house after a trip to the charity shop laden with gifts. I don’t want to be rude.”
Q&A: 4/4/23 “My elderly neighbor lady gives my kids every toy that has ever been created. How do I tell my sweet neighbor that enough is enough? It is really putting stain on my relationship with her.”
Q&A: 12/26/23 “How would you let family know to not give things I don’t want or need for Christmas?”
Q&A: 1/24/24 “I am a pastor’s wife. People love to give us ‘gifts.’ How do we graciously let people know we would rather not receive more inventory?”
Q&A: 4/23/24 “How would you manage being given stuff in a bag? Like, a bag of clothes and fabrics.”
Additional Resources:
Take Your House Back is a thorough online course I teach with Dawn from The Minimal Mom and Cas from Clutterbug. Thousands of people have truly transformed their homes going through this course.
Christmas is such a fun time! I’m going to be honest. I’m not one of those adults who “doesn’t want anything.” I LOVE gifts. Giving and getting them.
But let’s talk about the reality of getting gifts when clutter is a natural struggle. If you’ve spent time and energy and effort over the year getting stuff out of your house, it can feel overwhelming to think about new stuff coming in.
My book, Organizing for the Rest of Us, is "flip-through-able" and has the basics of my strategies in tip format, including how to manage new stuff coming into your home. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Blog Posts:
These are real time stories of figuring out that the key to not letting new stuff cause problems is to make the space for it by decluttering.
Christmas Motivated Decluttering
Clutter Busting Concept: Replace. Don’t Just Shove the New Ones in With the Old Ones
YouTube Videos:
How to Deal with New Stuff at Christmas – It can feel totally overwhelming to think of new stuff coming into your home. I’m sharing strategies for helping this reality to be a little less overwhelming.
Replacing Old Stuff with New (the key to maintaining progress) – If you brought new stuff in, have you made the space for it? I don’t know WHY this is so hard, but it is for me! But I know how important it is to replace and not just add to my stuff!
Different Situation, Different Clutter Thresholds – I teach to declutter to the Container first, and then to your Clutter Threshold. This is because the Clutter Threshold varies by situation and life stage.
The One In One Out Rule Keeps the Clutter Under Control – This rule, along with The Container Concept, is key to keeping ‘stuff’ from taking over.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 1/31/23 “Do you have a certain thought process or questions when you're out shopping to avoid cluttering with impulse buys? Do you ask your 2 decluttering questions to be more objective on what you're buying?”
Q&A: 8/22/23 “I need some helpful phrases I can whip out to say to my Mother-in-law. She comes into my house after a trip to the charity shop laden with gifts. I hate receiving clutter and don’t want to be rude.”
Q&A: 10/31/23 “Christmas is soon and people ask for a gift list. I spent time thinking through what I want, what actually I need and what I have space for. But I get stuff that I don’t want. How to handle that?”
Q&A: 11/24/23 ”How do you manage toys before and after Christmas? We have a birthday and a Christmas with 4 kids and my kids get A LOT of presents.”
Q&A: 12/26/23 “How would you let family know to not give things I don’t want or need for Christmas?”
Q&A: 1/24/24 “I am a pastors wife. People love to give us gifts. How do we graciously let people know we would rather not receive more inventory? (It’s so hard not to hurt people’s feelings.)
Additional Resources:
Want to have support to change your mindset and your home? Check out the Take Your House Back course that I teach with Cas from Clutterbug and Dawn from The Minimal Mom. Tens of thousands of people have changed their homes going through this course!
I am often asked some version of this question: How much time should I spend cleaning?
Sometimes the questioner is asking about daily tasks. Sometimes they are asking about decluttering. Sometimes they’re asking about deep cleaning.
I used to wonder, too, so I understand the desire to know how much time I should designate to “cleaning” on my schedule. I’ve learned, though, that asking this question wasn’t helping me get my house under control.
I was trying to figure out exactly what I needed to do and how long I needed to spend doing it before actually doing it. And every time I tried, and then failed, I added on an hour or three to my mental estimates. That made future cleaning/decluttering more daunting and putoffable.
By going ahead and starting before I perfected the schedule of what I was going to do and how I’d do it, I made progress. Immediately. And the more progress I made, the more time I freed up in my schedule.
And that’s my best advice when the “How much time should I be spending on this?” question gets asked.
Go ahead and do the dishes. Today, then again tomorrow, and then again the next day. Go ahead and try Laundry Day. Go ahead and do a five minute pickup, even if you feel like five minutes won’t make a dent. Go ahead and do a two minute wipe down of the bathroom or a spot mopping with whatever tool you have available for spot mopping.
I can always (and you can always) make more progress in two minutes of actual cleaning than in four hours of thinking about or researching cleaning. Not that there aren’t ways to make it more efficient. I’ve linked to some of those ways throughout these tabs. Mostly, these are mindset shifts that will truly change your home because they will free you to start now.
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house and the daily/weekly habits that will help you maintain it all. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Blog Posts:
The TWO Tasks that Will Get and Keep Your Home Under Control
Ways to Make Your House Seem Clean (without actually Cleaning)
Why I Have to Run My Dishwasher EVERY Night
Ideal Cleaning vs Actual Cleaning
10 Easy Ways to Have a Neater Home in the New Year
What is the Very Least I Can Do to Keep My House Clean? No, Really.
YouTube Videos:
The Layers of a Clean House (Why Cleaning Feels So Hard)
The Two Cleaning Tasks that will Keep (or Get) Your Home Out of Disaster Status
5 Truths About Doing the Dishes (Whether or Not You Have a Dishwasher)
5 Ways to Have a Cleaner House!
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 11/1/22 “You talked about having certain days for cleaning tasks etc. Do you still use those scheduled weekly (or monthly/quarterly) tasks? Would you share what those are?”
Q&A: 12/29/22 “I struggle with keeping the house clean , esp. after cooking. when I only clean the kitchen. the rest of the house is a mess. and vise versa how do I balance both?"
Q&A: 3/28/23 “How do I get started with the 5 minute tidy? I can declutter, but when it comes to the tidying I find I have a mental road block. Do I just think of it as cleaning or picking things up?"
Q&A: 5/16/23 “I’ve been decluttering and catching up with cleaning for some time now. I think it’s time to move from “project” to “maintenance”. I don’t know how. Daily tasks and… what?"
Q&A: 5/16/23 “We have to pull everything out to be able to deep clean, how do I keep from making a huge mess and getting halfway and wanting to clean?”
Q&A: 9/12/23 “I’m having a hard time getting home under control w/two little ones. What do I do when I literally only have five minutes a day to clean/declutter?”
Q&A: 12/12/23 “I’m abut to start decluttering kitchen cabinets. How do you do no mess decluttering of spaces when you need to also wipe down/clean the containing space?"
Q&A: 12/26/23 “How do you know how many minutes to do your daily clean up?”
Q&A: 1/9/24 “Can I use a different step to start out with so that I can move forward in decluttering my house? First step is to clean the kitchen and keep it clean every morning. Difficulty getting past.”
Q&A: 1/30/24 “What will you do if you have a big kitchen and it takes your cleaning process hours to finish?”
Additional Resources:
From My “Audio Product” Series, Decluttering Deep Dives:
My “audio products” are a series of six 40 minuteish single audio products in which I go deep into answering decluttering questions I get regularly. They are very similar to podcasts, but they aren’t podcasts. They are paid products available on platforms where audio books are sold. And they were professionally recorded and edited in a studio (as opposed to my homespun podcasts). They are also often available from library systems that offer digital audiobooks. PLEASE NOTE that these “audio products” cost significantly less than an audiobook, usually around $5 (determined by my publisher and the audiobook seller so I can’t say for sure), so don’t use audiobook credits to purchase them since those are often worth around $15. One of those audio products is Why Cleaning Felt Impossible (my affiliate link) and it just might be the thing to encourage you and help you find that cleaning rhythm you are looking for.
My book, How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, walks/talks you through the layers of a clean house, including daily habits and making sure the progress lasts. If you’re looking for additional support, the tabs here include blog posts, podcasts, videos, and other resources that offer further insight into this specific question.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 11/29/22 “I love the container idea. What if I HAVE space? I’ve Decluttered so much I have so much space! My family feels they need to put “stuff” in empty spaces.”
Q&A: 4/25/23 “I love the container concept and have been working to implement it among my stuff. However, my partner is a "collector", and any space I clear he ends up filling back up with his stuff. Any advice?”
Q&A: 9/26/23 “How do you stop stuff shifting and actually decluttering. Also, how do you deal with empty spaces? They make me feel uncomfortable. I feel the need to fill empty spaces such as a book shelf, counter, any open space.”
Programs, Courses, & Books
Reading Dana's books is the best way to understand everything you need to know to change your home. Below are quick descriptions of each book, with a link to learn more about each one.
Throughout these tabs you will also find blogs, podcasts, and past Q&A videos where Dana has discussed her books in further detail, as well as links to purchase your own copy.
If you're completely overwhelmed in your home and can't figure out why keeping it out of Disaster Status feels impossible, read How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind.
Learn more about How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
If clutter is your biggest problem, read Decluttering at the Speed of Life.
Learn more about Decluttering at the Speed of Life
Organizing for the Rest of Us is a great option as well. It's "flip-through-able" and has the basics of Dana's strategies in tip format.
Learn more about Organizing for the Rest of Us
In Jesus Doesn't Care About Your Messy House, Dana shares relatable stories, biblical teaching, and practical life application. Dana will help you find a sense of freedom, acceptance, and a deeper understanding of God's love and purpose for you and your house.
Learn more about Jesus Doesn't Care About Your Messy House
Podcasts:
108 How is this book different from other organizing books? - Discusses my book, “How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind” and what makes it different from other organizing books out there.
Podcast interviews about Jesus Doesn't Care About Your Messy House
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 1/20/23 “Is there somewhere we can see a good comparison of your books? I have "Decluttering" and "Organizing", and am debating on buying audible "Organizing", or audible "Manage".”
Q&A: 1/24/23 “Is there somewhere we can see a good comparison of your books? I have "Decluttering" and "Organizing", and am debating on buying audible "Organizing", or audible "Manage"
Q&A: 5/16/23 “Please I need your books' audio versions, where to buy???”
Q&A: 8/22/23 “What is the difference between your books? Do they focus on different things? I've read one and absolutely loved it. The other ones have been on my list for quite a while.”
Q&A: 12/12/23 “What is the high level difference between your books? just read one.”
Q&A: 1/30/24 “Do your audiobooks come with printable charts? I've never purchased an audiobook.”
Q&A: 2/27/24 “Do you recommend we read your books in a particular order, or does it matter?”
Where to Buy:
How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
- Amazon
- AppleBooks
- Barnes & Noble
- Books A Million
- Bookshop.org
- Christianbook
- Indiebound
- Target
- Walmart
Decluttering at the Speed of Life
- Amazon
- AppleBooks
- Barnes & Noble
- Books A Million
- Bookshop.org
- Christianbook
- Indiebound
- Target
- Walmart
Organizing for the Rest of Us
- Amazon
- AppleBooks
- Barnes & Noble
- Books A Million
- Bookshop.org
- Christianbook
- Indiebound
- Google Play
- Parable
- Faith Gateway
- Target
- Walmart
Jesus Doesn't Care About Your Messy House
There are a few ways you can find support throughout your decluttering journey.
- Join my free newsletter here.
- Become a Kindred Spirit! As a Patreon member, for as little as $9 per month, you get access to fantastic perks like:
- Membership in secret, super supportive Facebook group
- Group Zoom calls with Dana and other patrons
- Chance to apply to do a strategy session with Dana for the podcast
- Chance to do a One Hour Better video session with Dana
- Four monthly work-along sessions where you join other group members to work together. Learn More!
I created Speed of Life Decluttering Coaches for you! I now train and certify Decluttering Coaches to lead their clients through my No Mess Decluttering Method in their homes! Certified coaches are listed on DeclutteringCoaches.com.
I own that website and all the coaches listed there can help you declutter using my strategies. Speed of Life Decluttering Coaches understand the unique needs of clients who are overwhelmed by decluttering.
Coaches aren’t clones of me. They all have their own style, but certified coaches agree to use my five step decluttering process when a client asks them to.
You can find out everything you need to know about becoming a Speed of Life Decluttering Coach here.
In the Q&A tab you will find links to videos where I answer questions about the coaching course during live Q&A sessions.
Live Q&A Videos:
When you click on the link, you’ll go straight to the timestamp in the video where I answer the question.
Q&A: 1/30/24 “Regarding coaching. I want to know if the coaching certification includes business practices such as pricing and pro practices etc. That's what hangs me up with the thought of becoming a coach.”
Q&A: 3/26/24 “I want to become a decluttering coach. How do I overcome imposter syndrome?”
Q&A: 4/30/24 “I think I'd like to be a declutter coach, but I'm still in the process of decluttering myself.”
Printable Household Cleaning Checklists - All of the printables are available here for free. You can access them by going to their accompanying post and finding the link to the printable version at the bottom of the blog post. If that’s too time-consuming for you, below you can purchase them all in a single PDF for your convenience if you prefer.
Printable Housekeeping Checklists E-Book - This $6 e-book is an 88 page PDF that includes all of my checklists for cleaning specific areas of your home and creating routines that work for you.
My e-book, 14 Days to Opening Your Front Door to Guests, guides you through getting your home ready for guests and contains printables designed to keep you on track.
Still have questions?