440: When Decluttering Snags Happen

Summary

Podcast Summary: "When Decluttering Snags Happen" (Episode 440)

Podcast Information:

• Title: A Slob Comes Clean
• Host: Dana K. White
• Episode: 440: When Decluttering Snags Happen
• Release Date: January 9, 2025
• Description: Focused on reality-based cleaning, organizing, and decluttering strategies for real people.

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Introduction

In Episode 440 of A Slob Comes Clean, host Dana K. White delves into the inevitable challenges that arise during the decluttering process. Titled "When Decluttering Snags Happen," Dana addresses listener-submitted questions, providing practical solutions and insights to overcome common obstacles faced by those striving to regain control of their living spaces.

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1. Overcoming Clutter That Prevents Access to Items

Question:
A listener admits to having Dana’s books buried in clutter, making them inaccessible. They describe a situation where their garage is overwhelmed with boxes, preventing access to specific storage areas, like a shelf for garden gloves. They seek advice on how to proceed without undertaking an overwhelming cleanup project.

Dana’s Response:
Dana acknowledges the struggle, empathizing with the listener's predicament. She emphasizes the importance of starting in a visible area rather than the cluttered garage. By addressing easily accessible spaces first, such as an entryway where the garden gloves are visible, the listener can begin to make progress without being paralyzed by the enormity of the entire garage.

Dana K. White [04:10]: "We start in a visible area, so you're not starting in the garage. You’re starting in an area... Take it there now because that's the no mess decluttering process."

Key Strategy:

• Take It There Now: Focus on one visible area to make immediate progress.
• Trash and Donation Priority: Remove items that can be easily discarded or donated to free up space.

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2. Handling Items That Require Further Processing

Question:
A listener struggles with items that need additional steps before disposal, such as an old laptop requiring data removal or a photo album needing photo extraction. They find these tasks halt their decluttering momentum and seek effective strategies.

Dana’s Response:
Dana encourages tackling these tasks promptly to prevent them from becoming roadblocks. She advises starting with simpler items to build momentum, which makes handling more complex tasks less daunting. If the immediate removal of such items feels overwhelming, Dana suggests temporarily setting them aside and returning to them once initial progress is made.

Dana K. White [14:30]: "There is not a perfect strategy, right? But I find it much more effective to go ahead and do the thing. Take the stuff off of the laptop."

Key Strategy:

• Immediate Action: Address processing tasks during decluttering sessions.
• Set Aside if Necessary: If too overwhelming, temporarily defer complex tasks until foundation is built.

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3. Decluttering with Limited Time (During Baby’s Nap Time)

Question:
A listener juggles decluttering during their baby's nap time or after the kids are in bed. They struggle with accumulating keep piles and maintaining progress given the limited time available.

Dana’s Response:
Dana advises focusing intensely on trash and donation items during these limited windows. By eliminating items that merely occupy space without requiring intentional placement, the listener can reduce clutter without needing extensive time. This approach minimizes keep piles and makes the overall decluttering process more manageable within restricted time frames.

Dana K. White [24:15]: "Go hard on the trash and donations. Just go really hard on that so that the things that are to put away are significantly less and less overwhelming."

Key Strategy:

• Focus on Immediate Removal: Prioritize items that can be discarded or donated quickly.
• Minimize Keep Piles: Reduce the number of items that need to be stored, making the process less time-consuming.

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4. Dealing with Items You Have but Can’t Find

Question:
A listener frequently experiences frustration over misplacing items they need, leading to prolonged searches and inefficiency. They seek advice on preventing the loss of items and maintaining organization.

Dana’s Response:
Dana emphasizes the importance of the initial decluttering process in preventing such situations. By methodically assigning a specific place for each item and trusting her system, items will be easier to locate. She reassures listeners that as they consistently apply the "Take It There Now" method, their ability to find things quickly will improve, thereby reducing future frustration.

Dana K. White [28:40]: "The more you go with that first decluttering question and acknowledge... you are going to the next time have that same feeling... it's going to be in the first place where you look for it."

Key Strategy:

• Assign Specific Places: Ensure every item has a designated spot, enhancing the ability to locate them easily.
• Build Trust in the System: Regularly applying the decluttering method reinforces organization and reduces future searching time.

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5. Removing Containers After Assigning Homes to Items

Question:
A listener has successfully assigned homes to all their items but feels overwhelmed by the remaining containers (e.g., bookshelves, entryway tables). They seek guidance on downsizing and removing these containers to further streamline their space.

Dana’s Response:
Dana recommends evaluating and eliminating the least favorite or most obstructive pieces of furniture. By removing unwanted containers, the space becomes more functional and spacious. She illustrates this by sharing her own experience of decluttering a previously unusable room, effectively "adding" space to her home through the removal of clutter and unnecessary furniture.

Dana K. White [34:20]: "Removing furniture makes your house bigger. Like it gives actual square footage to your home."

Key Strategy:

• Eliminate Unnecessary Furniture: Remove items that hinder movement and contribute to clutter.
• Consolidate and Streamline: Reduce the number of containers to create a more open and manageable space.

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Key Insights and Strategies

1. No Mess Decluttering Process:
A systematic approach that encourages tackling one area at a time, starting with visible and accessible spaces to prevent being overwhelmed by the entirety of clutter.

2. Take It There Now:
Immediately assign every item a specific place or remove it from the home. This practice ensures that decluttering leads to tangible progress rather than postponed actions.

3. Start with Trash and Easy Donations:
By prioritizing items that can be quickly discarded or donated, decluttering sessions yield immediate results, fostering a sense of accomplishment and momentum.

4. Building Trust in Instincts:
Consistently applying the decluttering method helps individuals trust their organizational instincts, making the process more intuitive and less stressful over time.

5. Focused Efforts During Limited Time:
When time is constrained, such as during a baby’s nap time, concentrating on high-impact decluttering actions ensures that progress is made without the need for extended periods.

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Conclusion

In this episode, Dana K. White provides compassionate and practical advice for overcoming common obstacles in the decluttering journey. By emphasizing a structured approach, immediate action, and prioritization of easy decisions, Dana empowers listeners to navigate decluttering snags effectively. Her strategies not only address the physical aspects of organizing but also the psychological barriers that often impede progress, offering a comprehensive guide for anyone looking to reclaim their living space.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Dana K. White [04:10]: "We start in a visible area, so you're not starting in the garage. You’re starting in an area... Take it there now because that's the no mess decluttering process."

• Dana K. White [14:30]: "There is not a perfect strategy, right? But I find it much more effective to go ahead and do the thing. Take the stuff off of the laptop."

• Dana K. White [24:15]: "Go hard on the trash and donations. Just go really hard on that so that the things that are to put away are significantly less and less overwhelming."

• Dana K. White [28:40]: "The more you go with that first decluttering question and acknowledge... you are going to the next time have that same feeling... it's going to be in the first place where you look for it."

• Dana K. White [34:20]: "Removing furniture makes your house bigger. Like it gives actual square footage to your home."

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the essential discussions and solutions presented in Episode 440 of A Slob Comes Clean, offering valuable insights for listeners seeking to overcome decluttering challenges.

Transcript

[Dana K. White]

If you've been thinking about joining the Take youe House Back course, this is the time to do it. It's on sale for $94. Thousands of people all over the world have taken their houses back going through this course with me, dawn from the minimal mom and Cass from Clutterbug. Go to aslob comes clean.com take that's aslobcomesclean.com take to be ready to take your house back in 2025. Welcome to a Slob Comes Clean, the Podcast. I am Dana K. White. I share my personal desalobification process as I figure out ways to keep my own home under control. I share the truth about cleaning and organizing strategies that actually work in real life for real people. People who don't love cleaning and organizing. Thanks for joining me today. This is podcast number 440 and I'm thinking I'm going to call it When Decluttering Snags Happen. So I am answering some questions that were submitted@askdanik white.com you can always go there and ask questions that will be potentially answered on future podcasts. I always want to remind you too, though, that I have coaches. So if you need someone to walk you through your own space to coach you through the process, go to decluttering coaches.com. those are coaches who are trained and certified by me. So, all right, I'm going to answer some of these questions, and I think several of them talk about decluttering snacks. Right? You know, we're. There's a couple that don't, but that's kind of a common theme among these questions coming from different people in different situations. Okay, so first question is, I hate to admit that I have bought your books, but they are buried in my clutter. You're not the first person who's told me that. Okay, I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing with you. Right? So what if an item has a home, but because you are borderline approaching hoarder status, you can't get to its home? For example, a pair of garden gloves. I have a shelf in my garage for gardening stuff, where they go. However, I have tons of boxes now in my garage and I can't physically even get to the shelf unless I 1, move all the boxes out of the garage, which would be a whole other overwhelming project on its own and would prevent making any progress, or two test out my acrobat skills, which would most likely result in a trip to the er. What do you recommend? Grocery shopping and meal planning take time and my days are already full. Thanks to Hungryroot, I found an easy way to take care of that problem and eat healthy, too. Shopping, planning, and cooking food does not have to be stressful. With Hungryroot. You just tell them about your goals and preferences and they fill your cart with personalized recommendations. It's like having your own personal shopper and nutritionist all wrapped into one.

[Cass]

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[Dana K. White]

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[Cass]

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[Dana K. White]

Free item of your choice for life. Hungryroot.com slob code Slob so you are for sure not alone in this, right? Like, this is a very common problem for those of us who really, really struggle with clutter to the point where it's not just one place and the rest of the house is great. Like it, the whole house, you know, and. And I came up with my decluttering system based on a situation very similar to what you're talking about, okay? So it absolutely does work in there, but we have to remember the most crucial parts of it, okay? And how those work together in this type of a situation. So the key to the no mess process is to take it there now. And that's what you're wanting to do. You get it right? Like, you want to do that. You understand the power of it. But the. There is not even an accessible place, okay? And you're right in that you say, okay, if I move all the boxes out of the garage, that's its own huge project, and I'm never going to make the progress. You know, we start in a visible area, so you're not starting in the garage. With all the boxes, you're starting in an area, maybe your front entryway, where you've dropped your garden gloves and you're like, okay, I need to go put these in the place where I would look for them first. And I need to take it there now because that's the. The no mess decluttering process. That's the process for making progress and only progress and not ending up in a situation where I have all these piles of things to do later and then life happens and I get distracted and never actually make progress. Okay, so we want to make real true progress by taking it there. Now if this is your first time that you've listened and you're like, what? Go listen to the five step process. One. Okay. Also another one would be good that I put out. I think it was December 26th maybe, and it's probably episode 4 38, where I talk about how to make big progress in a week with nothing to do but declutter. That is going to help you with that. Okay. That's going to help you kind of understand what process we're talking about here. But the take it there. Now remember, my goal is either to get rid of this item by putting it in either trash, recycling, if you have it, or a donate box, or give it a home. Not just assign it a home to then be put away later, but actually determine the home according to where I would look for it first and then take it there now and acknowledge the reality of that space. Acknowledging the reality of this space that you have is acknowledging the fact that the place where you would look for it first is not accessible. And there's a whole lot of stuff that would have to be done to make it accessible. Okay. Your goal is to, item by item, make final decisions, act on those final decisions and move your house forward. So half doing things, it's. Some of you are going to be like, it sounds like you're talking about half doing and what I'm just about to recommend, but you're not. Okay, halfway doing things or deciding and setting it aside, we're not doing that. We're moving our house actually forward. So my recommendation is that you put your gardening glove as close as you can without acrobatics and without moving all those boxes as close as you can get it to its place where you would look for it first and out of that place. Remove something, take out trash, ideally, or an obvious donation out of that place. If there are all those boxes there. And you just said approaching hoarder status, borderline approaching hoarder status. Okay, so you're acknowledging a lot of stuff has to leave your house. Stuff needs to leave. So it is not a matter of rearranging those things. It is. It is a matter of something has to leave. So I'm going to get this gardening glove as close as I can to the place where I would look for it first, so that when I look for it, it's in this area and accessible because I got it as close as I could to that.

[Cass]

Okay.

[Dana K. White]

So I didn't do any acrobatics to put it there and take something out. Most likely, there are things on top of these boxes. That's what I would do, like, do some space for space exchange. So the gardening glove needs to go here. Something that is at least as big as a gardening glove needs to leave this space. Let's say it's all neat boxes. That's rarely the case. But even if it is, okay, well, I'm going to take something out of one of these boxes that I'm going to then take back to my trash, recycling, or donate box. That is at the original place where I was decluttering. So that gets me back to that space. But there have to be a lot of donations, and so go hard on the. I don't think there are any. There are, because there's simply more stuff than you have space for because there's all these boxes blocking the actual place that you need to get to. Right when you look for it and you say, all I have to do is just not leave this space any worse. This item is as close as it can get to the take it there now spot where I would look for it first. And I'm not going to leave it any worse. So I'm going to take something out of this space. What is the most obvious trash or donations? If you see. If you open up one of those boxes and you see that the whole entire box is Halloween candy from 1973, that would break anybody's tooth who tried to eat it. You know, I mean, have y'all heard that story about. I feel like maybe it was one of y'all even who told me at some point about, like, moving a box for years and, oh, this is my dad's box. And then we finally opened it up, and it was like old candy that nobody wanted, but it had just had this idea that, oh, this box. You know, this box is something important. So if you see that and the whole box is, oh, my goodness, this is packing peanuts or whatever, then the whole box can go, great. But at the if it's a jumble assortment of stuff, okay, something glove sized has to leave. I wouldn't put the the glove into the box because you're just going to set it on the surface as close as you can get to it so it is accessible because you don't want to just add to that box. But but as far as like stuff in my house, yes, things are going into the trash and donate box because that's how you're actually going to change your home. Okay, so next question. What do you do when you have an item that needs something done? For example an old laptop that needs stuff taken off of it before disposal or a photo album you want to chuck away but you need to take all the photos out first. I feel doing it there and then halts the decluttering process, which is frustrating. I am also very much out of sight, out of mind. But reminder post it notes drive me nuts. Don't tell me what to do. You pesky little post it notes. Totally get that. What have you found to be an effective strategy?

[Dawn]

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[Dana K. White]

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[Dawn]

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[Cass]

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[Dana K. White]

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[Cass]

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[Dana K. White]

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[Cass]

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[Dana K. White]

Visit betterhelp.comclean to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp h e l p.com clean there's no perfect strategy, right? But I find it much more effective to go ahead and do the thing. Take the stuff off of the laptop. That might even require figuring out how to take the stuff off of the laptop. Take the photos out of the album. Now my question, my follow up question if this Was an actual live conversation would be, have you tried it? Or are you imagining that that would stop the process? And then imagining it would stop the process then makes you feel like, I don't know. And so then it actually stops the process. I. A few weeks ago, December 5th, I think it was put out a video about finish the project and call it decluttering. Taking this stuff off of the laptop so that you can take the laptop for disposal is decluttering. It's not stopping decluttering. It is decluttering. Because getting that laptop out, that has probably awakened you in the middle of the night thinking about it, getting that out of the house is huge. Yes, it takes time, but it's going to take time at any point in this process. So go ahead and do the thing now. Make sure you have started with the trash and the easy stuff. Okay, so you started with that. We don't just look at a big mass of stuff, pick something up and decide what to do with it. We take out the trash first. Because that doesn't have any kind of snags. It doesn't have any kind of thought. We're talking about actual. Don't have to think about it whether it's trash or not trash. Like it's trash. Easy stuff. Well, I'm gonna get this stuff out of here that doesn't know that already. I already know what to do with. Right. So that by the time you get to the laptop, you've already made some progress. You've already made this space better than it was. You are feeling less overwhelmed. You're feeling a little bit of momentum. And I know it feels like it stops the momentum to deal with the laptop, but it doesn't. It continues the process. This is the. Take it there now. Okay, now, this wouldn't necessarily be the case with the laptop. You can also skip the laptop and just go on with everything else. Right? Like, if this is the. I just can't. Well, then skip it. Right? Skip it and move on to the other things. Because this space, if it is decluttered except for a lot a laptop, this space is way better than it was before. And then you're going to free up the mindset and the bandwidth for you to be like, okay, well, now I'm ready to go deal with that laptop. So don't let anything stop you in your path. It's perfectly fine to skip it. But the other thing too, like I had an example in a video that I did. I don't know when it was long time ago. And it was Something I had bought secondhand that I just thought was so cool looking. And I didn't realize it was hand wash only right now. I am often the type of person who will just throw hand wash stuff into the washing machine because I'm like, you know what? Good luck, good luck with that. Because I'm just, I'm just not going to do it if it has to be hand washed. But this was something that was so beautiful and it looked so delicate. I was like, I don't know, do I really want to be the one who ruins it? So I was like, okay, I have to wash this thing and about it secondhand. So I'd never actually worn it because I personally have to wash things before I wear it if I bought it secondhand. But I was like, okay, this thing is supposed to be washed in Woolite, which I actually did have because of my daughter's dance stuff. And I was like, okay, I need to go do this. And I went, I don't want to do this. Okay, well, I'm just going to donate it because it'll be as clean as it was when I bought it secondhand. And I'm just going to donate it because the reality is I don't love it enough to go do the thing. So that telling myself, yes, this is part of decluttering is going ahead and doing the thing that has to be done. So going through the pictures and you're like, I got to take all these pictures out of here. There is a pretty decent chance, especially if it's a photo album from the 80s where we all got triple prints and blah blah, blah and had everything printed. They weren't digital, so we didn't know what it was going to be. And it was somebody's foot or their nose or whatever. There's a chance that what you think is a huge project of removing every single photo from this is actually like, I don't even recognize these people. I can remove this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one. I'm good. Everything else is going in the trash. I mean, like so many times these projects take less time, but even if they don't, they're worth it, right? Or skip it. But the what, what you don't want is to let this be the snag that stops everything. My recommendation, go ahead and do the thing because then it's done and it's over with. And that is part of the taking it there now is doing whatever has to be done to actually deal with that item. So that it goes into a real home. All right, next question. I do most of my decluttering during baby's nap time. She sleeps in our room or after all the kids are in bed. How do I avoid keep piles when there are so many things? I can't take it there now, such a great question. Such a reality, right? Is you're wanting to get this done during nap time. So this is the situation that you're in, right? So what I would recommend is that you acknowledge the actual situation that you're in. Okay. If so much stuff that goes in the baby's room is outside the baby's room for you to be decluttering, but where you would look for it first goes in the baby's room, I would really go hard on the trash and donations and say, you know what? This is my lifestyle right now. This toy, this, whatever. This, this thing that I would look for first in the baby's room is something that is making my life harder. And also, the only time that I would ever actually go put it away is when the baby is asleep. So if it doesn't exist in my home, then it can't get out of place ever again. I won't ever have to go put it away and it won't be something in the baby's room. I mean, like, so go really hard on during this time that they are sleeping, go hard on the trash and donations. Maybe that means a lot of skipping of the things, but if you go hard on trash and donations, things that are actually just leaving the house, getting out of the house, it's all going to be so much better. You're going to be less overwhelmed. And then you will have clarified the space to be down to the maybe two or three things that actually need to go in their room. And when it's not a pile because you got rid of the trash and the donations and there's two or three things left, then it is so much more likely that it's going to register as something that needs to go go be put in their room at a time when you can actually go put it in their room. Right? It's up to you if you want to set it right outside their door. But the reason I don't recommend that officially is that my old self, I would have just been like, okay, here's another thing piled at their door. Here's another thing piled at their door. And then it just ends up being a P. And then they come out of their room and then they play with all that stuff. It gets Spread back around the house. Like, go hard on those trash and donations. Right. Go hard on that. Also, if they are toddlers, I'm not sure. Did we say babies or toddlers? Baby's nap time, so. Oh, and it's in your room too, right? I did just see that part. Or after all the kids are in bed. I mean, go hard on the trash and donations. Just go really hard on that so that the things that there are to put away are significantly less and less overwhelming and easier to do when the kids are up and awake. Okay. Okay. This one, I don't know. This is such a snag, but we're still going to answer it. I experienced the opposite of the second decluttering question. I remember I have something and I need it, but I can't find it. Help. Okay, so what she's talking about, I assume it's a she. I don't have the name in front of me because I copied this onto another document. She's talking about my two decluttering questions. And these will help you work through literally anything in your home. They work for actual anything, whether we're talking about clothes or tools or furniture or anything. Right. If I needed this item, where would I look for it first? Okay, so the reason I'm clarifying this is I don't know that you fully understand the questions because of the way that you ask this question. So we're just going to clarify what the questions mean. If I needed this item, where would I look for it first? I don't know where this item goes. If I knew where it went, it would already be gone out of this space. Because that's step two, the easy stuff. The questions are step four. When I'm down to the stuff where I don't know where it goes, that's what I'm asking these questions about. If I needed this item, where would I look for it first? Not where should it go, but if I literally thought, oh, my goodness, I need this item, I'm going to have to spend the next three hours tearing my house apart. Oh, man. Why is this so hard? Okay, you just said, I remember I have something, but I need it and I can't find it. Okay, this is the feeling right here. But we're talking about it in the moment of purposeful decluttering as opposed to this actual moment when you need the item and you need to find it. Right? So if while you are doing this purposeful decluttering, that's the way you're thinking is okay at the beginning of the Search for this item. That is so frustrating every time. Where's the first place where I would look at the beginning of that search? I don't trust that it's going to be there. I don't know it's going to be there. I'm not confident it's going to be there. But where would I look first? Assuming I was going to be looking for three hours, where's the first place where I would look? And I take it there now in the decluttering process. Okay, so this feeling that you have of I need something and I never know where it is. Okay, great. Focus on decluttering. Use the no mess process. Get the stuff out that you do know what to do with it. That stuff is gone. Trash, obvious donations, easy stuff. Okay. And then go item by item and say, okay, if I needed this, where would I look for it? First take it there right now. Put it in that spot. Acknowledge the reality of the space. What needs to leave in order to make space for it. If there's no room, you do that. You get that stuff in that spot and then you're going to the next time have that same feeling of, oh, no, another thing that I don't know what, I don't know where it is. I can't find it. What did you say? You say, I remember I have something and I need it, but I can't find it. That's not decluttering. That's not in the time of decluttering. That's in the time of when you need it. But if you did the purposeful decluttering and you use the first decluttering question, if I needed this item, where would I look for it first? Then when you need the item, it's going to be in the first place where you look for it. And this is going to start to change about your life. The frustration you're feeling is the inspiration to declutter. It's not a problem with decluttering. It's the reason you declutter. Okay, so you said it's in the second question. You said, the problem is with the second question. I don't quite understand what you're saying. But anyway, I experienced the opposite of the second decluttering question. So the second decluttering question we only ask if we did not have an answer to where would I look for this first? Because sometimes you go, okay, where would I look for this? Where would I look for what? You don't have an answer. And then I ask myself the question, if I needed this item, would it Ever occur to me that I already had one? Okay, I have already put it away. If it would occur to me that I already had one. If you know you have it, there has to be a place where you would look for it first. So if you do, remember that if you knew that you had this and you would go looking for it in your house, you're not even asking the second decluttering question. Okay, so you've got to go with that first decluttering question in the actual decluttering process. Right. The second decluttering question is only for things that you would never go looking for. If I needed this item, would it occur to me that I already had one? And then I have to be honest with myself that I would never go looking for it, because I would never even go, oh, I've got one of those. And so therefore, I need to get it out of my house because I would just double up by getting another one. Right. And it's hard. I get it. And we've talked about that in a lot of other podcasts. But that what you're saying, and when you're like, you. You ask that second question, if I needed this item, would occur to me that already had one. You're like, oh, yes, of course it would occur to me that I already had one. If that is true, there has to be an answer to the first question. If you would think, oh, I've got one of those. I just have to find it, then there is an answer to where you would look for it first. There is, because if you would look for it, there's a place you would look for it first. Right now it can feel like, but I don't know where it's going to be. No, no. Yes. You're guessing. You're going, where would I look for it first? Where's the first? Imagine yourself looking for this item and picture what's the drawer that my hand would reach for? What's the shelf that I would look up on? That's the place where you would look for it first. Okay. But the beauty of it is the more you go with that first decluttering question and acknowledge, if you insist that, yes, you knew that you had it, then there has to be an answer to question one. And just go with your instinct. And it's hard because you don't trust your instinct because you've never been able to find things. And so you're like, I can't do this. No, no, you're going to learn to trust your instinct by going with the instinct. And then when you look for things, you actually do find it in the first place, maybe the second, but still, that's better than the three hour search, right? You do that. And the more often you do that, the more you build that trust in your own instincts and the better this is all going to go. And, and, and it's beautiful. Like, it's a beautiful thing. When you find it in the first place where you look, it will surprise you, it will shock you, but it's a wonderful, wonderful feeling. And that's why this system of decluttering solves that problem. If that is your experience. I remember I have something, but I have no idea where to find it. I need it, but I can't find it. Then this is the exact decluttering system you need to be following. But go hard on that first question. You, if what you're saying is true, you shouldn't even be asking the second question. You should be going with that first question and doing, taking things now to the place where you would look for it first. Okay. All right. Does that sound mean? I hope it didn't sound mean. I'm just like, I get it. 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[Cass]

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[Dana K. White]

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[Dana K. White]

Oh, I love this question. When should we remove containers? Like removing bookshelves, entryway tables, desks, buffets, china cabinets, et cetera. Everything finally has a home and a place. Wahoo. That's her, not me. But I like saying it, but it still feels like too much to manage. How do I now downsize, slash, remove containers from this point, even though everything has a home? Yeah, so if it's still too much to manage, then you keep need to keep decluttering. So I would choose your least favorite. You know, it's how do I downsize remove? It's the same way remembering that these containers are fitting in, you know, the, the boxes and bins are fitting on the container of the shelf and the container of the dresser that holds your clothes is fitting into the container of the room. And so if it's hard to move around in places, getting rid of furniture, opening up space in the room for the humans that live there to be able to move around and you know, for animals too, obviously. But that is going to improve everything. So. So choose your least favorites. Viewing your house as a container. Take your least favorite actual furniture pieces out and I just will say, I know I've told y'all this before, but removing furniture makes your house bigger. Like it gives actual square footage to your home. You know, I shared last week about my, you know, my timeline basically, and the, the ebay room that I had and clearing that out. I literally added a room to my home by decluttering like a room that had not been usable before. It was just a pathway to the garage. There was a pathway through the room to the garage, became an actual usable room. I added a room. It felt like we had our House remodeled and had an entire wing of the house added on. But in a small way, that has happened so many times. When I get rid of a chair, a desk, a. Why can I not think of the word a chair, a desk, a table, something. It's like, oh, it. It just makes the room bigger because there's more room to walk around, to move around and all that. So, yeah, I would choose your least favorite, get rid of it. And maybe it's a bookshelf. You know, what's the thing that you bump into the most that will make it your least favorite? Right. And if that's a bookshelf, because you've kind of, you know, angled them on all the different walls in the room, take a bookshelf out. That doesn't mean every book on that bookshelf has to leave, but you're going to pick your favorite ones out of that bookshelf and then go to other bookshelves and one in, one out say, well, I do love this one from this bookshelf. And so what book on another bookshelf can I remove in order to make space for this one? And we consolidate and that way that's going to help you get just even more stuff out of your house. So. All right. I just wanted to remind you that my new book is coming out. So that comes out on February 11th. There are pre order bonuses available. This is the spiritual side of my dislocification journey. So it's something that I'm excited to share. I know it's something that a lot of y'all have asked about. Some of y'all are like, oh, I have no interest. I totally get it. But so I just want to make sure that you know that it is there. It's called Jesus Doesn't Care about yout Messy House. And you can find out all about the pre order bonuses and everything at A Slob Comes Clean Dot com. Jesus. All right, I will talk to y'all next week.

[Cass]

Bye.

[Dana K. White]

If you've been thinking about joining the Take youe House Back course, this is the time to do it. It's on sale for $94. Thousands of people all over the world have taken their houses back going through this course with me, dawn from the Minimal mom and Cass from clutterbug. Go to aslobcamsclean.com take that's aslobcomesclean.com take to be ready to take your house back in 2025.