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445: Learning to Trust Your Decluttering Instincts - podcasts Archives - Dana K. White: A Slob Comes Clean | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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445: Learning to Trust Your Decluttering Instincts

podcasts Archives - Dana K. White: A Slob Comes Clean

Thu Feb 13 2025

My guest today has made so much progress, and now she wants to take what she’s learned outside! In this episode, we discuss: Create a new spot for something…..and remember it when I need it again Apply the principles to cleaning and handling the next s...

Summary

Podcast Summary: Dana K. White: A Slob Comes Clean - Episode 445: Learning to Trust Your Decluttering Instincts

Release Date: February 13, 2025

In Episode 445 of "A Slob Comes Clean," host Dana K. White delves into the nuanced process of trusting one’s decluttering instincts through a heartfelt conversation with Monica, a dedicated listener from Australia. This episode is a compelling exploration of real-life challenges and strategies in cleaning, organizing, and maintaining a clutter-free environment.

1. Introduction to the Conversation

The episode opens with Dana introducing Monica, who shares her unique life situation. Monica resides in a large two-story house in Australia with her husband and grown children. Despite successfully decluttering over the past four years, she grapples with maintaining order in a space that feels overwhelmingly expansive for her current needs.

Dana K. White [04:32]: "So you are in Australia?"

Monica [04:38]: "I am, I am."

2. Monica’s Decluttering Journey

Monica recounts her journey, emphasizing significant progress made since adopting Dana’s strategies. However, she highlights that while her home is more manageable, it’s still not entirely clutter-free. The primary struggle lies in trusting her instincts when it comes to decluttering, especially with smaller items and areas without designated storage.

Monica [05:53]: "Working well is the better is good … I don't have to finish the cupboard, I can start. And that was magnificent."

Dana explains the “better is good” concept, encouraging progress over perfection, which resonates deeply with Monica.

3. Learning to Trust Decluttering Instincts

A pivotal part of the conversation centers on Monica’s difficulty in trusting her instincts to declutter effectively. She shares a moment of frustration when trying to apply the container concept—a method where each item has a designated place. Monica initially struggled to allocate new items when storage spaces were already full, leading to feelings of overwhelm.

Monica [07:09]: "I cried because I thought, oh, no, I'm, I, I can't do this because everything is full."

Dana encourages Monica to explain the container concept further, helping her realize that sometimes, adjustments to storage spaces are necessary to accommodate new items without causing chaos.

4. Practical Solutions for Small Items

Monica discusses specific challenges, such as misplacing her earbuds and the tiny key for her phone’s SIM card. These small items often lack a permanent home, leading to frequent losses. Through guided questioning, Dana helps Monica identify logical first places to search and establish designated spots for these items, thereby reducing the frustration of their disappearance.

Dana K. White [16:08]: "Finding an easy solution to a big problem makes me so happy."

Monica acknowledges the progress made by trusting her initial instincts, even if occasionally she has to search secondary locations.

5. Applying Decluttering Principles to Gardening

Transitioning from indoor decluttering, Monica shares her passion for gardening, which presents a different set of challenges. She practices permaculture, allowing plants to grow naturally, which can sometimes appear messy and become overrun with weeds. Balancing her love for gardening with the need to maintain order mirrors her struggles at home.

Monica [30:01]: "It's a little bit of a shift from the house … I'm trying to reconcile that in my head."

Dana relates this to the concept of "clutter threshold," emphasizing the importance of managing both time and energy to prevent overwhelming situations.

6. Community Support and Work Alongs

Monica highlights the effectiveness of “work alongs,” structured sessions where she and her friend declutter together virtually. This community support system provides accountability and companionship, making the decluttering process less solitary and more enjoyable.

Monica [41:48]: "It just makes such a difference with how you having someone to say something to."

Dana reinforces the value of scheduling and community support in maintaining decluttering momentum.

7. Conclusions and Insights

As the episode concludes, Monica reflects on her progress and the ongoing journey to trust her decluttering instincts. Dana underscores the importance of patience and consistent practice, reassuring listeners that gradual improvements lead to long-term success.

Dana K. White [43:06]: "You've come so far to trust yourself ... this easily builds upon itself."

Monica expresses optimism about continuing to build her confidence and streamline her approaches, both at home and in her garden.

Notable Quotes

Monica [05:53]: "I don't have to finish the cupboard, I can start."
Dana K. White [16:08]: "Finding an easy solution to a big problem makes me so happy."
Monica [21:06]: "I have to have a little bit more confidence."
Dana K. White [43:06]: "You've come so far to trust yourself ... this easily builds upon itself."

Key Takeaways

Progress Over Perfection: Embracing the "better is good" mindset allows for incremental improvements without the pressure of achieving perfection.
Trusting Instincts: Learning to rely on initial instincts for item placement can significantly enhance the efficiency of decluttering efforts.
Community Support: Engaging in work alongs or similar support systems fosters accountability and makes the decluttering journey less isolating.
Balancing Passions and Order: Managing personal passions, like gardening, requires balancing enthusiasm with practical organization strategies to prevent overwhelm.

This episode provides valuable insights for anyone struggling to maintain an organized space, highlighting that trust in one’s instincts, coupled with practical strategies and community support, can lead to meaningful and sustainable decluttering success.

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Transcript

Dana K. White (0:00)

Hey y'all. My newest book that I have been working on for the Last Five Years comes out on February 11th. In this book, I am finally sharing the spiritual side of my desalabification process. The title of the book is Jesus doesn't Care about your Messy House. At the end of this episode, I'll share more about it, but for now I'll just say that you can claim pre order bonuses now at aslobchemsclean.com Jesus welcome to a Slob Comes Clean, the podcast. I am Dana K. White. I share my personal DES lobification 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 4:45 and I think I'm going to call it Learning to trust your Declaration Cluttering Instincts. This is a fun conversation. I think you're going to enjoy it. I want to remind you that y'all, my book is out. Like it's out out at the moment when I'm recording this, it's hard to believe that I'm actually saying these words on something that I am getting done and scheduled. But anyway, if you would like to take advantage of the pre order bonuses, which the big one now that you make sure you don't want to miss is coming up soon. And that is an invitation to Q. And so my new book is called Jesus Doesn't Care about yout Messy House. As you know, or you may not know, my previous books did not contain spiritual content, but this one is all spiritual content. Basically, it's the spiritual side of all of this. I know that that is not what a lot of you come here for, but I'm open to all the conversations. And so for those who pre order, you're going to get invited to a live Q and A with me. That will be in a little bit, you know, after you've had a chance to read the book. So go ahead and get that book ordered right now so that you can get your invitation to participate in that. We're going to do separate ones. We're going to do six, and there'll be two for each of the categories. And the categories are going to be I am all in. Yes, I'm in. Like on the subject matter of Jesus doesn't care about your messy house, then there's going to be one that says, huh? I've got questions like I don't know how I feel about this. And then we're going to do one for those of you who are like, nope, but you did want to read the book and so you pre ordered it. So I would love to have those conversations with you. So make sure you go to a slobcamsclean.com jesus to make sure that you have ordered it and fill out the bonuses information. But just so you know too, you don't have to order it from any specific place. You can literally order it from anywhere. You can have already ordered it a long time ago. You can still get those bonuses. So make sure you go to slabcomesclean.com Jesus which I know this is probably a bit of a repeat because I have my little thing playing ahead of time. I'm sure. But I just want to make sure you know about it because this is a big week for an author the week that the book comes out. Okay, here is my conversation talking about learning to trust your decluttering instincts. Cold, dry winter weather is no friend to my skin and can leave me with a dry, itchy scalp. I've learned it may not just be the cold weather making my skin dry. Unfiltered mineral filled water could be the reason why I didn't know that hard water is a leading cause of damaged hair and dry, irritated skin. About 85% of the United States uses hard water filled with dissolved minerals and added chlorine. That's where Canopy's filtered showerheads come in. Canopy, known for their beauty hacks and reimagined humidifier, has an awesome filtered shower head including a handheld version. Their unique three stage filtration system is recommended by dermatologists and it greatly greatly reduces contaminants and odors in your shower water, leaving you with healthy hair and glowing skin. I loved that my canopy filtered shower head was so easy to install and its unique filter replacement feature makes it easy to change the filter too. I like easy. Go to GetCanopy Co to save $25 on your canopy filtered showerhead purchase today with Canopy's hassle free Filter subscription. Even better, my listeners can use Code Clean at checkout to save an additional 10% off your canopy purchase. Hurry. Your hair and skin will thank you. Okay Monica, thank you so much for joining me. And thank you for helping us find a time that wasn't one in the morning for you.

Dana K. White (12:35)

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Dana K. White (27:21)

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Dana K. White (43:31)

Thank you. Thank you. This has been so fun. I hope you all loved that conversation. I enjoy these conversations so much with members of my Patreon community. If you want to know more about being a patron of the show, which then allows you to sign up to do one of these sessions eventually. Right. Like, I don't do them immediately at all, but you can go to Patreon. P A T R-E-O-N.com A slob comes clean. Also, don't forget my new book is out. Like, you can order it and start reading it or start listening to it or whatever. There's no more waiting needed. But if you want to get in on those Q and A's, then make sure you go fill out your order information@aslob comes clean.com. jesus. All right, I'll talk to y'all later. Bye. Okay, y'all, I'm back to talk about my new book that comes out February 11th of 2025. If you've ever wondered how I put these current things in with old podcasts, that's one of the features that my AD network allows me to do. And I'm very thankful for that because I know a lot of y'all listen to old podcasts and I don't want you to miss exciting things that are coming out like the new book. This book is called Jesus doesn't care about your messy house, he cares about your heart. And this is a departure for me for sure. So my first three books did not contain spiritual content and that was on purpose. And this book talks about why. Ultimately this is a book about God's grace, what it means and how it plays out in life. And I'm using this example that feels both too unimportant and too daunting from my own life to explore what grace is. My hope is that exploring this topic, finding out what the Bible really says and how Jesus really views you will remove the shame around this issue so that you can move forward. Also want to make sure you know that if you pre order there are pre order bonuses. So I'm going to talk real quickly about what those are. You can pre order from anywhere. You can even request it from your library and send us an email and let us know that pre order it from anywhere and then go to aslob chemsclean.com Jesus and there's actually links there of places to pre order if you haven't yet. But you'll go to the form there and fill out your information with your pre order number and information from your receipt. Okay so just so you know, we don't have any way of knowing that you pre ordered. Okay. We don't get any information about you from the place where you bought the book. They don't send us any information about you. So the only way for us to know that you have pre ordered is for you to come and fill out this form. And they are all digital and they're downloadable meaning you're going to get them immediately. Now they don't come with your book and again we only can give them to you if you tell us that you've pre ordered and give us your information. But what are the bonuses? Well the bonuses include a preview of the book, it's the first two chapters and then also a five day Bible study based around the theme of the book. And then the last thing is not downloadable because it'll be an invitation that you'll receive to a live Q and A exclusively for those who have pre ordered. So here's how this is going to work. I am going to do three categories of Q and A's and for each category I'm going to do two sessions. Okay? So there will be a daytime and an evening for each of these sessions to hopefully allow you to make it to one of them. But the three categories are divided out to hopefully meet everybody where they are. Because I know that people are at very different places on this side of this journey. Okay, so the three categories are I'm all in. Like, you get it. You hear the title, you read the book, and you're like, yep, I'm all in. I want to talk more about this. That's the first category. The second category is I've got questions. Like, I think I know what you're saying, but I've got some questions about this. We'll have two sessions for the people who are in that place in that category. And then the last category is, no, nope, I'm out. But we're friends. And so you read the book and so you pre ordered so you can be invited to that one. Because I know that, like I said, we're all at different places and we want to be able to really have those conversations. Those will not be recorded because I want to honor the privacy of those who are participating. So it will be something where. That's why we're doing each of them twice so that hopefully you can make one. We'll send out the invitations to those sessions probably about a week after the book releases to give people time to get into it and start. Start reading. So that when we have those discussions, we're, you know, talking about the same thing. So I would love for you to pre order if this is a book that you would be interested in or somebody you know would be interested in. Pre orders are so helpful for authors. So I greatly appreciate you doing that. But ultimately I just want it to be a book that is helpful for you. You can go to a slob comes clean.com Jesus. Both for information on how to pre order and or to fill out the form and claim your pre order bonuses. All right, I will talk to you later.