463: Basement & Attic Decluttering, Retirement Changes, and Dealing with Craft Supplies

Summary

Podcast Summary: Dana K. White: A Slob Comes Clean - Episode 463

Title: Basement & Attic Decluttering, Retirement Changes, and Dealing with Craft Supplies
Host: Dana K. White
Release Date: June 19, 2025
Description: Reality-Based Cleaning, Organizing, and Decluttering

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Introduction

In Episode 463 of A Slob Comes Clean, Dana K. White delves into practical strategies for decluttering challenging spaces such as basements and attics, navigating the changes that come with retirement, and managing an abundance of craft supplies. Drawing from her renowned "No Mess Decluttering Process," Dana addresses real-life listener questions, providing actionable insights and fostering a community of individuals striving to maintain organized and stress-free living environments.

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1. Basement and Attic Decluttering

Listener Laura’s Struggle with Getting Started
Laura expressed difficulty in getting back into a decluttering routine, feeling stuck in the initial stages.

"I've been trying to get back into the swing of things. Stuck on actually getting things out." ([04:03])

Dana’s Guidance:
Dana emphasizes the importance of starting small and making definitive decisions. Utilizing donatable donation boxes is a key strategy—once an item is placed in the box, there's no revisiting it, which prevents second-guessing and ensures consistent progress.

"Use donatable donate boxes so that when something goes into a donate box, you never have to look at it again." ([04:50])

Efficient Decluttering for Moving:
For listeners planning a cross-country move, Dana advises leveraging moving container limits as constraints to facilitate decluttering. By adhering to the recommended number of boxes for the destination home size, one can naturally reduce belongings and focus on essentials.

"If you're moving from a six-bedroom home to a two-bedroom home, well, you need to pack for a two-bedroom home." ([06:15])

Creating Storage Solutions Post-Decluttering:
When considering adding shelves or storage units, Dana recommends completing the decluttering process first. This approach ensures that new storage solutions are necessary and tailored to the actual volume of belongings, preventing the accumulation of unnecessary items.

"Declutter first, just get rid of stuff until it just fits in the space that you already have." ([09:40])

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2. Navigating Retirement Changes

Listener’s Challenge with Husband’s Retirement:
A listener shared the difficulty of decluttering without her retired husband noticing her efforts.

"Struggling with decluttering since my husband just retired. Any tips to declutter without husband seeing me declutter?" ([35:00])

Dana’s Advice:
Dana encourages focusing on personal spaces first and acknowledging that retirement brings significant life changes. By leading through example—decluttering individual areas—other household members may follow suit, enhancing the entire home's organization.

"Declutter your own stuff first and acknowledge that this is a whole new phase of life." ([35:30])

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3. Dealing with Craft Supplies

Listener’s Overwhelmed by Fabric and Yarn Collections:
A listener named Jackie confessed difficulty in managing fabric scraps due to emotional attachments.

"Love your container concept. It helped me so much with downsizing my fabric scraps." ([29:15])

Dana’s Strategy:
Dana advises starting with non-emotional items to build confidence and experience success. By practicing the decluttering process on less sentimental items, individuals can develop the skills and mindset needed to tackle more emotionally challenging possessions like fabrics.

"Start with the trash and say, is there any fabric here that is trash?" ([32:05])

Managing Craft Supplies:
For those with extensive craft materials, Dana recommends implementing the container concept—limiting the amount kept to what fits within designated storage boxes ensures only favorite and frequently used items are retained.

"I don't keep more than what will fit in a 14 by 11 by 6 plastic box." ([38:43])

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4. Additional Listener Questions and Insights

Decluttering with Limited Mobility:
An elderly listener sought advice on managing a basement with physical limitations.

"Love this. Candy said... I’m elderly. Suggestions?" ([19:11])

Dana’s Recommendations:
Dana suggests simplifying the process by focusing on obvious trash and donations. Utilizing lightweight containers and seeking minimal assistance from neighbors can make the task more manageable without overwhelming the individual.

"Go down to your basement and say, I am going to... look for the trash." ([21:30])

Overcoming Emotional Attachments and Guilt:
Dana addresses the emotional barriers to decluttering, encouraging listeners to prioritize visible progress over perfection. By making small, consistent improvements, the accumulating positive impact can diminish feelings of guilt.

"The feeling of success when you make visible progress... pushes out the guilt." ([30:20])

Maintaining Daily Habits Amidst Clutter Thresholds:
A listener admitted difficulty in maintaining daily decluttering habits despite progress.

"I have decluttered so much, but I'm still over my clutter threshold." ([36:50])

Dana’s Solution:
Dana recommends focusing on high-impact daily tasks, such as doing the dishes every day. This not only frees up time but also reinforces a sense of accomplishment that can cascade into broader organizational efforts.

"Zero in on, say, okay, if I can do nothing else, I'm going to do the dishes." ([37:21])

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5. Coaching and Certification Opportunities

Throughout the episode, Dana highlights her "No Mess Decluttering Process" and the availability of certified decluttering coaches. She encourages listeners to explore becoming certified coaches or to seek assistance from existing ones to enhance their decluttering journeys.

"All coaches [e-mail] are trained and certified by me." ([00:00])

Key Takeaway Quotes:

• "You can start, just go through it and see. Wow, that made an impact." – Listener Krista ([34:10])
• "Decluttering frees time." – Dana K. White ([41:25])

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Conclusion

In this insightful episode, Dana K. White provides comprehensive strategies for tackling some of the most challenging areas in the home, adapting decluttering techniques to life transitions such as retirement, and managing specialized collections like craft supplies. By fostering a structured yet flexible approach, Dana empowers listeners to make meaningful progress in maintaining organized and harmonious living spaces. For those seeking personalized guidance, Dana’s network of certified decluttering coaches offers additional support tailored to individual needs.

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Find Your Decluttering Coach:
Visit declutteringcoaches.com to find a certified coach near you or to become one yourself. Virtual coaching options are also available.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Dana K. White]

Hey, y' all, did you know that I train and certify decluttering coaches who can coach you through decluttering your home using my no Mess decluttering process? Go to declutteringcoaches.com to find one of my coaches near you if there isn't a coach near you yet. Most of my coaches also coach virtually, and we've added a first available virtual coach feature on the site. All coaches [e-mail] are trained and certified by me. Welcome to A Slob Comes Clean, the Podcast. I'm Dana K. White. I share my personal d slopification 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 463. This is one of my summer podcasts. Normally, I have never put out podcasts in the summer, but I'm trying this summer to. To give you some podcasts. These are recordings, audio recordings from past YouTube Live Q& A's. That's why the energy is a little bit different. But just wanted to have something to come out in your feed. If you don't watch me on YouTube and you only listen to the podcast, you will never have heard this stuff before. So, I mean, you'll have heard. I mean, I talk about the same things a lot, right? But you won't have heard this exact audio before. In this one, we're talking about basement and attic decluttering changes that happen with retirement and dealing with craft supplies, plus lots of other things.

[Listener]

Okay.

[Dana K. White]

I hope you enjoy this and I will talk to you next week.

[Listener]

Bye. Okay, let's see. Love this. Candy said candy. Jane says I took my house, my barns, and my garden back. Your method cracked the code. Thank you. From Ontario, Canada. I love Ontario, Canada. It's one of my favorite places. Yeah. So, those of you who might not know, my method is the no Mess decluttering process. And I absolutely love hearing from people who apply it in other areas than just the regular old clutter pile. But gardening, when I actually get out there and do anything. Yes, I follow my own method for that because it's not designed for gardening, but it works. So the five step, no myths, no mess. Also no math. It's no mess and it's no math decluttering process. Yep. Takes you through any amount of clutter, no matter how overwhelming, from beginning to end. But also, you can stop at Any time. So you can begin, make real progress and step away because you're tired, you get distracted, life happens, you just don't want to anymore, whatever. And you will only have made progress. And that's the beauty of it.

[Dana K. White]

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[Listener]

Okay. Not actually a question, but we'll talk about it. Laura says I've been trying to get back into the swing of things. Stuck on actually getting things out. So on this I totally understand. Right? Like it can be such a hang up, right? But at the same time it's so powerful. Okay. And as long as you're following the no mess process, you have already made the decisions, right? Like a big part. One of my biggest strategies is to use donatable donate boxes so that when something goes into a donate box, you never have to look at it again. Which gives keeps me from having the chance to second guess but also makes me make a final decision as I'm putting it in there. Right? Like it helps me make that final decision which is the key to the no mess process. The thing I want to say to you is to remember that it is a valid use of your decluttering time and energy to load up your vehicle and go drop off the donations or make a phone call to schedule a pickup or whatever it is that you need to do. Do that. Okay. Because the power of those things actually being gone away from your home is. Is really. The power is powerful. Whatever. You know what I'm saying here, right? Like, the impact is incredibly powerful to then because you say, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. The best way to get back in the swing of things is to get some stuff completely all the way out so that you really truly have added actual space to your home. You've added square footage. And experiencing that is so powerful in getting you back into the swing of things. How would you declutter for a cross country move? Well, that sounds exciting. Yeah. I have a video called My three best decluttering tips for a Move. I also have videos from when I moved, you know, which was not cross country, but I would use the same strategy. Okay. Especially for a cross country move. Now for this, I am assuming you are renting or hiring or whatever, an actual truck. Okay. If you're not, then you're going super minimalistic and taking it in your car or whatever vehicle you already have. But the reason I say that is you are probably not going to be the. I'm going to run back and get a little bit more. And I'm going to run back and get a little bit more. That is an advantage in the decluttering process of moving. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm saying you have a very defined container. So if you are hiring a moving company, take their advice on the number of boxes that you need for the home that you're moving into. Okay. So I know that they may be like, oh, they're thinking about the house you're packing up. But if you're trying to declutter, then go with the. What, what, what are the number of boxes that they recommend? Because here's the thing, y' all, I. Oh, my goodness. The first time that I did a adult move, I was gonna say grown up. I don't know. I don't know. I was 25. I was. No, I was 27. 27. I was pregnant with my first kid and my parents paid for us to hire movers and it was a like a gift from them. Huge gift. Right. I can remember going through the house and talking to the guy on the phone explaining, you know, what it was that, you know, what we had and everything, I was like, we have a lot of dishes, blah, blah. That move ended up costing so much more than we thought it was going to cost because I just had a. I had a bunch of stuff. I did not have a normal two bedroom apartment at all. Okay. And this is before I had kids. This is just me and my husband and we had. It was technically a one bedroom den, but it was basically like a two bedroom. So what I needed to have done, which I had no idea because I hadn't, you know, figured all this out yet. What I needed to have done was to have said, okay, this is the number of boxes for that is recommended for this. And the reason why I say you're at an advantage is if you're moving across the country, you are forced into that, that smaller, you know, moving vehicle or truck or whatever, use the recommended amount of boxes, put your favorite and most important things in first into those boxes with those boxes being the limit so that when the truck comes, it's all going to fit in there because it's the recommended boxes for the size of the truck. Right. If you're able, if you're moving from a six bedroom home to a two bedroom home, well, you need to pack for a two bedroom home. Okay. And I know that's hard. You know, maybe you fudge a little and go with a three bedroom or something like that, but go for where you're going so that by the time, because your goal is to declutter and then as you fill up those boxes, just know these boxes are the limits. I can't take more than this. So it's a challenge for sure. It's not daunting for sure, but it is an advantage. It's kind of like we were talking about just a second ago with the point of the donatable donate box being it forces me to make this final decision and that sounds like, oh, that's gonna. I don't want to be forced to. But at the same time it's actually a huge freedom to have this boundary and be like, okay, well this is the boundary. I want to do the best job I can do. So I'm going to stick within these boundaries and that's going to make my decision making actually easier. When is a good time to create a container like put in a shelf so there is a place for things or when it should, or when shouldn't it happen? I think is what you're saying, okay, when is the good time? The good time is going to Be after you have gone through, at the very least, the first four steps of the decluttering process. Okay. First step is trash. Because let's don't build a shelf for us for trash. And I. I generally try not to be like, let's don't, because, you know, I'm me, you're you. We all do what we want to do, right? But, like, I don't want to build a shelf for trash, which sounds ridiculous, right? Except that when I would think that the first. This is me, and this is how I was. When I would think that the first step was to build the shelf, I was saying, oh, that's a lot of junk in there. I need six new shelves before I ever deal with that. Right? But if I'm doing that, I'm building shelves for the trash that's in there, too, because I don't know that yet, because I haven't gone through it. So go through, at the very least, the first four steps of the decluttering process. So you've gotten the trash out, you've gotten the easy stuff, the stuff that goes somewhere else in the house, but for whatever reason, it's right here. You've gotten that out because you don't need a shelf. You don't need to add a shelf for that. Right. You've gotten out the obvious donations. Let's don't build a shelf for obvious donations for things that never shouldn't stay in my house anyway. Right. And you also have gone through the two decluttering questions on everything in there so that, you know, the only stuff left in this space is the stuff I would look for here first. 9,000, 999 times out of 10,000, you're gonna do all that and probably not need the shelf and be fine with the space that you have. Okay. Because you will have gotten other stuff out of there. I would even recommend that because we're starting invisible spaces. You're probably starting with just kind of stuff that's been left in random places. Right? Go through and try the fifth step. Try the fifth step. Try the. Okay, I'm gonna. What if I was gonna just leave the space as it is with, you know, this much room up here, and I don't have anything up here, so technically, y' all love love. That means I don't love. But I also totally get it when people will who don't know me and don't know what I'm doing, leave comments, like on my five step decluttering process video where I go through it in that Craft cabinet. And they're like, you need to add more shelves so you have room for all your stuff. And I'm like, yes, so not the point. It's just not the point of what I do at all. And this is how I function. So go ahead and see. Like, if I was just gonna keep it at this shelf and I had to declutter down to what would just fit in this shelf that exists already, then is there anything? And generally you're going to find stuff that you can get rid of and you're going to realize, oh, I never needed the shelf. But even still, you know, go ahead and do that in the space, but do that in other spaces in your house first too. Like, go ahead and. Because the beauty of the no mess process is you make progress and only progress, which means your spaces are going to be better and better and better for every time that you go as far as you can in the process without building another shelf. And so you do this here and you do it over here and you do it over here. And then all of a sudden you realize, oh, actually I have plenty of space. And you've started to learn to live with it and you started to see, oh, okay, you know what a shelf in this spot is the one that would be the most helpful. That's what I always say. It's like declutter first, just get rid of stuff until it just fits in the space that you already have. Live with it for a while and then you're going to know what you really need. Where if you try to figure out what you need to add to this space as far as like an organizing solution or a shelf or whatever, before you ever get started, you. You just don't have. And I'm saying you, but I mean me, like this is what I've learned. I just don't understand what this space needs because I don't actually know what goes in this space yet because there's all this other stuff in there too. What is involved in the coaching course? Okay, so there is a. [e-mail] that's my website. All the coaches there are trained and certified by me. What the coaches do is they go first through our decluttering coach training course. Okay. And that is, I believe it's about 15ish hours. I don't know, I think it's on the website somewhere. So you can might go look of actual like work time on this course. Okay, so you, you learn my concepts, which if you've watched all these videos if you've read my books, you know which reading. How to manage your home without losing your mind and decluttering the speed of life is required. Like, coaches have to do that. So if you already know everything that I teach, it's not going to be new to you and you'll move through it pretty quickly, Right? But you do have to practice things. You have to explain back. And you can do it either through writing or you can record yourself saying it, either audio or video, but you have to explain back these things because you're going to be explaining these concepts to your clients. Right? So you go through the decluttering coach training course, and a lot of people just do the training course because they want to know how to use this with other people and all. I mean, it's an investment if you're just doing this for your grandma, right? So I think you'd probably just want to watch my regular videos and read my books for. For that. But you might use it however you want to in your course. You. I mean, in your. In your business. And then if you choose to be certified, which means you have monthly trainings, you get listed on the site. I have a map feature there that I'm very proud of, where you click on your state and then you see, you know what coaches are in your area. And then you also have like a Facebook group with the other coaches and things. Then you choose to be certified after you finish the course. And then we go through and we, you know, make sure you fully understand everything and add you to the coaches. Certified coaches. Oh, I love it. Libby says your five step, no mess decluttering method was the game changer for me too. Thank you for validating that. The reason I'm reading that, yes, it makes me feel good, but also I feel like sometimes you're like, oh, I don't know. I don't know. This lady is saying that this works. It's important to see from others that it works in real life for real people.

[Dana K. White]

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[Listener]

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[Dana K. White]

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[Dana K. White]

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[Listener]

I went through a prepping phase where I collected all the I don't know what that means, but I also am scared. It might mean something like super official, but it also might mean words I don't say. I don't know. Anyway, SHTF supplies Disaster preparation is what I told my husband and daughters, but Now I struggle to figure out what to get rid of. Okay, so just recorded a podcast that will come out at the end of October that is exactly about this. Why? Because, oh, my goodness, if you're in Florida right now, if you are in North Carolina, if you have just been watching the things that are going on, it is traumatic, right? Like, people have been going through horrors, right? So I totally get it. And I don't ever want to be like, oh, no, just don't do that. Because to me, that's not helpful for somebody to say, oh, no, don't worry that that will never happen. Well, it has happened to some people, right? Like, there are people who are going through awful, awful things right now. So there's a whole podcast on it coming out end of October. But the very briefest version, what I'm going to say is, okay, instead of trying to convince yourself to be different or to think differently or to just get over it or whatever, because sometimes what I would do, this is what I would do, is I'd be like, dana, stop, stop, stop. Don't. Don't think that way. Okay, I'm gonna get rid of all of that stuff. Okay. Okay, I'm gonna be different. I'm gonna get rid of all of that stuff. I'm not gonna worry about this stuff anymore. And then I would actually go to do it, and I would see the things that I had collected, and I would think through all the reasons why I had collected it, and I would be shut down, and I just couldn't do it, Right? So instead, we're gonna go through exactly the same no mess, decluttering process. That's the beauty of the process. It literally applies to every single situation, every type of situation that you have. So go and. And think it through. Like, let's say that it's astronaut meals. I know they have like a. I've been seeing it lately because people are taking them to people in North Carolina who are in really difficult situations, right? So these astronaut meals, I gathered astronaut meals. Okay, I needed astronaut meals. Where would I look for it first? Okay, so we're not going to think through, well, these aren't really things that we would eat on a regular basis, but I bet I wouldn't be glad. And then, no, we are just going to ask the question, if I needed an astronaut meal, where would I look for it first? Whatever place that is in your home, you take it there now and you face the reality of that space and you go, okay, I would look for these on the shelf in my basement. Okay, we're gonna take it there. We're not gonna say, okay, yeah, that's. I know where I would put it. So I'm gonna set it aside and do that later. No, no, the going through the whole process right now, as you're going through this is the thing that will work you through this. So you take as many astronaut meals as you can carry to this place where you would look for it first, and you see the reality of that place and you realize, oh, that's where I put my big things of beans and rice. Sometimes me coming up with things off the top of my head is not great. That's where I have my big industrial size things of beans and rice. And you go, there's no space for the astronaut meals because that's there. Oh, but next to that. Oh, actually there is like the, you know, box full of seashells that I collected on my honeymoon. And you go, oh, actually those seashells kind of, kind of nasty smelling, right? I don't know. So I'm gonna get rid of those so I have more room for these things. But I'm gonna give it a real home. So it's not. I'm gonna change the way I think I'm gonna change that. Going through the process will help me be realistic and help me. Because here's the thing, and like I said, there's a whole podcast coming out on this subject in a couple days, but you go through this process and the next time you go up, now you're looking, you had astronaut meals and now you've got, I don't know, whatever you know, but you, you bring those things to this place and you make the hard decisions because you're like, this is the space that we can devote to all the possibilities that could be out there, but we need our actual place for the hockey equipment that my daughter uses every single Tuesday night for her practices. Okay? That deserves space. So if I'm taking up the hockey equipment space with astronaut Meals for a Disaster, then that's where I have to go. Okay? I let the space decide and I give things a real space. And I do put priority on the things that are actually happening. Right? But that doesn't mean I can't give some space to the other things that feel important to me. I'm not going to just pack my whole house and with all this, because then we're not living comfortably in our actual house in the real time. So right now life gets priority. That doesn't mean I just say, oh, I'll get over It. You can't keep anything for possibilities. But it does mean that it gives me some boundaries, and then it helps me make those decisions. And again, that is a hard subject right now because of what so many people are truly going through. And it is very. I'm not a mental health professional, but I will say what I think the word means. It's very triggering for those of us who think that way. Right. And who have collected stuff for those kinds of reasons. When we see those things happening, we're like, I got to keep all that stuff. Right. And so. But go through the process. We're not going to say, should I, shouldn't I? I'm going to say, where would I look for it first? I'm going to take it to that spot. Is there space for it or not? Can I give it room by getting rid of something else that's less important to me or what? Let's see. A and M says accepting the reality of your space is life changing and can be applied to many areas of life. Thanks, Dana. Yes, absolutely. I finally understand your method. But taking it there in my tiny house means most things need to go to the basement, and I have to get them from there when needed. But the basement needs organizing more than decluttering. No, it doesn't. And I'm limited in my mobility and physical ability. Suggestions? I don't have anyone to help. I'm elderly. Okay. I'm sorry that you don't have anyone to help. If you know the method, I would wonder if perhaps you could, if you know anyone around, some neighbors or something, if you could offer to potentially, you know, like, ask someone, I don't know if they could come and kind of be your. Your hands and feet. But you're in a tiny house, you have a basement. If you're in a tiny house and you have a basement, you have to acknowledge if a basement is hard for you to get to, then. And. And it's not a place that you can go down to all the time. Like, it's kind of a bigger deal for you to do that then. That kind of affects how much can actually be down there. Okay. Now, you said the basement needs organizing more than decluttering. That is almost never true. And even if it is true, you have to declutter first. So what I would recommend is go down to your basement if you're able, which, you know, again, if you're not able, then we don't need to have stuff down there. Right. So go down to the basement and say, I am going to. I'VE got a black trash bag or whatever you have. If you have recycling bin, take that down there with you as best you can. Right. I know we're. It's difficult, but at the same time, if we're going to store things down there, then it needs to be someplace you can get to and black trash bag donatable donate boxes and go down there and say, okay, I. My mobility is limited, so I am just going to see if there is any trash that I can get rid of. I'm just gonna see. I'm convinced there's not. I'm convinced that everything here just needs to be organized. And in reality, I'm gonna look for trash anyway. And if there happens to be any, it's going to go in the trash or the recycling. And I'm going to look and I'm going to really focus on duh, obvious donations. Right? So I'm going to get. Start working on that. And you do that as your, your kind of thing down there where it's like, I'm not going to go back up and forth, go back, you know, up and down the stairs all the time. I am just going to see, look, is there anything in here that I can just stick in the trash or recycling. Is there anything in here I can stick in the donate box? Right. Those are steps one and three. And for step two, easy stuff that has a home somewhere where it isn't. Is there anything that is in this pile or whatever that actually does have an established home that's somewhere else in the basement? Okay, so I could go ahead and do that if I just stick to those three things on that. And then I start asking myself the first decluttering question and skipping anything that isn't in the basement like that. The answer of where would I look for this first isn't in the basement. That is going to naturally bring you toward organization, but you're actually going to be doing the decluttering. Because the decluttering, my decluttering process achieves organization. It just does because things go to the place where you would look for it first, which means you're going to find in the first place where you look, which is the goal of being organized. Right. And then purging down to the limit. So really just go hard there. Okay. From dm I get a man in my life and I give too much of myself. I lose myself. How can I be selfish and do my own. I just follow them around and take time to do my own stuff. Stuff. Okay, assuming we're talking about clutter Here. Right here's what I would do, is I would. Wherever you're meeting them, instead of do that, doing that, say, I'm gonna really dive into decluttering. I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna really make this my thing. Start in your most visible space in your home. Go to your visible space in your home and work on decluttering in that space. The reason we start in a visible space is that we see the progress, we experience the power of having less stuff, and then we are inspired. I'm seeing a lot of wheeze today. I try not to do that, but whatever reason, today I am saying that, but we see that. I see that space, and I'm inspired to continue decluttering, which gives me energy to declutter, which means I'm excited to declutter. Instead of going wherever it is that I'm. You're meeting these men that you should be meeting, you know? You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't know. I don't give relationship advice. Let's see. I struggle to declutter my fabrics. Being a Sewins, every one of them are special to me. The container concept is too hard or I am too weak to implement it. Help. Yeah, don't start with your fabric. Go work on other stuff. Implement the container concept on stuff you do not have any emotional attachment to. Do it on your towels, in your bathroom. You know, go through the whole decluttering process on stuff that you do not have this emotional attachment to. Do all that first. By the time you get to your fabrics, you'll have been like, oh, that's how that works. Oh, that's how the container concept makes total, complete sense. Oh, that's how it makes my life easier. Oh, that's how it keeps me from feeling emotions in the decluttering process. And by the time you get to your fabrics, it will look different to you, and you might have cleared up other space where you were storing other things that you know will give you more space for fabric. I. I just want to say the reason I'm saying this is that I. Time and time and time again, I will talk to people and. And this was me, too. Like, your brain goes immediately to the most difficult thing that you don't think you could ever declutter. But you. Your mother has said or your sister has said, why do you have all that? You need to get rid of some of that. And so you're like, oh, that's the problem I need to solve, when in reality, there are so many Other problems you could solve before you ever get to that. And your house is going to be so much better. And the experience that you gain means you're going to be a different person by the time you get to the fabric than you are right now when you're looking at it and feeling overwhelmed. Right. Not different person in a bad way, like grown and all that. What is the most efficient way to organize homeschooling materials? I don't homeschool, so I'm just using theory here based on the reality of my process and how it works for everything. Arrange them inside a cupboard or arrange it in a visible way and open shelves. Kids sometimes mishandle the materials. Well, I don't think a kid has ever existed who didn't mishandle materials. So. And I think that that's actually. That's clutter threshold, right? Is like there is just the reality of what the kids can handle and not handle at different ages. And it changes. And it changes according to the, you know, who the kids are. What's the most efficient way to organize homeschooling materials? Arrange them inside a cupboard. Arrange it in a visible way in open shelves. I. However you like it. Here's what I would do. I would not organize because I don't talk about organizing. I talk about decluttering. I would go in there and say, I don't know which way I want to organize it yet, but I do know I need to declutter. So I'm going to look for trash. There's no trash. There's always trash. Right? Like, look for the trash. What in here is easy? Oh, what in here has drifted because my kids mishandled materials and my kids, you know, or kids what has drifted into the homeschool space that shouldn't be here because it has an established home somewhere else. I get that out. Okay. Is there any in here? Anything in here that's an obvious donation. Oh, there's a first grade. You said organize with an S, so maybe a grade one curriculum that all my kids are past that age at this point. Oh, okay. Actually, I can get rid of that and I can donate that or something. So that is going to greatly reduce. And you're going to know what it is you're dealing with and know how to organize it. I find that the decluttering process keeps me from having to organize, organize the way I thought I would have to. But even if you do, you have to declutter first because you don't want to be organizing things that don't even need to be in your house, right? So go through the decluttering process and then you will actually know what you're dealing with. And then pay special attention to your clutter threshold. Okay, Try one way, whichever way you think you want. After you have decluttered this space, try the one that you want. If you want open shelving, give it a try. If you want to close it behind a door, give it a try and see how it's maintained with five minute pickups done with your kids. Okay, so do the five minute pickups. Make that part of a routine and whenever you think of it, okay, doesn't have the reason. I don't set it, like assign it to a certain time of day. Is that when I do that and I forget, I'm like, oh, no, I forgot. Okay, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. And in reality, I'm much better off if I just go, oh, no, I forgot. Okay, I'll do it now. Right? So go through the 5 minute pickup. If consistently 5 minutes is not enough, then you need to have less stuff. And you say, you know what? I wish I could have all these really cool different books and things like that. But the reality is my kids are not at a stage or age where they can handle it. So we need to have less stuff. So we get rid of even more. Okay, we have a pod in the driveway and just had kitchen, painted cabinet and walls, so everything had to leave the room. Also clearing 100% of basement for some foundation work. How do we purge 50%? I mean, you could do the boxes method like we talked about with moving earlier, right? Like, you know, look it up. Look on the. I know there's different moving box calculators. So just Google that. And there are some that will say it kind of gives you like a. This is how many dish boxes or whatever, you know, so, so get that for the size house that you have and then start filling those with your favorite things first. The other thing too is and. And letting that be the limit. But I don't do the whole 50 thing because I'm like, I don't know. I'm just like, what is going to fit back in here? So as you do, if you don't get all that done or if you don't finish doing all that, you still have the wonderful blessing, right, of you're going to bring that stuff back in your house. So you shop from the pod container, you. You choose from that, your favorite things, and you immediately go take them into the house. You will be better off for that than to say, I'm gonna pick my favorite things, put them in piles, and then take them in the house. No, no. Take more trips into the house. And you're like, okay, oh, these are my favorite plates. I'm gonna take those in. I'm gonna put them in the cabinet. Okay. I'm gonna do this. And. And that will be filling that container of these spaces. And it's probably going to be a lot easier than you think to then realize, oh, now they're full. I like them like this. Like, not full shoved in, but, like, this is the stuff that I like. And my favorite ones are the ones in there, because I was putting my favorite ones in first. Okay, great. As opposed to getting you a handful of stuff out of the pod and bringing it in and just sticking it in places. No, pick your favorites. Take them in there all the way. Ready to order? Yes. We're earning unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with a Capital One Saver Card. So let's just get one of everything.

[Dana K. White]

Everything.

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[Dana K. White]

See capital1.com for details.

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[Dana K. White]

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Get the job done. Call 1-800-granger clickgrainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. How or when do you declutter plants in the house and in the garden? I'm not a plant person. I declutter them by killing them. And I don't kill them on purpose, y' all. I bought mums. I bought some of those mums at Costco. Have you seen them? Like, the big, huge ones? And I was like, ah, this year's gonna be different. I'm gonna be a different person. And I bought them and I put them by my front door, and I never watered them once, and they died already.

[Dana K. White]

Come on.

[Listener]

Plants gotta be better than that. I don't know. But I do know that you start with the easiest of the easy stuff, which would be the dead ones, because that's trash, right? And you keep moving through that. So I'm sure some other people here have a lot more expertise than I do. Dana, I have read how to manage your home, and I know daily habits are the key. I have decluttered so much, but I'm still over my clutter threshold. Why are the habits so hard to keep consistent? I think it's just a struggle for a lot of us. I mean, this is. It's not my natural thing. I am still 15 years later, having written the books. I am never excited about doing my dishes. I'm just not. I'm still not a robot who goes, I gotta go do the dishes, right? Like, I just. I'm like, dishes every single day. What I would say is, if you're over your clutter threshold and you say you've read how to manage your home without losing your mind, you need to read decluttering at the speed of life. It is diving deep into stuff and the house and your relationship with stuff and. And how to maintain decluttering progress and blah, blah, blah. And it's available wherever books are sold, but also most local libraries have it as well in all the different formats. How do you let go of the guilt as you declutter and realize the burden all the stuff has created over the years? Sometimes that feelings. That feeling can make me avoid the stuff. Oh, yes. This is a very real, real challenge if you find yourself avoiding this stuff. What I would do is skip freely. Okay? So if something is. If something is making you feel guilty and so you're like, I think I'm just gonna not say, okay, I'm gonna skip that item, and I'm gonna work on this other step. Because you're gonna. That feeling of success when you make visible progress, make sure you're starting in a visible space. That feeling of success, it's like you're not a mental health professional, but your emotions and your feelings are a container. And the guilt gets pushed out by the feeling of success. And the. Okay, yes, I'm seeing an impact. I'm finally making a difference, okay? And then it changes how you view some of that stuff. Stuff. How do I declutter when I give of myself to other people? I can't find time just for me. Here's the thing. Decluttering frees time, okay? It frees time. I would recommend that you read how to manage your home without losing your mind. Okay. Because it, you know, as somebody a couple questions ago mentioned, it dives deep into. Yes, Decluttering. We talk about in there that, because that is a big part of managing your home is getting the clutter out. But it also talks about which tasks make the biggest impact. And that is what will change your home more than anything is the basic daily stuff. Doing your dishes every day. So start by just saying, okay, I'm going to do my dishes every day. What ends up happening is you free up time to do other things, but you also are not avoiding your house. Because the problem is when you let things like dishes and daily stuff go, then it gets so overwhelming. And the thought of catching up on that kind of stuff is like, well, that would be a whole day. Well, I want to go do this thing that's way more noble. I want to give of myself to other people, right? I want to go do that thing. And then my house keeps getting worse and worse and worse. And I avoid it more. And I avoid it more, and I avoid it more. Zero in on, say, okay, if I can do nothing else, I'm going to do the dishes. Doing the dishes every day will change your life. It will change your life. Because what it will do is you'll realize, oh, now I can go give of myself. I can go do this thing that I want to do to help someone else, but it's not keeping me from doing the things that I need to do. Because now I can do the dishes in 10 minutes and it fits frees up my day. I don't have to spend an entire doing the dishes. Entire, entire day doing the dishes, which makes me avoid doing the dishes and then go give up my. But it's like, no, I'm. Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling here. Okay, how do I start tackling an attic completely full of junk? When she was alive, my mom kept 50 plus years of stuff that no one needs once anymore. And we just don't know how to start. Okay, so since it's an attic, and I don't know if you live in the really cool kind of house where you can walk on very solid ceiling, I mean, very solid floor into an attic, or if it's the kind where you have to like, it's very dangerous because you're on a ladder. So I don't know which one you are, but here's what I'm gonna say. If it's not something where you can just sit like on a solid ground and work from within the attic, get one box and go through that one box and say, I'm going to use the decluttering process on this one box. If what you're Saying is true, which it is, right? The vast majority is going to be trash and donate, right? And so you've got your donatable donate box and your trash bag and your recycling bin, if you have one. And you're just putting the vast majority into those two things. But you're also doing it in a way where if you do come across something that you're like, oh, my goodness, look. Okay, you can keep that, but you're going to ask yourself, where would I look for it first? And you're going to go take it there now and you're going to acknowledge the reality of that space. And if it's. If it's your grandma's cast iron pan and you're like, oh, my grandma's cast iron pan. Okay, well, then you go to the place where you would look for that first and you say, all right, well, if I want to keep her cast iron pan, I'm going to get rid of this, you know, pan that I don't love that much. Whatever. So go through that process. Do not pull everything out of the attic at one time. You know, if you're able to just go through this box in the attic itself safely, you know, depending on how the attic is, because I know they're different all over the world. But if that's possible, then you would do that. If it's not safe to do that, then you pull one box down and you go through that box and then you've eliminated that. And little by little, you're going to be making real, actual progress because you're following the no mess method. Love your container concept. It helped me so much with downsizing my fabric scraps. Now I don't keep more than what will fit in a 14 by 11 by 6 plastic box. Now I only keep my absolute favorite fabrics. I love hearing this. Those that were asking about fabric before. This is possible. Okay? This is possible. But Jackie got here by going through the decluttering process. So know that this is possible, but this is not how you start, right? This is what can happen. But you start by starting with non emotional things and then dealing with trash and dealing with all that kind of stuff. So I love that you shared that. Thank you. Let's see. Dana, do you ever skip dishes for a day? Struggle, but have been trying hard to do them daily. I'm currently on day eight. My goal is every day this month to see if I can make it a habit. Thanks. Yes, it happens. It. I mean, like, I will be like. Well, that never even crossed my mind yesterday. And now look at all these dishes. Right? But it's not the end. And that right there is the key. So one of the things that I hear from people a lot, those who go back and read a Slap Guns Clean, which I started in 2009, 15 years ago, as a way to figure out how to get my house under control, right? And I was writing about what I was doing every day. I was writing about when I messed up, and I was writing about getting back on the, you know, whatever. You can't fail. All you have to do is just do the dishes that day. Right. Or if you miss two days, well, then do them. Then do them as soon as you realize you've missed them. I mean, like, yes, absolutely. Just know that if you have a goal of every day of the month, that's wonderful. But if you have the goal of every day of the month and you miss two days during that month, you didn't fail at your goal. You were incredibly successful because you kept going even after you missed a day. Right. Like, that's the key. It's never over. I have multiple chronic illnesses and your process works for me. And I want to help people with similar issues, but it would mainly be online, not face to face. Can I coach just from home? Absolutely. Yes, you can. Yep. A lot of our coaches do virtual coaching. [e-mail] that's where you can find a coach or where you can learn how to become a coach. Oh, my word. I love this. Krista says thank you for your help. Through the years, I've gotten to the point that when I don't need all five minutes for a daily pickup, I use the extra minutes to declutter a cabinet or drawer. Life changing. I love it. Do you have any encouragement for decluttering craft supplies? There's so many things I want to do but never seem to find the time to do them. I have so much fabric, yarn, etc that doesn't fit. I have no encouragement because I don't deal in encouragement. I hope that what I say is encouraging, but my goal is never to give you encouraging words. And I know that sounds like I'm being weird, but my personality and clearly a lot of yalls personalities is that somebody saying you can do it actually ticks me off. I'm like, I know I can do it. Thanks a lot. I just rebel against cheerleading. Okay. And I know that's not what you're saying, but here's what I'll say. Start with the trash. When you start with the trash, even though you're like, there's some trash. It's all my nice fabric. It's all my nice yarn. Start with the trash and say, is there any fabric here that is trash? Oh, here is an entire blah, blah, blah that I kept of just the little bitty scraps and things. Oh, that's actually trash. And I know some of you all are like, that's not trash. Don't throw it away. You know what I mean? Right. Look for trash. Is there anything that is trash to you? Okay, easy stuff. Is there anything that's here in this space that I'm like, oh, no, there's not a frame that actually belongs somewhere else in the house. Oh, okay, I can get these four things out. I get those things out. Okay, then what is that? I'm asking myself? I'm going through the process. You will encourage yourself because you will experience success. That's the beauty of the no mess process. It's progress and only progress. You can stop at any time and you see the impact that you're making. You're never halfway doing something. You're never moving things to the side. And then you have to do this, this, this, and this before you see real progress. No, no, you make real progress from the time the first item leaves and goes in the trash or recycling. That for me is the best encouragement. I'm like, wow, that was easy. Okay, so take a before picture. Go through the process. Be like, I don't think that would be the thing for this one, but I'm going to do it because Dana told me to or because I chose to, because I don't do stuff because other people told me to. But you know what I mean, Start and just go through it and see. Wow, that made an impact. I worked for 27 minutes. I took a picture. I see the before picture and that. And that was. That's the best encouragement if it's fabric and if it's your craft supplies. But you still have other places that have any clutter whatsoever. Most of us do. Go practice in other spaces. Take your before and during and after pictures. Before and better pictures, basically. And experience. Oh, wow, that was easy. This does make sense. All of that is the encouragement that you need? Yes, this. So we talked about. Disaster preparedness is a very real thing. And everyone lives in an area where some type of natural disaster may happen. The type just varies by region. Absolutely. It's a very real thing. And we're never going to. The strategy cannot be to say it's not a real thing. It's reality. There are so many people who are living in that reality right now. But we still follow the process. And the process means that where would I look for this? First? I give it a home there. But I also, there is a limit. There's a limit, according to the space that I have, on how much of this stuff I can keep. And what I know is actually going to happen on Tuesday, which obviously nothing's guaranteed. We know that. Right. But I know that every Tuesday my kid's going to have hockey practice. We got to have the hockey stuff. That stuff needs a space. I know that it is a possibility. We could have a hurricane. So we need some hurricane supplies. Okay. I can't say, oh, well, we're gonna go buy hockey supplies every Tuesday afternoon before we go to practice because I need to keep the hurt, you know? So it. You let things take priority, you give things a space if it's reality. But space is always limited. And that's the problem for a lot of people like us. We tend to be the same people who want to be prepared for these things. And we're the people who don't see limits. Right? Limits were not natural to me. It's wonderful quality, but they are not. It is not natural for me to go, well, I don't have the space for that. Those words never cross my mind, okay? And so I go, oh, okay. Space is finite, all right? And I let that make those hard decisions for me, which helps keep me from spinning out on those kinds of things. Can Canadians become decluttering coaches? Absolutely. We have several Canadian coaches. We have coaches in. I know we have at least one in Europe, one in Hong Kong. I feel like we've got more than one in Europe. Got one in Australia. So yes, absolutely. Freeze dried meals. I was saying astronaut meals. Sorry about that, but y' all know what I meant, right? Let's see your books. And decluttering method is great. I wish it came with someone to come to my house and kick me in the bum to get me going. You can go to declutteringcoaches.com and get somebody who is trained by me and certified in my method. And they can come to your house. Okay, I have time for one more question. Struggling with decluttering since husband just retired. Any tips to declutter without husband seeing me declutter? Lol. No, because I have no idea on that. I will say declutter your own stuff first and acknowledge that this is a whole new phase of life. It feels like my husband could retire. Right. So this is something that we think about it's like a conversation that is had on a somewhat regular basis. Not like a serious. Like, it's not imminent, but it is a conversation that it could happen at some time. So it does make me think. And I know, you know, remember when my dad retired and my mom had had the house to herself for many, many years, and it cramped her style a little bit, but everything's great. I mean, they get along great, all that. And. And you're excited that he's retired, you're excited he's home. But this is a change of life. And I think sometimes when you're the one who's maybe kind of had the. The rain in this space and then somebody else comes in, you don't acknowledge this is a life change for me too. You know, it's a life change for him because he's retired. But for you, who've been potent possibly, you know, in the home, I'm not sure what your situation, but for you, you're like, it's changing your life, too. Your life has had a major change. And so it's like you have to figure out the new normal. Just like when kids come along or kids go to school or kids go to college or whatever, whatever the situation, life changes, and you kind of have to restructure and do things. So go through the decluttering process. Really focus in on the trash and the easy stuff. Meaning, like, stuff that has established homes. Like, go really, really hard on those things with your own stuff, and it will improve your home for sure. And then him seeing you working on your own stuff, not a bad thing, right? Because I hear story after story, and it was my own story, too, of other people in the home seeing you declutter and going, oh, wow, things are nicer when we don't have as much steps. So. Okay, that's all the time I have, but thank you so much. I do want to remind you, because it came up several times during this one, that I do have decluttering coaches trained and certified in my method. If you want to be a decluttering coach, go find out [e-mail] if you would like to find a coach in your area or hire one to work with you virtually, go to declutteringcoaches.com okay, I will talk to y' all later. Bye.