465: Extra Bedding, Things That Need Repairs, and Extra Bins

Summary

Podcast Summary: "A Slob Comes Clean"

Title: Episode 465: Extra Bedding, Things That Need Repairs, and Extra Bins
Host: Dana K. White
Release Date: July 3, 2025
Description: Reality-Based Cleaning, Organizing, and Decluttering

---

Introduction

In Episode 465 of "A Slob Comes Clean," host Dana K. White delves into practical solutions for common decluttering challenges. This episode, part of White’s inaugural summer series, is structured around a live Q&A format recorded in advance, allowing him to spend more time with family during the summer months.

Notable Quote:
“Welcome to A Slob Comes Clean the Podcast. I am Dana K. White. I share my personal decluttering process as I figure out ways to keep my own home under control.” (00:00)

---

Key Discussions and Insights

1. Decluttering Before Renovation

Listener Question:
"What should I do with my old office stuff until I can make a new office?" (01:52)

Dana’s Insight:
Dana distinguishes between renovations on the calendar and those that are merely planned. For renovations not yet scheduled, he emphasizes starting with decluttering to reveal the true functionality of the space. This approach often demonstrates that the space may not need a full renovation after all.

Notable Quote:
“There is huge power in just decluttering. All these years when I thought I needed to get organized, I ended up achieving what I wanted from this idea of organizing by just getting rid of the excess.” (03:00)

---

2. Managing Excess Bedding in a Large Family

Listener Question:
"We’re a family of nine with limited storage for bedding. Should we declutter down to one set per bed or upsize our storage solutions?" (06:28)

Dana’s Advice:
Dana encourages simplifying by reducing the number of bedding sets to one per bed, especially if excess bedding remains unused for extended periods. He underscores that decluttering simplifies life and makes maintenance easier, despite potential initial discomfort with the decision.

Notable Quote:
“You don’t have to store one set of sheets per bed. My absolute favorite is having one set per bed that I just wash and replace as needed.” (07:30)

---

3. Handling Items Needing Repairs

Listener Issue:
"What do we do with things that need repairs and are just sitting around?" (09:45)

Dana’s Strategy:
Dana introduces the concept of “Take It There Now,” urging immediate action on items requiring repairs. By either fixing the item promptly or deciding to discard it, one prevents items from lingering in a state of indecision, thereby avoiding clutter accumulation.

Notable Quote:
“Take it there now as something that I have to do. Remember, my decluttering process is progress and only progress.” (11:15)

---

4. Balancing Comfort and Aesthetics in Footwear

Listener Question:
"I love two pairs of sandals but only have space for one. How should I decide which to keep?" (13:20)

Dana’s Guidance:
Dana advises making decisions based on practical space management rather than sentimental value. He acknowledges the emotional difficulty but emphasizes that preserving decluttering progress requires letting go of excess items.

Notable Quote:
“My clutter threshold is the point at which I personally can keep my home under control. So I can keep the old pair because I choose the comfort over all, or keep the new pair because they’re prettier.” (15:45)

---

5. Organizing Storage Bins and Drawers

Listener Question:
"I have numerous storage bins and drawers but am unsure how to organize them effectively." (21:11)

Dana’s Approach:
Dana recommends evaluating the necessity of each storage item by determining where one would naturally look first for it. This evaluation helps in deciding which bins or drawers are essential and which can be eliminated, thereby reducing clutter and enhancing organization.

Notable Quote:
“Ask yourself, where would I look for this first? Take it there now. Embrace the reality of that space.” (23:30)

---

6. Donating vs. Selling Clothes

Listener Issue:
"I find it hard to let go of clothes I want but can’t sell." (28:00)

Dana’s Solution:
Dana underscores the importance of acting based on available space rather than the perceived value of items. When selling isn’t feasible, he advocates for donating, which frees up space and provides immediate relief from clutter.

Notable Quote:
“At the point where you can’t sell something, that’s the time to donate. It’s okay because it removes the item from your house and your mind.” (29:15)

---

7. Decluttering Amidst Family Life and Interruptions

Listener Question:
"How can I declutter with a six-month-old and a three-year-old constantly interrupting me?" (32:20)

Dana’s Advice:
Dana introduces the “no mess” process tailored for busy households. He advises focusing on making incremental progress with one item at a time, starting with the easiest items to discard. This method respects the chaotic nature of family life while steadily advancing decluttering efforts.

Notable Quote:
“Use this no mess process. A slob comes clean.com – you can get a printable of my five-step process. It allows you to make progress in any amount of time and only progress.” (34:45)

---

Conclusions and Takeaways

Dana K. White reiterates the importance of accepting the reality of one’s living space and using practical strategies to manage clutter. Key takeaways include:

• Start with Decluttering: Often, decluttering reveals that space does not need as much renovation as initially thought.
• Simplify Choices: Reducing the number of similar items can lead to easier maintenance and increased peace of mind.
• Immediate Action on Repairs: Addressing items that need repair right away prevents them from contributing to clutter.
• Evaluate Storage Needs: Regularly assess the necessity of storage containers and eliminate excess.
• Donate When Necessary: Donating items that can’t be sold clears space and reduces mental burden.
• Adapt to Life’s Interruptions: Implement flexible, incremental decluttering methods suitable for busy households.

Final Notable Quote:
“The goal is to declutter to the point where it’s easy to keep your home under control, to where you only have the amount of stuff in your house that you don’t feel overwhelmed.” (37:15)

---

Additional Resources

Dana promotes his decluttering coaches, available both locally and virtually, offering personalized guidance through his no mess decluttering process. Listeners are encouraged to visit declutteringcoaches.com for more information and support.

---

Timecodes:

• 00:00: Introduction and promotion of decluttering coaches
• 00:39: Podcast description continuation
• 01:52: First listener question: Old office items
• 06:28: Second listener question: Excess bedding
• 09:45: Third listener question: Items needing repairs
• 13:20: Fourth listener question: Balancing sandals
• 21:11: Fifth listener question: Organizing bins and drawers
• 28:00: Sixth listener question: Donating clothes
• 32:20: Seventh listener question: Decluttering with young children
• 34:45: Advice on decluttering amidst interruptions
• 37:15: Final conclusions

---

Dana K. White continues to empower listeners with actionable strategies to transform their living spaces, promoting a clutter-free and organized lifestyle through realistic and attainable methods.

Transcript

[Danny 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 am Danny K. White. I share my personal DES lobbification 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.

[Co-host or Guest]

Life for real people.

[Danny K. White]

People who don't love cleaning and organizing.

[Co-host or Guest]

Thanks for joining me today.

[Danny K. White]

This is podcast number 465 and this is part of my summer series. I have never done summer podcasts in the past and I am putting them out this year, but I'm recording them all of these intros ahead of time before I take off for the summer to spend time with my family.

[Co-host or Guest]

But what these are is they are.

[Danny K. White]

The audio from live Q&As that I have done over on YouTube. So in this one I will be talking about things that need repairs, extra.

[Co-host or Guest]

Bins, extra bedding, stuff like that.

[Danny K. White]

So if you would like to ask a question for the future, they are.

[Co-host or Guest]

Not answered in real time.

[Danny K. White]

You can go to askdanakwhite.com and submit a question there. But if you would like somebody to actually talk you through my process, guide you through it in your own space, you can go to declutteringcoaches.com every coach listed there is trained and certified by me in my process. So always a good option if you need personal help. So I hope you enjoy this live Q and A previously published on YouTube.

[Co-host or Guest]

What should I do with my old office stuff until I can make a new office? Need to renovate. Okay, so there's two different ways that I'm going to answer this question and the reason that I'm making clarification is that you said need to renovate as opposed to have a renovate renovation on the calendar. Okay, these are two different things, right? So the first thing I'm going to tell you is if it is not on the calendar, just start decluttering. Go ahead and start decluttering. If it is just on your list of this space, be renovated. Because here's the problem. So many times when you look at an overwhelming space and you think, I need to just completely redo this. You wait, right? And you're not doing that. And in your mind you're like, well, I don't know what the space is going to be like. It needs to be renovated. So I should just pack everything up, right? When in reality so many times, I would say so many times in my own experience and the experience of people who I work with going ahead and decluttering and saying decluttering is either giving something a home or getting it out of my house. If I will do that and get all the excess out. So many times I find out, oh, this space is actually functional after all. Because when you have it in your mind that I'm going to renovate at some. The space is crazy right now what you're really saying is I need to get organized. Well, the thing I teach is there is huge power in just decluttering. All these years when I thought I needed to get organized, I, I ended up achieving what I wanted from this idea of organizing by just getting rid of the excess. Can ever have this space be what you want it to be? I'm just guaranteeing that that is a thing. It has to be done. So go ahead and declutter. Now, if this renovation is not on the calendar, okay. And then you may end up finding, oh, this space is way more functional than I ever realized anyway. Or even if you are going to need to recut. Recutter what? Renovate. You are going to have a much better idea of what you need to do if you've gotten the excess stuff out of there. So go ahead and start going through the decluttering process. The five study cluttering process space. Okay? Now if you have a renovation on the calendar like we have scheduled it, then that's a different question, right? So what would you do then? What do I do with my old office stuff until I can make a new office, which I'm really pretty sure in this situation that you don't have it on the calendar. But if you have a renovation on the calendar, what I recommend is that you do something very similar to what I did when I moved. And that is what you have already decided. There are going to be shelves here and there's going to be a desk here. Okay? So boxes, because you're going to pack it up anyway. Find boxes to match that. Go to find a box calculator on box purchase. Interesting stuff. This is going to be, you know, a five shelf bookcase. What do the people who sell boxes recommend For a five shelf bookcase, get a box that size and start putting in your favorite things that are going to go on that shelf. And once that box is full then you know, oh, that's all that can fit on that space of item and pack it up according to that and then get rid of the things that don't aren't going to have a place in the new space so that you're only storing the things that really are going to have a place to come back to when you come into the space. Okay, I know it's easier said than done, but I'm just saying for right, right now, if it's this idea that I'm going to be renovating this space for now, just declutter. Like there is so much power in that because you're going to be decluttering as you pack it up. Even if there is something on the calendar. Right? Like the whole goal is declutter, declutter, declutter.

[Capital One Bank Guy]

Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Ah, really? Thanks Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank capital1na member fdic.

[Co-host or Guest]

All right, next question. We're a family of nine in a small house. Our bedding is supposed to be kept in a cedar chest, but of course with bedding times nine when it's all gathered up versus chilling for months as procrastinator on the laundry room table, it doesn't all fit in the designated chest. Our actual linen closet is far too small to accommodate blankets and sheets, so I use it for other storage. I have already done a good number of orphaned bed linens. Question Would it be too extreme weird to declutter down to one sheet and just wash and replace as needed so that only the winter and guest bedding needs storage? Or is it better to upsize the container somehow? I should say it already takes up a good size footprint in our four year area. I could buy a larger plastic chest for for the rather musty basement which would necessitate vacuum packing moisture absorbers. I don't think I want a big Rubbermaid tote in my foyer though. P S I did try storing extra sheets under the mattresses but ran into problems with awkward bed design. Heavy lady okay, I'm going to address something Real quick. Would it be too extreme slash weird? It is your house and you do what you want to do. I feel like you already answered your question. I think it's a great idea to declutter down to one sheet. That is where I have ended up. Do you know what? You don't have to store one set of sheets per bed. Now, there have been a rare occasion, it does happen occasionally where it's like, oh, I want to go to bed. Oh, no, I gotta. Yes, it happens. But it just makes life easier when I don't have to store sets of sheets. When I just say, this is of sheets. That is my absolute favorite. And so I'm going to do one per bed. But here's the thing. I'm going to say if you know, family of nine, I don't know what phase of life y' all are in. I'm assuming there's some younger children. Sometimes with younger children, you especially go, sometimes I need an extra set of sheets. If you have three to four twin size beds, you don't need three to four extra sets of sheets. You might need one or two for that size. Okay. So you can greatly eliminate. If you feel like I'm a big fan of the only one set of sheets and you just wash that and then put them on the same day. But if you're, if that's making you too nervous because of the age of your kids or whatever, then you don't need extra. And the thing that I'm saying that I feel like you can do this is because you said that things would chill for months on the laundry room table. That means they weren't being used in that time, which means you didn't need them in that time. So, yes, I, I think it's not too extreme and too weird. It will make your life simpler, easier. And when life is simpler and easier, it kind of gives me the backbone to go, I don't care if people think this is weird. This makes life easier. So that's how I'm gonna do it. Right? So yeah, I think it's a great idea. And I think you knew that. Okay. What do we do with things that we need to do something with? That is something we need to fix a lamp, we need to buy a lampshade for something that needs to be taken somewhere outside house, etc. It doesn't have a home yet because something needs to be done with it first. So it's just sitting around until we're able to do it. And there's an exclamation Point at the end, which to me indicates like frustration, right? Like, I totally get this. This was me. Okay, so what do we do with things that we need to. I get this, like, I get this thing and it feels like it's halting the declaring process. Here's where I have come to finally be able to work through these things, and that is the viewing take it there now as something that I have to do. Remember, my decluttering process is progress and only progress. We never anything out of a space. We take one item and we act on that item so that it is fully, completely, either in a home or donated. That now forces me to be realistic. So how would this work in this? Well, something we need to fix. I'm going to take it there Now. I'm not halfway place, so that can mean that I may have a home. Where would I look first for a lamp that needs to be fixed? Would I look first for it? Well, I'm going to take it to that space right now. I'm going to go ahead and take it to that space where I would look for something to fix, which then make me realize. May make me realize I never go looking for things to fix. Oh, okay. Then it doesn't need to be in my home. If I never go looking for stuff to fix, then it doesn't have a place in my home. It needs to be either thrown away or donated, depending on, you know, what kind of issue we're talking about here. But the other option is for me to right now. So I have a blog post years ago. I don't remember where it is, but I had this little. It's like a kind of a jewelry box that I'd gotten when I lived in Thailand. Loved it. And I think one of my kids dropped it or who knows, probably it was me. And it broke off the side. And it wasn't like smashed and cracked. It was just it broke off and it needed to be fixed. And so I ran across it as I was decluttering and I was like, oh, this needs to be fixed. And I went, well, I am doing one item at a time and I am fully acting on whatever needs to happen with that item. So I'm going to go fix this. And it feels like I am halting the decluttering process. Except that it four minutes max to locate my glue gun because it was in the first place where I looked for it, because that's where I put things is the first place where I would look for it, get it heated up enough to fix these two little Small things and then put this in its final home and I was done. That was a valuable worthy was was acting on. Taking it there now meant that I went ahead and acted on it and then it was done and it wasn't sitting in a halfway place. So what if I had done that and used up all the time that I had to declutter? It's okay because the space that I was initially working on is better, right? Yet so many times it takes two minutes. And I've been putting off doing this thing for years, right? And so those two minutes mean that I am actually really truly done with this item. I may not be done with the space, but I wasn't going to be done with the space either anyway. And my house was going to be worse off and I was not going to be making real if I was making all these piles of things I need to do later right where this space is full on legitimately actually better as opposed to, oh, I've just made piles of things that I. So I'm saying, so go ahead and do the action. Other thing that happens is so many times when you say, okay, my take it there now with this is to go ahead and fix this item. Okay, I'm going to go ahead and fix this item. Then I realize, wait a minute, I don't care about this item enough to fix it. Wait a minute. Even if I fixed it, I would not have a place for it in my home. So I can just get rid of it without fixing it. I can throw it in the trash, but as long as it's, oh, this needs to have this done to it, that needs to have this done to it, then I'm not actually being truly realistic about this item. But when I say ahead and do what needs to be done so that I can put this thing in an actual final home or get it out of my house, then I'm like, oh, okay, well, now I'm seeing this item realistically. This, like, ambiguous, floaty, this has to be done first kind of a way. Okay, next question. Full question is. Hi, Dana. I really appreciate the way you see and approach decluttering. I have all of your books, thank you very much and watch you every week. Your concepts have revolutionized how I declutter and my home is so much more peaceful because of it. Thank you. My question, I find sandals I love, but they were getting really shabby. I bought a replacement pair, but they were not as comfy, so I ended up keeping both. I don't want to get rid of the original pair as they are so comfortable and I'm worried I won't have a comfy pair of sandals. I don't want to get rid of the upgraded pairs. They're new and they look nice. My container is starting to overflow, but I don't know what to do. What are your thoughts, please? Okay. This I get. Okay, now I am going to tell you that there are probably other people talking about decluttering who would be like, just get rid of it. It's fine. And I'm like, that's ultimately what I'm going to say. But I do want to say I understand. Like, I have been here. I have to remind myself my decluttering progress can only be maintained if I want in one out. That means I have to get rid of something. It's a choice if I want my decluttering progress that I have made so far to be maintained and my house to be maintainable and to stay under my clutter threshold or not go even farther above my clutter threshold when I'm trying to reach it. My clutter threshold is the point at which I personally can keep my home under control. So I can't keep both. I can keep the old pair because I choose the comfiness over all I can to keep the new pair because it's prettier and they're new and that's more important to me. But I'm letting the space and the ready of only being able to maintain decluttering progress by one in one outing, I'm letting that make a decision. Hey, I'm gonna get rid of these three other pairs over here that I had this same dilemma over wearing them. I'm gonna get rid of those three pairs so that I can keep these two. Okay, that's fine, too. But I'm letting the container make these hard decisions because what you're dealing with is a difficult decision. This has value because of this. This has value because of this. I can't make decluttering decisions based on value. I have to make them based on space because I see the value in everything. I see the value in the battered but comfy pair and in the beautiful but less comfy pair. Okay, but the other thing to realize is that sometimes you are going to make these hard decisions and you're hurt. Like, decluttering hurts. It is not fun. I don't know who is telling you that decluttering is fun, but it is not fun. It's fun to have decluttered writing a book. People are like, do you like writing books? I'M like, I hate it. I like having written books, but it is not fun in the process. Okay? So that thing that you are going to experience when you have to get rid of one of these things that you see value in, it's going to change how you shop in the future. The next time you see a cute pair of sandals and you think, I bought a really cute pair of sandals that hurt my feet and I had to get rid of them and I never ended up taking them back to be returned or whatever, and so I ended up losing money on that. And that frustration that you feel in getting rid of one of these things that you wish you could keep both of is going to change how you shop in the future. And so you're going to see a cute sandal, you're going to like walk around in the store a little bit longer and you're going to go, I, you know what? No, these are not good enough. There's have a feeling right now that's probably going to turn into a feeling later on, you know, like, I am going to make these. I'm going to make different decisions in the future because of the pain that I feel and cluttering, right? So even though sometimes it's going to make you so sad and frustrated and irritated to get rid of something, even though you're going to feel negative feelings, that is going to help you in the future. Okay. And you're going to realize, you know what? I would rather have this a little bit less cute, but new and not shabby and old. I'm going to have this little bit less cute pair that is going to be comfortable because I have experienced the pain of having to choose between cute and uncomfortable and shabby, but comfy, and I would rather choose something that's just going to change how you operate in the future. So feeling that pain right now, it's frustrating, but there's value in it. There is value in that. So let the space itself and the reality that you cannot, you can keep anything, but you cannot keep everything you have to one in, one out to maintain any decluttering progress. Let that reality make that decision. Decision for knowing it's not going to be an easy decision.

[Capital One Bank Guy]

Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Ah, really? Thanks, Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet? Term supply see capitalone.com bank capital1na member FDIC.

[Verizon Representative]

Now at Verizon we have some big news for your peace of mind for all our customers existing and new. We're locking in low prices for three years guaranteed on MyPlan and MyHome. That's future you peace of mind and everyone can save on a brand new phone on MyPlan when you trade in any phone from one of our top brands brands that's new phone peace of mind. Because at Verizon, whether you're already a customer or you're just joining us, we got you Visit Verizon today. Price guarantee applies to then current base monthly rate. Additional terms and conditions apply for all offers.

[BetterHelp Representative]

BetterHelp Online Therapy bought this 30 second ad to remind you right now, wherever you are, to unclench your jaw, relax your shoulders, take a deep breath in and out. Feels better, right? That's 15 seconds of self care. Imagine what you could do with more visit betterhelp.com randompodcast for 10% off your first month of therapy. No pressure, just help. But for now, just, just relax.

[Co-host or Guest]

Great question. As I declutter, I'm entering several storage bins and drawers. I know I will need some of them somewhere. All caps. That always indicates frustration right in my house, but probably not all of them. How do I deal with my mood of bins, drawers, baskets and organize when I'm not sure yet what I will be keeping and how I will organize them? This is a great problem to have. It means you're making a lot of progress in your decluttering. It is something that most of you are going to experience if you haven't already. You're like, oh, I bought a lot of organizing stuff over the years and now I'm ending up with a lot of empty organizing things as I've gotten rid of stuff. So it is the same exact process. Any other thing, if I needed an organizing bin, drawer, basket, product, if I needed something to organize something with, where would I look for it first? You may not have had an established place already in your house, but that's how we establish a place is by asking the question where would I look for this first? So ask yourself that question. If I needed a basket as I was working on a space, look first for an empty basket. Okay? The the place that's popping in my mind is a shelf at the top of my master bedroom closet of my personal closet. Okay? That's just the stuff. So that's where I'm gonna go to where would I look first for this? That's I would look, go take it there right now. Taking it there right now makes me be realistic about, oh, actually, I have done this 16 other times and it is now completely full and there is no room for any other organizing products. Oh, taking it there right now might make me go, okay, do I love this product? Do I think I'll really use this one more than other ones that are up here? Okay, I'm going to take that product down and put this one up there. I'm going to let that space where I would look for it first, be the container, be the limit to help me make a decision, because I can't keep all of these things because the reality is you are decluttering things. And so you didn't need it in that space anymore because you just got rid of so much stuff. So you're not going to need all of those items, but you have a designated space where you would look for it first. That is a limit that helps you decide which things are worthy of keeping. Okay. And then as you now you are forced to face reality and say, okay, this is all the room that I have to actually store stuff for the future, for future organizing projects and then help me determine which things I like the best. Okay. And then it's going to naturally sort out. So you treat it, I mean, every single thing. Where would I look for it first? Take it there now. Embrace the reality of that space. I mean, that is how we do this for every single item in the home. I know. I wish it could be more fancy and exciting, but it's not. Okay, here's a great question. What do you do with clothes you want to. Cannot. When do you just donate? I have a hard time letting go. Okay, so we talk about the container concept and how. And take it there and how important those things are ultimately in accepting the reality of your home, accepting the space that you have available for something, accepting where you would actually look for it first as opposed to trying to come up with some dramatic way and then you can never find it again. Accepting by taking it there now is room for it there. Is there actually, you know, does it fit in this space or not? You know, I mean, all of those things are ultimately about accepting reality. And remember, your clutter threshold is also about accepting reality. The goal is to declutter to the point where it's easy to keep your home under control, to where you only have the amount of stuff in your house that you don't feel overwhelmed. You feel like, oh, I can do this. I can handle this amount of stuff. How much stuff can you personally keep under control? Easily. My mom can keep stuff under control and everything's in a neat little place. I thought that I was supposed to have huge amounts of stuff because she did, but I can't keep it under control. So for me, they have less stuff, less stuff, less stuff, less stuff. Okay, so part of that is realizing, you know, you said clothes you want to sell but can't. I mean, you've answered your own clutter threshold on this issue. There are people I know, people who sell, sell stuff and they are able to get it out of their house and it doesn't pile up. I also know people, I was one of them who loved the idea of selling, but in reality it was making me have so much stuff in my house because I was like, oh, well, I need to sell that. But, oh, I need to. Actually it's not the right time of year to be selling a bathing suit. So actually I'll wait and I'll hold on and then I would forget about it and then it would be like two years later and I'm like, well, now it's kind of out of style or whatever. Okay, so of these things were partly me realizing, what can I handle? And so realizing if you're trying to declutter your house, which I assume you are watching my channel and you are, you know, asking [e-mail] if you are doing that, then you know you need to declutter and you said the word I cannot sell these. So at what point right now, as you just admitted, you can't sell them. That's when it becomes the time for you to donate. Because here's the thing, go ahead and donate some of them. Go ahead and donate the ones. I'm not sure what the hold up is here for you, like why it is that you're holding on even though you know you can't sell it. Maybe it's because you think, well, you know, the future point, life is be easier and I'll be able to do all this kind of stuff. Go ahead and donate the lesser ones. Start to experience. Oh, that was easy. I drove through the donation place and they took it out of my car and now that's space in my house and off of my mind. That was nice. It's going to change how you view things. Okay. And go ahead and start getting rid of those types of items, the ones for you, which will then build some momentum and help you see the value in donating that's ultimately what happened to me. I used to see the monetary value of items and then as I just started donating, I was like, oh, there's value in donating. There's huge value in donating because of how much time it saves me, how easy it is. All of that was like, oh, okay, now I get the value of donating in lots of stuff. Being able to leave my house quickly and easily. And ultimately it comes down to the container concept, right? Like you blame the container. I wish I could sell these things. I don't have the space in my closet or the space in my whatever room it is where I would store these. If I lived in elsewhere, a different world or whatever. I'm going to blame that space and say I wish I could sell it. I can't. I just can't. I can't because of my personal bandwidth and ability, my time that I can't because of the space in my home, I don't have a place to keep it. Blame other things. And a lot of times that'll let you be able to get rid of stuff. Okay, how to deal with decluttering with so many interruptions. A six month old and a three year old, I am losing my mind. Please help declutter using the five step process that allows you to make progress and only progress. This is key. When you are distractible like me or in a phase of life where interruptions are your reality. It is so key. So what this allows you to do is to make progress in any amount of time and only progress. The big difference between this and a lot of ways that other people declutter is a lot of times people, I thought this in the beginning that I had to pull everything out of a space space in order to declutter because that's what people said you had to do. And I would do that. My kids were little at the time and I would, first of all, I'd get completely overwhelmed. Life would happen and then all this stuff was just kind of strewn about and worse than it was before. What was the point of that? How was this helpful? This was not a good thing and it made me put off doing it in the future. And then often I would just like shove everything back into the space because, well, I don't have time to know. So instead we do one item at a time and we remove things that are the easiest first, which the easiest of the easiest stuff is trash, right? So grab a black trash bag and just start throwing away trash. That will give you a much better idea of what you're actually dealing with this dealing with in this space. It's going to make immediate progress. You may be convinced there's no trash look anyway, because here's the thing. If I have a trash bag and I'm throwing away trash and I get two things in there and then the baby starts crying, all I have to do is put the trash bag where the baby can't get to it, right? And go to the baby like that's it. Because it's only better off. This space is better than it was before that. From I want to get the space decluttered to I want to make this space better. You're going to get so much closer toward having the space ever would. If you're thinking I got to get the space decluttered which means I set aside this amount of time and I need to guarantee that I'm not going to have any distractions. Instead, use this no mess process. So a slobcamps clean.com 5 you can get a printable when you sign up for my newsletter of my five step process, listen to Decluttering at the Speed of Life, the audiobook. You know, I don't cuss in it so you can listen to it with your 3 year old in the room. And I make myself laugh anyway. But you can also remember for those of y' all a slob comes clean.com take if you want to join the Take youe House Back course, go there and it's on set down. Okay, let's see. My home is pretty clean, but I love home decor and I like to switch things out seasonally. As a result, my basement shelving is full of decor, accent, furniture, etc. You need some tough love. Okay, I recommend y' all join Take youe House Back for Cass's tough love. I am more the I get it and I do like, you know. So your basement shelving is a container, right? And so that determines how much stuff you keep. But it sounds like you're over your clutter threshold, like it's overwhelming to you. And so remember, sometimes it's helpful to get rid and have less of a container which then helps you get it down even more to get it under your clutter clutter threshold where you're not overwhelmed anymore. Does that make sense? And also acknowledge, okay, is there anything that you are not able to do in your basement or do with your basement? Are there things that don't have a home that you would put in your basement except that you have shelves full of home decor? Okay. Is it taking up space that you actually need for something else. And in that case, say, okay, I need to use the container concept and go from four shelving units down to two so that I can have the two shelving units for the things that are kind of scattered and don't have homes elsewhere. Right. And when you do that, you say, okay, what? You know, I love this item that's on one of these shelves that I'm clearing. What on the two shelves that I'm keeping do I love less than this item? And I'm gonna one in, one out the. Out that and let the container make the decision and put that in the donate box. How did you let go of kitchen utensils or appliances? I do have space, but it drives me crazy for stuff I use a couple times a year. It sounds like the head explosion rule applies here for you. Like if it drives you crazy, it's not worth it, right? Like if you have the space, great, keep it. But if it's driving you crazy, then it should be in your house, right? So that is how I would just say, okay, this is the head explosion rule. If I'm like, oh, but I. It's not worth that. And so it needs to go. I'm following the headache explosion rule. Okay. We are a family of three living in a small two bedroom apartment in New York. So we have seasons need to store out of season, actually be done without leaving out of season stuff at my mom's. I mean, there's so much context here. You know, what if you need this stuff and it is, if it is a hassle for you to store it at your mom's? Okay, I don't know. Is your mom's a place where you can store it and you go once a week to eat dinner there and so it's super easy to do it that way then maybe, maybe that works. But a lot of people, let's say, let's say that that's not your sin, okay? And you say, well, I'm going to store this at my mom's and that means we have to go visit her, you know, a five hour trip a certain time of year in order to do the change out. Which means I end up just buying more stuff because that doesn't always work out to be able to do it on the weekend that we want to do it and blah, blah, blah, what is your reality? And you say, okay, this is this the reality. The truth is the space that you have is the space that you have, right? Like this is the space that you have and if you have to have out of season clothing and you have to store it in this space, then something else is going to have to go. You know, where do I, where would I look first for this clothing? Under the bed. Okay, so I am going to clear out stuff under the bed. I'm like, well these are all things that could be useful, but I have to have this stuff so it deserves space there more. So it's just using that container concept. Whatever your space, whatever your reality, I have to have these items and this is the amount of space. Well then they deserve space in there. When you do that, then you end up going, oh wait, I've got, you know, the next five sizes up for my kids in coat that grandma had given me. I, I don't have the space to store that. You know, this is real. We're only able to keep the one coat for this. Sorry grandma, you can either send it to him as it's time or whatever. But I don't actually we don't have the space for you to garage sale and collect coats for the next five years. You know what I mean? Because if you don't look at it that way, that's how things just end up being piled and stacked and out of control. So you have to go, this is the space, this is the stuff. I have to have it deserve space first. And so I have to let go of these other items.

[Verizon Representative]

Now at Verizon we have some big news for your peace of mind. For all our customers, existing and new, we're locking in low prices for three years guaranteed on MyPlan and my home that's future you peace of mind and everyone can save on a brand new phone on MyPlan. When you trade in any phone from one of our top brands, that's new phone peace of mind. Because at Verizon, whether you're already a customer or you're just joining us, we got you Visit Verizon today. Price guarantee applies to then current base monthly rate. Additional terms and conditions apply for all offers.

[Capital One Bank Guy]

Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. These Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Ah really? Thanks. Capital One bank guy. What's in your wallet? Term supply. See capital1.com bank capital1NA member FDIC.

[Co-host or Guest]

I have a brain injury that's impacted my executive function similar to adhd. I clean and organize my office, but I keep recluttering it. What tips can you share so I can stop this vicious cycle? Okay, remember that organizing and decluttering are completely different things. They're related, obviously. But first thing I would say, stop organizing this space and cleaning it. Because what I'm imagining is that you are putting things into all these neat little things. And very likely because the brain injury, you used to be able to handle that. That used to be something that was within your clutter threshold. But then because of the brain injury that has impacted your executive function, now your clutter threshold is actually a lot lower than it used to be. Okay, so declutter, get rid of stuff. Okay. Get rid of things. You may not be able to do as complicated of a system as you used to be able to do. So go through the process. Say, I'm going to throw away trash, and then I'm going to, you know, do easy stuff, and then I'm going to get rid of, oh, this just needs to go. I don't know why I still have it. And then I'm going to ask myself the questions, you know, so I'm going to really embrace the reality of containers. And then if everything has a place and it's all like, okay, in a container and you still. It's still continually getting out of control. I need to have just less stuff. So I. I'm gonna go thing six different. Did you say craft room or office? Okay, I'm gonna go from having, you know, six different types of notebooks to saying, I can't handle that. This is my reality of where I am in life right now. I can't handle all that stuff. So I am going to get down to only one. Okay. Or only two, or I'm just going to get rid of some. So it's decluttering is the answer. And I really think that what's happened is what your clutter threshold used to be versus what it is now after the. The brain injury. And I'm sorry that that happened to you, but I, I'm. I'm very sorry. But also, as someone who struggles and didn't realize that the problem was had much clutch accepting how my brain works, even though in some ways it was like, oh, so you mean I can't be like my mom? So you mean I can't just find a system that's going to make it perfect? Oh, there's some frustration and accepting that. But once I accepted, okay, this is how my brain works, and I need to go with this oh, my word. That is what really changed everything for me and made. Made everything finally start working was when I was like, okay, I need to just go with how my brain works. And it really made a huge change. What do I do with all the single socks? I'm ashamed to say I have, like, three baskets full and even more ashamed to say I've had them for years. Send help. It's going to be painful in the moment and then incredibly freeing. And it might change everything about how you feel about clutter and stuff to either throw them away. Fabric recycling place where you are. I know that specifically some places will. Will say, we want your fabric recycling. And this would be perfect. Get rid of or just throw it away. If you can't do that or if you don't have the bandwidth or the time, the relief that you're going to feel in the space that you're going to free up if you have three baskets and you start fresh, it's gonna give you some decluttering momentum immediately because you're going to clear up floor space and, you know, a lot of. A lot of room and. And it's going to be such an immediate win. It'll be great. Yay. We are in the process of adopting a newborn. Congratulations. We have two children. We want to declutter baby clothes. Both of our children are born. Were born within 10 days of one another. How do we declutter? Okay, so you let the space make the decision. Everything could be useful. It feels like it could be useful, and yet nothing is useful if it's so much that you are overwhelmed and you can't handle it all. Okay. So the first thing to do is to say, okay, this is the space that we have for baby clothes. And then with all the masses of stuff that you have, you start putting your favorite items in first. And just that action. I think sometimes people think when I say, put your favorite items in first, and then once it's full, you'll know everything else needs to. To go. Sometimes people think, oh, well, I'm not gonna feel that way. And maybe you won't. But the action of knowing this is not a limitless space that I'm going to be putting these things in makes every item, as you pick it up, look different and pour it out. Yeah, I don't love that one. Oh, yeah. This one goes like. It is shocking how it changes everything when you acknowledge that this is the limit to how much space we have. And that is going to help you determine. And a drawer full of clothes can fit a Ton of baby clothes, right? Like a drawer, a clothing drawer in a dresser can fit a ton of baby clothes because they're so little at the time. And it's amazing how that will just sort out for you what is container worthy versus not container worthy. Is there any utility to decluttering storage spaces first so you can bring it there now? When decluttering other areas, you can do what you want to do. I don't do this because the power of making visible progress is huge. Okay. So I recommend that you start invisible spaces first because it's going to inspire you to keep decluttering and you're going to ultimately gain so much more decluttering momentum. When you start with this random net back here that you know is full of stuff, you can spend a lot of time, put a lot of decluttering energy in that, feel the angst, feel the pain, you know, and then your house doesn't look any better. And that can really zap your decluttering energy. So I think there's a lot of value, or I know there's tons of value in following the visibility rule starting in the visible spaces. So what I do instead is to say, okay, yeah, these things are going to need to go in that space occasionally, if that's where I would look for it first. So as I pick up item by item, starting in this visible space, where would I look for this first? If it goes into a space that ultimately needs to be decluttered, well, I'm going to make that space just a little better. I'm not going to make it any by saying, okay, what can I remove out of that space that I know needs to be decluttered? Without stopping everything, I'm just going to say, okay, what in here is trash or donation? And I'm going to take that out to create the space for this item. Just knowing that I'm doing that usually makes me go, oh, yeah, those three things right there can easily go straight back in the donate box. Back in the space where I was working initially anyway, maybe it is that by your front door is the biggest, you know, stack of stuff that you use for Girl Scouts. You know that you're. You host Girl Scouts at your house and you're like, all that stuff is there. It really needs a place to be in my house. So I'm going, where would I look for it first? Well, I would look for it first in that cabinet, but that cabinet has. Okay, well, I'm gonna take. So it might be a larger. You know, this is my Girl Scout Stuff, and I'm gonna put it in this cabinet. So, yes, I am going to clean this cabinet out to put it there. But if I'm cleaning out the cabinet, I. Working on my house overall, I know that most of the stuff in there is going to need to either go in trash or donate. Right. Because it, you know, it's got to be really worthy to then go into an actual other place in my home. Should I be worried now is the wrong time of year to declutter the Christmas decor? I did not put out. There is never a wrong time to declutter. Actually, this time, if you didn't put it out, this is a great time to declutter it. Like work. Say. Say that I'm going to lessen my container or, you know, shrink my container of kitchen stuff. Kitchen stuff, Christmas stuff. I am going to, you know, get the two. One or two boxes as opposed to, you know, the six boxes that I had because I didn't put this out. So it's actually a great time because you have the real experience of this didn't go out either because I didn't like it. I didn't have a place for it, whatever, where if you do that in, you know, August, it's like, oh, one of the reasons why people who struggle with clutter have so much Christmas stuff is it's like, oh, I can bring it in, bring it in, bring it in. Because it's all these ideas where the reality of where it's actually going to go is, you know, the actual problem. And you have just recently experienced this. I didn't put this out because I don't like it. It needs to go. I didn't put this out because I don't have a space for it to go. Okay. So, yeah, this is a perfect time for that. Tricks for decluttering with selling your house and moving in. My videos on this from when I moved. So go and. And look those up. They were probably. I think I put them out in right through March of this of 2022. What year are we in? Who knows? Okay, and how do you prioritize where to start? I mean, this is the visibility role. I had to prioritize because I had so many things that I needed to declutter because I had so many spaces. Every space was out of control. So it's like, well, where do I start? Well, I had to come up with a way to prioritize. I prioritize according to visibility. There is so much power in seeing the progress that you are going to make the seeing the progress that you're making. So you work on a space and then you walk by it 10 times and you're like. Because even though maybe it didn't register as cluttered before, it's going to register as decluttered, and it's going to increase your decluttering energy, and that's how you're going to build decluttering momentum. So definitely prioritize according to visibility. If you need personal help, if you need someone to talk you through this process, I have certified decluttering [e-mail] I'm so excited about that. So it's been a lifelong dream. Not lifelong. I mean, because who knew I'd ever be talking about decluttering?