When I was cleaning out my parent's house and stressing over what to keep/donate, my mother-in-law said, "You WILL donate stuff you'll later wished you kept, and you WILL keep stuff that in 15 years you'll wonder why you kept it." Realizing that it was IMPOSSIBLE to make perfect decisions freed me up to do the chore without the guilt.
This is very thoughtful, funny that nothing I get rid of I miss, but some things I encouraged my mum to get rid of I now regret, I guess its because it was part of my childhood
I had to do that last year, 60 years of things. I had only 2 weeks to do it. My brother was awesome because he is minimalist. But I was so sad to lose her, and the speed at which I had to decide so fast I cried most of the time. Beautiful pieces of furniture 100 year old ornate carvings. It hurt. Now I try to think, I don't want my kids to have that stress, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I've been slowly weeding the pile at home, hella satisfying. New floors coming- promise I will get this old house to peace for myself, my hubs , and, kids. THEY deserve it.
@@glitterhands99 My parents left a 3500 sf house packed full. After the experience, I knew I didn't want to put that on my kids, thus I'm cleaning it out. Thank you, Dawn!
We got a storage unit for 9 months while my husband lived overseas, and I visited family. It actually helped us get rid of stuff so we didn't have to store it. And we knew we had an end date and were saving money because we weren't renting a house, just the storage unit. So that was great! But having a storage unit in addition to a house would be stressful and not worth it to us. 😅
I'm on my second layer of my Onion House. I'm a single mom that works two jobs and I'm so sick of trying to manage junk. I couldn't afford the Take My House Back package, but I've been binge watching/ listening to you, Cass and Dana for the last 2 weeks and body-doubling. I've hauled out 3 carloads of donations, and filled my trashcan 3 times. I've emptied 4 totes of random STUFF that's just been stored for the last two years. I have 2 more closets to go through (which I'm about to get started on) and I'm so excited and proud to be getting rid of the clutter.
We can do our own decluttering insurance. Just pay yourself $100 (put it in a safe place) to start decluttering. If you throw something away and need it then you have the money to go get it. You could even decide to pay yourself $100 per room to declutter. That's a nice reward.
Funny how we give more importance to the possibility of regret for declutterring something we might want/need vs. the overwhelming regret of being sucked into consumerism mistakes making us miserable.
A few months ago I regretted getting rid of my waffle iron. Instead of buying a brand new one, I picked up a nearly perfect one at the thrift store for a few dollars. (Less than the cost of a waffle breakfast at a restaurant.) Didn’t take long to remember why I got rid of the first one. Seems I am not, in fact, a waffle making mama. 😂 Decluttered!! L
@@Bruh_7080My mother had a good solution for this. 4 of us were at the table while she made the waffles. As they came off the iron each of us got a quarter of the waffle. By the time we ate the quarter another hot one was ready. Finally she would make the last one for herself and sit down to a hot waffle. It worked great.
For years I had a box of sewing stuff - buttons and thread needles and all that and I NEVER sewed a thing. Decided to get rid and low and behold a few months later I needed to sew. I ended up buying a small sewing kit off Amazon for £5 which I’ve used several times. It is in a neat carry case with everything I need rather than random jumble of things in a box, and that’s the only thing I ever got rid of that I then needed
One thing about regrets over decluttering something: Try not to borrow trouble by worrying over potential regrets. I occasionally wish i still had, say, my nice juicer machine... but i don't *need* it. I miss a certain pair of pants but i do not *need* them. In four years of mega-decluttering I have never once had to replace anything I got rid of. The regret is fleeting but the peace is lasting. (I know it's probably easier for me since my children are grown and out of the house!)
So true about spouses. I had been decluttering for about 2 years, and then my husband quietly and slowly started to as well. 2 months ago, he asked me to organize the garage. It made me so happy! Together, we went through trash and donations, and then I organized the rest in labeled clear bins!!
Hi! I started decluttering in March last year. My husband doesn't mind me decluttering everything except his things and especially his books (I respect this), but today he decluttered six books without me knowing. I felt so happy!
I decluttered my bread machine 4 years ago and just bought myself another one a few months ago. I still have zero regrets about decluttering it 4 years ago bc 4 years ago I was not in a season of baking my own bread. Declutter for the season you are in today!
The best toy purge we had was when I had my boys do it. They were 8,9,10 ish and they purged more than I would have. I did put the box in the garage for a while and there wasn’t anything they wanted back. This was over 30 years ago.
Last Saturday I gave myself permission to trash expired things in my refrigerator. Usually I am a recycling queen, but I just needed to get this done to see some progress. 😊
I have a tote for each child. Inside is 1 envelope for each year kindergarten through senior year. In the envelope is school pic, report card, special artwork, and awards. The kids loved it.
When my mom developed cancer she made my sil promise to clear her possessions within 1 week of her passing and to give it to the needy. I'm ever so grateful as it made it easy and i still have her memory.
I have watched almost every single one of Dawn’s videos over the past two years and I don’t get tired of them! Since I started, Ive been on this journey. Thanks to following Dawn’s advice, I am getting ready to pack up our house and move into our dream home with no stress. I keep decluttering, and I enjoy the results more and more! I have committed to reduce the inventory in our existing home by 50% before the move (already have done a lot). Feel so hopeful and at peace about leaving the past in the past, and moving forward.
I don't have kids in the house anymore and I so wish I had had this platform when I did. I am around your parents age and my children are in your age group. I've said it before and I'll say again, if I had known then what I know now, life would not have been as painful and so full of stress. I now try to teach these things to my children and my older grandchildren.
One thing that I value a lot over other stuff is to have room for my plants. The only thing I really wanted when my grandma died recently was her miniature orange tree, which brings me so much joy everytime I look at it. I also have house plants from when I lived in asia, from friends that moved away, from my childhood etc. They are very sentimental to me and surround me with so many memories
I recently got really heartless on a shelf of kids books in our living room. I realized it was my “fantasy self” shelf for my kids. It was books I wanted them to read, but there were so many choices on the shelf that it was overwhelming for them to choose a book from. So I donated a lot of them. Now, the kids have started reading the ones that I left on the shelf. It’s no longer overwhelming for them.
I did this recently too! What helped me was putting them in a big "time will tell" tote and not committing to donating them right away (except easy ones). Maybe I will rotate them out, maybe not. Time will tell! But having them out of sight will make it easier to let them go later I think.
Dawn, I like your new hair style, simple yet flattering. One thing that really helped me simplify was your "get ready" container in the bathroom. I used to organize by type of thing but that meant I was opening and closing many different drawers to get ready. Now I have a morning and nighttime routines containers. So much simpler!
You can't do it all! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼THIS! I'm trying so hard to get my adult children to understand that the clutter and over abundance of stuff directly affects parenting, marriage, self-worth, anxiety etc but it's so subtle you think it's everything else. Get rid of the excess and find the peace that comes in. It's amazing.
We all love and appreciate you Dawn! Thank you for changing the lives of Mother's everywhere! You're an amazing person and I feel so blessed to be able to listen to your advice. What a special mentor for all of us who need this!❤
Bonjour Dawn! Hi! I'm a French mom, living in Bordeaux, and I really enjoy listening to tour videos. They helped me a lot sorting out my clutter ... And even if my house is still a work in progress, I am improving every day... So thanks a lot! Fred
Dawn i pulled out my memory box for Valentine’s Day. I signed a three year old Card for the third time. I say out a few wedding cards that said what i wanted to tell my husband and a few pics. My husband loved it! Very reminiscent and thoughtful. And free. Love the memory box!
I have been decluttering my family's apartment. I watch or listen to your videos while doing that. It helps me stay motivated. I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff that I thought I needed. I still have quite a bit more to do. Thank you for your great advice and practicality.
It's taken me about 5 years of decluttering to finally get to the point where my home is easy to look after and feels calm! Your videos have helped me immensely to get here, I find you so motivational and encouraging. Thank you 😊
I totally agree that homeschooling is a sanctification opportunity. I had Flylady to help me in those years, and I’m glad you’re here for today’s homeschoolers, parents, and others.
My 60th birthday coming up in a few days. Considering the course as a gift to myself. Ugh.hhhh. Love all you ladies! Your videos are life changing! Thank you all so much. You’re changing lives everyday. ❤😊
I feel like Christmas is such a sabotage. Boundaries are hard with my mother in law as she loves shopping and the kids love receiving. Im literary bringing 3 laundry baskets full of stuff every Christmas. Arg.
Dana from a slobcomesclean has some videos where she acts out scenarios with people who want to bring her stuff "Clutter Guilt Conversations". Some of them might be helpful although it's a different situation for you.
I wear the same thing for 2-3 days. In the winter, I actually wear my clothes to bed. Hello Lularoa leggings in black, grey, navy solids only. I don’t shower every day and that saves in more ways than one.
Use a deep pantry for long rows of like items, ie. deep rows of drinking glasses, or for plates. Then use the shallow upper cabinets for grocery items instead.
A lot of my emotional energy is towards baby stuff. I already am so pooped and in survival mode that I don’t want stuff to weigh me down and my other kids down. I constantly trying to find ways to get rid of baby stuff we don’t need. I don’t use a changing table-I take a washable material pad and put it on my bed for changes. Minimal gadgets and things like bottle steamer wipe warmer genie diaper I do not have. As soon as baby is too old for things, those things get passed to someone who needs it! Also clothing.. is a touchy thing. I’m still trying to lose weight from pregnancy so I do not want to get rid of things until I am at a healthy weight.
I got rid of 8 blouses, didn't love them and as I put in bag I didn't take another look and quickly tied that bag! As if I look I tend to change my mind or can't decide.😊
IT WAS SO HARD TO FIND MY STYLE..BECAUSE I LIKE TO HAVE A LIST THAT I CAN SEE ON THE WALL..BUT THATS ABOUT IT...I LEARN FINALLY..I JUST LIKE HOTEL STYLE...CLEAN AND SLEAK.
I'm very excited to check out your homeschooling section on your website, I didn't know it was there and just the other day I was thinking that I would love some advice from you about that too!
I so wish I could have joined the take your house back! Unfortunately $94, though a great deal, is still out of my budget. But I love your RU-vid channel you’ve helped me soooo much! Thank you Dawn!
My problem with getting rid of things is not being able to replace them. Things they don't make anymore or are more rare. I gave away a really nice wool blanket and they are hard to find and expensive. Wish I would have kept it. Especially moving to a rural area that could loose power.
My mom thinks the same about me - that I’m not sentimental. I actually am, but if I can’t remember WHY something is special or who gave it to me, then it’s not sentimental. It’s clutter. 🤷🏻♀️
Agreed. My mum uses the same phrase “you haven’t got a sentimental bone in your body” and no, I haven’t! 😂 I keep things I use. I have one memory box with my kids stuff in. Eg. all the things my dad made - he was a hobby carpenter - he made them for his own pleasure. So I keep the side table he made for me, but I don’t need everything else! I have my own fabric/thread stash - I don’t need mum’s too, I couldn’t possibly use it all - better to pass onto someone who will use it! I could go on and on but you get the gist.
For baby clothes, try to remember that those clothes will bless several babies. Baby clothes last a long time because babies hardly move. Haha! In contrast, my toddler destroys clothes and they can't be passed along much. Haha.
Hi Dawn! I've been watching you for awhile now & I feel like I somewhat know you, haha! I appreciate you. I know this video is for answering questions, so I'm late to the game, but I do have one pressing one. I have 2 things that have particularly tripped me up in my decluttering/minimal living. What do you do with a wedding dress? What have you done with yours? I also don't know what to do with 4 huge/heavy space consuming yearbooks from almost 20 years ago. Do you have any advice of these sort of items? Thanks so much for your time & I hope to meet you one day! Blessings, Jacque
I have years of my children’s yearbooks. I discussed with them what to do. I didn’t want to burden them with storing the books so we decided that I would go through the books and photograph relevant pages and upload the photos to my computer. Later I will load them onto USBs (or something else. Maybe make smaller photo books relevant to them individually). Still have the relevant memories but not burden.
@alynmaus5029 Did you donate the books? t's weird to donate something personal, with personal things in it. It's almost like I'd rather destroy it than let someone else see it 😅 it's weird. Lol.
I'm encouraged because I called my HS & they have an entire archive room with old yearbooks! I'm going to send them there. I didn't even think to do this!
If you love them, look up how to store historical documents, and care for them properly, or alternatively gift them to the person in your family who is the family history buff.
How do you manage the constant clothing changes for kids of various ages and the seasonal shifts in your location? From everyday wear to special events, dealing with outgrown and replaced items like socks, undergarments, formal wear, and more can feel never-ending. How do you simplify this process?
For seasonal changes, I do layers (cardigans/hoodies that layer over my summer wardrobe). And I have 3 summer-only bottoms. For special events I have one outfit, which is a suit with pencil trousers and I change out between 3 scarves I can wear with it.
Maybe some homeschool moms could help in schools to help our public education teachers- since they have a clue about what's involved in the process of educating our kids.
For photos I’ve started creating and printing a photo book every year. It ends up being about 60 pages but my kids love looking at the previous years’ books and you don’t have to manage all the photos in big bulky albums. Plus really, who actually looks at all your photos you store on digital format?
You may enjoy the January declutter challenge that Karen Brown is doing on her channel, Just Get It Done Quilts. I did it last year and touched, decluttered, and organized everything in my sewing room. This year is easier as I did a good job on keeping on top of things. Hope it helps! 🙂
My 16 year old daughter (who is visually impaired) took Cas's test and she is a Bee. I need to remove her closet doors and implement open shelving and clear containers for her, but because that is quite a project, it can't be done right now, how do I help her to declutter first as she has far too much inventory to fit in a room double the size. But typical Bee she does not want to declutter anything, I took cups out in the kitchen which I wanted to declutter but she immediately said no as they have memories of drinking coffee out of them with their grandmother when they were little. So she is now even putting a stop to things I want to declutter in the kitchen. Which is my domain as I do all the cooking and most of the cleaning. Also trying to get the counters clear, but need cupboard space to do that.
Why is a 16 year old in control of your home? Tell her when she moves out and pays her own bills then she can make those kind of decisions in her own place.
Can she use the mugs for a pencil and pen container, or for markers? Art supplies storage? That would free up kitchen space and she would have them in her room for her to enjoy.
The container method that Dana teaches. Dana is from the Slob Comes Clean and is one of the three ladies in the Decluttering course. If you can't afford it right now then go listen to her RU-vid videos and she has two books out that will help. Your daughter can keep the cup, but she can't keep everything. It's all about the container.
I think a lot of people need to take minimalism in small steps at first. When introducing someone to it, they probably can't handle more than tiny seeds planted. Otherwise they will run from it. Lol I'm speaking from experience with my clutter loving shopping addict mother in law.
You say to keep the memories and get rid of the stuff, but for me, finding those items actually brings back the memories that I didn't know I had. How would one handle this? Also, I get somewhat concerned that in the future, it's possible that myself or someone in my family could experience memory issues due to aging. Sometimes those tangible items can bring memories back. Does anyone ever consider this and how do you deal with it? Is it just with the memory boxes?
What if's, are keeping you from decluttering. None of us know what the future holds. I would rather be less stressed today because there's not as much stuff in my home than to be keeping things for "Just in case." I thought the same way that the items reminded me of the memories, but it was actually not true. I also had to ask myself, do I want to live in the past or live for today. You don't have to get rid of everything. If you keep everything, then you will overwhelm your kids when you pass. Please don't do that to them.
This is regarding K Martin and the deep food pantry. I don't know what her pantry looks like but would drawers in the pantry help? We have a pantry with 2 doors and you open them and then just pull the drawers out. I find that helpful. There is really no reaching for things. I guess it depends on the pantry.
Could you do a video on your food stash in the basement...how you manage it and keep the foods rotated so dates don't expire? I know my personality type prefers having all my food in one pantry even though it's small...that way food doesn't waste because it's out of sight out of mind....? Thank you for considering. :)
She has said previously that it’s just an emergency stash - they don’t actually use that stuff or rotate it. Personally I only keep backstock of things we eat all the time - I don’t want to eat expired food I hate if things go sideways! I keep a few extras of everything non-perishable we use a lot and just have to check there when I’m making a shopping list (most weeks). I rotate the basement food up into the kitchen each week as we use up the current stuff and add it to the list. I don’t bulk buy it, just a few extra cans of each bean, tomatoes, bags of pasta, etc. Having a list of most fav meals helps too - I buy extra for those specifically.
Ive followed you for a year. I did a lot, but i am at the point of frustration. I have a house woth no basement and only 2 small closets. My garage is full and i have no idea how to continue. I wosh i could sell some items but i dont know how to.
I'm a member but can't watch the all-day tomorrow because I have my grandbaby. Will it be recorded? I have joined and not watched much because we just moved and its been crazy!!!
Homeschooling and minimalist question…what printer do you use? I’m debating between a color laser or ecotank and a black and white laser. But keeping two printers seems not not feel minimalistic 🤣
I heard a good one similiar to your $100. 20/20 rule, can you replace the item within 20 min for $20 or less? Makes it easier for those if-y items you arent sure of purging.
😂 one of the cleaning channels convinced me that a spray bottle with water and a little dish soap will clean everything. That's my grill cleaner. And floor cleaner, and counter cleaner!
