Decluttering Q&A: 10.1.24

legos can be scooped up using a plastic dust pan(s) 🤯

A few years ago I reduced my stamping and scrapbooking stashes to what I’d use next time I do them. I have a few new scrapbook albums so only want what will be used for those albums. I used the container concept for them and loved it. I chose what size container and that was it.

That's actually a good idea to keep the roaster under the bed! I keep the leaf for the table under there and it only comes out on holidays and so does the roaster!

In re LEGO...we spread a small tablecloth on the floor, then at clean up time you just pick up the corners and pour back into the bucket

I generally deal with paperwork that comes into the house immediately. I open the mail as I come down the drive and put the envelopes and any junk mail in the recycle bin as I pass it before coming inside. I only keep receipts in the kitchen recycle bin until bin day (unless they’re for appliances).

Regarding roasting pans: I have an odd space above my kitchen cupboards (about 8 inches) which was apparently wasted: I keep my extra kitchen things up there: I bought wrapping paper storage boxes designed for under beds and they slide up there nicely, keep my things dust-free and still handy (and in the kitchen, which is where I look for such things).

For lego, try a wooden trundle bed base under their bed that they can build and leave messy and wheel it back under their bed. The base can be painted with a race track, space station, etc. and painted over as their lego sets change. 😊

Pop DVDs into the plastic sleeves with the cover. It reduced the space needed by 2/3rds. I put them into shoe box type boxes in alphabetical order and the series ones have two discs in them. Works a treat.

I just started watching your videos. I can't stop watching them actually. Really good stuff that makes perfect sense. Thanks so much for your knowledge!

Evelyn Amos Minimal Mom says "You pick it up you get to keep it. If have to pick it up I keep it".

Really great questions and answers today.
Get Decluttering at the speed of life, even better get the Audible read beautifully by Dana, laughed my socks off😂. Slowly I'm getting the hang of take it there now, rather than stuff shifting or pile making.

Make curtains for kids' room out of old fabric.

I have a double sink and found a dish drying rack that fits in the second sink. So that way they can happily drip dry in the sink, and my countertops are still clean and cutter free. Learned this tip from my aunt, and it has worked really well for me!

I'm so impressed how you come up with consistent answers to Qs without preparation.

With the 7 yr old handing items down to the 2 yr old sibling, I wondered..."what will Dana say"? I came up with the container concept at the same time you did! 🙌 That means your process is sticking in my brain! 👏

The container concept has magical powers that somehow helps to declutter all the emotional things. I think it’s because I know I can keep whatever I want, as long as it fits in the allocated container/space. For me it’s not about will I ever use it or not, I just need to love it enough to fit in the container I have for sentimental things.
I love this concept so much and it’s truly changed our home❤️❤️

Re: dvd conversation

Remember to "Look, look, always look". Don't assume you remember what's in there.

I seriously purged our dvds/videos before our interstate move.

As I'm unpacking (today actually), I'm looking for more to purge before I put them away. I found five duplicates and two that we won't watch again.

I also segregated those that I know we want to keep and rewatch, from a ton that I want to watch once and pass along afterwards.

I don’t have an eBay business, but I do buy Christmas gifts year round. I have a Christmas closet. It holds gift wrap, gift bags, mailing stuff and any Christmas gifts. The closet is my container. Not only does it keep everything contained, I know where to look for a gift bought in February when I want to package and mail it in late November. In that closet I have a baker’s rack, it holds different totes; gifts for people a,b, c in one tote, gifts for people d,e,f in another, people g, h, and I in the third. If you are selling it could be jewelry in one area, glassware in another and pottery in a third. If you don’t have to look in many places, it helps manage inventory.

Lisa Taylor, I donated old DVDs to the local library. Can go get them when we want to watch it, just don’t have them in the house and others can be blessed by it too 👍

Haven't watched a live in a long time...what a pleasure....I had a dozen DVDs of Marx Brothers movies, and found a friend to take them...but I watched them all in chronological order first. (Which was the point of having the collection.) I enjoyed them, but realized I could let them go. (I still have a digital copy of my favorite.) I have decided that all my stuff (books, CDs, craft supplies) is on extended loan (attached to a project, or I have plans to use it soon)....and if I don't get back around to it in six months, it's much easier to donate or find a good home for these things.

I aways feel overwhelmed thinking about decluttering. I'm trying to do small steps daily so it won't look like a tornado went through the space. I'm not sure if it's indecisiveness and or the decisions making, that l get so stalled in my actions or the Just In Case Syndrome? I'm trying to process and breakdown my thoughts if it's either what l'm saying to myself or my process in my actions of decluttering.

I do like listening to you talk! Your videos and podcast are some of my favorites and go-tos!

Where I live, you can just put a "no junk mail "note in your mailbox and immediately there will be less coming into your house. ( my neighbour told me this about 6 months ago and I cannot believe the difference)

I missed the live but still enjoyed the video. I learn something helpful every time. Thanks Dana!

If I only had a big house...

It's funny how years ago, I saved things that I thought were extremely important, but now I couldn’t care less about them. Trash or donate. NOT keepers.

I declutter a spot and begin to enjoy a surface with nothing on it and then my husband puts something there...arrgghh!

thrift stores policy is if it is personalized….toss it. they don’t bother with that stuff.
Also kids love the old embroidered work shirts but they also toss those if they come from special organizations and definitely ANYTHING county, city or state workforce (also water facilities, gas facilities, waste management facilities) NO school related clothing of staff or children activities….they don’t want the wrong person buying them and cosplaying as part of the schools to get close to children.
PARENTS GET RID OF THESE ITEMS YOURSELF protect your babies FIRST
I don’t care that it’s in good condition, use them as rags but seriously, don’t donate.

my 'decluttering' was finishing 3 crochet blankets so that the yarn is not lying around any more. I fnished one, am almost done with the second and the third one needs a boder still. that's my evening project until it is done.

We had a clean dustpan that we used to scoop up Legos and other small things with lots of pieces and could dump right into the container.

I use a wall mount dish drying rack. It has two layers and is wonderful for giving me counter space!

Omg that Ross/Emily episode was on today! Love you Dana.

That preying mantis was a lucky bug

LEGO ADVICE: I have an old sheet that the Legos sit on, and I try to keep the kids playing just on that. Then when it's time to clean up, you grab the corners of the sheet and pick it all up at once. It's like a little Lego bag. Put it in the bin like that. It's not perfect because the kids spread out beyond the sheet sometimes, but it's helpful

I just re-decluttered my yarns, and found that I had kept a lot of yarns in my last decluttering that were not really my style (though my preferred brand/thickness). I think I kept them in case I was going to make stuff for other people, but being in the process of putting my living space in order while I’m away for a long while (seeing if I want/need to move south), they don’t look keep-worthy anymore. Not when I need their drawer space for the yarns I really want to either come back home to or go through the hassle of moving.

I do not want to get back home to a mess that has just been sitting there for a long while, but putting things in order also helps me experience that in a lot of ways, every time I enter a room I ”come home” to either mess or a space set up for my needs and my thriving.

Putting things in order makes me less and less inclined to move, to be honest. Turns out I don’t dislike this place as much as I thought, I just really dislike living in a place that is cluttered to the point where I have to work around the mess to do anything.

Wonderful.

My kids struggle with Legos too. Our current solution is that each kit goes into a gallon bag with the instructions and then the bag goes into a fabric bin. One thing that has helped to contain the mess when they are playing, is to use plastic trays. Each kid has two so they can only have two that they are in the process of putting together. Or if it is a big set, then one can be for building and one can be for the loose pieces.

Your explanation near the end of the video about rooms with more than one purpose FINALLY clicked for me, after years of following you, reading and listening to all your books and content, and not totally understanding why you keep emphasizing this point. The name assigned to the room is based on the room's primary function, and the primary function gets the primary/most space. Secondary/tertiary/whatever functions of the room get progressively smaller slices of the room pie. The rest of your ideas and methods immediately resonated with me; I don't know why this one took so long for me! 💡💡💡💡💡

Give kids a large cookie sheet for their Legos. Put little pieces in a plastic bowl kept on the cookie sheet along with the project, instruction book, and larger pieces. Tell kids if pieces end up anywhere else, they will be tossed. I let my grandson use a cookie sheet to plan with Erectorset-type projects, playdoh, or beach sand and shells. It's ok to set limits.

with lego, maybe spread out a blanket before they pull it all out. Then just tip it back in the box at the end.

For the roasting pans, I "store" mine at the thrift store! I only need a roasting pan for holiday meals, once or twice a year, and I know the thrift store will always have something that will work for less than $5. Best part - then I'll donate it back in January!

Thanks for this. You have kept me company as I decluttered a 13 gallon kitchen trash bag full of one of my closet clothes purge. 😊❤️

Thanks for discussing that last topic. I have to keep a chest freezer in my library/office. I have felt bad about it the whole time (even though it’s the only food storage item in there). Your comments have helped me put it into context. 👍

Thank you so much, Dana, for everything you do ❤ Every time I watch one of your videos I immediately start to declutter or tackle a project in my home 😃 There is something about your energy that is priceless ❤

What a slow start. Rambling. I almost turned you off! First time. Also, i need to look thoroughly where i first look!

Dana you keep me on my minimalist journey ❤

In UK we have letter boxes that come straight into home rather than a mailbox.
You can get no junk mail from Royal mail. You have to fill out a form.
A shop bought no junk mail sticker is not enforcable according to my postie.
My paper recycling is right outside front door.

Lego We had a sheet for the Lego. Play on the sheet. Pick up the sheet corners put the bundle into the box with all lLegos contained instantly.

The more 'stars' found to be involved in the Diddy crimes, the more likely I will dispose of DVDs of movies those stars were in due to my preconceived perception of those 'stars' and the horror of the new reality. I'll never be able to view them the same way again😢.
I had already downsized & kept a container of favorites. Some movies came out 20-30 years ago. Most are previously watched repeatedly over the years. This is emotional. 😔

Baby steps for me has been life changing. I take a donate box weekly. It feels soooo good to donate it!