"If you're putting things into a keep box, you're putting them into a procrastination station." -Dana K. White I love what you said. It completely boils it down.
I have hired organizers who have pulled everything out of a room with the typical "it always looks worse before it looks better." And then they left me with "homework" keep boxes that stayed in my hallway FOREVER. Your system is SO much simpler and it really does make things only BETTER! THANKS, Dana! Amazon says my copy of the new book comes on Tuesday. Can't wait!
@@lindamusser7370 I have been trying to declutter for years, including having the help of hired professionals. I've kind of given up after ultimately it seems like I have just spread or moved the clutter, not actually made any real progress. I had basically given up, but something made me watch this video; and I'm hoping maybe I'll have better luck with this lady's system.
@@scoobydadog246 never, never, never give up! I've struggled with hanging on to things for years. I've read books and watched videos. I'm getting better and better. Slow and steady.
Dana, you really deserve an award. I have watched so many organizing, cleaning and decluttering videos… You are the only one who makes sense to me. May your success only keep growing. 🙏
As a perfectionist, using this approach freed me to actually make progress, not procrastinate forever til I could do the perfect thing. And great point at the end - containers are one thing (eg a plastic tub dedicated to kid's artworks with a dedicated location in a closet, etc), keep boxes are different - really, they are just clutter hidden in a box.
Yes! Clutter hidden in a box! I had a lot of that! Been decluttering for a month now. It's awesome to get free of a lot of things. I'm still finding random things that I just toss in the trash. A lot of cleaning is revealing to me just what I am able to manage. I'm nearly 60 and I can't manage what I used to. Dana K White and The Minmal Mom has been very helpful to me.
I cannot say how invaluable your point is about not making things a worse mess for those of us with limited energy or stamina. This holds me back often so I embrace your method wholeheartedly!
I don't know whether you write those funnies at the end, or whether Reid does, or you do a bit of both, but they make me laugh! I hope they continue (at least for as long as it doesn't feel like a chore)!
Such a good point! I have limited, variable energy and once I sorted a bunch of things in my living room (from boxes from moving 6 years before) and lived with keep boxes in my living room for months before I could actually deal with the items. Most ended up being donated.
I had a bunch of "keep boxes" stored in the rafters of my garage. My mom had boxed things up from my grandmother. After 15 years, I decided Enough Already! Luckily the stuff was not destroyed by bugs or water and was still good for giving away. My son expressed to me how grateful he was that I took care of it and didn't pass a bunch of keep boxes on to him to deal with. Dana, you make so much sense! I love you for it!
You hit upon the weakness of most decluttering and organization videos: most of them advocate shoving stuff into boxes, followed by shoving those boxes onto shelves or some newly created or purchased storage. The hoarding is never addreed.
The kitchen is my husband's domain (Yay!) When we decluttered it, we placed what he was unsure about on a large blanket in the middle of the dining room floor. His choice was to decide by the end of the day, or live with stepping over and around those items until a decision was made. We quickly had our dining room back and, first thing the next morning, I hauled everything away before he could waffle on his decision.
I had back surgery just over a week ago. I found you while recovering and have gotten boxes of donations and bags of trash out of my house. Of all the decluttering tips online, I’ve never been able to get rid of more than one or two items here and there before finding you. Thank you!! My house is finally getting clean.
I LOVE this concept! I used your flow chart (excellent) and added a “take it there now” for the bags of donations. I did the decluttering for 30 minutes WITHOUT MY HUSBAND AROUND and then took them with me on my errands. Why? Because my husband goes through the donation bags and cross-examines me about the stuff or I leave it my trunk until I have filled it up with donations. I use black trash bags to put the donations in tied with about ten knots as a deterrent too.
🤣that is so funny! My husband was ok with what I was doing as long as I didn't touch his stuff. So I didn't. Then behold, he actually got rid of a few of his things anyway. 👍
Dearest Dana: A while back I recall someone asking you about when you have more than one item. I have four tape measures (5 if you include the one in my sewing box). I recently labeled one 'sage tea drawer' which is what some people call a junk drawer, but it's the kitchen drawer with rubberbands, scotch tape, scissors, etc. Sage tea was my grandfather's term. What a difference it made! By labeling the tape measure that goes in the kitchen drawer, that's where it lives -- and the pink round one I keep in my purse does not belong there. It lives in my purse for shopping. The big one is for construction projects and naturally belongs in the tool box (never in question). But here's the beauty: the yellow small one could go in my bedroom, or my desk -- but I don't need them. More, I live in a one bedroom apartment, so the distance between the kitchen, bedroom or desk is a few feet. donate forthwith. Of course, I have space for the yellow one. But the beauty is that I don't have five tape measures all banging around wondering where they belong. By labeling the one that wasn't clear, everything feel into place.
that's a great idea :) then it's not a matter of wondering or asking myself each time...almost a reverse of the label-the-bin (so you know what goes inside) you label-the-thing so you know which container it goes into! Brilliant! (+ does labeling both bin + items therefore make us unstoppable!? ;) )
You're right that that is not a junk drawer! I call it my utility drawer and I did buy a special labeled and partitioned divider, which absolutely works for me, a lifelong clutterer!
Your strategy of "take it there now" is soooo smart! The keep box often never gets dealt with. A handy tip that I use in general is to never leave a room empty handed. There is almost always something that needs to go somewhere else!
That’s a great suggestion! I always put things on the stairs to go up or down, and ALWAYS pick them up and take them where they belong, it keeps me fro doing the steps 40 times in a row! Lol
You are so right, I try to never leave one room without something in my hand(s) or do that nagging one to three minutes task that I could have already done LOL. So many smart and simple things I have learned from Dana K White, don't tell her but she's that daughter I never had. Love Ruthie
The description box is so good😂😂 This part of your method has been the most influential for me, because of being able to stop at any time. I can work for short bursts, my family can interrupt me, the space isn’t going to be worse than I started. I had made me feel so much more capable!
Putting items in black bags or sealing up the boxes works really well for me. My dad keeps looking thru the charity shop boxes in the garage and bringing things back in! Then he gives the stuff to my daughter’s kids! = vicious cycle!
I totally understand your reasoning for a keep Box not being necessary. However, after 2 surgeries in the past 5 years and of course aging, I am mobility impaired. As a result, I do still use a keep box so that when I'm done decluttering an area, I can go through the Box and pick out everything for each room and only have to go to that room once vs. maybe 10 times. I have a limited amount of time that I can be on my feet and active, So I have to Find ways to cut down the amount of time I spend standing or walking. In the end, I can get more done this way.
I know she's said if taking things around the house later works for you, then great, don't change what's working. But her method can guarantee it's always better and never making a worse mess 💜
Yes! Mental note: "Final destination" is sooooo freeing. "Keep box" is self-induced stress/frustration at a later date... for. the. rest. of. my. life. Make that choice TODAY and be better💗🤗 Thank you, Dana!
Ok, Dana. You are magical. When I started listening to this I was like “Yeah, right. I can’t not have a keep box.” By about 7 min though you’ve made me a convert!!!! Keep on sharing the good stuff. Thank God for you!!
I always dreaded the after math of a declutter session. The process was mentally taxing and then it was like but wait I'm not done yet. Then kids run in or animals and the box or pile was tossed aside. I'm thankful to have found your method of "take it there NOW". It first it felt like more work but then I realized it really wasn't. Thank you so much for your common sense approach to decluttering.
So true! I love the terms “stuff shifting” (a concept in which I evidently have a PhD) & “procrastination station”! I did add a folder to my Sunday Basket entitled “Keepsakes.” In this I’m putting cards & other paper items as I decluttering the paper in the kitchen. I have some attractive boxes upstairs, which I’ve bought for our daughter & for each grandchild. I’ll deliver those once I delve into that sentimental stuff. I know better than to go up there now b/c I’d get sidetracked. I also have a memory box for myself up there. I’m actually starting to realize that I have the occasional drawer or shelf that’s EMPTY! I still have miles to go, but I’ve made progress. Thank you!
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 occasionally have an empty shelf or drawer! Yay! Well done. Enjoy the open space! It’s okay to stare at it for a moment and smile inside. Ahhhhh…
@@user-hi8rg7bl2s Yes, I know what you mean. I often “sneak up” on newly decluttering/organized spots, like a drawer, just to savor my work! I also write things I’ve already done on a list, just so I can cross them off. Just a little cuckoo over here. :)
I've been using your method this week preparing room for our new baby. Having to take things all over the house while 40 and pregnant has been exhausting, but its nice that when I've had too much I can stop and my space is cleaner. I also dont have that keep box hanging over my head of something else to get done.
When I first picked up your book “Decluttering At The Speed Of Life”, I had no idea the change it would bring in my life and home. My first “AHA” moment was establishing a home for every item I touched and then taking it there NOW! What a game-changer for me! It made everything fall into place and definitely changed how I decluttered from that point on. While watching this video, I remember going through box after box of stuff…all my prior “keep” boxes that were never given a final sort because I would be too exhausted from decluttering to sort through the final box. I cannot wait for your next book to come out and have another “AHA” moment as I still have so much to learning! Thank you Dana!!
Putting things where they go RIGHT THEN is my favorite part of the process, after throwing away the trash. I feel like I'm actually making progress, and I LOVE no longer having the "it gets worse before it gets better" phenomenon!
In the past I was always the person sat in the middle of the floor with loads of various categories of stuff piled around me. Even on a good day, I’d still end up with a bag or box of “random, sort later” stuff. Most of that stuff has ended up in my craft room along with a lot of sentimental stuff and way too much craft stuff. I’ve been slowly working around my house and I’m leaving that room til last. For a long time I thought I needed more storage in that room, but you’ve taught me that I really just have too much stuff. I’m half excited and half terrified to start tackling it, but this time I’m determined to be ruthless and use the containers properly. No more “sort later” boxes! (Looking forward to the new book next week!)
I decluttered a box a couple of months ago that had been in our garage since we moved here. Before that, it was in our attic...since 1979!!! Other than a box of Crayons, it was mostly trash. I call those my 'Stash N Dash' boxes because whenever I had a mess and had to clean it up fast I would throw it all in a box, with the intention of dealing with it later. But I never did. Life keeps moving forward. It doesn't slow down and wait for us to clean up old, forgotten messes.
I just caught you on one of Dawn's videos & I loved when you mentioned "your" people not always being able to do as much decluttering in a day because of limited abilities. I have energy issues that makes it hard for me to declutter a large amount of stuff at one time (even if my mind thinks I can) so I had to check your channel out & I have subscribed & hit the bell for notifications because I love your style.
Preach it, girl! And keep preaching it! Your methods have been very helpful as I"m working at decluttering (at age 67). I still make mistakes, but your method reaslly resonates with me and how my brain works. And I haven't missed a single night of doing my dishes in about 3 months now. (Woke up at 1 a.m. to wash out a cup I'd left in the sink!) It really does make a difference, and I've got fewer dishes in my cupboards - so much easier!
I thought you might get a chuckle out of this dream (nightmare?) I had last night. I walked into my house and it was just as bad as (maybe even worse than) it was before I found your book and podcasts years ago. Piles of stuff everywhere. Overflowing closets. Cabinets that wouldn't close. BUT - I started tackling it using your methods. Pulling out trash that I could see without pulling everything out. Taking easy things to their home right away. (I was horrified to find every other room in the same state when I did take things there.) No keep boxes, even in my dreams. Lol.
Just stumbled across your channel.. I started decluttering a kitchen cabinet yesterday where I tend to shove stuff because I don’t want to see it on the counter. Your question “ where would I look for this item if I needed it?” Is life changing for me! I was actually able to get through it fairly easy, where as before I would just shut it and put off the decision making for another day. You’ve inspired me to go through my paper piles, wish me luck! I hate paper so much, and tend to shove mail in a basket until it’s full, or we can’t find something and then I’m forced to go through it🤣
Teacher here. Every summer I would dread going through everything because frankly I needed a break, and my keep box necessary for my work just expanded every year. Now I know I don’t need it and can find what I need a lot easier and the mess (keep boxes) are also going away. Thank you so much. I love it!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Making progress, being able to stop and rest when I need to. Having a home for the things I do use helps so much. I have dissociative identity disorder - lots of inner people, so one of my people doesn't know what we have or where it is put, and so puchases another. After decluttering and doing the put it away now thing. Some of us are going to go through the apartment and do an inventory of what we own, and where it is located so the other alters can find them. This will help us with our finances too.
I used to be the queen of keep boxes lol. Suggestion for people with physical limitations who can’t repeatedly go back & forth, a put away box works, as long as you pay attention to your energy levels and leave yourself enough energy to go put it all away once you come to a stopping point in the decluttering space. I’m disabled and live in a two story home that’s really too big for me, so it’s not practical to go back & forth and up & down stairs over and over, lowering my energy and increasing my pain faster.
That’s why the “sparks joy” question seems problematic to me - I don’t really need everything that I like. Very good point about not deferring decisions with a keep box.
First of all, I want to know what my German Shepherd is doing at your house??? I loved this video and your other procrasti-clutter video. Absolutely spot on description of how I was doing chores or decluttering. Thank you for your approach to not creating a bigger mess and contributing to the overwhelming task of simplifying my life and home!
Yes! The “Keep box(es)” always killed any supposed progress, bc life would happen and I would have to stop, and shove the pile and keep boxes aside. Later, I would look at the misc Keep boxes and go through them again, esp if it had been a while, bc I couldn’t remember what I was going to do with them. “Take it there now” is everything!
So glad I stumbled on your channel. Your method has transformed my house from - i can’t have people over - I need three weeks notice before guests arrive - I only need three days notice - to sure come over in an hour! Can’t tell you how freeing this is. Now I’m working towards 15 mins notice. Thank you so very much. PS I have the chronic energy limitations. - this absolutely works!!
This is sooooo good!!! I have 2 closets of "keep" that I haven't looked at since I moved 6 yrs ago! 2022 is my decluttering year and simplification year. All this stuff is emotionally and physically weighing me down! I pre-ordered your new 📖. Can't wait for Jan. 11th! Thank you for all you do and share! 🙂🤜🤛
That was me last summer. I had a big closet full of stuff that I didn't want to part with when we moved. In my defense some of it was decorating stuff and I just didn't know what I might like to keep since I hadn't decorated this house yet. Last summer I cleared it all out. There were boxes of clothing that I thought I couldn't get rid of and vases, figurines etc. etc. Old exercise VCR tapes and movies. Gone now!
I’m so glad you mentioned those of us that are limited energy. I’m older and just can stand long and just run out of energy very fast. I have trouble keeping up with the laundry so I’m trying to declutter my clothing. Still trying to work on my kitchen. I live in double wide mobile home so not a lot of storage. Really enjoy your videos.
I didn't want to listen to you on this, but because I've been watching you so long I stayed till the end. Thank Goodness! Procrastination Station is Right! Thank You!
I definitely have a procrastination station!! I decluttered & organized it’s my pregnancy 3 years ago and had a box of “don’t know where this goes right now, but I definitely want it!” And it still sits there, in the corner of my closet. Things are added to it here & there. Need to go through that!
Thank you, Dana for the printable. TIP for the rest of us: The printable can be printed any size you want. I just printed it at 60% and am off to laminate it. I wanted it with color and did not want to use as much ink as letter size. I may also put it on a lanyard so I don't lay it down and forget where I put it. Although full size for easy reading (and laminated or not) and some removable tacky putty to hold it up at eye level where one I am decluttering would also be good. Anything to keep it from being clutter while I declutter. I'll use it until I memorize the method and keep it in the book for a bookmark (also where I would look for it).
Dana Thank you so much for your honesty. Picking up trash first always makes it better. And, I promise NO MORE Keep boxes. That's what's in my garage now. I will deal with them when it gets warmer, promise. Thanks for being real.
Why is everyone not saying this?!?! You’re are a brilliant woman! Thank you for sharing your wisdom. (Side note, that sweatshirt makes your eyes pop! 😉)
So true. I have found that a keep box in decluttering turns into a “I’ll deal with that later” box and by later I mean 2 or 3 yrs later. If I’m keeping it, I’m taking the item to its home.
This is awesome! Thank you Dana… as someone who is: a) naturally an “all or nothing” person b) a perfectionist who is a master at procrastination 🤦🏻♀️ and c) someone who has ME/CFS (and so am now forced to embrace “little and often” instead of my natural tendency to do “all or nothing”), your way of decluttering is liberating! I’m trying to streamline my home so that it’s easier to manage, and this method really works… it stops me deferring decisions until “later” which is what I have done for years…. You, Cas and Dawn are all so inspiring and so so helpful - THANK YOU!! Xx
Lately for me, defining the space has been the game changer!! Also doing the dishes, sweeping the floor (I already 5min pickup) But forcing myself to consistently put away laundry as much as I'm washing & wearing clothes. And being more ruthless about what stays in the space I have.
Hey from Maine! Last month, my husband pulled down an extra bin when he was getting Christmas decorations and I realized it was a keep big from 12 years and 2 moves ago! Thanks to your videos, I was ready to tackle it.
Wow this is my first time hearing this & you’ve blown my mind in a good way. As someone with autoimmune diseases & other chronic health issues running out of energy “spoons” before completing the decluttering of a room is a real issue for me. Yep putting stuff away straight away as you declutter might seem like wasting my energy but I really love the idea that when I have to stop there’s no keep box hanging around looking like worse clutter than I started with! I don’t care if it takes longer to complete if I don’t create new mess
Reid’s credits always crack me up! Thank you for this video. It’s great advice and makes so much sense. I continue to uncover keep bags, boxes, and boxes in boxes 🙈 as I’m decluttering my home. Can’t wait to get through them all!
Soooo close to your book launch! So excited for you and for all the extra videos! What a beautiful room! Yeah I was all smug til I realized I have a keep closet ( one shelf is maybes one is keep I didn’t want to make decisions on).....I think you call that procrasticlutter...... it as together as I think over here! Your personality makes these videos so so fun to declutter to and rewatch! Starting to think our big Canadian basements are not good for me. Thank you Dana!
I call them gorp boxes and am working through years of them. I often wonder why I kept the things that are in there. Any way, I love the progress I make when I think about how better is good! Often it's good enough! Thanks Dana!
Life. Changing. I tried your method, and lo and behold, I made progress and only progress!!! No keep box this time. I have a garage full of 20 years worth of keep boxes! No more! I'll now tackle them this way. Dang it! I wish I'd met you sooner. But, I grateful that I finally did.
I try to avoid forced decisions when I'm decluttering with my mom. She hates making decisions and tends to be agressive towards the source of pressing, e.g. me. I don't want to spend half an hour over some piece of junk, argue, cry, get tired, wrap it up somehow and sulk for a month. My role in mom's decluttering journey is the support (and workforce), and moreover, the promotion of decluttering itself. It's not hard, it doesn't hurt, you'll feel satisfied and won't afraid of further ones. So if she cannot decide, I'll skip it. Maybe next time she'll be ready.
This was one of your most clearly expressed and organised videos - Kudos to you and to Reid’s editing skills! :) I’m so enjoying your RUclips ‘partnership’.
Keep box = procrastination station. Totally true! I love this concept and I will try it out. I have multiple boxes stored away from years ago and they are so overwhelming - because I know they are full of things I don't know what to do with.
Lol the credits at the end added the extra humor to the message. I love the pups! We all know that the only time to have a keep box is for the cats to make as their temporary favorite place to sleep... for three weeks and then it is even discarded by them.
Something similar happened to me. I moved to my current home in 2007 and a few years ago found a box with bank statements from the 90s. Don’t know how it made it here much less stayed over 10 years after that.
Bravo! This is the way my mom taught me to clean, and I'm 60. Never leave a room without picking up anything that doesn't belong there, and take it to it's spot right now, on your way to wherever you got up to go. The old saying is really true, "A place for everything, and everything in its place." If you can't decide on where it needs to live, then you probably don't need it, and maybe don't even really want it. I'm happy to have run across your video! Thank you, and have a blessed day.
Lol. Totally watched a sorting my closet that had matching laundry baskets for both keep bin and a donate box. I was so wanting to tell her this is not how you do it. Also watched her forget which was which and misplace items meaning after the video she was going to have to resort everything a second time. Who has time for that.
Good reminder video. I used to call my keep box my “decide later” pile. Isn’t that clever. I can tell your editor is pushing you to push your book. I agree!!! Your books have absolutely changed my life. I could probably go through the entire process by memory. But I need the reminders!! There’s a special place in Heaven for you Dana. ❤️
I pre-ordered your book the first time that you announced it!! I love the bonus flow chart! I printed it out 3 times and laminated them. Then I mailed two of them to my friends in different parts of the country. This is very valuable information. One of my friends actually decluttered her dining room table and sent me a picture of it!! She was so happy! Thank you for helping us!! Can't wait until Tuesday!! 💕🌴😎
I can't thank you enough for this piece of advice, I am still working on years of keep boxes from before I found you, but I am still making forward progress even if very slowly. And as someone with multiple chronic illnesses, I definitely agree that this way is so much simpler and less stressful on my body because some days 5 minutes of work is challenging, but even 5 minutes can show progress this way.
I have made more progress with the no mess method than I ever had doing anything else. I have a small container for each of my kids things I want to keep, but because of this way of doing things, I have been able to let go of some sentimental things that were not helping me by staying. I used to think that I had to keep things that reminded me of a person or event, but those things can also held me back. I can still remember my loved ones without keeping a lot of stuff. I didn’t realize that until you came along. My depression is lifting after most of a lifetime of it and I feel more productive. Thank you to God and to you for doing what you do.
I soooo needed to hear this. I have a garage full of keep boxes. I want everything too! I’m going to declutter with no keep box from now on. I’m kind of excited!
I love that you understand and considered people with chronic health conditions and low in energy or limited physical strength I really appreciate you doing that
I'm mobility-challenged and have difficulty lifting/carrying things with any substantial weight. I have foldable baskets with handles that I've put a photo of each family member on, and they sit in a foldable nylon sided utility cart that I put either in the hall or in the room where I'm decluttering. If I come across something that belongs to someone else or in one of their spaces, I put that item in the basket with their photo on it. When I'm done, I wheel the cart to the bottom of the stairs and each person grabs the basket with their photo to take care of. I put my own on my chair lift and send it upstairs so I can retrieve it easily. When done, the baskets get folded up and put back with the cart, the cart is folded up and stored for use in the next room I tackle. It is a little extra work at times, but it really helps get others involved with keeping spaces clear and helps conserve my own spoons. 💗
Katrina here on my husband's tablet he prefers my iPad. I'm easily distracted today 🙄 Love the dogs wandering around in the declutted background . Told you I'm distracted today. 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Focus Katrina ,now up of the lounge to get car load 8 of donations out of my house. Love your outlook on the process.
Sometimes I physically can't take everything where it goes right away (I just shove it back where it was honestly lol) BUT now I've actually looked at what was in there so later I can say "Ok, I've got to walk out to the garage to get the laundry so let me grab those things from the closet that go out there." I put it in my laundry basket & that way I have to put it away to get my laundry. I actually go thru boxes / spaces while I'm resting a lot & then when I can start moving again I have a game plan :)
My keep box turned into many keep boxes into all of them in a room I’m embarrassed about lol. Your videos have helped me SO MUCH! It’s helping me to stop going through things over and over and making so many decisions. Thank you!
Not having a keep box is so important! I have a room full of keep boxes/bags from previous decluttering attempts 😱 All they did was open the way to bring more stuff into the house as I had space in my living areas without having had to contend with the decision making. Now I'm going through my living spaces without one and finally making progress, and more importantly, making final decisions. Once in a while I pull out a box/bag out of that doom room and go through it. It will take me a while but I know I'll get it out instead of just moving it around!
This is such a valuable way of decluttering. I’ve tried to declutter for years, but never had time to make the big mess & clean it up. I’d take a day to do a room, and by the time I had a whole day to do another room the 1st was back where it was. Last January I heard this method for the 1st time and decided to try it. Then life got even more time consuming as my MIL took a turn for the worse and I was spending any time not at work at her house as part of her care team as she started to journey to the end. During those 3 months I made more progress on decluttering my house then I’d made in the 20 years prior- progress that’s stuck. Still have work to do - but that’s life. My house is still in a way better place then it was. Thank you
Our feet (to take out there right now) ARE the 'keep box'! It is a one for one comparison! I appreciate this so much because it gets me to finished right NOW, no procrastination stations 🙅🚫
GOLD, GOLD, GOLD!!!! That's what this video is for me. I have heard you many times before, but this just drives the point home like nothing else. The most valuable info... thank you sooo very much for all you do🙏🙏🥰
YOU have made a big difference in my decluttering ability over the years! I appreciate it!!! Thank you! Thank you!!! And I agree, I love everything! So, keep boxes end up being stuff shuffled!!!! Everything sparks my joy! But when compared to other items, using the container principal, it's easier to not love it quite as much as another item. I recently decluttered my craft/home decor storage room. It's supposed to be a functioning craft room, but I'm finding it's going to just end up being a storage room unless I make some tough decisions!!! So this video is helping me realize that I need to keep going further. My Mom died FOUR years ago, and I've been living with NINETEEN med/large bins lining my hallway. They are full of photos and memories (and her Mom's and Great Aunts and even ancestors), her everyday journals (kept for decades and decades) and the slides she took of her travels and her art (decades worth). I could NOT deal with these bins. I finally decided to put the journals and slides in my attic. I just can't deal with them right now. Maybe when I'm retired. Luckily there is PLENTY of room up there. But the photos I put into my craft room. I'm SO HAPPY and even my kids are SO HAPPY to have my hallway back. It's HUGE!!! But I still have to deal with the photos. My sister bought me 10 legacy boxes. So, I plan to start making digital copies of them, since it's fallen on me to be the memory keeper for the family. My question for you is: What happens to the physical pictures once I make digital copies? I know a lot of them are duplicates. Not all though! I can't keep TEN or so bins of pictures forever?! And I probably will never make albums. Any advice?
If you are going digital, I suggest keeping it in at least 2 spots. I know that doesn't sound minimal! But my mom and my uncle are in the process of going thru 100yrs of family photos. This is multi year long term project as they live in 2 different states. With in 6months of each other, both their hard drives crashed and they lost 2yrs worth of work. It would have been more, but my uncle had been in the process of transferring most of it to an external hard drive, so he had the 1st few years backed up already. The cloud does not remove the need for backup. I lost 3yrs of my son's childhood photos, bc the server I was using decided that it has been to long since I logged in and deleted all my files. All that said, once you digitize your photos, ask family if they want any? Then see if there is a historical group that would want any of the older ones. After that, it's probably ok to let go of them. I prefer to burn old photos, but many people just put them in the trash.
I have had a Keep Box since public school. Every time I go to it, which is about every 5yrs, I remove more and more. The box is replaced with a smaller one each time. Funny, this morning I was in it again and ironically watched your video this evening. Wow! I know exactly what I am doing tomorrow. Get the trash bag, I am motivated :)
This makes so much sense. It is helping me make progress. In the past, I hated decluttering because I had all that stuff I didn't know what to do with.
Yes agree except for two exceptions. People with fatigue issues as it's tiring to take everything to its place immediately so sometimes a keep box will help with preserving energy. Also for things that need returning to others rather than donating or binning.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
"If you're putting things into a keep box, you're putting them into a procrastination station." -Dana K. White
I love what you said. It completely boils it down.
I have hired organizers who have pulled everything out of a room with the typical "it always looks worse before it looks better." And then they left me with "homework" keep boxes that stayed in my hallway FOREVER. Your system is SO much simpler and it really does make things only BETTER! THANKS, Dana! Amazon says my copy of the new book comes on Tuesday. Can't wait!
When I watch Hoarders, I shudder when they leave the mess and depend on the hoarder, who has no skills, to do the "homework."
@@lindamusser7370 I feel so bad for those people. It's definitely hard to watch. They need Dana!
Saaame here!!!!!!!
@@lindamusser7370 I have been trying to declutter for years, including having the help of hired professionals. I've kind of given up after ultimately it seems like I have just spread or moved the clutter, not actually made any real progress. I had basically given up, but something made me watch this video; and I'm hoping maybe I'll have better luck with this lady's system.
@@scoobydadog246 never, never, never give up! I've struggled with hanging on to things for years. I've read books and watched videos. I'm getting better and better. Slow and steady.
Dana, you really deserve an award. I have watched so many organizing, cleaning and decluttering videos… You are the only one who makes sense to me. May your success only keep growing. 🙏
As a perfectionist, using this approach freed me to actually make progress, not procrastinate forever til I could do the perfect thing.
And great point at the end - containers are one thing (eg a plastic tub dedicated to kid's artworks with a dedicated location in a closet, etc), keep boxes are different - really, they are just clutter hidden in a box.
SO true -- clutter hidden in a box :P
Yes! Clutter hidden in a box! I had a lot of that! Been decluttering for a month now. It's awesome to get free of a lot of things. I'm still finding random things that I just toss in the trash. A lot of cleaning is revealing to me just what I am able to manage. I'm nearly 60 and I can't manage what I used to. Dana K White and The Minmal Mom has been very helpful to me.
I cannot say how invaluable your point is about not making things a worse mess for those of us with limited energy or stamina. This holds me back often so I embrace your method wholeheartedly!
I don't know whether you write those funnies at the end, or whether Reid does, or you do a bit of both, but they make me laugh! I hope they continue (at least for as long as it doesn't feel like a chore)!
I'm also one of those folks. I love the idea of actually making progress according to when and how I can work.
Such a good point! I have limited, variable energy and once I sorted a bunch of things in my living room (from boxes from moving 6 years before) and lived with keep boxes in my living room for months before I could actually deal with the items. Most ended up being donated.
It was Dana who finally inspired me to get stuff OUT of our home and not just stuff-shift. Our basement and my craft area look SO much better!
I had a bunch of "keep boxes" stored in the rafters of my garage. My mom had boxed things up from my grandmother. After 15 years, I decided Enough Already! Luckily the stuff was not destroyed by bugs or water and was still good for giving away. My son expressed to me how grateful he was that I took care of it and didn't pass a bunch of keep boxes on to him to deal with. Dana, you make so much sense! I love you for it!
You hit upon the weakness of most decluttering and organization videos: most of them advocate shoving stuff into boxes, followed by shoving those boxes onto shelves or some newly created or purchased storage. The hoarding is never addreed.
The kitchen is my husband's domain (Yay!) When we decluttered it, we placed what he was unsure about on a large blanket in the middle of the dining room floor. His choice was to decide by the end of the day, or live with stepping over and around those items until a decision was made. We quickly had our dining room back and, first thing the next morning, I hauled everything away before he could waffle on his decision.
I had back surgery just over a week ago. I found you while recovering and have gotten boxes of donations and bags of trash out of my house. Of all the decluttering tips online, I’ve never been able to get rid of more than one or two items here and there before finding you. Thank you!! My house is finally getting clean.
I LOVE this concept! I used your flow chart (excellent) and added a “take it there now” for the bags of donations. I did the decluttering for 30 minutes WITHOUT MY HUSBAND AROUND and then took them with me on my errands. Why? Because my husband goes through the donation bags and cross-examines me about the stuff or I leave it my trunk until I have filled it up with donations. I use black trash bags to put the donations in tied with about ten knots as a deterrent too.
lol
All great ideas 😁😁😁😁
🤣that is so funny! My husband was ok with what I was doing as long as I didn't touch his stuff. So I didn't. Then behold, he actually got rid of a few of his things anyway. 👍
Agghhhh!!! No kids around, too!!! Haha😂
I feel that! My husband can always find "treasure".😅
You can thank your son Reid for me watching to the end. The credits were gold this time, Reid!
Dearest Dana: A while back I recall someone asking you about when you have more than one item. I have four tape measures (5 if you include the one in my sewing box). I recently labeled one 'sage tea drawer' which is what some people call a junk drawer, but it's the kitchen drawer with rubberbands, scotch tape, scissors, etc. Sage tea was my grandfather's term. What a difference it made! By labeling the tape measure that goes in the kitchen drawer, that's where it lives -- and the pink round one I keep in my purse does not belong there. It lives in my purse for shopping. The big one is for construction projects and naturally belongs in the tool box (never in question). But here's the beauty: the yellow small one could go in my bedroom, or my desk -- but I don't need them. More, I live in a one bedroom apartment, so the distance between the kitchen, bedroom or desk is a few feet. donate forthwith. Of course, I have space for the yellow one. But the beauty is that I don't have five tape measures all banging around wondering where they belong. By labeling the one that wasn't clear, everything feel into place.
Hello Meg Happy New Year, how are you doing today?
I totally agree! I have taken the labeling scissors the same way and it helps tremendously.
Where are you writing from?
that's a great idea :) then it's not a matter of wondering or asking myself each time...almost a reverse of the label-the-bin (so you know what goes inside) you label-the-thing so you know which container it goes into! Brilliant! (+ does labeling both bin + items therefore make us unstoppable!? ;) )
You're right that that is not a junk drawer! I call it my utility drawer and I did buy a special labeled and partitioned divider, which absolutely works for me, a lifelong clutterer!
OH MY GOSH!!! YOU ARE RIGHT!! My house is FILLED WITH KEEP BOXES THAT I WILL NEED TO GO THROUGH AGAIN!! 😫😫😫
Your strategy of "take it there now" is soooo smart! The keep box often never gets dealt with. A handy tip that I use in general is to never leave a room empty handed. There is almost always something that needs to go somewhere else!
That’s a great suggestion! I always put things on the stairs to go up or down, and ALWAYS pick them up and take them where they belong, it keeps me fro doing the steps 40 times in a row! Lol
You are so right, I try to never leave one room without something in my hand(s) or do that nagging one to three minutes task that I could have already done LOL. So many smart and simple things I have learned from Dana K White, don't tell her but she's that daughter I never had. Love Ruthie
I think this is the key to doing it without making a bigger mess. When my energy is depleted I'm actually done. Nothing else to do
The description box is so good😂😂 This part of your method has been the most influential for me, because of being able to stop at any time. I can work for short bursts, my family can interrupt me, the space isn’t going to be worse than I started. I had made me feel so much more capable!
Agreed. If I only deal with one item, I’m better off. No messes or double decisions on one item.
Putting items in black bags or sealing up the boxes works really well for me. My dad keeps looking thru the charity shop boxes in the garage and bringing things back in! Then he gives the stuff to my daughter’s kids! = vicious cycle!
I totally understand your reasoning for a keep Box not being necessary. However, after 2 surgeries in the past 5 years and of course aging, I am mobility impaired. As a result, I do still use a keep box so that when I'm done decluttering an area, I can go through the Box and pick out everything for each room and only have to go to that room once vs. maybe 10 times. I have a limited amount of time that I can be on my feet and active, So I have to Find ways to cut down the amount of time I spend standing or walking. In the end, I can get more done this way.
I know she's said if taking things around the house later works for you, then great, don't change what's working.
But her method can guarantee it's always better and never making a worse mess 💜
Yes! Mental note: "Final destination" is sooooo freeing.
"Keep box" is self-induced stress/frustration at a later date... for. the. rest. of. my. life.
Make that choice TODAY and be better💗🤗
Thank you, Dana!
Ok, Dana. You are magical. When I started listening to this I was like “Yeah, right. I can’t not have a keep box.” By about 7 min though you’ve made me a convert!!!!
Keep on sharing the good stuff. Thank God for you!!
I always dreaded the after math of a declutter session. The process was mentally taxing and then it was like but wait I'm not done yet. Then kids run in or animals and the box or pile was tossed aside. I'm thankful to have found your method of "take it there NOW". It first it felt like more work but then I realized it really wasn't. Thank you so much for your common sense approach to decluttering.
So true! I love the terms “stuff shifting” (a concept in which I evidently have a PhD) & “procrastination station”! I did add a folder to my Sunday Basket entitled “Keepsakes.” In this I’m putting cards & other paper items as I decluttering the paper in the kitchen. I have some attractive boxes upstairs, which I’ve bought for our daughter & for each grandchild. I’ll deliver those once I delve into that sentimental stuff. I know better than to go up there now b/c I’d get sidetracked. I also have a memory box for myself up there. I’m actually starting to realize that I have the occasional drawer or shelf that’s EMPTY! I still have miles to go, but I’ve made progress. Thank you!
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 occasionally have an empty shelf or drawer! Yay! Well done. Enjoy the open space! It’s okay to stare at it for a moment and smile inside. Ahhhhh…
@@user-hi8rg7bl2s Yes, I know what you mean. I often “sneak up” on newly decluttering/organized spots, like a drawer, just to savor my work! I also write things I’ve already done on a list, just so I can cross them off. Just a little cuckoo over here. :)
I've been using your method this week preparing room for our new baby. Having to take things all over the house while 40 and pregnant has been exhausting, but its nice that when I've had too much I can stop and my space is cleaner. I also dont have that keep box hanging over my head of something else to get done.
I love this! It is so amazing how it's actually helpful EVEN when you're so exhausted. Congratulations on the new baby!!!
When I first picked up your book “Decluttering At The Speed Of Life”, I had no idea the change it would bring in my life and home. My first “AHA” moment was establishing a home for every item I touched and then taking it there NOW! What a game-changer for me! It made everything fall into place and definitely changed how I decluttered from that point on. While watching this video, I remember going through box after box of stuff…all my prior “keep” boxes that were never given a final sort because I would be too exhausted from decluttering to sort through the final box. I cannot wait for your next book to come out and have another “AHA” moment as I still have so much to learning! Thank you Dana!!
Putting things where they go RIGHT THEN is my favorite part of the process, after throwing away the trash. I feel like I'm actually making progress, and I LOVE no longer having the "it gets worse before it gets better" phenomenon!
Hello Mickie Happy New Year, how are you doing today?
In the past I was always the person sat in the middle of the floor with loads of various categories of stuff piled around me. Even on a good day, I’d still end up with a bag or box of “random, sort later” stuff. Most of that stuff has ended up in my craft room along with a lot of sentimental stuff and way too much craft stuff. I’ve been slowly working around my house and I’m leaving that room til last. For a long time I thought I needed more storage in that room, but you’ve taught me that I really just have too much stuff. I’m half excited and half terrified to start tackling it, but this time I’m determined to be ruthless and use the containers properly. No more “sort later” boxes! (Looking forward to the new book next week!)
I decluttered a box a couple of months ago that had been in our garage since we moved here. Before that, it was in our attic...since 1979!!! Other than a box of Crayons, it was mostly trash. I call those my 'Stash N Dash' boxes because whenever I had a mess and had to clean it up fast I would throw it all in a box, with the intention of dealing with it later. But I never did. Life keeps moving forward. It doesn't slow down and wait for us to clean up old, forgotten messes.
I just caught you on one of Dawn's videos & I loved when you mentioned "your" people not always being able to do as much decluttering in a day because of limited abilities. I have energy issues that makes it hard for me to declutter a large amount of stuff at one time (even if my mind thinks I can) so I had to check your channel out & I have subscribed & hit the bell for notifications because I love your style.
Preach it, girl! And keep preaching it! Your methods have been very helpful as I"m working at decluttering (at age 67). I still make mistakes, but your method reaslly resonates with me and how my brain works. And I haven't missed a single night of doing my dishes in about 3 months now. (Woke up at 1 a.m. to wash out a cup I'd left in the sink!) It really does make a difference, and I've got fewer dishes in my cupboards - so much easier!
Dana, have you noticed that your viewers not only love you, but are also quite funny? You are awesome!
I thought you might get a chuckle out of this dream (nightmare?) I had last night. I walked into my house and it was just as bad as (maybe even worse than) it was before I found your book and podcasts years ago. Piles of stuff everywhere. Overflowing closets. Cabinets that wouldn't close. BUT - I started tackling it using your methods. Pulling out trash that I could see without pulling everything out. Taking easy things to their home right away. (I was horrified to find every other room in the same state when I did take things there.) No keep boxes, even in my dreams. Lol.
Oh my word! I love this!! A nightmare but you solved the problem!
Thanks so much for considering those with chronic health issues that limit energy and mobility!
Just stumbled across your channel.. I started decluttering a kitchen cabinet yesterday where I tend to shove stuff because I don’t want to see it on the counter. Your question “ where would I look for this item if I needed it?” Is life changing for me! I was actually able to get through it fairly easy, where as before I would just shut it and put off the decision making for another day. You’ve inspired me to go through my paper piles, wish me luck! I hate paper so much, and tend to shove mail in a basket until it’s full, or we can’t find something and then I’m forced to go through it🤣
Teacher here. Every summer I would dread going through everything because frankly I needed a break, and my keep box necessary for my work just expanded every year. Now I know I don’t need it and can find what I need a lot easier and the mess (keep boxes) are also going away. Thank you so much. I love it!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Making progress, being able to stop and rest when I need to. Having a home for the things I do use helps so much. I have dissociative identity disorder - lots of inner people, so one of my people doesn't know what we have or where it is put, and so puchases another. After decluttering and doing the put it away now thing. Some of us are going to go through the apartment and do an inventory of what we own, and where it is located so the other alters can find them. This will help us with our finances too.
Absolutely love this! I get so sick of finding random miscellaneous boxes years later and having to deal with it!
I used to be the queen of keep boxes lol. Suggestion for people with physical limitations who can’t repeatedly go back & forth, a put away box works, as long as you pay attention to your energy levels and leave yourself enough energy to go put it all away once you come to a stopping point in the decluttering space. I’m disabled and live in a two story home that’s really too big for me, so it’s not practical to go back & forth and up & down stairs over and over, lowering my energy and increasing my pain faster.
That’s why the “sparks joy” question seems problematic to me - I don’t really need everything that I like. Very good point about not deferring decisions with a keep box.
First of all, I want to know what my German Shepherd is doing at your house??? I loved this video and your other procrasti-clutter video. Absolutely spot on description of how I was doing chores or decluttering. Thank you for your approach to not creating a bigger mess and contributing to the overwhelming task of simplifying my life and home!
Reid's comment at the end about the dogs made me laugh out loud!
Yes! The “Keep box(es)” always killed any supposed progress, bc life would happen and I would have to stop, and shove the pile and keep boxes aside. Later, I would look at the misc Keep boxes and go through them again, esp if it had been a while, bc I couldn’t remember what I was going to do with them. “Take it there now” is everything!
So glad I stumbled on your channel. Your method has transformed my house from - i can’t have people over - I need three weeks notice before guests arrive - I only need three days notice - to sure come over in an hour! Can’t tell you how freeing this is. Now I’m working towards 15 mins notice. Thank you so very much. PS I have the chronic energy limitations. - this absolutely works!!
Hello Vicki Happy New Year, how are you doing today?
This is sooooo good!!! I have 2 closets of "keep" that I haven't looked at since I moved 6 yrs ago! 2022 is my decluttering year and simplification year. All this stuff is emotionally and physically weighing me down! I pre-ordered your new 📖. Can't wait for Jan. 11th! Thank you for all you do and share! 🙂🤜🤛
That was me last summer. I had a big closet full of stuff that I didn't want to part with when we moved. In my defense some of it was decorating stuff and I just didn't know what I might like to keep since I hadn't decorated this house yet. Last summer I cleared it all out. There were boxes of clothing that I thought I couldn't get rid of and vases, figurines etc. etc. Old exercise VCR tapes and movies. Gone now!
I’m so glad you mentioned those of us that are limited energy. I’m older and just can stand long and just run out of energy very fast. I have trouble keeping up with the laundry so I’m trying to declutter my clothing. Still trying to work on my kitchen. I live in double wide mobile home so not a lot of storage. Really enjoy your videos.
I didn't want to listen to you on this, but because I've been watching you so long I stayed till the end. Thank Goodness! Procrastination Station is Right! Thank You!
I definitely have a procrastination station!! I decluttered & organized it’s my pregnancy 3 years ago and had a box of “don’t know where this goes right now, but I definitely want it!” And it still sits there, in the corner of my closet. Things are added to it here & there. Need to go through that!
Thank you, Dana for the printable.
TIP for the rest of us: The printable can be printed any size you want. I just printed it at 60% and am off to laminate it. I wanted it with color and did not want to use as much ink as letter size. I may also put it on a lanyard so I don't lay it down and forget where I put it.
Although full size for easy reading (and laminated or not) and some removable tacky putty to hold it up at eye level where one I am decluttering would also be good. Anything to keep it from being clutter while I declutter.
I'll use it until I memorize the method and keep it in the book for a bookmark (also where I would look for it).
Dana Thank you so much for your honesty. Picking up trash first always makes it better. And, I promise NO MORE Keep boxes. That's what's in my garage now. I will deal with them when it gets warmer, promise. Thanks for being real.
Why is everyone not saying this?!?! You’re are a brilliant woman! Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
(Side note, that sweatshirt makes your eyes pop! 😉)
So true. I have found that a keep box in decluttering turns into a “I’ll deal with that later” box and by later I mean 2 or 3 yrs later. If I’m keeping it, I’m taking the item to its home.
This is awesome! Thank you Dana… as someone who is: a) naturally an “all or nothing” person b) a perfectionist who is a master at procrastination 🤦🏻♀️ and c) someone who has ME/CFS (and so am now forced to embrace “little and often” instead of my natural tendency to do “all or nothing”), your way of decluttering is liberating! I’m trying to streamline my home so that it’s easier to manage, and this method really works… it stops me deferring decisions until “later” which is what I have done for years…. You, Cas and Dawn are all so inspiring and so so helpful - THANK YOU!! Xx
I agree with you, we don’t need boxes of random crap that we decided we needed to roam around our house!! Thank you!!!
Lately for me, defining the space has been the game changer!!
Also doing the dishes, sweeping the floor (I already 5min pickup)
But forcing myself to consistently put away laundry as much as I'm washing & wearing clothes. And being more ruthless about what stays in the space I have.
I can’t concentrate on what your saying with your adorable doggies wandering around behind you! 🥰🥰🥰
Hey from Maine! Last month, my husband pulled down an extra bin when he was getting Christmas decorations and I realized it was a keep big from 12 years and 2 moves ago! Thanks to your videos, I was ready to tackle it.
Wow this is my first time hearing this & you’ve blown my mind in a good way. As someone with autoimmune diseases & other chronic health issues running out of energy “spoons” before completing the decluttering of a room is a real issue for me.
Yep putting stuff away straight away as you declutter might seem like wasting my energy but I really love the idea that when I have to stop there’s no keep box hanging around looking like worse clutter than I started with! I don’t care if it takes longer to complete if I don’t create new mess
Reid’s credits always crack me up! Thank you for this video. It’s great advice and makes so much sense. I continue to uncover keep bags, boxes, and boxes in boxes 🙈 as I’m decluttering my home. Can’t wait to get through them all!
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Your ability to communicate is nothing short of REMARKABLE. Thank youuuuu!!! 🥰
Dana, you always make SO much sense! (I also love your four-leggeds walking by in the background.) Thanks for the encouragement. :)
Tell your son I thoroughly enjoy his closing credits. He has your sense of humor, Dana!
Hello Sandra Happy New Year, how are you doing today?
Soooo close to your book launch! So excited for you and for all the extra videos! What a beautiful room! Yeah I was all smug til I realized I have a keep closet ( one shelf is maybes one is keep I didn’t want to make decisions on).....I think you call that procrasticlutter...... it as together as I think over here! Your personality makes these videos so so fun to declutter to and rewatch! Starting to think our big Canadian basements are not good for me. Thank you Dana!
I call them gorp boxes and am working through years of them. I often wonder why I kept the things that are in there. Any way, I love the progress I make when I think about how better is good! Often it's good enough! Thanks Dana!
Life. Changing. I tried your method, and lo and behold, I made progress and only progress!!! No keep box this time. I have a garage full of 20 years worth of keep boxes! No more! I'll now tackle them this way.
Dang it! I wish I'd met you sooner. But, I grateful that I finally did.
I try to avoid forced decisions when I'm decluttering with my mom. She hates making decisions and tends to be agressive towards the source of pressing, e.g. me. I don't want to spend half an hour over some piece of junk, argue, cry, get tired, wrap it up somehow and sulk for a month. My role in mom's decluttering journey is the support (and workforce), and moreover, the promotion of decluttering itself. It's not hard, it doesn't hurt, you'll feel satisfied and won't afraid of further ones. So if she cannot decide, I'll skip it. Maybe next time she'll be ready.
This was one of your most clearly expressed and organised videos - Kudos to you and to Reid’s editing skills! :) I’m so enjoying your RUclips ‘partnership’.
Keep box = procrastination station. Totally true! I love this concept and I will try it out. I have multiple boxes stored away from years ago and they are so overwhelming - because I know they are full of things I don't know what to do with.
Lol the credits at the end added the extra humor to the message. I love the pups! We all know that the only time to have a keep box is for the cats to make as their temporary favorite place to sleep... for three weeks and then it is even discarded by them.
so glad to see this, I found a box from my desk, when we moved to this house in 1995.
Something similar happened to me. I moved to my current home in 2007 and a few years ago found a box with bank statements from the 90s. Don’t know how it made it here much less stayed over 10 years after that.
Hello Lori Happy New Year, how are you doing today?
Better is Good - this helps me a lot!! I say it often
Bravo! This is the way my mom taught me to clean, and I'm 60. Never leave a room without picking up anything that doesn't belong there, and take it to it's spot right now, on your way to wherever you got up to go. The old saying is really true, "A place for everything, and everything in its place." If you can't decide on where it needs to live, then you probably don't need it, and maybe don't even really want it. I'm happy to have run across your video! Thank you, and have a blessed day.
Hello Debbie Happy New Year, how are you doing today?
Lol. Totally watched a sorting my closet that had matching laundry baskets for both keep bin and a donate box. I was so wanting to tell her this is not how you do it. Also watched her forget which was which and misplace items meaning after the video she was going to have to resort everything a second time. Who has time for that.
Lol…have to watch this one again! I was so entertained by the dogs that I forgot to listen 😃 thanks for keeping it real!
Good reminder video. I used to call my keep box my “decide later” pile. Isn’t that clever. I can tell your editor is pushing you to push your book. I agree!!! Your books have absolutely changed my life. I could probably go through the entire process by memory. But I need the reminders!! There’s a special place in Heaven for you Dana. ❤️
My garage is full of keep boxes 🥺 we were going to move a few years ago. I’ve been doing 5 minutes a day. To tackle this mess.
I pre-ordered your book the first time that you announced it!! I love the bonus flow chart! I printed it out 3 times and laminated them. Then I mailed two of them to my friends in different parts of the country. This is very valuable information. One of my friends actually decluttered her dining room table and sent me a picture of it!! She was so happy! Thank you for helping us!! Can't wait until Tuesday!! 💕🌴😎
Oh I love that!!!
Hello Lillian Happy New Year, how are you doing today?
I can't thank you enough for this piece of advice, I am still working on years of keep boxes from before I found you, but I am still making forward progress even if very slowly. And as someone with multiple chronic illnesses, I definitely agree that this way is so much simpler and less stressful on my body because some days 5 minutes of work is challenging, but even 5 minutes can show progress this way.
I have made more progress with the no mess method than I ever had doing anything else. I have a small container for each of my kids things I want to keep, but because of this way of doing things, I have been able to let go of some sentimental things that were not helping me by staying. I used to think that I had to keep things that reminded me of a person or event, but those things can also held me back. I can still remember my loved ones without keeping a lot of stuff. I didn’t realize that until you came along. My depression is lifting after most of a lifetime of it and I feel more productive. Thank you to God and to you for doing what you do.
Your decluttering strategy is life-saving! Thank you so much for sharing your method 🙏❤
I soooo needed to hear this. I have a garage full of keep boxes. I want everything too! I’m going to declutter with no keep box from now on. I’m kind of excited!
I love that you understand and considered people with chronic health conditions and low in energy or limited physical strength I really appreciate you doing that
I'm mobility-challenged and have difficulty lifting/carrying things with any substantial weight. I have foldable baskets with handles that I've put a photo of each family member on, and they sit in a foldable nylon sided utility cart that I put either in the hall or in the room where I'm decluttering. If I come across something that belongs to someone else or in one of their spaces, I put that item in the basket with their photo on it. When I'm done, I wheel the cart to the bottom of the stairs and each person grabs the basket with their photo to take care of. I put my own on my chair lift and send it upstairs so I can retrieve it easily.
When done, the baskets get folded up and put back with the cart, the cart is folded up and stored for use in the next room I tackle. It is a little extra work at times, but it really helps get others involved with keeping spaces clear and helps conserve my own spoons. 💗
Katrina here on my husband's tablet he prefers my iPad.
I'm easily distracted today 🙄
Love the dogs wandering around in the declutted background .
Told you I'm distracted today. 🤣🤣🤣🤣.
Focus Katrina ,now up of the lounge to get car load 8 of donations out of my house.
Love your outlook on the process.
EXCELLENT term, 'procrastination-station' for a keep box ... makes SO Much Sense !! thanking you for ''progress'' on my journey :)
Sometimes I physically can't take everything where it goes right away (I just shove it back where it was honestly lol) BUT now I've actually looked at what was in there so later I can say "Ok, I've got to walk out to the garage to get the laundry so let me grab those things from the closet that go out there."
I put it in my laundry basket & that way I have to put it away to get my laundry.
I actually go thru boxes / spaces while I'm resting a lot & then when I can start moving again I have a game plan :)
My keep box turned into many keep boxes into all of them in a room I’m embarrassed about lol. Your videos have helped me SO MUCH! It’s helping me to stop going through things over and over and making so many decisions. Thank you!
Hey Dana you're great. I like your process. Less is good
Not having a keep box is so important!
I have a room full of keep boxes/bags from previous decluttering attempts 😱
All they did was open the way to bring more stuff into the house as I had space in my living areas without having had to contend with the decision making.
Now I'm going through my living spaces without one and finally making progress, and more importantly, making final decisions. Once in a while I pull out a box/bag out of that doom room and go through it.
It will take me a while but I know I'll get it out instead of just moving it around!
Hello Sylvie Happy New Year, how are you doing today?
This is such a valuable way of decluttering. I’ve tried to declutter for years, but never had time to make the big mess & clean it up. I’d take a day to do a room, and by the time I had a whole day to do another room the 1st was back where it was.
Last January I heard this method for the 1st time and decided to try it. Then life got even more time consuming as my MIL took a turn for the worse and I was spending any time not at work at her house as part of her care team as she started to journey to the end. During those 3 months I made more progress on decluttering my house then I’d made in the 20 years prior- progress that’s stuck. Still have work to do - but that’s life. My house is still in a way better place then it was. Thank you
0:55 I love the nonchalant cameo of your fur baby!
Best method ever! Totally on board! This is genius! Thanks so so much!!! :D
I. Have always loved this way. Put it away and forget about it!
Thank you for reminding me about this. It was a lifesaver when the kids were home.
Our feet (to take out there right now) ARE the 'keep box'! It is a one for one comparison! I appreciate this so much because it gets me to finished right NOW, no procrastination stations 🙅🚫
You have really helped me learn how to declutter and in a logical way. Thank you ❤
Dana's advice has helped me more than anyone else's.
Hello Linda Happy New Year, how are you doing today?
GOLD, GOLD, GOLD!!!! That's what this video is for me. I have heard you many times before, but this just drives the point home like nothing else. The most valuable info... thank you sooo very much for all you do🙏🙏🥰
YOU have made a big difference in my decluttering ability over the years! I appreciate it!!! Thank you! Thank you!!! And I agree, I love everything! So, keep boxes end up being stuff shuffled!!!! Everything sparks my joy! But when compared to other items, using the container principal, it's easier to not love it quite as much as another item. I recently decluttered my craft/home decor storage room. It's supposed to be a functioning craft room, but I'm finding it's going to just end up being a storage room unless I make some tough decisions!!! So this video is helping me realize that I need to keep going further. My Mom died FOUR years ago, and I've been living with NINETEEN med/large bins lining my hallway. They are full of photos and memories (and her Mom's and Great Aunts and even ancestors), her everyday journals (kept for decades and decades) and the slides she took of her travels and her art (decades worth). I could NOT deal with these bins. I finally decided to put the journals and slides in my attic. I just can't deal with them right now. Maybe when I'm retired. Luckily there is PLENTY of room up there. But the photos I put into my craft room. I'm SO HAPPY and even my kids are SO HAPPY to have my hallway back. It's HUGE!!! But I still have to deal with the photos. My sister bought me 10 legacy boxes. So, I plan to start making digital copies of them, since it's fallen on me to be the memory keeper for the family. My question for you is: What happens to the physical pictures once I make digital copies? I know a lot of them are duplicates. Not all though! I can't keep TEN or so bins of pictures forever?! And I probably will never make albums. Any advice?
If you are going digital, I suggest keeping it in at least 2 spots. I know that doesn't sound minimal! But my mom and my uncle are in the process of going thru 100yrs of family photos. This is multi year long term project as they live in 2 different states. With in 6months of each other, both their hard drives crashed and they lost 2yrs worth of work. It would have been more, but my uncle had been in the process of transferring most of it to an external hard drive, so he had the 1st few years backed up already. The cloud does not remove the need for backup. I lost 3yrs of my son's childhood photos, bc the server I was using decided that it has been to long since I logged in and deleted all my files. All that said, once you digitize your photos, ask family if they want any? Then see if there is a historical group that would want any of the older ones. After that, it's probably ok to let go of them. I prefer to burn old photos, but many people just put them in the trash.
I put a copy of all our digital photos onto a hard drive and add it to our safety deposit box. I update them every year, adding the new ones.
I have had a Keep Box since public school. Every time I go to it, which is about every 5yrs, I remove more and more. The box is replaced with a smaller one each time. Funny, this morning I was in it again and ironically watched your video this evening. Wow! I know exactly what I am doing tomorrow. Get the trash bag, I am motivated :)
This makes so much sense. It is helping me make progress. In the past, I hated decluttering because I had all that stuff I didn't know what to do with.
Yes yes yes... I want everything! I dragged stuff over 2countries for years and then it became so overwhelming I had to get rid of stuff. 😱
Hello Nina Happy New Year, how are you doing today?
Your books and videos have clearly changed my mindset. I don't even think about a "keep" box anymore.
Yes agree except for two exceptions. People with fatigue issues as it's tiring to take everything to its place immediately so sometimes a keep box will help with preserving energy. Also for things that need returning to others rather than donating or binning.