Free at last ... from the decluttering roller coaster

Over the years (now decades), I’ve repeated a cycle of decluttering and organizing.  Seriously ... decades of doing those two things over and over. As if I were just treading water. In fact before she passed, my sweet friend Diana and I had that very same discussion. She mentioned that her family and friends would chuckle when she mentioned she was decluttering and a few even commented that she’d been decluttering for many many years.

Like many of you all, I’ve read tons of books and tried countless organizing tools and gadgets.  I love to organize.  I even love homekeeping - cleaning is something that I enjoy as well.

But when it came to decluttering I always thought the answer was to find just the right organizing tool.

It wasn’t until I read this book (actually I listened to the audio book ... twice) that I realized I had the wrong mindset.  I didn’t need to be looking for better and neater ways to organize the many items I chose to keep ...  I needed to look at them entirely differently. I didn't need to hold each item to determine which feelings they evoked.  In fact, many times emotions weren't even a part of the decision-making process. 

I didn’t need more or better storage containers and bins after all.

In a nutshell, one eye opening aspect of Dana's method is the Container Concept - in it she explains that every space in our home (and even our homes as a whole) can be seen as containers. For example, a shelf can be seen as a container in that there’s a LIMIT to the number of items it is able to comfortably hold.  So rather than search for gadgets that allow me to store even more items on the shelf, she suggests acknowledging that, if comfortably filled, that is its limit.  I determine the number of shelves I dedicate to a particular item, all dependent upon my clutter threshold - mine is very low.  Regardless, our homes only hold so much stuff and by using the processes Dana shares, we're left with items we love, comfortably stored in the spaces our home naturally provides - no need to rush out to buy additional bookcases, wall shelving, clothes rods, storage bins, etc.

For someone like me who loves the creative challenge of finding ways to  neatly store more, this was life changing.  It gave me a total set limit and released me from the exhausting and stressful task of searching to store more in that area.

I realize I’m making this sound overly simplistic ... Dana describes it much better in the book (and gives detail on her simple two question process to determine which items to keep and donate/toss), but I wanted to share in the event that you, like Diana and I, have been spinning your wheels for years or even decades as well, and you’d like to look at things in a whole new way. It may release you, too, from the roller coaster and give you peace and new insight - and the ability to live in your home in the present!

You can find her book wherever books are sold.  And she's also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest and also has a blog, A Slob Comes Clean.  Be sure to sign up for her free newsletter.

If you do check her out or read or listen to her book, please let me know how you like it.