What made the most difference for me was to stop shopping. Period. Unless something runs out or breaks, I don't impulse buy it anymore. Also, putting all the like items together gave me a sobering experience of how much stuff I had in different areas of my house. Put all your makeup together in one place, by category and think realistically how many years it'll take you to use up what you have. After some internal crying, I gave away lots of still good products, forgave myself for wasting hundreds of dollars if not thousands, and STOPPED SHOPPING

Thanks for giving Dana the credit she deserves for these ideas.

"It's just stuff. It doesn't have feelings." I LOVE that!!

When I first heard her comment about limiting your stuff to the containers, not expanding your Containers to accommodate the stuff was a real game changer for me! That was 5 years ago, and my house is definitely calmer and less clutter. ❤

I admit, I do like to toss stuff in a laundry basket when I’m declutterring. I do it because I can fill it with random stuff, then take it somewhere comfortable and sort through it. I know it (the laundry basket) is a quantity I can tackle in one sitting, which helpful because I otherwise feel paralyzed and avoid the job entirely. Small bites.

Oh, and one more thing that I learned through personal experience, is that you need to remove the decluttered items immediately from your home, or else they have a tendency to magically end up back in your closet

If I look for something and it’s not in the first place I look, I remember that spot and continue to look for it until I find it. Then when I’m done using it, I return it to the first place I looked and say to myself, “This is where you will be when I come back to you.” It works…most of the time ☺️

Dana is my absolute favorite of all the declutter gurus. Her words stick with me like glue, and the Container Concept is LIFE CHANGING.

This was great! Thank you! 😃 My summary: - “Less and better” are more effective goals than “finished and done.” - Start with a highly visible area (vs. a closet) so you get encouragement every time you walk by it and see progress. : - ) - Stop stuff shuffling. (Instead get things out of the house, or assign a home for them.) - Ask, “Where would I look for this first?” and put it there. If you wouldn’t look for it, let it go. - Pull only one item out at a time and complete the cycle-if trash, throw away; if it has a home, take it there immediately (or assign one---it doesn’t have to be perfect). (Prevents having a huge pile to put away at the end when you're out of time or already burned out.) - Start by removing trash. It makes a difference instantly and provides encouragement. : - ) - Once you’ve decluttered your bathroom completely, put things away every day to prevent chaos returning. ; - ) - Use decluttering supplies that help you: an opaque trash bag so you (and others) don’t second-guess decisions; a donatable donation box or bag so you don’t have to handle things again. - If you can’t reach bottom/back of washing machine, use salad tongs to grab items. - Use the container concept to determine maximum inventory (applies to drawers, closets, and whole house). If something doesn’t fit, use the one-in, one-out principle. ❤❤

Anyone else see some of the holiday movies through new eyes when you see the extensive shopping, gift giving and expectations, and high inventory decorations that must take up a room the rest of the year when stored? I have scaled way down on decor and have gone to giving (and getting)nearly all consumable gifts. Still festive, but much less waste, clutter, storage needed, money spent, and stress of figuring out what to give. So much simpler, and prevents clutter before it gets in your house.

Dana K White and you and Dawn from minimal mom and Cass from clutterbug are all fantastic and inspirational. It makes me so happy when you ladies support each other and introduce people to each other. You're fighting against clutter together.

Dana’s tip on giving everything in your house a home was my “AHA” moment. In the process of going through my first decluttering process, I found so many duplicates of too many items. I also like her decluttering without making a bigger mess process. I know I have reduced my household items by 50%.

It took me until I turned 64 to figure out that happiness is a choice, and buying things does nothing for my happiness, never has and never will. Now, as you say, if you run out and you need it, buy it. If it breaks and you can't fix it, then consider replacing it. After all, we do not sit back in a idle moment and think about the things we have BOUGHT. We do sit back and think about the things we have done, places we have gone, and people we have known, and we can do that until the moment we die. Material things don't satisfy in the long run and are easily forgotten.

Cleaned my garage one day, took everything out and put it in groups of what each item was for (auto, lawn, trash, etc.) took me 6 hours but was totally worth it, now the garage is organized and I can park the car in there.

Love Dana K White. Her tips are so helpful. Kudos to you for mentioning her and her strategies. Your pupper on the bed snoozing is adorable.

Love Dana K White! And she has a great sense of humor too.

I LOVE Dana K White! Cass from Clutterbug and Dawn from The Minimal Mom are great as well!

I watched something that said, "Throw those old birthday cards away!!!" And it changed my life 😂😂😂 I had hundreds and hundreds of cards because I was so deeply appreciative when someone gave me a card, I couldn't bare to part with it... But now, I realise it's important to hold to the memory, not the physical thing. Remember their kindness, take in the moment. But let the card go, baby 😂😂😂

Yes! Clutter shuffling! I have shuffled clutter for decades!

My best friend needed his very cluttered office cleaned quickly as he was starting a new job, wfh, telehealth, a few days after Thanksgiving. The first thing we did was get rid of the actual trash. Between papers and thingamabobs just laying all over, that step alone made a huge difference.

Hi Candice, I'm so glad for you that you found Dana! She was the one who got me into decluttering at 68, for the first time in my life! Be blessed mxxx

I agree with the black bag concept but if you don't have any, use what you have and immediately put it in the trunk of your car. Put a sticky note on the dash to remind you to either donate or dump. My daughter-in-law had albums specifically for each child. During the year their artwork would go in a box. At the end of the year, she and a child would go through their box and choose what went in the album. All the rest would be tossed.

Dana K. White is so helpful. I agree with you about pulling everything out being so overwhelming. I started with my bedroom closet, and pulled everything out. Wasn’t sure if I could get it finished before I needed to fix dinner! lol. I am glad I found others who had different ways of declutterring! I enjoy your videos so much! Thank you for being so inspirational!

Before the school year I take all of daughter's clothes out of her closet, separate them into jeans, pants, skirts, shorts..... Then I do the same thing with all of her shirts, sweaters, and other tops. I match them up into outfits, and if something doesn't have a mate to it, that's what we shop for. I do the same thing with my son's clothing. I save tons on buying totally new, and all these other clothes are still in fantastic shape.

Love your videos! I discovered Dana K White about 3 years ago and still use her methods today. Her container ‘rule’ is what has kept me from returning to my old ways.

I scanned my son’s artwork and made 2 mini books from them. Pre-l and elementary. It made great xmas gifts for gmas and then afterwards, I threw everything out. No more paper!

The perfectionism of decluttering makes the whole “minimalist lifestyle” so overwhelming for me. I’m adhd and literally, can’t do it. This is also my own fault I know, I can’t expect to declutter, clean, and organize all at once but that’s forever what my brain wants to do. So I get stuck, like I’ll start my dishes, and then look at my stove like oh that needs to be cleaned, now I’m cleaning my stove and my dishes are half done and I’m getting rid of things slowly, but I’m a clutter shuffler too. I don’t know why it’s not more encouraged to do it with a friend. Mirroring is a very common help to people. Grab a friend, grab your husbands, boyfriends, whatever. Have them help. It’s not ALL on the woman/mother of the household.

I distinctly remember my dad going into to my sisters shared room early one morning and telling them that he would be home at 6:00pm. As soon as he changed out of uniform he would be in here with big garbage bags from the messhall and ANYTHING left on the floor or under the beds or shoved in a closet or not put away WHERE IT BELONGS would go into the bags, back to the base and into the big trash bins where it would go away forever!! And then he left for work and the frenzy began!! That was a fun day for my nine year old self!! My room was spotless!!

I have just listened to her book "decluttering at the speed of life" twice, back to back and it has literally blown me away how motivating I found it and How much I got done while listening. The container concept is fantastic. I'm in the season of life now that means for our family this method is very effective!

I used to have an all or nothing attitude about cleaning and decluttering. If I didn’t have a full day to clean the whole room top to bottom, I didn’t even want to start it. I used to do stuff shifting, thinking all I needed to get more organized was to get more totes.

Stuff shifting!!😳😬YEP. 41 years of marriage and I have become a master at fooling myself into thinking I have decluttered by simply repackaging my things (getting rid of maybe one to every ten items, maybe) and putting them into a less used space or closet so that my most used are better utilized. I have adult kids that move back home with their things in tow and I inherit an abundance of extra everything! I am currently dealing with this very issue! I am going to be ruthless with some areas this month!! Taking notes on your video to keep me inspired!!

Thank you for such a clear and concise summary of Dana's major decluttering and organizing suggestions. I discovered her by chance about 10 months ago and have never looked back as there was finally a method to improving my environment that I could actually connect with. As someone to whom everything individually sparked joy, who could never get past the 'empty the entire drawer/closet,/room portion that most organizers begin with, and who would lose energy, interest and motivation long before getting through the organize & replace portion of the process... she was a breath of fresh air. Not only do I now get some otherwise studiously avoided exercise when immediately taking things to where they belong, but being able to stop at any point (even after dealing with a single item) and know you have actually slightly improved your home is a major motivator. Recognizing the logic of her container theory was embarrassingly obvious but so easy a concept to understand and apply. I am not a declutter by nature (and not sure that I want to be) but I am an organizer and have made huge inroads in controlling my belongings as they gradually diminish by attrition. Although her videos give terrific advice, she does have a definite style, so to have access to her books and your presentation of her tips makes for a fantastic option to supplement her own videos.

Living in Trinidad without dryer and diswasher Dana is the best in all the decluttering annd home management gurus. The easiest most sensible strategies that Anyone can do in anytime. Life changing

Only clothes I took out of my closet and moved to a different closet are some pieces that don't fit me anymore, but I decided that if they still don't fit in a year then I'll donate them.

Candice, I love Dana K White and you explained her decluttering tips so well, in this video. Her systems work, especially for those who are totally overwhelmed. You knocked it out of the park with this video! Her Container Concept is pure gold!!!! Great video!

Great tips. I especially agree about decluttering gradually, rather than all in one day. I’ve forgotten how many times I’ve started to declutter a room, got bored & overwhelmed & put the whole lot back where they were. By the way, your dog is so cute.

One of the most helpful things I started doing was putting an empty box in a corner of my house. And whenever I came across an object that I wanted to donate to Goodwill, it went in that box. When the box is full, I take it to Goodwill. And put another box in the corner. It has worked so well it's amazing. And I make a rule that I never take anything back out of that box. I never look at the object again. I highly recommend this technique.

I admit I was kind of distracted by your adorable patient puppy who is trying to nap behind you! I imagine he's thinking 'Mom, don't you have another room in the house you can do this from?!' 😂🧡

Another great video ❤ having decluttered loads of my stuff, I do 'sweeps ' now of small areas . It's a process. My home is still nice and cosy despite letting go of so much. My books are the hardest and I've kept my favourite ones I re-read. Xx

Oh I jus forgot that i came for decluttering tips ... Your puppy is soo cute & sleeping peacefully that it took all my attention.

I just spent another 2 hours discarding photos. Omg. I have a lot to go but it must be done. Why did I take a photo of every single scrimmage, huddle, backs of heads etc of my sons??? Well, lots are going for shredding. Prob have 20 pound to take from this session alone.

Love Dana K White! She's genius. I have laundry tongs & use the container concept now. Keep chipping away it. It's way too overwhelming to tackle all at once.

I don't remember which organizer influencer said this. But it changed my life..." progress over perfection". I repeat this daily to myself and it helps so much

I love that you spent 5 minutes a day on your closet. It is my last frontier. I've decluttered my house, but not my clothes. This will get me through it. Your puppy on the bed is so cute!!!!! Make sure you hug him every day.

I also love Dana K. White! Her other book "Decluttering At the Speed of Life" is also a helpful resource. Because of her, my donations go into brown large grocery store bags - no need to do a second look thru and transfer before donating. Great video! Always rooting for you!!!! Dana (another onel) Charlotte, NC

Trash tossing and the container principle is the best day-to-day tips :)

I LOVE DANA!!!! I repeat her "Better is BETTER!!!" and "Take it there NOW!" ALL THE TIME! Also, because of her I got rid of the Chair of Doom in my bedroom and I've never looked back! She's AWESOME 🥰

Your puppy dog is just adorable!

Dana is AMAZING!

Amazon Addict here: What finally did it for me was: Watching my bank balance go up during the months when I put myself on a spending diet. Asking myself: If I were at the store today, would I buy this again? If not - it could go. Realizing how many people had nothing and could actually put my stuff to use. This really helped in decluttering my kitchen. Realizing the I had wasted the money when I bought it, not when I gave it away.

Danas book decluttering at the speed of life was amazing for me, it got into my head that you dont have to do it all at once.

I saw one of Dana K. White's videos a couple of days ago and was blown away by how simple her 5 steps to decluttering are. I nevee had a clue...never been taught this wisdom of decluttering. My family are mostly hoarders, so I apparently inherited this hoarder gene from birth. But, no more. I am putting Dana's 5 rules to use this weekend after a funeral and doctor appointments are done.

Oh my word! Tongs to get stuff out of the washer. I was worried about getting a top loader, and my sister leaves stuff until her husband gets home. Now we can finish our laundry!

Great video. Just decluttered my hall closet. Been wanting to do for a while. Took emotions out. Got rid of lot of stuff. Actually found hand held shark vacuum forgot I had. So happy. Great find to vacuum out my vents.🕺💃😄

Highly recommend listening to Dana K. White's books. They are amazing and so relatable! ❤😊

Oh my gosh! Candice! I cannot believe I stumbled upon your video!! I searched for decluttering and organizing videos and found you. Again! I watched you back in the days of yore when you did make up reviews and things like that. I still watch makeup videos, but I’m in a decluttering and organizing season of life- thus I find you again! My husband and I are empty nesters now, we downsized / upgraded to a condo up the street from where we raised our kids. Less space feels refreshing. (We’ve been here 3 years this July) and we are still learning our space and how we organize is ever changing. Nice to see you and very happy to subscribe to this channel. 🥰🤩

I always try to keep at least a couple of boxes in my house. I find that if I don’t have a box to put yard sale or donation items in, I use that as a reason not to declutter. Now I keep at least one box set aside so that as soon as I realize that I don’t want something, I deal with it right then by putting it in the box.

I’ve been decluttering for years and I still have too much stuff 😭😂 1800 sq feet to 300 sq ft was way harder than I was prepared for. The best thing I’ve heard recently was “ you will never will the game of Tetris with your stuff , just let it go “

I love Dana and have been learning from her for years. She is awesome! My house is like night & day - and I’ve been able to help my Mom declutter a couple rooms!

I started with hidden spaces too because it was eating my brain. I was encouraged every time I opened those spaces to use items and to put them away - because those spaces made life easier 😊

I truly enjoyed this video!! Thanks so much for sharing these tips!!!

I love her container concept. I’ve been trying to use that a lot when I’m decluttering.

Love this! Your learned lessons from Dana are motivating! 🩷

I love your dog asleep on the bed!! Love the video I really needed this!

Thank you for the tips! Also, your puppy is adorable all curled up and cozy!

We waste soooo much money on stuff we don’t need. If I could go back to my younger self as much as I loved decorating my homes I’d keep it as simple as possible and I’d find other things to do to quench my creativity. ❤️

One at a time! What a relief!!💕

I like to limit my stuff from the kids to file folders in the 4 drawer file cabinet. We had 4 grandchildren who moved in with us when their parents divorced. Mom was truly busy and had a hard time keeping track of her own stuff. So Granma did. When each of them graduated from high school and was preparing for their open house, I gave them their folders and they could pick and choose anything they wanted to display. None of it could come back to Granma's file cabinet however. They had to absorb the stuff into their own keepsake stuff. Most of it went into file 13, I believe, but was fun to reminisce about this and that when they were getting ready to say goodby to 13 years in the same school. (small country school with the same kids k thru 12)

Such a great video I am killing the Declutter game. Thanks to you.😊❤

Thank you for this video, very helpful. Your fur baby is absolutely precious.

I’m glad I found this video. I was just getting ready to clean out my closet and you gave me some more tips and more inspiration. Thank you.

Thank you for explaining Dana’s process thoroughly and concisely. Love this video.

Thank you for sharing! Love your dog!

My big shocker moment was the "start where you just finished...go BACK and spiff up what you just did last time!" I think, in my head, it was "done" and so time to move on! But life happens, and the beautiful spot I had made was all messy again. I would get so discouraged. But putting that into the plan..keep Spot 1 tidy with a 5 minute pick-up before moving on to Spot 2...that was a game changer for me! (Seemed like a no brainer, but I needed someone to tell me.)

Yes! I love Dana K. White!!! She has really helped me.

You give me hope, thanks. I will immediately declutter some space in my house. One thing at a time. It's good enough. I really love listening to you. A new video so soon, that was a nice ❤surprise. I think you are both brave and generous for sharing your experiences with us, again and again. I admire you.

Great job in describing Dana's process and the benefit of doing it that way. 🎉

Like that term clutter blind.. love love love Dana!🌲😘🌲

Great tips! I try to remind myself that anything worth doing is worth doing partially/imperfectly

Great job! DKW is my hero! I hate having piles of things to deal with after all the work of decluttering a space!

Your dog made this video ❤ so cute

I love it when I see videos of ladies supporting each other. I enjoy your videos and also love all the ladies out there trying to help us with decluttering our homes. Thank you all.❤

I'm a huge fan of Dana's. Her method makes sense, and, it works!

I love Dana so much. I worked on an area that i used most often even though it wasn't all visible. I needed my dish cupboards decluttered more than my entryway because it made it easier to do dishes

Dana is absolutely fabulous!! She’s also so compassionate and relatable.

Old letters - I read them for the first time in years (like many, many years), then put them in bundles & packaged & posted them back to the people who sent them & they had a wonderful trip down memory lane & can now do with them whatever they like. Most, unlike me, couldn't believe I had kept them all these years! 💒

🙏💖🙏 Thank you so much! Definitely the guilt and emotions been getting in the way. Glad to know I’m not alone and we can change the way we think and forgive ourselves 🙏😌💫💗

This is so good! Thank you! Being a military spouse and moving to often, I have become a relocation professional. 23 years of moving and dealing with health issues, I have ended up with so much stuff! I’m so good at just packing stuff up and setting it aside to sort through another day.

Dana is The BEST. She has changed my life with all the tips (and more) that you talked about it.

“ Less and better!” I have just started embracing this concept and it removes the anxiety! Left foot, right foot, one step at a time

Thank you for sharing this. I love Dana's methods for decluttering. I follow her and listen to her books on audible. She is amazing and has helped me in so many ways ❤

Love your videos & tips!❤

Great job 🎉

This was an awesome review of Dana's tips. Thanks!

Great video!

Amen ! And All of Your Videos have been So Valuable also just like Danas. !!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

I bought some nice wooden hangers. And I only allow myself to have enough shirts, etc. that fit on the hangers. That's a really good way to limit how many items of clothing you own. I have one curio cabinet and one corner shelf and that's where knickknacks go. Again self-limiting. So I have had to get rid of things that don't fit into those spaces

That pup on the bed ❤

❤❤ Dana k white and take your house back course has changed my life

Dana K White loyalist here! Glad to see another coming into the "light" :)