As someone who is organized and generally tidy, once you add kids and a husband to the mix its nearly impossible to keep up without just constantly coming around after everyone. I found Dawn and her fellow organizing/decluttering youtubers a year ago. The liberation of getting rid of all the extra things that creep in has been life changing. I actually have free time now with a 4 and 6 year old! Thank you!

We are finally very close to completion of the processing of finances and collections that my deceased husband had açcumulated over 70 years. It has taken three years, many phone calls and still not done. Please do not do that to your children. Bless them with minimalism. Get your things and finances in order. Especially, have the appropriate Will drawn up.

@lucystrider728

3 ай бұрын

Yes, and leave a list of accounts, policies, subscriptions, closedown info for online, property, insurance, titles, lockboxes, keys, and debts.

@ruthmanor70

3 ай бұрын

@@lucystrider728 And don't forget to write down the passwords to your online accounts (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) so they can be closed down.

@sj6728

2 ай бұрын

I now have a will inside of a trust. I live in a 11 x 12 bedroom. I have gone super minimal. I have garage stuff in a cupboard and a three tier metal shelf. I am going to declutter to just the Ikea cupboard. I also make the statement to people that I have a few things to declutter and they all say 'you have nothing to declutter'. I do still have items to get rid of. They are small items and paper items. When I go home I will leave so very little for my Family to go through. They should be done in 5 days or less. 😅😅😂😂. It feels so good to have less to take care of.

@sj6728

2 ай бұрын

PS. I have to type a page for my passwords so they can close accounts. I have them in a book but it has become a mess! 😂😂😅😅. I will include bank accounts. This is all in a safe. Hopefully this will help.

I think my parents hung on to stuff because they had so little when they were growing up. So many items went unused because they were saved for good. I use the good stuff, now. It makes me smile.

@HannahRainbow88

2 ай бұрын

Also ties in with post-war / depression era people saving *everything* , down to string and elastic bands!

Regarding the doll house: I heard someone say that if we go out and purchase those things our kids get excited about that they see at their friends homes, they’ll no longer be “special”. Instead we should let them have those special moments with their friends and enjoy their special toys.

Naomi Judd used to say community literally means, "come in unity". Yes, Mama Judd ❤

I got to use a statement from you, Dawn, to my husband. We’ve been “cleaning” outdoor spaces (many!). And as we are chucking things into a dump trailer, he comments this is such a waste. But I followed with “they have served their purpose and we no longer need them, that’s why they’re in storage and we’re not using them anymore” He was okay with that! Thank you so much for helping all of us deal with our excess!

@lucystrider728

3 ай бұрын

Yes, I say out loud the things Dawn and Dana in particular say in front of anyone near me that I think might benefit from having the reason made clear of why I am getting rid of something and why a potentially useful item might now be considered clutter. I am hoping they will apply it to their own stuff -which they complain about being crowded and disorganized but don'tseem to want direct help with. Yet, lol.

@crystalmerritt8779

Ай бұрын

The served it's purpose" is a great line. Gonna use that one!

Oh my gosh i wish i could have found minimal advice when our 3 sons were little - it was so challenging and i am so thankful i found y’all now when we are almost empty nesters !!!!!

One of the 5 Love Languages is “Gift giving”. For people with this love language, you can say I’d love the gift of your time. Or I’m giving you the gift of my weekend.

@Mrsmomof2kids1

2 ай бұрын

Do some research on the author of the book. The 5 love languages are a crock of bologna

I had so much fun decluttering. I miss it. I offer to help others. 😂😂😂😂

I really thought I was the problem, now I’ve decluttered it’s so much easier to keep on top of things. Thanks for sharing this conversation.

Dawn, Great video. Several things resonated with me in this video. I've wanted to declutter my sewing / craft room for 2 years, but because of some health issues & surgery, I wasn't able to. 5 1/2 wks ago, my Hubby offered to help if I wanted to get started on decluttering the room. I had 30+ yrs of stuff crammed in that tiny room. I was shocked at everything I had "fit" in there. It took 5 wks to mostly declutter the tiny 9 x 9 room so my Hubby could paint it & clean the carpet. Now that it is done, we will start organizing & putting things back in my room. I've gone through almost everything once, some twice & before we bring everback in, I'm going to go through it again. It's been a long process, but I'm excited that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm going to take a short break when that room is done & then I want to move to another room. Happy Resurrection weekend. 😊

@farmgirl4958

2 ай бұрын

I rid myself of all my craft and sewing supplies several years ago. I realized I was basically doing it because everyone else was doing it. Although I was really good at sewing, but with kids it just wasn’t something I still wanted to take the time to do. I realize that’s not everyone, but I finally recognized it in myself. I enjoyed doing it for a time, but my interests had changed and it was just a guilt trip seeing all the fabric and sewing supplies and scrapbooking supplies I had wasted money on. I donated them to friends that actually used them. I’ve never looked back and have no regrets. I love cooking, keeping my house tidy and organized (and decluttered:) and spending time with my family, friends and grandchildren. Just something to think about from someone who was there.

@kakylong2

2 ай бұрын

I totally get that. I make cards & love giving cards out. I give out over 500 a yr (300 are at Christmas). I loved quilting, too. If I was honest, I'd rather buy cards to give out & just quilt. I've got too many card materials to quit, so I've tried to tell myself I can't buy anything else. 😊

The tactic of not telling people what to keep and not to keep is fantastic. My fiancé tends to hoard everything and now that I have many cabinets, minimalized and clutter free he’ll want to keep something and I’m like well there’s just no room in all these spaces so you have to find a place to store that because there’s no room left in the house. I said you can always start containers out in your garage area And that’s been very helpful. Then he has to deal with the mess. Used to be when I would open a cabinet or a cupboard stuff would just avalanche out and I got so tired of it because that’s the area of the home that I have to be in charge of and I told him if you want me to do a great job, you have to let me set everything up that’s going to work for me. I also said if you want to take over all the things I do to run the home and then you can pack the cabinets and cupboards to however it’s gonna make your life easy then you can take over my tasks. He doesn’t want to do that. 😂

Thank you for acknowledging that there is a really tough part you go through once you start declutteirng but haven't decluttered enough, whatever that means to you. I am finally at a point where I can start to actually see and feel the benefits much more than i did before. For me its all about learning to let go sentimental items without excessive guilt/fear/shame. Thank you!

I'm 54 now, but my parents practiced some of your advice. We had beautiful lego, which was an expensive toy. It stayed in the garage for weeks, even months, and it was pulled out for certain periods of time, in which we could play with it all day. When we lost interest, we had to disassemble and the lego went into boxes in the garage again. This ment that our mom had a (lego)clutterfree livingroom most of the time, and we were always happy when lego time came back around. I have no kids of my own, but I notice I now do the same with my own hobbies like puzzles.

I wish I had this information when I was raising my children. I stepped on so many light brite pieces, legos etc. I would separate all the toys, put them back in the boxes and a day later they’d be everywhere again. It was constant chaos having so much stuff and I would do everything myself because I didn’t have the time to explain how it needed to be done. If I could have a do over I would definitely follow the advice from you ladies.

You are the best and have helped me tremendously. Thank you

Thank you for this episode! I'd like to add my perspective as a follower who might be a bit older than your typical demographic (52 years old with 2 kids in their 20s). A minimalist home for me, right now, with a full-time job, 2 dogs, and one young adult kid who still lives at home, keeping my home peaceful, orderly, warm and inviting is pretty easy. I remember the days with younger kids, it was harder even though I had minimalist tendencies back then! But I do want to share how I continue to benefit from minimalism in this season of my life. After the busyness of younger kids, I feel like my house just runs itself now. And I am happy knowing I won't burden my kids with extra stuff. So hold on! Get those wins now, keep simplifying and feel more in control of your busy life with your little ones. It's just going to keep getting better and better.

It helps so much to be reminded that others who also don't enjoy organizing have found things easier after decluttering. 💖 Believing things will actually get better is essential for my motivation! Early wins also definitely help. 😃

I was just thinking of how I'm going to have to clean tomorrow for people coming over on Easter. I am more minimal... so then i laughed. It will probably only take about an hour. I can't imagine my anxiety level if i had to deal with more inventory!

Dawn, I love you and you’ve made a huge difference in my life! ❤❤ one tiny little critique- I don’t know if it’s just my brain but the background music while the conversation is going on is so distracting to me that it’s really hard to listen. Thanks for all you do! My life is so much better after following your minimalist lifestyle.

@vickiclark5924

3 ай бұрын

She must have removed it as I don’t hear music! But I agree it can be super distracting on videos. She generally uses background music very appropriately (like during her class promo)

Favorite episode ❤

Love listening to you guys! Gotta tell you, getting rid of my stuff has felt great so far. So grateful for you. Lol , how funny you mentioned making jam. One of the things I just took to the thrift was an entire canning set up.

I’m INTJ and do love to organize but oh does excess inventory stress me out. I think a video of how each Myers Briggs approaches decluttering and how clutter affects them would be interesting.

You are So Understanding !

ENFP on Myers briggs. I moved into my parents house To take care of my father after my mother passed away And I'm going nuts in this house. They keep everythin g plus Trying to integrate some of my things My daughter's things Because she's in an apartment In the city . It still feels like have only made a dent

I just learned I was an enfp too! This was so helpful to hear ❤

Love youDawn but I think it is time to catch up w Tom again!

Messy person here. Hate organizing!!! Hate it!! I will admit it 😂😂😂

Another great informative podcast. Curious about the initials she talked about and the scale

????What was the quiz that Zoë was talking about toward the end???

@jeanetteburt379

2 ай бұрын

Myers Briggs

Penny wise and pound foolish.

Maybe, minimalism is a way to organise stuff, out of your home...