Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff

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Her system is great for someone (like her former self) who just doesn't understand how they acquired so much stuff and why they can't keep it all. Her main idea is the Container Principle: seeing your closet, your refrigerator, your bookshelf, your bedroom, your pantry —hey, even your house—as a container. A container isn't just a cute jar you put pens in, or the boxes you use to keep your socks separate from your underwear in the drawer.

So, when I say that I found THE book for me that helped me approach my house in a completely different way, I know of which I speak. My advice is to go through the steps, focusing first on all visible clutter in the room, working on floors and surfaces and open shelves. My last book covered decluttering because decluttering is such an integral part of managing a home (without losing a mind). And my jeans not fitting makes me feel frustrated, and frustrated makes me crave something that’s been chicken fried.

As the older generation needs to downsize, having some tips on how to help them through the process is welcomed. They live nine hours away, but photographed piles of books every day for weeks and put what I wanted in boxes. None of my mother's keepsakes, none of their baby books, none of the scrapbooks, none of the pictures of people they never saw before, nor ever will meet because they’re all passed from this world. You start in the most visible space in your home and then work your way into the private/inaccessible spaces.

Dana distinguishes between cleaning and decluttering and has clearly identified the simple steps needed to succeed at decluttering, whether it is a closet, room, garage or a whole house filled from floor to ceiling. In Decluttering at the Speed of Life, I’m putting my decluttering strategies into thorough, step-by-step instructions to help you work through your clutter, no matter how overwhelmed you feel. Now, a lot of that is about being stressed and feeling a time crunch but it also really hit at some very clear issues that the author mentions that I share and I related to so much of what she talks about as the whys. The tagline should read something like "The Best of Dana, in a concise, digestible, organized format," but "100 Realistic Strategies to Keep Any House Under Control" works also.I didn’t implement it like it should have been though, probably because I don’t really have that level of clutter in my home. White also tells how to declutter during daily life without creating a bigger mess (often a huge stumbling block for those who are serious about decluttering). I tried this on my overflowing coffee mug shelf and managed to get rid of only two mugs, but it's a start! So, for years we had a Bible study at our house and we served dinner, for sometimes up to 22 people. After talking about a decluttering mindset, Dana then gives you step by step decluttering instructions for every room in your home as well as decluttering tips pertinent to that specific space.