A bit sad

Dana K White suggests starting/decluttering with the easiest stuff (garbage, recycling, obvious donations). 

I think I have done that instinctively. 

In 2018, when I started decluttering, I went through most of the house, attic and garage. 

That process continues. I continue to just keep working back through the same areas. Each time, my opinion changes, I can let more go. 

Now I am on to the harder stuff. 

I recently donated a bag of vintage baby things including all my christening clothes (63 years old). 

I have stored and moved it for 63 years. I did not use any of it for my own kids.

I asked the kids. No one wanted any of it. 

I did not try to sell any of it. I donated it to a locally run resale shop I like. 

I could not keep the kitchen clean, but I could clean out the kitchen

A subtle difference in terms -

Cleaning up the kitchen is doing the dishes and wiping the sink and counters.

Cleaning out the kitchen is a massive exit of items.

I think I have cleaned out the kitchen at least once a year since 2018. Yes, five deep declutters and cleans. 

Recently I cleaned out the kitchen in December 2023 and then turned right around and cleaned it out again in January 2024.  

It is amazing how time changes perceptions of what is needed and what can go. 

I rehome/sell/donate with each clean out. 

A shocking amount goes, with every clean out. 

Sometimes I also buy, a few key things, to make life easier. This might be a flatware organizer or bin, a rice cooker, a casserole pan. Sometimes the clean out shows something is not working and needs replaced.  

I declutter and organize. My husband comes right along behind me and scrubs. It is amazing how dirty cupboards, drawers and shelves can get in a year. 

We do our parts separately. 

I think it starts naturally in November of each year, because all the kids are home for Thanksgiving. I just start working through the kitchen, slowly, a section at a time. 

By January, I am done, and my husband has the ladder out and is scrubbing. His efforts are done in a couple days.

So, since 2018, I have steadily reduced the volume of items in our kitchen. And our kitchen has gotten a deep clean once a year. A consistent, good effort, which paved the way for this year.

In the last two months, I have approached the organization of our kitchen, quite differently. 

Having a clean kitchen, all the time

Just so you know, I am super picky about how a dishwasher is loaded. I am also picky about how things are put away. I suspect I am not unique in these points. 

I now have a three tray dishwasher, things have to go in exact places to wash properly and not retain water. 

I made the mistake, for decades, of thinking of doing the dishes as a project. 

This was a big mistake. I would do a big dishes catch up (as a project) and then it was all messy again in the blink of an eye. 

I have made excuses to plumbers and appliance repairman, for years, about the state of my kitchen. 

It used to be clean a very small percentage of the time. 

Getting it clean took a lot of time. 

It seemed like time (and energy ) was a big factor. 

The biggest impact, for me and for many others, in learning from Dana K White is doing the dishes every day.

I started doing the dishes, every day, in November 2023, and it changed my perception of time.

Dana K White talks and writes about this a lot.

She calls it dishes math. 

Doing the dishes, every day, takes almost no time. 

Doing the dishes, every day, which takes almost no time, means I can wipe the counters/sink/stove every day, which also takes almost no time. 

By no time, I mean 15-20 minutes (total). Which feels like NO TIME. 

At my house, with arthritis, I can load the dishwasher easily. Unloading is harder. 

Several years ago, I was dropping/breaking dishes regularly. I also had rotator cuff surgery in 2020, and had one arm immobilized for months. All our kids and our DIL lived at home for parts/all of the pandemic.

We came out of all of that with me loading the dishwasher and my husband unloading it. 

He keeps up with me, regardless of my pace, without having to be reminded. 

Each time I open the dishwasher, it is magically empty.

Each time he opens it, everything is magically clean. 

It is kitchen magic. 

The biggest magic - every time I walk in my kitchen, it is clean.

Dana K White talks about many things in her books and podcasts

A friend mentioned Dana K White’s podcast to me in passing. 

I listened to a couple recent episodes and a couple episodes from the beginning. 

Then I stopped and read all three books in a row (my last post). 

Then I started with the most recent podcast and worked my way backwards through Dana’s archives. There are just over 400 episodes. I have almost 300 of those finished. 

I started listening in November 2023. I have skipped a few (mostly guests). Her topics do not get old for me. I have learned a lot. I like her podcast style. I like her voice. She keeps me company. 

I have been actively decluttering for five years. But her information changed the way I look at things. 

My five years of effort was solid. I did a good job. But Dana is kicking my efforts up to the next level. 

It is sort of amazing.

Reflecting, five years into actively decluttering. What got us into trouble?

Yes, we have lived in this house a long time, 22+ years. 

We lived in the last house 15 years. 

Only one move in 37 years can cause accumulation problems. 

Other causes, for us, include 

- inability to deal with paper 

- my husband worked from home for years 

- sewing/crafting/books/photos/CD/DVD/genealogy

- truck full arrived at our house after husband’s mother died in 2010

- buying “future gifts” influenced by things “on sale”

- having three kids 

- having a large house 

- being “savers”

I can see all of that, clearly, now. The fall of 2023 marked a big change in my perception. 

I read three books, over the course of a week. They shifted my perceptions to the reality of life in a house with stuff and people -