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I hired a Dana K. White decluttering coach (one hour better!)

Millennial Meg

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In today’s video we are trying a “one hour better” session with Dana K. White certified decluttering coach, Amber. I paid her fee with my own money and I think she is 100% worth it! I work through the massive clutter in my basement and get some incredible encouragement and support along the way. Stay tuned until the end to get tips from Amber on how to prevent clutter from creeping back after making progress.

00:00 welcome
04:30 decluttering begins
08:47 stick to the steps?
17:31 dance it there now
20:38 laundry there now
24:40 unused for 3 years?!?
29:32 good riddance
37:01 a revelation + compassion
39:04 basement ZONES
43:00 the floor is much improved
46:02 You can’t win on the internet
47:28 How to STOP the clutter cycle
50:18 before & after
52:39 join my accountability group!

#danakwhite #declutteringatthespeedoflife #onehourbetter #decluttering #clutter #basementdeclutter #realtime #messfreedecluttering #5steps

20 Comments

@alwaysaravero5215 5 months ago Pinned

zones: the stuff that is used outside should lives near the door to the outside. And you designate containers or systems near the outside door keep those items from being strewn all the way across the floor. Or, bulk storage like the extra toilet paper and the chips should have shelves set near the basement stairs, so that when you need them you can grab them efficiently. Or, even the bedding lives in the bedroom that it belongs to. The bedroom is the container (aka zone) for the bedroom stuff, and container rules apply.

@jennyjenkins877 5 months ago

My dearest Meg,
This was the fastest 55 minutes of my life... I was totally into it! You did a sensational job and worked your butt off. Here's the tough love that I think Amber missed but Dana K. White would possibly call out. You have a linen closet. That is your container for linens. Imagine paring down your collection so that the very best of the best all fit into that closet and you could free up several bins. You could dedicate 1 shelf to each bed in the home and then the others could be for blankets and towels. If you don't have that many shelves, it would also make sense to store bedding in the corresponding bedroom (closet). I know of what I speak, as I had roughly a dozen complete sets of sheets and comforters for the 2 beds in my home before I started decluttering. Of course, some had to be stored in the basement back then but it's a relief to have everything upstairs where the bedrooms are now. I want that for you too! 💛

@lauriesavage3622 5 months ago

I encourage you to have an obvious DONATE bin where it is easy for all you family members to put items to be donated. Dawn recommends a small container in each person's closet so you can easily gather it together to get it out of the house. Keep reminding them to put items they are ready to get rid of in the box. You are not the only person who needs to be working on de-cluttering and cleaning. You are making progress. Be proud of your progress.

@crafterdeidra 5 months ago

The basement already looks much better than it was before. She helped you out so much. ❤

@stinkahny 5 months ago (edited)

You want your basement to be FUNCTIONAL storage. Dana is a "functionalist," and you are going to have a great basement once you are done (but remember, declutting is never really done... we keep decluttering all our lives, but practicing the one-in one-out technique helps us once we've gotten our declutting muscles well trained . You can do it!

@bubblebuffy 5 months ago (edited)

24:14 “We’re progressing, we’re not perfecting today. I can refine it at a later date.” ❤

@ambermariestewart 5 months ago

Sweet as honey shout out at the end, tysm! A little cringed to hear and see myself (maybe I get used to it?), but it was lovely to revisit our session and catch those before and after shots! Watched with my sister for moral support and looked a fool when I said "oh this is where I talk about you" but that part was cut 🤣 [re: bigger house is more to manage]

@nbig860 5 months ago

I have always wanted to say this but I DO NOT want to be annoying so I have held back. Now that I’ve seen your basement for multiple times I really want to suggest this. Since you come in the garage- maybe having the white shoe rack and/or other furniture pieces perpendicular to the wall (near your treadmill) . This would be closest to where you enter and would divide the space into zones. Having everything lined up along walls doesn’t use space to its maximum potential and creates visual overwhelm. I LOVE your videos and I never want to sound judgmental. If you hate my idea just ignore it and do your own thing. I’ll be right here watching and cheering you on.💪🏼👏🏻👍

@supergran1000 3 months ago

"Take it there now" is what makes the difference with Dana's method.

@trumax33 5 months ago

I agree with Amber: Dana is about progress over perfection and is not overly strict about going "in order" with the first 3 steps. (As Amber pointed out, looking for trash gets us started!) Dana tells people they can do whatever they want to do. (But is it working for you?) She created her No Mess Decluttering method from what she learned (through much trial & error) works for her....and as it turns out, works for thousands & thousands of people.
Y'all made a lot of progress today, I'm sure Dana's proud of you & happy for you! 😊

@yavrum22 5 months ago

My Dear Megan ...YOU DO YOU! And You did great! Progress is progress, and the more you do it as consistently as you can, the more decluttering muscles you build. Also, I'd to say thank you for bringing us along on your journey... you are awesome and brave!! To Amber: thank you for helping :)

@zarzee8925 5 months ago

Managing "zones" may seem tedious but I think you're well on your way to getting this space organized. You're already thinking in categories (camping stuff, daughter's stuff, household stuff). Farther along, once you have tackled all of the easy stuff in this space, you might find it beneficial to designate a spot/container (dare I say a "zone") for each category. Space maker method calls them departments, which strikes me as cute. I would highly recommend watching SMM in addition to Dana. April gently nudges her clients in decluttering/organization and helps them establish "departments" whereas Dana is more no-nonsense structure. I'm sure Amber will help with organization later on, but for now you're still working through trash/donations/putting away the easy stuff. Great work so far, both of you!

@idid138 5 months ago

Thank you both, Meg & Amber! It was interesting getting to watch how a coaching session works with one of Dana's coaches. Progress over perfection, as Dana would say! You got a lot done & I bet you're feeling relief with your party on the horizon. Good job. 👍🏼

@melaniehutchinson5306 5 months ago

The hard truth is when we have AdHD we need less to manage, and we hate structure but need structure, but we also love the possibility of all the things we acquire too. So this is a push pull for us. And it easily becomes overwhelming because of this push and pull. So normal. So relatable. The container concept is the thing that changed my life. Amanda, as a fellow coach, you did a great job!

@intherockies 5 months ago

Good job! I could be 100% wrong, but what I see is a lot of your daughter's stuff. Maybe you can get rid of some of the things she hasn't asked for in months. Maybe it's been time tested already. I would narrow each person's stuff down to one bin (container concept). Then, when your husband makes your storage, you have 4 bins accounted for (you, your husband, daughter, and son), and then one for camping and one for extra towels. That makes six bins. I'm sure you have some other categories, but you could have your husband measure to see how many bins will fit in the spot he plans on building. If you have room for 8 then you know you will have two extra for other categories but if only room for six you might have to be more ruthless and only have one bin for you and your husband to share. Anyway, you did great!

@lizmartinez7086 5 months ago

Proof that take it there now doesn’t take long at all. Also wanted to mention that perhaps you’ve kept the pool item that you’ve never been able to use, because you spent money on it and you think one day you may use it. I have items like that and when I finally get rid of it, I do not miss it!!

@rhondalockrey9592 5 months ago

It seemed so helpful having a coach there to guide you I think there was more done then I could do on my own. I like how she is teaching the steps so they can sink in our brains as we keep doing the steps we will think differently about putting any item down in the wrong spot once we realize its all double or triple work & we will also want to get rid of more stuff because why have more stuff to clean up if its not useful to us. My brain is getting better but never thought like this at all till I started watching decluttering videos now I am making homes for everything & am more willing to let go of crap lol Hope you had a good time with her you did so well for 1 hour.

@catinaray4013 5 months ago

She was awesome and you are too. It was like hanging out with a friend while doing chores.

@StephJ_25 5 months ago

Yes! 🎉this was so great! Definitely lean into finding out what your clutter threshold is ❤ we’ve been bombarded with so much organizing propaganda, space savers, maximization tools, techniques, tricks, and “hacks” that has put getting RID of things on the back burner when in reality it’s the very key to all of this,,, I recently had to return a drawer pull out contraption that I’ve wanted FOR YEARS for my pots, pans and lids that when I decided to declutter first I bought new different pans with detachable handles also I only bought half of my original amount and my cabinets work great for us now,,, no drawer gadget even needed 😂

@melaniehutchinson5306 5 months ago

Meg. Awesome job! Your to do list. Ask family members about their coats. Drop off the donation stuff you put in your car. A laundry receptacle to control the amount. Some other things to consider. Seems like your son needs a drop zone. So consider you might give him a small defined spot. But use the container concept here. But then help him to go through it say once a week. You might also notice why things land where they do, maybe some family can’t so hangers in a closet as it’s too many steps. More than 2 steps to put things away seems like too much for many of us, especially neurospicy. We need to embrace the drop and go or chuck and go. We are who we are.