Survey #258—Full Response from Intignia (inn tig (as in pig) knee ah)
| Pronouns | She/her |
|---|---|
| What useful decluttering or organizing strategies or methods did you take away from the book? | The 5 step process: first, Trash; second, Easy Stuff--things that have a home--take it there now; third, Donations; fourth, Where would I look for it first? Take it there. Would I even remember that I had this item? and finally, step five, Make it fit--the Container Concept. The Container Concept was life changing for me, a new way at looking at things. Containers are not just to hold things in, they are there to limit the amount of stuff you have. |
| What parts or aspects of the book did you find difficult to grasp or challenging to apply to your home or situation? | No Mess Decluttering. I know Dana said not to dump the contents of the drawer or whatever you are working on, but I just couldn't do it--shuffling around amidst the stuff and pulling out one item at a time. My brain would fizzle out on me. I know her method is great for when you have to stop abruptly as it leaves no mess to discourage you. I do everything she says except I have to lay everything out to look at it. I get a clearer picture of what I am working with and can then go on with the Five Step process. If I have to stop suddenly, I just throw everything back into its container, where it was to start with, but now there is less as I've gotten rid of trash, easy stuff, donations, etc. |
| Please share your favorite quotations or key ideas and concepts from this book. | Avoiding Procrasticlutter. Procrasticlutter is when you leave something unfinished and it's sitting around making your home look junky instead of tidy. Such as laundry left on the couch instead of being folded or hung up and put away. |
| White suggests a decluttering process that requires making a final decision about each item (keep, trash, or donate) and placing the item in its appropriate home right away rather than into a “keep pile” or “keep box” for later organizing. If you’ve used her method, how has the “take it there right now” approach worked for you? What are the pros and cons of her suggested strategy? | I love the Take It There Now approach. I used to have piles around me when decluttering. Things that went upstairs, things that go in the kids' room, things to take to the recycling bin in the garage, etc. Then when I had to stop decluttering I was left with all these piles to put away, but I can't put them away because life got in the way. Johnny skinned his knee and needs taking care of. The baby's nap time is now up, She needs a diaper change and a bottle. When that's taken care of it's time to start supper before hubby gets home. And there are all the piles. The kids get into them, they get knocked over, and all my work is undone. I can't think of a con to this concept. It actually takes very little time to put something away right then and there are no piles for children to get into. The work is done. It's wonderful. |
| A big part of White’s decluttering philosophy is the “container concept”—the idea of setting firm limits on the containers you use to hold your stuff, where “containers” are understood to mean the boxes, bins, racks, baskets, drawers, cabinets, shelves, etc., that you use to hold stuff, as well as the rooms that must contain the containers—and then decluttering to fit those limits. If you’ve used her method, how has the “container concept” helped or hindered your decluttering? What are the pros and cons of her methodology? Are there areas or categories of stuff for which it works better than others? | The container concept has really helped me to understand that I can't just keep buying more stuff and more bins to store it in. My home used to be organized like the game Tetris. I could really fit it in. I was the Master of fitting it in. But once you take something out it's awkward and time consuming to put it away, so it sits out gathering dust and cluttering up the space. By limiting I've learned to leave room for maneuvering things so they are easy to get out and easy to put back. My husband is finally understanding that he can't keep buying books and having piles all over the floor for us to trip over because the bookshelves are too full to fit any more. You keep your favorites, and when you buy something new you make room for it by getting rid of a less favorite thing. |
| White suggests following the “visibility rule”: Start every session of decluttering in the most visible places in your home. If you’ve used her method, how has the “visibility rule” helped or hindered your decluttering? What are the pros and cons of her suggested approach? | Her Visibility Rule makes great sense, but it doesn't work for me as I have a chronic illness that severely limits my strength and vitality. By the time I've straightened up the doorway (again) I've used a good portion of my energy and nothing else ever gets done. So I just start on the next space. |
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