Survey #258—Full Response from Suzanne
| Pronouns | She/her |
|---|---|
| What useful decluttering or organizing strategies or methods did you take away from the book? | Dana’s Container Concept is pure gold. Also I like the idea of addressing an area and only focusing on one step at a time - just remove all the obvious garbage and recycling first. Remove the duh stuff. Remove and take the items that I know belong in another location to that location now. |
| What parts or aspects of the book did you find difficult to grasp or challenging to apply to your home or situation? | For the way my brain is wired, everything was written for me to easily understand and grasp. |
| Please share your favorite quotations or key ideas and concepts from this book. | The concept that a container is limited to containing what fits inside it, no open space to exceed. Set the limit for an item or a category and set the container size limit. Fill the container by what I deem the most important to me - once the container is full there is no adding an item unless an item already contained is first removed. Choices must be made, limits observed, and excess must leave via donation, recycling, or garbage. (I’m not a seller.) |
| 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? | The method of taking items straight to where they belong is something I learned on my own, even though my mother role-modeled this method throughout her entire life. My mother was not a procrastinator and dealt with each item, issue, or situation as it came up. I just never realized that she wasn’t a magician. The pros, endless. No clutter buildup, no overwhelm, no burden and added weight in my mind and soul, no having to say no to opportunities that come up, no forgetting what an item or pile is supposed to mean or what action was initially intended for it, getting something done, dealt with and over with in one shot, feeling good about accomplishment and not feeling bad about myself, living in the moment and not extending the past far into the future, cleaner home, more actual cleaning is possible, better air and living environment, no tripping hazards, actual exercise, being able to find things, going to sleep knowing something was done and not postponed, space not being occupied by squatters (items that don’t belong where they’re sitting), absolutely the best way for an ADHD mind and a NON-ADHD mind, great to reduce anxiety, etc… Cons - there are NO CONS TO THIS METHOD. |
| 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 brain shifts gears. If there is a container there are limits and the brain must stick to thinking of what fits inside the box. If there is no container or limit set then the brain is dealing with infinite space and unlimited quantities. The brain thinks of solutions and calculations to work outside the box. Sky is the limit. The brain will not discipline itself to observe parameters or perimeters. There will never be satisfaction or contentment. Well it can easier to apply in areas that are generally used to contain specific items providing the person observes the limits. If the person designates extra areas for those items, extra care should be taken as you’re now out of the container concept and playing with fire. If your kitchen should contain all kitchen items but you now need to create extra space outside the kitchen for small appliances, canning supplies and goods, cake-decorating items, special serving dishes or flatware, and so on - how or will you observe limits for kitchen items outside of the kitchen. Will you just keep expanding your stash elsewhere? |
| 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? | The visibility rule makes so much common sense. It is so smart and yet I repeatedly am attracted to working on the non-visible. I find I am lured to working on areas that nobody sees or that only I am aware of or bothered by. Don’t ask me why. The visibility area works! Especially when I really open my eyes and see what is right there in my face. The visibility rule always works in the time immediately preceding someone’s arrival into my space. |
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