A Slob Comes Clean

doingitanyway

I love Dana and listen to her podcasts whilst I am cleaning. She is very different to Flylady and is great for artistic, messy, disorganised people like me! Different strokes for different folks and all that...

Rosa_Damascena

purpleivy said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Caramac said:

I read her decluttering book a couple of years ago and found it far more approachable than Marie Kondo. What I found helpful was she isn’t a naturally tidy person and her method works by not making everything worse before it gets better. She also has a YouTube channel.

Well I was interested enough to Google her and see if her book is available in my local library, unfortunately it isn't but I shall look out for it when I visit chazzers, Not seen it this far to my knowledge.

Will amuse myself with her YouTube offerings at the weekend.

I find this comment somewhat xenophobic. 

Which bit of my comment? Because I can't see it, and I certainly didn't mean to be.

I can try and watch her channel this evening if it helps?

Caramac

doingitanyway said:

I love Dana and listen to her podcasts whilst I am cleaning. She is very different to Flylady and is great for artistic, messy, disorganised people like me! Different strokes for different folks and all that...

It was when she was talking about being clutter blind that I realised she was describing me. 

PollyWollyDoodle

I hadn’t heard of this, so thank you for bringing it to my attention. I did Marie Kondo about four years ago and it genuinely was life-changing, my whole approach to keeping stuff changed and I got rid of enormous amounts, I honestly couldn’t tell you what most of it was, which tells me that I didn’t need to keep it! I find her “sparks joy” approach is very helpful with things like clothes, and sentimental stuff. It’s not so useful with practical household things, and I think the ‘two questions’ are much more helpful with everyday stuff. Might try and listen to a couple of the podcasts this weekend, so far I have only looked at her blog.

Can I also add that I don’t see why you felt @Rosa_Damascena was being xenophobic; I must be missing something?

purpleivy

Rosa_Damascena said:

purpleivy said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Caramac said:

I read her decluttering book a couple of years ago and found it far more approachable than Marie Kondo. What I found helpful was she isn’t a naturally tidy person and her method works by not making everything worse before it gets better. She also has a YouTube channel.

Well I was interested enough to Google her and see if her book is available in my local library, unfortunately it isn't but I shall look out for it when I visit chazzers, Not seen it this far to my knowledge.

Will amuse myself with her YouTube offerings at the weekend.

I find this comment somewhat xenophobic. 

Which bit of my comment? Because I can't see it, and I certainly didn't mean to be.

I can try and watch her channel this evening if it helps?

My deepest apologies Rosa.   It was someone else, who was not liking Americans!  I must have clicked on the wrong post. I do apologise. 

purpleivy

doingitanyway said:

I love Dana and listen to her podcasts whilst I am cleaning. She is very different to Flylady and is great for artistic, messy, disorganised people like me! Different strokes for different folks and all that...

I think that it's helpful in the way that she divides what needs doing into 'everyday necessities', decluttering (what the book is really about, both visible and invisible, I like the idea of visible clutter first)  and cleaning (what it isn't really about, except the daily necessities).  

I have done my dishes after dinner every day after dinner for the last 10 days or so and that brings me a lightness of heart. It wasn't ever at the point where I was buying more dishes or using paper plates as the dishes had run out, but still, it's so lovely to come down into the kitchen and find it clear.  I didn't run the DW last night as it was only half full and we are eating out tonight, so would only be cups and lunch stuff. 

My laundry wasn't totally backed up, but I still enjoyed finishing it on Monday/Tuesday (just the putting away) and not doing any since then. The world hasn't come to an end!  It looks like it might be do-able weekly. I think that the exception may be to get my daughter's sheets (she lives down the road but has ME) done before Monday, just so there is more room for drying if the weather isn't good. I do have a tumble dryer, but as it's expensive to run and wrecks clothes I am hoping to not use this unless necessary. Does anyone else find that the gap between getting everything on the line outside to dry and the heating being on in the house a nuisance?  We have a pulley rack and once the heating is on, it's no problem getting stuff dry quickly. 

Decluttering.... I've been doing this for years but still not got to a point where I want to be. I think her two questions are great and I can normally make a quick decision on things to keep/not keep. As I delve deeper within my cupboards and I do a cellar clear out, this may get harder. 

SHe isn't about cleaning, but that isn't too big a problem, I find that if everything is tidy and put away, cleaning doesn't take too much time, except for the massive downstairs floor!

PollyWollyDoodle

Ah, thanks for explaining about the remark! I did wonder if it was on the wrong post. I meant to add that when I went onto Amazon the Kindle version was no longer at the £1.99 price. Instead I have just bought ‘ How to manage your Home without Losing your Mind’ by Dana at that price, I am enjoying reading it so far. She speaks in a language that I can understand!

Rosa_Damascena

PollyWollyDoodle said:

I find her “sparks joy” approach is very helpful with things like clothes, and sentimental stuff. It’s not so useful with practical household things, and I think the ‘two questions’ are much more helpful with everyday stuff.

The place looks much better when you have got rid of unnecessary stuff.

I had Rachel Khoo running in the background earlier and she was shopping in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Just watching her shop for pretty things sparked a frisson of joy in me, how sad is that? I had some great finds from there, very reasonably priced and still in use. I'm not even a fan of Turkey and didn't think I'd ever go back but just watching her amongst the goodies made me think I'd love a trip back to Istanbul. Just a couple of nights, long enough to do some of the sights and the museum again, and of course the bazaar.

Knowing full well anything I buy will probably end up in the chazzer eventually...!

purpleivy

I find Dana WHite easy to listen to, it doesn't bother me that she's American.  I find that I'm viewing my surroundings quite differently now. Whether or not it will last or not is another thing, but the place has to look better if there is less there. 

I need to get all my clothes into the storage that is in our Bedroom (the containers!)  I was figuring I didn't have enough storage space, but maybe she's right, maybe I have too much stuff. This week I did pick a dress out and take it to the workroom ( I sew for a living)  to alter to want to wear it. Progress. 

purpleivy

Progress report. Went to get something from the big chest of drawers this morning and found 5 things I didn't wear any more and one I had never worn. I put 2 cardigans from the top of the dresser into the space. I didn't actually think I would find much to get rid of, but asking myself if it fit and if I was ever likely to wear it again helped. 

Small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Anyone else having a go?