Stress Therapy

The last 4-ish months have been tough ones, and I could feel a mini breakdown coming on. I prayed to know what I could do to help myself, and soon enough I found myself de-junking my kitchen desk. 



That felt good, so I went manic and dejunked my whole house until 4:15 a.m. 

(junk drawer)

(kitchen drawer)

“DEJUNK: toss it, trade it, tromp it, give it away, sell it, but get rid of it. It’ll be the greatest housework reducing move you ever make. The formula is easy: Don’t love anything that can’t love you back. If something doesn’t enhance your life then part with it. I can promise that dejunking will change your life and housework schedule more than any other single thing you can do.” 
—Don Aslett (professional cleaner, author of "Clean in a Minute" and many other books, owner of the Cleaning Center supply chain) 

(tupperware drawer)

(Cam's art cupboard)

The next morning I woke up and started again until 3:00 a.m. 

(jewelry board [from Michele])

(scarves, knit hats)

(sock drawer with shoebox dividers—LOVE! saw it on Pinterest! I have a whole shoebox dedicated just to gray socks :/)

(Mia's bathroom drawer)

(Mia's products)

(laundry room nuts and bolts drawer)

(linen closet—the middle shelf is for all the boys' fort blankets)

By this time, most every drawer and closet in the house, the outdoor storage trunks, and the garage had been sorted, dejunked, re-organized, cleaned out, and put back together.

I woke up the morning of the third day and ran errands to finish up.

(guest bathroom needed a rug)

(new oven mitts to replace my torched ones)



(some [fake] plants to liven things up)

 I've felt awesome ever since. And tired....

I taught a class called "Simplify Your Life" this week in another ward, so here's the condensed version...

How to Dejunk

Sort into four baskets or piles: 

(these represent MUCH larger baskets ;)

1. Toss

2. Charity

3. Relocate (items that belong elsewhere in the house)

4. Probation (Items you aren't sure about. If you don't use within 6 months, toss these.)

What should you keep? 

If the answer is no, get rid of it.

At the end of class, I quizzed the ladies and gave out prizes representing the main concepts. 

This is Sandra Phillips' (shocking!) rule of thumb when de-junking. It is based on the 80/20 rule that we generally use 20% of our clothes, furniture, appliances, and so on 80% of the time. It's pretty drastic, but I like it because it helps put into perspective just how much stuff we generally keep around that we don't need, use, love, have space for or even want. Just think how much easier your housework will be when you've only got, say, half the stuff!

(I did not get rid of 80% of my socks....)

This is my mantra (from "Finding Nemo") when I'm in the middle of a de-junking project and feeling overwhelmed. It works!

Once you've de-junked, a couple of tips to maintain it:

One in; one out. If you buy a shirt, donate a shirt.

For example, at the end of the day:

1. Pick up the house (if it's not too heavy ;)

2. Plan tomorrow's schedule

3. Know what you'll make for dinner tomorrow night

4. Start a load of laundry

5. Start the dishwasher

When I do this, I love waking up the next morning to a picked-up house, some clean clothes, clean dishes, and prepared for dinner and the day ahead. I'm not running behind the moment I get out of bed!

Simplify by making small efforts instead of big and often unnecessary efforts. For example: "Cleanies vs Messies."

A "Cleanie" will walk into a room, see popcorn kernels on the carpet, stoop down and pick them up right then and throw them away. 

A "Messie" will see the popcorn and say, "I need to vacuum this room," and will put it off until a more convenient time. Meanwhile, the popcorn remains on the carpet. 

So often a small effort makes the difference.

De-junking SIMPLIFIES your life: "At least 40% of what we call housecleaning is just junk tending.... Cluttered rooms take 10 times or more the time to clean."
—Don Aslett

"The surface stuff will always be there—the dishes, the laundry, the bathrooms, the vacuuming—we must concern ourselves with organizing and de-junking. That is how we can be in control of our homes instead of our homes controlling us."
—Shari Warner, organization expert


My advice: Focus on one room or even one drawer or shelf at a time. Play music, set the timer for even 15 minutes, and "just keep swimming." When you finish one drawer, the momentum will keep you going on to the next! You won't care to eat or sleep for days! ... wait, that was just me....