Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast - How to Declutter FAST with Lynn White | Clutterbug Podcast # 215

Episode Date: March 18, 2024

Are you feeling overwhelmed with the clutter in your home, but don't know where to start? In today's podcast, I am joined by the wonderful YouTuber, Lynn White. Together, we'll reveal the secrets to decluttering your home quickly and efficiently! Lynn will share some tips and tricks on how to ease into the decluttering process without having to part ways with your belongings. Get ready to be inspired and motivated to declutter your home and create a beautifully organized space that you deserve!   Check out Lynn White's YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/@mrslynnwhite   You can find more Clutterbug content here: Website: http://www.clutterbug.me YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clutterbug TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clutterbug_me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clutterbug_me/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Clutterbug.Me/   #clutterbug #podcast   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, clutterbugs. Welcome back to the Clutterbug podcast. Feeling excited today because I'm going to get you up, get you moving, and we are going to declutter. And I'm so excited because today's guest is the incredible Lynn White. I feel like she is not only a decluttering expert, but kind of the queen of cleaning and just making your home beautiful in a really relatable way. So welcome, Lynn. Hi. I am so honored and so excited to be here today. This is definitely answered prayers on so people. Oh, I'm really happy to have you. We are going to be in a second telling our listeners where to declutter first, like things that they can do while listening to this podcast that will change their life. And that's something that both of us, I feel like are really passionate about because we've both experienced the life change. I almost said life-changing magic of tidying up, but let's call it. Marie Kondo, she's on to something, right? Yeah. Yeah, she's amazing. So, but before that, I would love for you to tell us a little bit about yourself, kind of your family and how you got started on YouTube because it's such a weird, it's such a weird career, isn't it? It's a strange, it's a strange thing when people say, what do you do? And I'm like, people watch me clean my house.

people watch me declutter and so they're like oh that's so bizarre even in today's day and age it's kind of still a little new you know it is still a little new every time we go to a bank

or anything and they're trying to find that checkbox for what I do there is no checkbox for like social media yeah so tell us about yourself okay so I am a mom of six children and yes I have six amazing kiddos from 21 to two so thankful for them and we are a blended

family and after my third child I just started feeling really down and really lonely and that only progressed with each child and so after my fifth I just found myself in a place I've just a lot of loneliness. And I didn't know how to get out of it. And so I turned on YouTube. And honestly, it was such, it felt like I was with a friend. And so I felt a calling in my own life to connect with others because I'm super empathetic. And I don't want anyone to feel sad, being mad, no discomfort, I want peace.

And so I just felt such a falling in my life to connect with other people. to hopefully let them know they're not alone. So that's all I got started. And then it just kind of warped into the cleaning. And then you know how it is. You start with one thing. And then you kind of find the thing that really lights you up. And since I was a little girl, maybe I was super boring.

I don't know. I love to clean and I love to do clutter. And so when all my friends were outside, There were many cases where I was inside doing my mom's closet because it brought me so much of joy, even as an eight-year-old child. Oh, I love that. You're just born. You found it young.

I found it so young. And the older I've gotten, I have learned that it has just been an amazing outlet for me. It's a coping mechanism for chaos around, but it's also an incredible outlet. it because it allows you to be creative in a way that you, it's very unexpected. And so it's more than just, for me, it was more than just getting in there and making a space look better. It was, I felt creative. I was organizing a little, you know, I just felt, and I felt so good afterwards.

And I think that's what kept drawing me back in. I actually like that you said that. When I was thinking about you saying that, I just really, realized when I was a kid, I was not clean and tidy and I did not like organizing. But I always thought I wanted to be an artist. I love to paint and draw and make things out of clay. And I always thought I wanted to grow up and, you know, be an artist. And you're right, the act of not only just decorating, but cleaning and organizing a space, it's like you're making art in your home. You are creating beauty every day. And it does.

feel to me, I get that same feeling of when I paint or when I craft or when I create something. It is so, so creating. It's, it is, it's relaxing. And then at the end, you have something beautiful to show for it. Now, it doesn't always stay that way. Let's be honest. You have six kids. I have three.

Sometimes it gets messy again. But it's the create, if you look at it as creating something beautiful and making art, That's such a, I've never really heard of it that way, but it makes total sense. Okay, I love that. The same freedom as if you do, you know, you make pottery, paint or DIYs, decorating, there's this sense of accomplishment. And sometimes it's a hurdle. I think we've all had that block.

It's sometimes a hurdle to get to that moment, that flow. But once you're in it and you step back, there's so. such a sense of freedom, your mind feels lighter, your shoulders feel lighter, and you genuinely feel accomplished and proud of yourself. And I feel like that is one for me. That is what I've realized with food plurring. And even cleaning, it isn't just the text, the chore. Because when we say it's a chore, it's almost like it's a negative connotation. It can be a really beautiful experience. ADD. I got diagnosed with it at 39. And I just learned that it helps me just to be creative to stay focused. I cannot focus in a cluttered house for the life of me. I feel you. Yeah, I have ADHD.

And it's medicine for my soul to have a clutter-free space. I think a lot of us, especially women, we want to be creative, right? So this is why we go to the craft store and we buy all the supplies to like make crafts, right? And then we never actually get around to making the craft. It becomes, yeah, being creative, creating something beautiful. Also, like it's expensive to buy all these supplies. But we can do that in our home and it costs us nothing.

We can make a space beautiful just by cleaning and decluttering and get the same emotional. benefits and pride as if we had done a craft or engaged in this hobby. It's so true. And I actually mentioned that today in my video. We can go out and we can spend all the money on all the pre-organizers and all of the things. But the reality is I feel like the most, the thing that really packs a punch is just getting in there and cleaning the space. And if it's something as simple as taking the appliances off your care,

countertops. Oh, yeah. It is, it's free and it feels so good. And it's, what I always say is it creates this momentum. So you're going to get that snowball effect, whether you don't move or whether you move. Let's just put it in a positive way. Because once you see one space, it's like, I can do this. And it really can just go in every aspect of your life.

I feel like it has for me at least. I feel like sometimes we need to say. cluttering, it's like oversimplifying. But it can have such an impact on your time. Yeah, that's what we're talking about right now. This is what this podcast is going to be. We are going to give you the listeners places and things that you can declutter that will immediately make your life better. And while you're listening and we're giving you this advice, here's what I want to remind you. This is your time to be ruthless. You are the boss of your house. you are in charge.

You have to trust yourself and you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone to get to the good part. Right? It's hard at first. It is really hard because some of us don't have an outside cheerleader cheering. Sometimes it is just us. But I always say like, make yourself proud. Do this for not you in the moment if you're dreading. It will do it for the future you tomorrow.

Do it for the case for you in a month when you have accomplices. And it feels so good. I know that like just like when a child does something homework or makes a big grade, they shine. They feel proud of themselves. And this for me is an opportunity to feel proud of myself. And I really believe that it just fills in every gap in your life. You smile more to strangers, you're kinder, you're nice because you're in such a good headspace. in our home, this is where we come back to.

This is our landing post. This is where we come to every day. This is the place where we're supposed to have serenity and refuge to all the busyness and the craziness. And I feel like that is why it's even more important to have it under control and let it be a place of refuge. And I mean, and if people can, it's amazing. but for me, that does not include mess everywhere. I mean, you know, I do have a lot of kids, but even them, I've noticed, even with them,

they sleep better, they do better in school, they're more calm if we have our things put together. Yeah. So how do you do that? Let's jump in. Here's one place that I recommend you need to start, and also it's a place that you need to declutter often. and that's your bathroom.

So I'm saying right now, if you're listening to this, you grab a trash bag, you get your butt in your bathroom because we all grab that trash bag. We're not worried about donating this stuff because we've probably opened it and used some of it. But if you've bought lotions, perfumes, things you don't use, cleaners, you're just like, this is not my jam. It stings my eyeballs or I don't love the smell. It's leaving. Right now.

I want to go. I want to go. That you spent money on it. Just let it go. It's not going to make you richer being in your drawer. I can promise you that. It is certainly not. And there's something really magical about decluttering the bathroom because every day your life

is easier and you save time getting ready. My bathroom is so streamlined. I had to go through. I'm a person I need to take vitamins. I always forgot to take vitamins. But I had so many that I would just buy and buy them that I opened up my place where I store them and I'm overwhelmed. because it's not streamlined because I've got, you know, melatonin or whatever that makes my legs twitch

and I'm never going to, but I bought it, so I kept it. And all this excess stuff that I was like, well, I spent $15 on this, I better keep it. But what it was doing was taking away from my ability to use the things I needed because it was cluttering up the space. So I ruthlessly declutter vitamins, which I know is bonkers because they're expensive. I ruthlessly declutter anti-wrinkle cream. I know, but it's like, I always say, yeah, it stings a little when you buy something and you're like, oh, okay, maybe one day, one day. You cannot say things for the one day you have to do it for today.

And I say, even if you get rid of it and you need it in six months, go out and buy it, but the price that it is weighing on you and it is costing you by taking it. space, you're wasting time, you're not getting ready as quick. It costs you more, in my opinion, with just your peas, keeping it. So just let it go. And if you've got to spend $15 in six months, you know you're going to use it. So it's a $15 well spent, opposed to it just sitting there and taking up so much space. And you're right, the bathroom, we're all there. We all have to go there. And so just go in there. And just get a trash bag. I say, make your, make your life. like easy, take a trash bag and get rid of things immediately expire, use, you don't love.

That's the first step. We don't have to like. And you probably have, I mean, you might have curling irons that you never use. You may have velcro rollers. I got rid of all my velcro rollers that I had for like 15 years. I'm not a velcro roller person. That's just not my thing. Curling irons that I liked one.

I didn't like the other. I had an old hair dryer and then I replaced it with a good one. but for some reason still had the old junky one, like just in, like, what am I doing? And decluttering all of this freed up space, so I don't have to have anything on the counter. I can open a drawer and I have breathing room. I can see everything that I have, which means I can put it away quickly. And it doesn't feel like work and effort. And now cleaning the bathroom is just wiping a surface.

I don't have to move anything. So get your butt in the bathroom and find things. That can go because this will make every morning better for the rest of your life. Every morning will be better when you're really ruthless in the bathroom. And while you're there, getting that shower, throw out those empty shampoo bottles. Those broken pieces, though. Go, just go. It's going to feel so good.

And you can fill half a trash bag in the average bathroom in 10 minutes. There is that much in there. I can promise you that there is that if you just open the cabinets and open the drawers, open the closet, if you have one in your bathroom, you're going to be amazed. You don't have to take everything out and sort. Stop it. We're not doing this today. Not today.

Finding things to go. Yeah. Okay. Lynn, what's an area that you recommend or something that you've decluttered that you're like, wow, that improved my life? So like I had mentioned, I mean, I love the flower in the closets. I mean, it's so satisfying. But I feel like the kitchen.

Because we're there so often, I find, especially if I got a lot going on up here, when I clear off the countertops, it is so free. And then when I open a drawer and I'm able to get to the one spatula I need, or the one this, that, and the other. It's really amazing how quickly, because like I said, we're there all the time. And it is so amazing how quickly things just like pile on. We don't need 14 spatulas. We really don't.

You know what I mean? So when I just get rid of it all and I have the one, it might seem a little over the top, but it's not because when I'm cooking, like I've got to get in there and make some fruit now. I don't have time to be going through everything. And so for me, I think the kitchen is definitely a big one for me. And it's also one that I feel like I can stay on top of. Clones in the closet. I mean, I need to do my closet regularly.

I think a lot of us do. But for the kitchen, it's the one that stays the organized, organized the most. I also feel like it's the easiest. Because if someone can say, like, if you walk in there and you're just completely overwhelmed with your home, I always say make it easy. If you don't know where to start, start at your entryway. That's a great place. But if you want to move on, just take everything off your countertops.

Everything. Take it all off. And only have the things that you go to every day. The Vitamix and the this and the that. A lot of us don't need those all the time to get them off the countertops. Your face will suddenly grow. It looks 10 times. bigger when you take the magnet's off the refrigerator and you take the stuff on the tops.

Yeah. It's gratification. I, so I've had lots of clients that I've helped, literally hundreds and hundreds of clients that have gone into their home to help them declutter their kitchen. And the initial thing is I'm like, okay, you have way too much on your counter, but they'll say, well, I don't have any space. I don't have any place to put this. And so what we do when I'm decluttering with a client is I open up.

up all the cabinets. So like the doors are open and then we step back and we look. And I just did this at my last all day declutter with the Take Your House back. And I opened up all the cabinets and I've done this so many times. And I went and I looked and I went, I have never used those salad bowls. I forgot they were down there in that cabinet. So I saw it differently and I grabbed the salad bowls out and I grabbed some other things I had never used that were down there. And now I had a whole cabinet for my stand mixer. And I felt like I won the lottery. I was like,

it's like I'm the cabinet. Nice. Yeah. Amazing. So. So find a space for your freaking toaster today. Because it's not a big deal to pull that toaster out and to put it back again. I put mine in like a tub so the crumbs never come out while I'm moving it.

You know, I have like a little plastic tow to keep it in. But it's no big deal to get that toaster off. And my kitchen looks so much better. Like night and day. We have an air fire and I have a lot of teenage boys. And so they love that air fire. And I'll say, I love it too. But I don't allow what to stay on the countercops.

And my son, 13-year-old, so when do you think we're just going to leave it here? And we're never. We're never going to leave it here. So what I do for me, when it comes out in the morning, we let it be there until lunch and then we will put it back. So if I'm alone by myself, I'll put it back right away. But if I know that they're going to be home and they're going to be using it, I'll leave it out until I know we're no longer using it or during my evening cleaning routine. Because when I go to bed, I need, I don't clean my house in the evening and straighten it up in the evening just because I do it for the evening. I do it for the future me in the morning.

I love that. Because when I wake up the morning, I don't want to see it. And so that is why I do it. And sometimes a lot of times, I'm way too tired. And I don't have the energy to do it. But I'm doing it with the future me and mind. I have to do this because when I want to come out and get my coffee and make breakfast, the last thing I want to see are crumbs and chicken nuggets and all the things everywhere.

You know what I mean? Yeah, for sure. And it takes a lot less time than you. think. So the secret is when you use something often, so we use our toaster every other day probably. And we use the air fryer. My kids use it probably every other day too. My kids love that air fryer. So we created a home for it right beside where we use it. We cleared out that space so that it literally is one second, like count one, two, it's away. One, two, it's out. If you had to walk across the room, if you had to go in and move stuff and shuffle around to put it away. Yeah, that's a pain in the butt. But this is

part of organization is decluttering and shifting so that it's easy to find and easy to put away. It's called zoning your kitchen. And you can do this. So yeah, the toaster, the air fryer, what else is on the counter? And how can you create a space for it right beside where you use it, but also give it breathing room. So it's easy to pull out and easy to put away so it doesn't knock a bunch of stuff over. Because if somebody has to, you know, take effort to put something away, they're not going to. That means a lot of stuff is leaving. Yeah, and I feel like you need it to be easy.

I think that is the beauty with decluttering and organizing. You know, you have to do this. It takes a time investment in the beginning, okay? And you have to be prepared for that. You don't have to do it all in a different. day. You can chip at it, but it's going to take some time. It's going to take some effort. But what you have to remind yourself is that is an investment. You're going to get that time back. So you're filling up that little bank. And just as something as simple as decluttering that cabinet,

so you are able to get to what you need quicker when you're cooking, you're doing whatever, it makes life so much easier. And I also say, just like what you said, make it work for you. And I kind of make an extreme example. Like if you're going to reach for the paper towels, you know, in the laundry room, then leave your paper towels in the laundry room. But if you're going to reach for your paper towels and the bedroom, then leave them in your bedroom. You have to make this work for you, whatever that may be.

For me, my vitamins are the ones I have to take at night or in my night stand because I'm opening up that every day. and the morning ones are right next to my coffee maker. Decluttering, I feel like people think there are all these rules. You do whatever works for you, and that's the beauty of it. Don't declutter your house for imaginary people online. That's what I tell people all the time. It is very unrealistic when you see these pictures online and you're like,

I have to have all clear acrylic containers and I have to have labels and I have to have it rainbow colored. That's wonderful, and that's beautiful. and some people do that. And I'm like, hooray, I am. You go, girl, I got you. But the average person like me, that's not it. I love an acrylic container,

but I'm not going to let it hold me up to making my space work for me today. And if that's an old shoe box, if that is a cardboard box, I don't know. You can get creative. The dollar tree has amazing things. And I have a shop.

many of organizing things at the grip stores and, you know, Goodwill and things like that, even Facebook marketplace, especially after the new year. I'm like, don't be afraid. Like, if you're ready to take the plunge, don't let anything get in your way. Not the excuse that you don't have enough time because you're going to get that back. Not that you don't have enough space.

We're going to find a way to make space. So there is always, I feel like there's always a way to make it work for you today. And, you know, I have run into the issue where I don't have a lot of space. I'm like, take it up, make it vertical space. You stack things on top. Like, if you got to put it in a tub and then add another little tub and then another little tub or another little shelf, that's like you can make it work. That's the biggest thing that I have learned as I've gotten into bigger houses and to

smaller houses. if the stuff that you have is not fit now for you, it's time to let it go. You know, don't, I could have kept so much from our other house, but it doesn't fit in this house. And it makes me feel overwhelmed by keeping it. So you have to come to a place within yourself, like, it's okay to let this go. I know sent a middle of items are very hard to let go. But you have to give yourself.

yourself permission to maybe I bought that and that was a mistake. Maybe I spent money on that and I feel really guilty about it. Those emotions aren't going to get you to where you need to be to make your space work for you. So you've got to give yourself some grace. You've got to let it go. Okay, I made a mistake. I shouldn't have purchased that. You know, I thought it was going to do this, that, and the other. Let it go. And I have people ask me, like, how do you get started? I'm like the first step is understand that this is an extremely emotional process. And be prepared to take a time out. Be prepared to really contemplate what you want to get rid of.

But you have to remember, you have to give yourself grace. And remember, this is for you. This is for your life. We only have a little bit of time here. Let's go ahead and make our space, our refuge. So that is what I try to explain to people. He's like, why can't I get rid of all this stuff? Or I don't have enough space or I don't have to have my personal myself.

This is a very mental process. I think that's why it's so freeing afterwards. It's a very mentally exhausting process. But oh, my gosh, if you can just give yourself a little grace and understand that, this is a gift to you. This is a gift to your future self. Yeah. And there's ways of doing it without the anxiety and the fear.

So I'm going to give you guys an example. We just did the pack-up method with my daughter. daughter, her bedroom. So, you know, organizing is not one size fits all. Some people actually get energized by seeing their stuff and like having a little bit more than other people who crave simplicity, but there's still something to be said for a minimalized space, having less distraction, having less to pick up, having less to manage. So in my daughter's bedroom, it was very full. She's like, I'm a butterfly. I want to see all my things. But I have. I know she was having trouble keeping it clean.

She was having trouble finding things. Yeah, it was just a struggle. So I went in there with her and I said, listen, here's what we're going to do. We are going to drastically minimize this space. We are going to practice minimalism, but get rid of nothing except the actual trash. We put things into boxes. We labeled the outside. And her initial reaction was, I hate this.

because I'll tell you what's happening. If you are surrounded by clutter for an extended period of time, you get used to it. You get clutter blind. That's exactly it. And when you first declutter drastically, say you take everything off your kitchen counters or you completely take everything off your bathroom counters, your initial feeling will be this feels too empty. I can promise you it is.

going from clutter to a streamlined, minimized space will feel too empty. I want you to try this, though. I want you to live with it for a couple of days. So here's what happened with my daughter. Initially, she's like, it looks horrible. I mean, she had pictures all over her walls. She had vines strung. She had like some weird canopy. She had clutter on every surface. We just packed it up. We found homes for the things she uses every day. We still kept a lot of the things out, but we packed up all the excess visual stimulation for a couple of days. And at first, she hated it. She's like, I want everything back. And I was like, please just live with it. The next morning, she said, Mom, that was the best sleep I ever had. By the next night, she said,

Mom, I got ready really fast and put things away fast. She's like, I still don't like the way it looks, though. But she's 17. It was hard for her to admit, but she was admitting. that her life was easier. It was easier for her to do homework. It was easier for her to get ready. It was easier for her to put things away. She actually put her clothes in the dirty hamper instead of the floor because everything in the space was a little cleaner. So now we're going on day four or five. And I'm like, hey, bud, you want to start putting stuff back? And she's like, I don't think I do. She's used to it now as a more minimized space. And eventually, like, we'll bring a little bit stuff back and I know she will, but you will, you listeners, you may have this same like,

this feels cold, this feels empty, this doesn't feel like home when you're drastically decluttering. I want to tell you to live with this. You can always put things back. For a little while. Yeah, and you can do the pack-up method. So grab a box, grab a tote, take things off the surfaces, especially if you have a lot of picture frames, knickknacks, try it. Try with less for a few days and then reevaluate. You can always go back and slowly bring more out. But it's really life-changing when you realize how much less work it is, how much easier it is, how much less stressed out you are, and how more focused you are when there's less visual distractions.

It's a clarity that comes along with it, that I don't think people realize until, like you said, you have to live with it for just a minute. And it can't feel really stark and cold. It's like after Christmas, everything goes down. You're like, it's exactly it. You're like, I got to go buy stuff because my house is so empty. But if you can just live with it, and then you kind of see like, wow, do you sleep better. It is easier to get ready.

And like I said, it is such a mental thing. You feel so much freer. And we have so many distractions in this world with just our phones that I feel like it is so important for us to be able to go for our room or somewhere and just just be. You need to decompress. We need to be. And when you have something everywhere, people don't realize, especially if you're clutterblind, your mind is processing.

Everything it's looking at, every sound, everything, your mind is processing. And if you've got a ton of pictures, a ton of neck, clothes on the floor, you've also got your phone in your face, that's a lot. That's a lot for our minds when we've already got real-life things going on. So that I feel like that's so good. And when people are nervous to get rid of things, just like you said, just put it in a bin. It's not going anywhere.

It's still here. It's just contained. So I feel like that is so much easier. Instead of saying like it's going to go and what if I want it one day or what if I miss it, I have to do that with my kids, especially one of my kids that loves everything. I'm like, okay, you've had this toy. It's got a hole in it. But he loves it.

I'm like, okay. Let's put it in a bin. Let's put it in a memory box. Let's put it here. And if you want to get back to it, you have the freedom to get back to it. But one thing I think you and I know, usually they don't. Yeah. Yeah, the pack of method is great.

I mean, you can put, if I haven't used anything out of here in six months, then I can just declutter it without even opening the box. You can make that a year if that feels more comfortable for you. And put that in the garage or the basement or under your bed or in the bottom of a closet. it like it's okay to test the waters with less stuff i call it like cosplaying as a minimalist just for a hot second not a full minute of let's let's cosplay as somebody who doesn't have a lot of stuff and um yeah it's just do one room at a time start in your kitchen or in the bathroom or even in your bedroom and you're going to be amazed like clear off your dresser right now clear it off nothing on that freaking

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Do you ever have friends or family who come to your home that say things? This is something I've noticed a lot since I've noticed. made my transition to kind of like, you know, from having tons of stuff being super, super cluttered, to having a lot less stuff. I still have people in my life who live in very cluttered homes. And when they come to my home, I think it's startling for them. Do you get that experience at all? I do. And I think like you were mentioning, he becomes so blind to it. So it's when a person comes out of their environment and they come into my home and like, wow. How do you? you do this with all these kids? How do you do this, that, and the other this much to take all day?

And I do say, I'm like, listen, first off, like, I thoroughly enjoy doing this. But it is also, it is better like, if I do create content, so that, that helps. But I tell people, you've already made all of these excuses on why you can't. And you didn't even, you don't even really realize how cluttered your space is until you go somewhere else. So I do get that quite a bit. And like, wow, your house is so clean. That's when they come over and it's actually a clean. Wow, it's organized. Because, I mean, I got a lot of kids.

We live here. And I tell them, I'm like, just do, I always just do one area at a time. You don't need to go home and completely do an overhaul in every room. That's too overwhelming. One door, one closet, one room. It literally takes one step. Small steps. feel that make the biggest change in your space. And when you realize, like, wow, I can do it. I say

it's like a decluttering muscle. You kind of have to like work it up a little bit. It takes time. You can't expect to go in there and suddenly have this Pinterest perfect space. That's not realistic. That's not real life. Not even for professionals most of the time. We live in our homes. And like you said, something has to work for you. There's no one size that fits on. all. But I have had people say that. And then they'll say, can you come to my house and help them like all the more day? Because I love it. Yeah. Yeah, it's I, what I always want, a lot of people say, oh my God, you must clean nonstop. And what I want to say, but I would never say is I promise I clean less than you. Because I went from somebody who had a ton of stuff and clutter. And,

and just, it wasn't even always cluttered. It just was I had a lot of things to manage. When I I started reducing that and streamlining and creating organizing systems, I no longer had to stuff shuffle. I no longer had to move things before I could clean. It used to be on a Saturday when I would clean the house because people were coming over. Two hours would just be putting stuff back. I didn't even touch a vacuum. I was just tidying for hours and hours and hours and hours. I don't have to do that any more, period. I tidy for 15, not even 10 minutes a night. But most of the spaces, I don't have to tidy them because it's really easy to just tuck things away that we're doing it all throughout the day. And we've kind of trained ourselves to do this. But my house is not clean. There is,

I need to vet. I do not vacuum enough. I do not clean the bathrooms enough. They're gross. Okay. Listen, but you would never know because it ever, all the surfaces are clean. Like, it's tidy. tidy all the time. So I don't spend a lot of time cleaning it and people will come over and they'll say, oh my gosh, you must work like a dog. And I'm thinking, you work way harder, friend, to manage the mess. It's really. I've also had people say like, how do you know, they live in their homes. It's their space. How do you know when it's time to do harder? And I say, when you find that you can't manage your stuff, your things, then you know it's time to let go.

You have too much to manage. And so then we need to kind of evaluate the space in the area. If you're opening in a door and you can never find what you need, it's time to declutter that floor. If it takes you more than 10 minutes to tidy a space, no, we're not talking dishes, but if it takes you more than 10 minutes to pick up, up your living room to pick up the things on the kitchen counters, even five minutes in the kitchen,

let's be honest. You have way too much stuff. And it's probably that your hidden areas are so full that you can't easily put the things out away so you're leaving them all out. So declutter those hidden areas to make room for the things you use every day. It means you've got to let stuff got like there is no magic solution. There's no buying your way out of clutter. It isn't that your house is too small. That is not the issue. It isn't that you don't have the money. You have too much stuff and stop.

I agree with that. And also, you can get really creative, especially having young kids. We have baskets. Like, I have baskets over there. It looks beautiful like it's a part of the decor. But if you open it up, it's nothing but a whole bunch of toys. And so when it comes to tidying up, it's not like I'm having to run all over the house. I'm putting it in a bin.

So cleaning up my living on eagerly is so quick because it's going in a bin. It's going on a part. I mean, I made that initial investment, but my life is so much easier. I'm able to get time back in the evenings or throughout the day from not having to spend all of this time managing all of this stuff. It's so easy and you can get creative. And like we said, you really don't even have to go out and do anything. You don't have to spend a dime. You do not have to spend a dying throwing trash away.

You really don't. It's, it's, it's, I feel like it is the biggest impact, not only in your life, but in your, not only in your home,

but in your life. And it doesn't cost a dime. You don't have to go out and keep up with anybody. Just put it away or throw it away. Yeah. And I, I mean, I don't have little kids anymore.

My son is 11. he was never really into toys, but I used to run a daycare. So I had so many kids' toys. And here's what I realized one day. I'm sitting there. There's toys everywhere, toys everywhere. When you buy toys, sometimes they come with like kits, you know? And so like it's a racetrack kit and it's got the racetrack or it's a like a little doll set up and it comes with some like bigger pieces. The kids never actually, like they play with the cars or the trains, but never. They play with the cars. It was never the stuff.

It was just like a little. Yeah. So they would play with the kitchen set. We had one doll house they played. But the kits that came with like those things that don't fit in a tote but aren't super heat. Like that was all. I just let that stuff go.

And I kept the pieces that they played with. And then they were like creative. Sometimes they would even like take cardboard boxes and make like dollhouses or make their own tracks with paper and things. but there wasn't like an abundance of clutter everywhere. My kids were more creative and the house was easier to care for because I could put things away quickly. Those like medium sized toys, I know you know what I mean. They're like too big for a tote.

But they're like it's like, but they're not actually played with. And they don't. God. They never play. And you don't have to like get the whole set. So you're like, oh, I can't donate this because. my kids like the little pieces that go with it. Throw the big pieces in the garbage.

Who cares? Who cares? You're more important. Sometimes people like, oh, I feel bad. I can't. But why? Why? Why?

It's going to go in a landfill eventually. Eventually, 50 years from now, it doesn't matter. There will be a day where that's in a dumpster. why are you delaying it, keeping it in your home, like your house is an alternative to a landfill? You are not saving the environment. It is going there eventually. It is not wasteful. You are wasting space. Right. It's got to go, friend. And I also, one of the biggest things, especially with my little one, I have some really creative kids and Geron de Virgin kids, because so I've learned with them, when I take away all the stuff, the big stuff, it does allow them to be more creative. And it calms them down.

I don't know if you've noticed that, but, you know, people say, like, what about their playroom? I've gone in playrooms and they are just the stuff. I know. You, your child would rather play with your cardboard box than all of this stuff. That's because there's too much stuff. Yeah. It's decision fatigue.

That's what it is. And I think study after study have shown this. That's why the monastery schools have that same philosophy that they do. Even most like kindergarten teachers. And they know that when there's access to too much, it becomes decision fatigue. And what happens is the child's just kind of running from spot to spot dumping. And then it's like, well, there's so much, oh my gosh, I don't know. And they don't want to play with anything at all, which is why a lot of children don't even go into playrooms when they're overwhelmed.

They avoid them like the plague. They might take something small and bring it out to the living room. And the parents are like, why do they do this? It's because the living room doesn't feel overwhelming. So they can actually focus their brain on play. But you can make the playroom feel like that too by just minimizing, minimizing, minimizing. It's so true. And if it's hard for adults to process this, imagine what it's like for a little child.

their world is already so big to them. And when they have thing after things, stuff after stuff everywhere, they can't work through that. And I do feel like then they won't play with any of it because it's just too much. And then they would rather just go sit in front of a screen, which no shame there, I've had to do it. But when you have to make,

you're making your life easier for your kids and yourself. And I will say that the children that I have had, since I've been really good and consistent with this, they have taken on their same practices. I mean, I have some that want to keep more than others, but they have understood that at nighttime we clean up our room because we sleep better and we have better days. And it's not full proof and we, you know,

but overall we're able to implement that. And it's been really beneficial for all of us, allowing that space to be creative. Mm-hmm. I've noticed a difference. And I mean, definitely everybody is different, but I notice a difference in my three children. I had a lot of clutter when my daughter, Izzy, was born. I was very cluttered person.

So she grew up in a cluttered home until she was around the age of six maybe, maybe even like five, six. I really started decluttering. Mylo, my son grew up that decluttering is just part of life. Like when we outgrow something, we just let it go. Like, not a big deal. Izzy saw I started doing it when she was young. So she's pretty good at it. But I feel like a lot of adults who've never experienced active decluttering and that

that's just part of normal life grow up. So these children who never experience like decluttering and keep everything grow up to be adults who struggle to let go. So helping our children declutter on a row. regular basis when they outgrow their clothes, when they outgrow their toys, when they don't, it's not a big deal means that they're not going to be adults who are attached to material things in a really negative toxic way. Does this make sense? Like you're teaching your kid a life skill, man. Yeah. Another thing that I've noticed is if you do it the right way, and I never

encourage, I never encourage, sorry, that's for dog for you to go in there and just clean sweep their because I can feel very violating as well. But just being mindful, and for the kids, I feel like the box system is the best thing for them. If a child comes home and mom is in the mode and she's decluttering and all stuff these are gone and all the things that matter, well, then that can take them to the other. Oh, yeah. Don't do that. Don't do that.

Don't let anything go. But there's a way to do this properly because on my videos where people see many people, You know, they only get a snippet. They're like, oh, my mom did that to me. And it was just that one. No, that's not what we're doing. You can do this in the most healthy and productive, beneficial way that it will help your children and belong in.

And like you said, when they see that it's okay, let things go. I think it's, I like for them to feel like they have control over it as well. They have to. They have to be involved. Yeah. So there's two great ways to help someone declass. whether it's a child or a grown-up. There's two ways that I like to do it. One is called the yes-no method, which is where they just sit and you hold things up and they yes-no. And if they say yes to 90%,

that's okay. But we praise anything that they say, oh, yeah, that can go. We're like, you're so good at this. Good job. That was a good decision. So then we're training that decluttering is positive. The other thing that we can do is put things that we think, that we think they don't play with, pack it up into a box, and then invite the person or the child to then go through and veto. Anything in here that you think you want to keep, go ahead and pick out because you're in charge. Now instead of deciding what goes, they decide what stays, and they're only going to choose a few things. And then they're going to give permission for the rest to go. Again, learning that decluttering is a positive experience.

It is such a positive thing. And with anything, it could be taken the wrong way. But if you allow them and even ourselves, like, you know what, I do have control over this. I can let this go or I can keep it. And knowing that it's okay. This is an amazing process. And it's not linear. And sometimes it takes a very long time.

But that is all okay. There are no rules. So there's no rules. I mean, there are some recommendations, but there are no rules. It has to work for you. And like you said, with the kids, like with my son, at first it was, I want everything. It was like, okay, for sure, of course. I mean, it was just one toy and like, if you look at you, I'm so proud of you.

You're learning you could let go. That's fine. It's going to sit in this box. If you decide that you want it later, it's here. It never goes back to it. And each time we revisit this practice, he is more confident in he's more confident in more secure in knowing that, okay, I have control over this. I can keep what I want to keep, and I can let go, what I want to let go. And it's a change of mind. It's still here.

And it's the same for yourself. Yes. It's the same strategy for yourself, teaching yourself to declutter because I think a lot of times we come at decluttering from like a part of rage. Like the house is so overwhelming. I have to get rid of stuff. Oh, it's an negative thing. But when we a place of like we're creating an easier to clean home. We're making room for the things that matter. This is a beautiful act of self-care and self-love, realizing that we are more important than physical things in our mental health and our peace of mind is more important, then it becomes this very empowering, beautiful thing. It is. And I feel like, you know, especially in today, staying age, if you have to come to yourself as your inner child, okay, why is this feeling bubbling

up in me a sadness or anxiety? What is going on in me? Let's visit this for a minute. And then tell myself, it is okay. It's okay. I love me and I am worth the investment in time. I am worth a clean and clutter-free space. I am worth time to be creative. I deserve this because I am worth it. I feel like when you put that spin on it, it was like, okay, I can do this. Yeah, I hope those of you listening at home are feeling a little bit inspired. I do love pushing you a little bit. Encouraged.

I want you if you're like, I can't get rid of anything. Pack some stuff up, man. And put an expiry date on it. Like if I haven't needed something out of here in six months, So write the six-month deadline. When I come across this tote again, I am going to let it go without opening it. Just let it go. That's why I say clear bins are amazing.

But when it comes to decluttering and putting things away, we don't want a clear bin. You want it to be covered. You want a box. You want it to be an opaque color. Because if you see it and you open it. maybe I do want this. No, we're not shopping as stuff. We're not shopping here.

We're decluttering here. So cardboard boxes are great because they're donateable, right? You can just take that cardboard box and you can put it right in the back of your car and you don't even have to unpack it. You're just like I'm packing stuff into cardboard boxes, but I'm giving myself a couple of months just in case because I don't want to make a mistake. That's fine. Eventually, you won't need to do that anymore.

I no longer have to do the pack up method for myself because I'm, I trust myself. I trust myself to know what I need, what I don't, what I use, and what I don't. But it took me a while to build up that trust with myself. I had to declutter often. And now I'm like, time to make my house better. I'm excited about it. Like, I'm like, I can't wait to throw things in the garbage. It's ridiculous, but it's true. I love it so much. Also, people need to know that everybody started from somewhere. So even if they're watching, quote-on-quote, a professional, that professional had to get to that point. And so don't compare where we're at or where somebody else is that.

Everybody had to pick up that trash bag for the first time at some point. And you're just peeking in on the chapter 15, but there was a whole one through 14. That's a mess. I guess what we're never done. You are never done. I still declutter all the time. everybody who has a clean house is still actively decluttering all the time, you are never done. So people will say, well, I did declutter and it didn't make a difference.

I still have stuff. What are you talking about? You're round one. I'm round 564 over here. Like, get in there. What are you talking about? You're not done. You're never done.

It's never. But it isn't like, oh, it's going to be work forever. It's easier every time. and every day is easier that you declutter. Every time one thing leaves, that's one little bit that your life has improved, and it just continues to be that way. That is right. And we are worth that.

We deserve that. And I think we need to understand that really know that we deserve that. Our kids deserve that. we deserve that. We sure do. Okay, I'm going to go declutter some stuff and clean. Lynn, let my listeners know how they can find you and where they can watch you. And that would be amazing. I am on YouTube every single week.

Just posted a video today. Lynn White. And then you can find me on Instagram, Ms. Lynn White, M-R-S, Lynn White. And so I would love to have you guys join me, send me messages. I absolutely love it when people tag me and show me the spaces that they clean or deep butter. That is so, I want people to understand as much as people think I encourage them. Just them doing this and making positive steps is the biggest gift and the biggest encouragement to myself. It literally fills up my cup and I am humbled to be able to be a part of the journey for people.

I love that so much. Well, thank you so much. And thank you everyone listening at home. I hope you're motivated. Let's get rid of some stuff today. And I'll see you guys. Trashbag! We'll see you.