Dana K. White, a bestselling author and decluttering expert, shares her transformative five-step process for simplifying home organization. She dives into the emotional toll of clutter and how it can disrupt mental clarity. Listeners learn practical strategies to tackle visible areas first, using methods like black trash bags to minimize emotional attachment. Dana emphasizes starting with easy decisions, making progress visible, and fostering a mindset shift from perfection to improvement for a more peaceful living space.

This episode blew my freakin’ mind.After you meet our expert today and learn her revolutionary approach to simplifying your life, you will never approach the topic of picking up, cleaning up, or organizing the same way again.Whether it’s your desk or closet that is overwhelming you, or like me, you are guilty of constantly starting projects and putting things in piles, only to run out of time or get flustered, creating bigger projects to deal with in the future, today’s episode will change your entire life.I had no idea how simple it could be to feel organized and in control.I learned from our expert today that I was attacking organization completely wrong, and that was the problem.Her 5 steps are so life-changing that from the moment I finished talking to her, I started putting them into practice, and the results are incredible.Get ready to laugh and learn as I confess the details of what a disaster I am (my husband even rats me out).Luckily, the incredible Dana K. White, founder of the hit blog, A Slob Comes Clean, and author of How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind, is here to help us all.And that's not all.Don’t forget to sign up for "Take Control with Mel Robbins."It’s free. It’s my gift to you for supporting this podcast.It features 3 brand-new training videos, two hours of research-backed curriculum taught by me, and a detailed 21-page workbook.This training will provide you with the coaching, structure, and support you need to hit reset, take control, and level up your life.And if you combine this training with Dana’s advice about decluttering, you, my friend, won’t even recognize yourself in a week.All at zero cost to you. Why? Because you deserve it, and it’s my way of thanking you for being here with me.You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. So why not take advantage of this opportunity?Sign up for free at melrobbins.com/takecontrol now.In this episode, you’ll learn: 2:00: What Chris thinks about living with a slob. 😂4:40: Wait. Organizing and decluttering are NOT the same thing?6:20: Focus this way on organizing, and it will change your life.7:30: Why doesn’t it work to buy all those organizing containers?9:45: How do you know what your “clutter threshold” is?12:15: We’ve gotten the purpose of containers all wrong!17:40: Use “the visibility rule” before you do anything.20:00: This is why you begin with a BLACK trash bag.23:30: This part is still pretty easy. I can do this and you can, too.25:00: Here’s why you don’t want a fancy “donate” box.26:30: The decluttering question you’ve never heard before.30:45: Here’s what REALLY happens with those organized piles.31:50: No piles. Here’s what you do instead.34:15: This is why we always put off organizing in the first place.37:35: The second decluttering question you’ve never heard before.39:00: Stop making organizing seem so big!43:30: Spoiler alert: avoiding clutter doesn’t make it go away.48:30: So how DO you live with a partner who’s a slob? Disclaimer