Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K White
Winning your never-ending battle against stuff

Let’s face it: most of us a lot of stuff. Possessions, like they say of enemies, tend to accumulate as you go through life. Now, having stuff is OK, so long as it’s useful and you have a place to keep it. But when you don’t use yet still hang onto it, and it’s taking up the space where you could and should be keeping beneficial items, then it’s crossed the line and become clutter. And it needs to go.
The author tells us that the most important thing about decluttering is that stuff you don’t need leaves your home. It’s not about shifting stuff, rearranging it or buying new containers. Decluttering is not organising, but it’s certainly the first step towards it.
Throughout the author is very encouraging and very down to earth. She begins by explaining how her own clutter built up, rapidly and unnoticed, and then became a problematic part of her life. Her message is to live for now – not the future or past. Don’t hang onto items of vaguely sentimental value if you haven’t got space for them. Don’t hang onto stuff just in case you think you might use it one day. (There is a big difference between usefulness and using something.) Have what you need now to hand.
Dana K White uses some great words and terms. Here are a few examples that will resonate with most of us messy people:
• Deslobification – method of improving how your home looks from a cluttered mess to far more acceptable.
• Decluttering paralysis – don’t let it afflict you: you can overcome your clutter.
• Procasticlutter – things you just haven’t got round to dealing with but you know what you must do with it.
• Redecluttering – what you need to do when clutter threatens to make a come-back. But don’t panic, it’s a lot easier than decluttering first time round.
• Clutter threshold – the point at which the clutter becomes too much. Tell me about it!

There are four main parts to the book:
• Building a decluttering mindset: laying the ground rules and getting the ball rolling
• Decluttering room by room: the author reveals her 5-step process, but I won’t tell you what it is because you must go and buy the book. However, it really is effective as I’ve been trying it out.
• Helping others declutter: giving friends and family a helping hand in getting rid of stuff they no longer need
• Special circumstances in decluttering: how to tackle the huge jobs, like moving house or clearing out a loved one’s home.

The ‘at the speed of life’ element of the title is basically just fitting decluttering into your free time without it driving you mad. And simplifying the process as much as possible with easy steps, such as put the item where you’d look for it. And remember you’ve got it the next time you need it.
This is a common-sense, heartening and uplifting book. It makes decluttering possible and actually almost enjoyable!

“Deslobification” Explained and Illustrated

You must applaud anyone who invents the word, “Deslobification.” In DECLUTTERING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE, author Dana K. White explains how to develop a lifestyle of decluttering. She knows how to do this, from personal experience. She admits that, “Pre-deslobification process, I was overwhelmed by my entire home.”

A central point of decluttering is the concept of what a “container” is supposed to do. It’s supposed to “contain” and therefore, LIMIT what can be stored. For example, if you understand that your house is a container, then you can begin limiting what is in that “container,” and make room for your family.
Ultimately, the author was able to get rid of her short-lived project to learning welding: “I Decluttered 67 Lbs. Of Rusty Metal.”

One important guideline is what Dana calls the “Visibility Rule.” The idea is, to inspire yourself, by starting with the areas that give the biggest visual payback.

Another tip I really liked was to “establish a donate spot.” Everyone in the household knows where to take the stuff. (We already use that idea in our house, and it works well.)

There is an entire chapter on how to mix decluttering and your family. The author treads carefully here! She wisely notes, “You cannot control another person.” In her home, she happened upon a good tactic, which worked well. She gave her spouse a container to encourage him to declutter—and it worked! Her husband’s outlook on clutter changed, and “his grip on the things I thought he’d never give up loosened.”

So, all in all, I found DECLUTTERING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE to be a fun, informative read. Of course, not all the chapters were equally valuable, but I found many of the tips and concepts helpful. Dana K. White is a brave woman to talk about getting your spouse onboard. Plus, any writer who invents the word, “Deslobification” deserves a good review.

Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.

I am in love with this book! It has so many helpful suggestions and reading it is like reading my own mind. It's amazing how the author knows exactly what my struggles are! This book has helped me so much and I am only through my kitchen. I'm looking forward to working toward decluttering the rest of my home and regaining the living areas I enjoy most. A must read for any mother who's home isn't quite what she'd like it to be!

E-book/ARC: I requested this book from NetGalley because I needed a reboot after my last uncluttering session about three years ago. My son had left for college four years ago and I uncluttered mostly his room. (I had a garage sale with his stuff. He wasn't happy, but too bad. I am not a storage facility and he don't pay rent). Three years ago, a coworker let me read the Japanese method of uncluttering and I got my house to echo (I have laminate floors). With it just me and my puppyperson, it is great to have a simple home. When my son comes to stay during breaks from college, I hide in my room. He is a slob. It was during his last visit that I realized I needed a mini bootcamp. I really like the author's view of "container" and thought I give it a try.

First let me say this book is very good, well thought out, and has step by step instructions which while get repetitive, I see many people needing them. It took me a while to read this because I was doing some cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms. I was able to get rid of a lot of stuff. I did not agree with the "don't empty out a container" method. I don't really agree with that in my case, but I don't have, nor have I ever had, the extensive problems she mentions in the book. While I did clean out cloths last time, I know it needs to be done again. I have not, but will go back to her method in the spring when I change winter to summer (yes, it's that bad). The drawer space is fine, but the hanger is in need of a cleaning. I did the whole put the hangers backwards 18 months ago and it is time for the purge.
I was mostly looking for a way to get rid of sentimental items that I only keep because someone gave it to me and the biggy, photographs. That is later in the book and while I see her point of view, I think it will be hard.
The Japanese way of declutter is joy; and it works and there can be guilt. White's method is container space. I like that I don't have to feel guilty about my books because I do have space for them. As an older person, I really liked the "dream" chapter.
I really did not agree with the getting help chapter. I agree there that you should do the journey alone. That is because you will be either quilted into keeping something or the other person will take it off your hands and clutter their home. My older son is becoming a hoarder and is at the pile everything in a closet stage. My younger son is sentimental and a slob/hoarder. I see the chapter on helping others as guidance they will need later on.

This book was written by a person who had big issues: one husband, two sets of pots & pans, three doorstep kids, and four chessboards. I did like her views in most cases and I think this method is useful for people with issues. There was a thought I had when I was reading: the episode of the Simpsons where Homer and Marge have to go to parenting classes and the instructor says: [and I paraphrase] "I cannot stress this point enough people. Take your garbage outside to the curb. Don't throw it out the window". Homer is taking notes. Marge is embarrassed.

With so many organizational and decluttering strategies available today, I wasn't expecting much. This has a softer edge. While it leads you to your goal, it does so in a kinder, gentler way than Marie Kondo. Highly recommended by those scared off of the great pile in the middle of the room.

It was an interesting read and gave some good ideas . The authors writing style was simple and engaging. I liked how the author compared the house to a big container and all in it as small containers. This book will definitely help you change your mindset. With spring around the corner and spring cleaning is one of the things we all do this book comes with some great tips and ideas. Thank you NetGallery for providing me with an Advance Copy of this book.

Full confession, I follow Dana K White's blog and listen to her podcast. So nothing in this book was new information to me really.
However, here is the reason I read it and will read it again. My brain seems to work much like Dana's. I need a decluttering book to tell me to first go through and pick up trash. I need a book to be repetitive. Because I might start in one room and by the time I move to the next room I am distracted by a pile of something I forgot I had. Then I lose all momentum. The decluttering never happens and things never change.
How do I know? I've been stuck in this cycle since I moved into my own home 18 years ago.
It's been changing slowly since this past summer when I discovered Dana.
Is the book simple, sure. Is it repetitive? Yes, thankfully it is. Could I find all this information on her website? Probably. However finding it on her website would waste a day or two for me because I'd get distracted.
I love that this book is set up room by room. I love that the ideas are simple enough I have been able to even enlist my 4 year old to help. Our home looks better then it has in years.

Don't just declutter your house, put it through a deslobification process! With spring coming on and knowing that spring cleaning will top most everyone's list it is always handy (and hopeful) to pick up a decluttering book to motivate, inspire and hopefully get you moving toward your goal of finally having a house that is neat, clean and orderly. Though this book will not come and do that for you, it will show you how to change your mindset and only ask 2 simple questions, then once those are answered you think of your home as a container. It can only fit so much. Once it's full, it's full.

Great new approach to the problem of what to do with the many things we own. Love the comparison of your house as a container and all in it as smaller containers. Have already started on drawers and closets and love the method of determining what will actually fit there and deciding what is important to me. You will really like this book!

This book was just a surprise to me, I thought that I would read it learn a couple of tips or hacks to decluttering and maybe end up donating one or two things at the end of it. NO! instead I found myself nodding along to nearly every sentence, laughing out loud that I had such a similar mindset and hopping off the couch to voluntarily declutter sections of my house like the bottom drawers in my kitchen that I haven't even tried opening in over a year. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone.


I loved this book so much I have already pre ordered two copies to give to family members.

This ebook was given to me by Netgalley in exchange for my honest review (and I can not stop raving about it).

This is the year of decluttering at my house. I thought this book gave me some usual tips and was well written. At no point did I feel like I was being preached to about how to do things. I enjoyed it.

Although there's nothing really new here, it's a nice addition to anyone's shelf of decluttering and organizing books. If you like to read one or two of these each year just to remind yourself not to hold onto what your'e holding on to, you might enjoy Decluttering at the Speed of life.

Decluttering made simple! Once you understand the steps and the concept of storing items only to the top of ‘containers’, not overloading or cramming of containers, it’s easy! It’s written in a chatty style which I didn’t mind because the author addresses you directly and I found myself nodding to myself about habits that lead to a need of decluttering. To be fair, moving house a year ago led to a huge 22 years worth of clutter being sorted through and disposed of, but already I’m starting to overfill my ‘containers’ (books and clothes mainly) but halfway through the book I was inspired to get up from reading and apply what I’d learned to the scarves hanging on the back of my bedroom door! So, you see, this book engaged it’s reader…learn the steps (they’re repeated often enough); and make it happen! I highlighted plenty of things that struck a chord with me, for a repeat read, for next time I forget the ‘one in, one out’ rule. Nice read, I deducted one star because I felt it got a bit repetitive seeing the steps applied to most rooms in a house, leading to a bit of skim reading by the thud room, so it could’ve been a bit more succinct in my opinion.

It is more about dehoarding and it is very repetitive but you can take some good ideas.

Decluttering at the Speed of Light by Dana K. White is a realistic and common sense approach to decluttering every area of your home. I really like that the book in not cluttered. There are no photos of ways you "should" do things, only the rules to follow to declutter, starting with the easiest rule first (I won't give spoilers here, but it was really a duh, or aha kind of moment to see how easy the rules were!) Great book, funny author, real life samples. I think most clutterers would find this book helpful. I know I did!

Have you ever read a book and realized you were nearing the end but didn't want to finish so you slowed down? This happened to me. I noticed I was at 95% on my Kindle app so I found other things to do. I loved Dana's first book so I was excited to be able to read this advanced copy via NetGalley. The first book really made a difference in my life and attitude about clutter. I'm not a hoarder but I'm a slob when I don't want to deal with certain things. I have a lot of dreams, hobbies, and memories taking up a lot of space. With inspiration from the first book, I was able to purge a lot of things but it's time to get back into it. This second book is a great follow-up and reminder to me to get back on the decluttering track without tearing up my entire house and making a bigger mess. The book was well written and I always want more from Dana. Time to listen to some podcasts of hers. I have just discovered them and enjoy them too. Great practical advice that matches my way of thinking and living. Oh, and I cleaned up my Christmas dump room in the middle of reading this book. It made me "itch" so I had to do it.

We have a problem in our house. It's clutter and a lack of clear space. I've read other, similar books but they didn't hit the spot and motivate and their methods didn't feel achievable on a long term basis.

Dana White writes as though she is the angel sitting on your shoulder, whilst you progress through her book. Even before I'd got to the end, I started looking round and doing a '5 minute pick up'.

The main message is that you do not have to spend days and days working on this to achieve perfection, it's more about decluttering 'in whatever chunk of time you have' and using a simple, workable process to make a difference quickly. The emotions involved and the impact on our dreams of using the items we find are dealt with sensitively, The book moves on to helping others with decluttering - friends, older relatives and members of your family and provides useful and sensible advice if you find yourself in these scenarios.

Make space for this book on your shelf (container :-))

This review is also posted on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2253122149?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I read this book to better understand those I know that are hoarders. They rail, cry and throw tantrums akin to a child to hang onto filthy, crowded piles in their homes. I am a very neat, clean organized person who lives a ". minimalist life style and likes it to stay that way. One hoarder I know can hardly come into my home because she says its "to neat". I had a organized clean Mom who when i cleaned out her house was so organized it only took me a manner of hours to pack. So I need to better understand my hoarder friends and relatives . This book is very helpful and will guide anyone with clutter to a healthier way of living. It is sensible and concise . I highly recommend it for anyone you know that may be a hoarder or relatives that live like pigs.

There are lots of books out there about how to clean up and organize. Few of them can hold my attention because I feel as if I have failed right off the bat. The book is different, the author speaks from the same spot I find myself in.
She offers practical and realistic ways to address and detach from stuff.

It is way too easy to hang on to things and then have to manage them, this book has some really helpful even as I continue to struggle with too much stuff.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book on decluttering. I have always enjoyed Dana K. White's blog, A Slob Comes Clean. and this book was written in the same easy-to-read tone. If a reader is in need of decluttering help, this book would be a great start. Though I personally found the book a bit repetitive, it may help readers stuck in a cluttered house.,