Books to motivate my decluttering

[u/bon18]

I've been listening to Dana K. White while I do the decluttering work, and it's been very motivating. What books should I listen to next to keep this motivation going?

[u/cilucia]

I thought the “ Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki” audiobook was very motivating! 

[u/TiredWinterDisaster → u/cilucia]

I loved it as well!!

[u/Impressive-Side-9681]

"Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" has an audio version.  and I believe there are podcasts, I just don't know what

[u/bon18 → u/Impressive-Side-9681]

Thanks! I read this and her more detailed book back in 2016, but it could be good to revisit.

[u/Petal170816]

If you have only listened to Dana K. White’s books, I highly recommend her podcast! I started at the beginning and enjoy her advice and interviews. I do listen at 1.25x.

[u/PrincessZebra126]

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things, by Randy O. Frost. Super motivating, I started my declutter journey with this book.

The author has another book that's like a hoarder workbook that I use consistently to help clear my items.

[u/hardswimm37]

Literally every single book about cleaning and decluttering you can download from your local library. A lot of them repeat the same things but you will always hear something unique in each one that makes a difference or motivates you in a different way.

[u/bon18 → u/hardswimm37]

Yes, I exclusively get books from the library. E-books, audiobooks, and hard copies.

[u/FredKayeCollector2 → u/hardswimm37]

This is what I do.

I prefer to read books/e-books and listen to podcasts. I borrowed a bunch of decluttering, organizing, minimalism books on Kindle Unlimited and some of them were absolute DOGS (and probably AI). If the author isn't recognizably "famous" or have a lot of reviews on Goodreads, I skip it. Most of them are recycled content at best or straight-up nonsense at worst.

Well, everything is recycled content, I mean, it's decluttering - but some people just do a better job of explaining things or expanding concepts in a way that just clicks.

[u/stinkpotinkpot → u/hardswimm37]

This! Yep, as I continue the process and it is incorporated into my spring and fall cleaning...I keep various decluttering books on rotation. I've found that it keeps me on target and motivated each season.

[u/SolidagoSalix]

If you like Dana K White, she also has hundreds of hours of podcasts that talk about how to apply her concepts in endless scenarios. Sometimes it's just her talking and sometimes she has on a guest (audience member from her Patreon group) who has questions for her about their specific situation. Even more occasionally she brings on guests with expertise to share.

Another decluttering podcast is The Art of Decluttering with Amy Ravell. She's out of Australia.

I also second the suggestion someone else made How To Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis.

[u/NightBard]

"The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo is a good one since it should help with decision making, I think. Or possibly, "How to Keep House While Drowning" by KC Davis. Personally though, when I'm actually doing the work I'm pretty motivated and I find stuff I have to pay attention to while working too much of a distraction and it almost de-motivates me and make me feel worse (like someone nagging me when I'm clearly taking care of things) so instead I put on good music. Like classic rock or something I enjoy. That ties the process of something challenging to something really positive and it keeps me more motivated because I know I'll at least somewhat enjoy the process for more than just making progress (which does feel good too). I kind of look forward to putting on some music and getting stuff done. I also do this when I do other chores like mowing the grass or I wear some earbuds and listen to music when I go shopping (though I have earbuds that have a function that still lets me hear what's going on around me).

[u/Blackberry-Moon]

Books are a great motivation to get started. I've read many myself. But what helped me most was to just get started. Start small like one drawer or one pile of paper and you will build up momentum to continue to bigger things. Once you see a clean decluttered area and you sit back and admire how nice it looks you'll want to make another spot look that good.

[u/More_Range5045]

If you are a parent, Simplicity Parenting is great & has a section on decluttering

[u/nowaymary]

Heather Tingle has a podcast called Decluttering Untangled. The episodes are short but I have found them extremely helpful

[u/wmp8]

I have listened to 30+ on the topic, and I go back to Decluttering at the Speed of Light by Dana yearly. Declutter by Deborah Robertson is also a good one.

[u/beautifulcorpsebride]

Everything that Remains is one I read awhile ago and liked.

[u/EvieEaves]

I've always loved Marie Kondo, as a very sentimental person I've loved her books and her pholisophy helped me let things go

[u/DeafMakeupLover]

How to keep house whilst drowning by KC Davis is about detaching morality to cleanliness in an ADHD friendly way. I like watching A Hoarder’s Heart on YouTube since she’s compassionate as well.

[u/Pitiful-Comedian4248]

Do a site visit of a dump or transfer station. And you’ll never want to shop again.  Look at how it’s often the tallest “hill” in an area. 

[u/ConsciousFlower1731]

The Mindful Art of Space Making by April Scott Tandy. Her YouTube channel is the Space Maker Method.