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🎉 HAPPY 100TH EPISODE!

🎃👻 100 Episodes. Zero Sentimental Retrospectives. Maximum Chaos.

Julie and Janis hit triple digits this week, and instead of a nice, reflective look back, they threw themselves a slightly unhinged Halloween party and counted down 100 things that strike fear into a declutterer's heart ...

... complete with a helium alarm sound effect that means things are about to get spooky.

The countdown takes listeners on a full haunted-house tour of the home:

the Closet Crypt (the bridesmaid dress you'll "totally wear again,"
the single sock still waiting for its partner,
12 slightly-different black t-shirts),

the Kitchen of Terror (mystery freezer packages, three garlic presses, mugs that apparently breed overnight),

the Doom Dungeon (the infamous Chair, the trunk-as-mobile-storage-unit, a boombox that's survived three moves still taped shut),

the Haunted Heirloom House (grandpa's recliner, dad's tools times three different dads, souvenir spoons from states nobody's visited), and

the Paper Poltergeist's lair (expired coupons clipped with love and never used, a VCR manual for a VCR that no longer exists).

Between the laughs, Julie and Janis slip in real talk:
a gentle note on sentimental items (keep the story, not the storage),
the Someday Cemetery full of good intentions with no actual deadline, and
a genuinely moving moment reflecting on 100 episodes of helping people get through one drawer, one box, one decision at a time.

And yes, the one number Janis accidentally skipped turns up by the end, reunited with its missing lid from way back at number 98. A true Halloween miracle.

✅ Episode 100 Challenge

Pick your scariest item from today's countdown — the one that made you go "oh no, that's me."

Set a 12-minute timer, #declutteringdozen, and face that fear head-on with Keep or LET'S GO.

Tell the JJs which one got you in the ABC Declutter Facebook Community — bonus points if you find a lid that finally matches its container.

Thank you for 100 episodes of laughing, learning, and letting go!

Here's to the next 100! 🥂

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@abcdeclutterwithjj
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abcdeclutterwithjj/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/abcdecluttercommunity
🖥️ Website: https://www.abcdeclutter.com/
🎙️ Podcast Website: https://www.thejjsdeclutterpodcast.com/
✉️ Email: hello@abcdeclutter.com

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Keep it Simple, Keep it Intentional, and - as always - Keep Decluttering!!

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🎃 This Episode’s Candy Bag Is Full of Raisins (Metaphorically)

With Halloween right around the corner, Julie and Janis are playing Trick or Treat with their closets ... swapping candy for every “life-changing” purchase that turned out to be clutter in disguise.

Storage containers, organizing gadgets, exercise equipment, kitchen appliances, hobby supplies, decor, and the bargains none of us could resist ... they’re all getting the spotlight this week, and fair warning: it hits close to home.

The big idea here is that we don’t buy objects, we buy dreams ... the organized pantry, the toned arms, the homemade sourdough.

Reality, as always, is more “eating crackers over the sink with great intentions.” The JJs start with the biggest trick of all: storage containers bought before decluttering, which just gives your existing clutter a nicer, pricier apartment.

Their rule is simple: declutter first, buy containers last, using their Keep or LET’S GO system to figure out what you actually need before you shop your own house (the only store where everything’s already paid for).

From there it’s a tour through every category of “this will change my life” purchase: exercise equipment turned expensive clothes rack, kitchen gadgets that need their cord located before anyone remembers they exist, hobby supplies that multiply in the dark, seasonal decor threatening to take over a whole bedroom, and the sneakiest trick of all ... the bargain that wasn’t actually a deal once you factor in dusting it forever.

Julie and Janis also swap their own confessions:

Janis’s Nordic Track elliptical that lived in the attic for over a decade, and

Julie’s art supply stash that’s grown well beyond “should be allowed by law”

— plus a great tip about donating hobby supplies to middle school art and sewing programs, who’ll often take almost anything.

✅ This Week’s Challenge

Set a 12-minute timer, #DeclutteringDozen, and go on a trick-or-treat hunt through your home.

1) Find three tricks:
a bin full of empty bins,
an unused gadget,
a bargain still wearing its tag
2) Now: run them through Keep or LET’S GO.

Share your biggest “trick” purchase in the ABC Declutter Facebook Community — bonus points if it’s shaped like a cartoon animal!

Next week: the 100th episode celebration! 🎉

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@abcdeclutterwithjj
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abcdeclutterwithjj/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/abcdecluttercommunity
🖥️ Website: https://www.abcdeclutter.com/
🎙️ Podcast Website: https://www.thejjsdeclutterpodcast.com/
✉️ Email: julie@abcdeclutter.com

#ABCDeclutter #TheJJsDeclutterPodcast #DeclutteringDozen #SmallDoableDoses #ClutterCrushersClub #DeclutterWithJJ #KeepOrLetsGO #TrickOrTreat #HalloweenDeclutter #ImpulseBuys #StorageContainers #UnusedExerciseEquipment #KitchenGadgets #BargainBuys #DeclutterYourLife #IntentionalLiving #SimplifyYourLife #DeclutterCommunity #MindfulShopping #GetOrganized #FallDeclutter #OrganizingTips #DeclutterMindset #ClutterFreeHome #ShopYourHouseFirst #HobbySupplies #DeclutterPodcast #OrganizingGadgets

Keep it Simple, Keep it Intentional, and - as always - Keep Decluttering!!

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💀🚪 Skeletons in the Closet: What's REALLY Hiding Behind That Door? (S4E7)

Julie has a confession:
there are skeletons in her closet.

Before Janis could call a priest (or the police), the truth came out.

A broken umbrella, a bread maker used exactly once, three mystery cords, and a coat that last fit during the Clinton administration. Not a crime scene. An archaeological dig.

In honor of Halloween, we're going skeleton hunting.

We're opening hall closets, spare room closets, linen closets, kids' closets, and those mysterious little doors you open six inches, get bonked on the foot, and quietly close again.

Some closets aren't storage. They're witness protection programs for household items.

🧠 Why We Keep the Skeletons

• "But it was expensive!" That money's gone. Your closet doesn't issue refunds or store credit.
• "I might need it someday." Someday lives somewhere between Tuesday and never.
• "It was a gift." The gift was the giving. You don't owe the object lifetime housing.
• "It still works… mostly." If it needs jiggling, smacking, and a pep talk, it may be time.

🚪 The Closet Tour

• Hall Closet: This is home base for CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). It holds the umbrella that handed in its resignation, shoes begging to be released, and a bag of bags big enough to supply a small nation.
• Spare Room Closet: Also known as the Museum of Things We Meant to Use. Exhibits include Julie's backup egg system and the DOOM pile (Didn't Organize, Only Moved).
• Linen Closet: Sheets that outlived their bed, towels with the absorbency of a paper plate, and one Hilton souvenir we will not discuss.
  (Tip: animal shelters often welcome old towels!)
• Kids' Closets: Outgrown 3T treasures for the little ones. For grown kids who moved out years ago, it's Mom's free storage unit, complete with trophies, yearbooks, and one box marked "important."

📦 Keep or LETS-GO
Keep what you use. Everything else gets a LETS-GO sort:

• LE: Lives Elsewhere
• T: Trash or recycle
• S: Sentimental (set it aside so it doesn't derail the closet!)
• GO: Goes Out (donate, sell, or return to its rightful owner)

💛 What Are We Really Keeping?
Sometimes we're holding onto guilt, fear, or obligation.

Sometimes it's an earlier chapter of our lives.

Letting go of an object doesn't erase the memory. Your closet just needs to work for the life you're living now, not for 1997. Especially if 1997 includes shoulder pads.

🎯 This Week's Challenge
Pick ONE closet. Set a timer for a #DeclutteringDozen, which is just 12 minutes, and go skeleton hunting.

Look for anything broken, worn out, the wrong size, missing pieces, unused for years, or belonging to someone else.

Keep it to Small Doable Doses, so no hallway-blocking MESSessary Middle!

Then pop into the ABC Declutter Facebook Community and tell us the strangest thing you found. (We're betting on a VCR. With tapes. One labeled "do not tape over.")

🎧 Listen & Connect
🎙️ Podcast: https://www.thejjsdeclutterpodcast.com/
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@abcdeclutterwithjj
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abcdeclutterwithjj/
👥 Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/abcdecluttercommunity
🌐 Website: https://www.abcdeclutter.com/
✉️ Email: hello@abcdeclutter.com

Keep it Simple, Keep it Intentional, and ~ as always ~ Keep Decluttering!

#TheJJsDeclutterPodcast #ABCDeclutter #ABCDeclutterWithJJ #DeclutteringDozen #KeepOrLetsGo #ClutterCrushersClub #SkeletonsInTheCloset #HalloweenDeclutter #ClosetCleanout #HallCloset #LinenCloset #SpareRoomCloset #KidsCloset #DeclutterYourHome #DeclutteringTips #HomeOrganization #IntentionalLiving #LetItGo #SimpleLiving #DeclutterChallenge #DeclutterCommunity #SmallDoableDoses #ProgressNotPerfection #DeclutterPodcast #OrganizingTips

Keep it Simple, Keep it Intentional, and - as always - Keep Decluttering!!