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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! 🥂

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✉️ Email: hello@abcdeclutter.com

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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! 🎉

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✉️ 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!

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It's a Magazine Moment!

Julie and Janis wrap up the Right-Sizing series by digging into a complete senior downsizing checklist from the Senior Transitions Group.

It was written for adult children stepping in to move a parent, whether for health, safety, or a house that's simply too big. It lays out six phases over three months, with 11 to 12 items per phase. (That's a lot of checkboxes. We counted. Then we needed a nap.)

So we're sharing what we agree with, what made us say "Wait… what?", and the part we loved most: the room-by-room sorting guide.

🤔 Where We Raised an Eyebrow
Changing addresses with doctors and pharmacies three months before the move? Janis, who works in a doctor's office, explains why that can send bills and mail-order meds somewhere your parent doesn't even live yet.

Make the list early, and make the changes closer to moving day.

And a house fully sorted one month before the move? In a perfect world, sure. In the real world, you're lucky if it's done the night before the truck shows up. 😅

✅ Where We Said "Yes!"
Get the floor plan early.

Their four-category sorting system lines up nicely with our Keep or LETS-GO system, though we'd still give sentimental items their own pile.

Pack a first-night box with meds, toiletries, pajamas, chargers, and reading glasses. Make the bed first so the new space feels livable.

Plus, Julie shares a sneaky-but-effective "selling" strategy from a friend that made everyone happy.

💛 Moving a Parent Is Different
Setting up familiar surroundings matters, especially with memory challenges.

Julie shares stories from moving her own parents into assisted living, including getting their favorite chairs professionally cleaned (just sayin'!) and the surprise "taco bed" that nearly knocked over her brother-in-law.

🏠 The Room-by-Room Guide

• Kitchen: A few mugs, plates, and a coffee maker. Let go of the duplicates and the big-crowd serving dishes.
• Living Room: One comfy chair, a side table, the TV, and a lamp. China cabinets need not apply.
• Bedroom: A bed that fits, nightstands, and familiar bedding.
• Bathroom: Toiletries in current use, two sets of towels, and a non-slip mat. Double-check those grab bars!
• Garage, Basement & Attic: Decades of stuff, mostly staying behind. Keep a small toolbox and a few treasured holiday pieces.
• Paperwork: Keep tax returns, legal documents, insurance, and medical records. Shred the rest, and keep important directives accessible.

🎯 This Week's Challenge
Start your "Who Needs Our New Address?" list:
banks, doctors, pharmacy, insurance, and subscriptions. Just don't send it yet!

Then share one item that surprised you in the ABC Declutter Facebook Community.

📖 Want the full checklist?
https://seniors-transitions.com/resources/downsizing-checklist

🔗 Connect With The JJs
🌐 Website: https://www.abcdeclutter.com/
🎙️ Podcast: https://www.thejjsdeclutterpodcast.com/
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@abcdeclutterwithjj
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👥 Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/abcdecluttercommunity
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🚚 Three Projects in a Trench Coat: Your Moving Day Survival Guide

The truck is finally here!

After talking through why you're moving, whether it's time, what comes with you, and how to make those decisions without losing your mind, Julie and Janis tackle the big day itself.

As Janis puts it, a move after 60 isn't one project. It's three projects wearing a trench coat, pretending to be one.

So we're unbuttoning that trench coat and breaking the whole thing into five manageable phases. No exploding heads allowed. 😅

📐 Phase 1: Before You Decide
Start with the NEW home, not the old stuff. Get the floor plan. Measure the rooms, the closets, the doorways (yes, especially the doorways!), and your furniture.

"It'll probably fit" is not a measurement. It's a prayer whispered to the moving gods, and the moving gods do not care about your feelings.

🗂️ Phase 2: Declutter
A quick Keep or LETS-GO refresher: keep what you use, love, and truly need, and release the duplicates and "somedays." Sentimental items get intentional, not rushed.

📅 Phase 3: Prepare
This is not a weekend project!

Work backward from moving day, tackle one area at a time in Small Doable Doses, and build in margin for the unexpected.

Assemble your moving team, and please don't make your adult kids your unpaid moving company. (Julie speaks from experience.)

Plus: the client who tagged furniture two years early, Janis's life-saving "pre-move the toilet paper" tip, and why a dishwasher-sized box of hardcovers isn't a box. It's a crime scene.

💪 Protect Your Body (Not Optional!)
Dollies, real breaks, water, and hired help for the heavy stuff. Nobody in the history of moving has ever said, "The dresser was so worth it."

📬 The Paperwork That Sneaks Up on You
Address changes, mail-forwarding timing, and emergency contacts. Julie shares a hospital story that proves why these matter.

📦 Phase 4: Moving Day
Keys, pets, snacks, essentials that ride with you, and a plan for where you're sleeping night one.

🏡 Phase 5: Settling In
Bed, bathroom, kitchen, clothing, essentials.

Functional first, beautiful later. Your throw pillows can wait; your toothbrush cannot.

And give yourself grace for the emotional ups and downs.

💛 The Big Idea:
Don't move your old life into your new home.

Move the life you want into your new home.

🎯 This Week's Challenge
Grab a tape measure! Measure your three biggest furniture pieces, and put a piece of tape on anything that won't be making the move someday. Then pop into the ABC Declutter Facebook Community and tell us what got tagged!

Feeling angst about an upcoming move? Reach out. We'd love to help make your transition easier.

🔗 Connect With The JJs
🌐 Website: https://www.abcdeclutter.com/
🎙️ 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
📧 Email: hello@abcdeclutter.com

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

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⏱️ Knowing What to Keep vs. Actually Doing the Sorting: Two Very Different Skills

Episode 4 of the Right-Sizing series shifts from what to keep to how on earth you actually get through the sorting process without collapsing around hour three.

Julie and Janis open with the classic mistake: pulling everything out of a closet at once, turning a manageable afternoon into a bed-floor-and-hallway disaster, and somehow ending up cross-legged on the floor holding a sweater from the Clinton administration.

The fix is refreshingly familiar territory for longtime listeners: work in small, defined areas — one drawer, one shelf — and start with the easy stuff (broken, expired, duplicate, forgotten) before you ever touch the sentimental box.

Save the emotionally expensive decisions for once you've built momentum, not for your first 20 minutes.

The JJs also break down the two main organizing approaches:
A) by category (gathering all your towels, all your holiday decor, all your Tupperware from across the house to see just how much you actually own)
B) versus by room (for the satisfaction of walking into a finished space) —

With the honest reminder that neither is more "correct."
Use whatever works for your brain.

Then comes the real heart of the episode: pacing and decision fatigue.

The Decluttering Dozen (12-minute timer, work until it goes off, stop) gets an upgrade with the "doom-busting session" — stacking a few 12-minute rounds together with a wrap-up buffer.

The golden rule is knowing when to stop before exhaustion turns every decision into "maybe I'll keep it," quietly refilling your donation pile back into your keep pile.

For anyone working toward an actual move, Julie and Janis lay out four simple stages

— Decide, Distribute, Prepare, Move —

with one hard rule: the moving truck is for transporting decisions you've already made, never for making them.

✅ This Week's Challenge

Pick one small area — a drawer, a shelf, one section of a closet.

Set a 12-minute timer, #thedeclutteringdozen, start with the easy stuff, and stop when the timer goes off (or sooner, if decision fatigue hits first).

Share your doom-busting session wins in the ABC Declutter Facebook Community!

Next time: Moving Day itself — the final episode of the Right-Sizing Your Life series.

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@abcdeclutterwithjj
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📘 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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📦 Turns Out You Own Enough to Furnish 3 Houses

Episode 3 of the Right-Sizing series tackles the question that hits the moment a floor plan starts looking real: okay, but what actually comes with me?

Julie and Janis flip the whole mindset here — instead of starting with "what do I have to get rid of" (hello, deprivation mode), start with "what do I want to take with me."

Same process, radically different feeling.

The JJs work through the categories that trip everybody up:
- things you use daily (easy),
- things you use occasionally like the good china or the camping gear (not automatically clutter),
- and the infamous "Someday" pile — including Janis's very relatable confession about apparently being prepared, at all times, to host 24 people for dinner.

Cue Julie's imaginary "Grandma's Vase Rejection Form," which might be the funniest bit in the whole series so far.

Then it's on to the harder stuff — sentimental items (you can love the memory without keeping the object, and there's no rulebook saying you have to choose one or the other),
- the "but I paid good money for this" trap,
- and the classic "I'm keeping this for my kids" situation, which really does require actually asking your kids instead of deciding for them.

- Furniture gets the measuring-tape treatment,
- clothing gets an honest look at what you actually wear versus what you wish you wore,
- and yes — the garage finally gets its moment, revealing all the decisions that quietly went into retirement out there.

The JJs wrap with a genuinely useful decision framework — a set of guiding questions (do I love it, do I use it, would I choose it again today) and a deliberately un-guilty "I'm Not Sure Yet" category, with one important rule: it's a parking space, not a destination.

✅ This Week's Challenge

Pick one room — just one. Imagine you're moving tomorrow and ask: what would I absolutely want to take with me? Start there, not with what you're getting rid of. Then look at what's left and ask why you're keeping it. Share your "I'm Not Sure Yet" pile discoveries in the ABC Declutter Facebook Community!

Next time: how to actually let go of what doesn't come with you — selling, donating, and making the process feel less like erasing your life and more like closing one chapter to enjoy the next.

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@abcdeclutterwithjj
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📘 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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🏡 Spoiler: Granite Countertops Should Not Be Making Your Life Decisions

Episode 2 of the Right-Sizing series picks up where Episode 1 left off, and it's time to talk about the M-word: moving.

Not because a TV show said everyone over 60 needs a condo, and not because a granite countertop is judging you (though Julie has notes about vinegar and granite).

Julie and Janis walk through 10 genuinely realistic reasons people decide it's time to right-size — and then flip it around with 5 things to actually think about when choosing what's next.

The reasons run the gamut:

- the house has become more maintenance than joy, unused rooms have quietly turned into storage units (hello, Clutter Purgatory),

- the monthly expenses no longer make sense,

- you just want life to be simpler,

- or your body's sending memos your house hasn't read yet.

Add in wanting to be closer to family,

retirement reshuffling your priorities,

craving real community,

wanting to unlock home equity — and the big one,

reason #10: making the move on your own terms, before a crisis makes it for you.

Then comes the practical half — because falling in love with a kitchen and forgetting to ask "how far is the nearest grocery store" is a real and common trap.

The five things that matter:
1. location and lifestyle (including the surprisingly important "what if I stop driving" question),
2. accessibility for the long haul,
3. total cost of living (not just the sticker price),
4. right-sized space for how you actually live now,
5. and community and support.

Janis's "Tuesday morning test" — imagining a random weekday in the new place — might be the most useful five seconds of house-hunting advice in the whole episode.

The big question to carry forward: are you choosing a home for the life you have, or the life you want to create next?

✅ This Week's Challenge

Make two lists:
1. what you love about your current home, and
2. what's become difficult, inconvenient, or unnecessary. Be honest — the second list often reveals more than any real estate website ever could.

Share your lists (or your favorite item on either one!) in the ABC Declutter with JJ Facebook Community.

Next time: the big question of what actually comes with you when you move — furniture, treasures, collections, and the things that have basically established legal residency in the garage.

📺 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

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