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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!!

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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
📸 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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🚚 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

#TheJJsDeclutterPodcast #ABCDeclutter #TheJJs #KeepDecluttering #declutteringdozen #KeepOrLETSGO #MovingDay #MovingTips #MovingAfter60 #SeniorMoving #Downsizing #RightSizing #MovingChecklist #PackingTips #NewHome #Decluttering #DeclutterYourHome #IntentionalLiving #SimpleLiving #HomeOrganization #OrganizedHome #DeclutterCommunity #ClutterCrushers #SmallDoableDoses #MovingWithGrace

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