Trash Bag Therapy: The #1 Secret to Decluttering Success

[@kathrynpekrul4796]

I cannot believe how much your motivation and support, and what I have been able to accomplish as a result with my house after years of being unsuccessful doing it on my own, has truly truly utterly transformed my life. Literally my life. Not just my home. Thank you. I’m not sure if you will ever know the extent of what gift you are giving others.

[@pinkbutterfly3221]

I feel the same! Was SO stuck in some areas till Cas came to the rescue!!!

[@alisawright1155]

I gave myself this challenge to just get trash out of my office. I was going to just do 10 mins. 3 hours later.... and my 8 yr old told me what a great job and how good it was looking. I had been avoiding that space for 5 years. I just have a few boxes left to sort and taking things to their proper place. You and Dawn have really helped inspire me this year to get my life back in gear. Thank you for helping inspire people like me.

[@trishferrer8209]

Congratulations!!!❤

[@crybebebunny]

9:54, lets be aware that some of us are having lots of friction, maybe a little less friction. It is definitely easier than being frozen. These are muscles that need to be discovered 💪. Ms. Cas I truly do understand and I am watching you as I sit here with a small plan. You have helped me with so very much. I struggle with just moving my fingers to get dress because I am in physical pain that rolles into depression🙋🏻‍♀️. Thank you ❣️ I am dressed and that is a BIG WIN thanks to you and your energy ❣️

[@MarcyPeter-sh2hh]

You got me moving and suddenly my husband did the move from the kitchen to put into the office!!!! He was just 77 a few days ago and got me to cook on time before 19 pm!!!! Thank you, dear Casssssss!!!!!!!

[@kimberlibooth5013]

Trash bag therapy is my favorite therapy!

[@katarzynakowalska4230]

There is me, who went to take a shower while listening to this podcast and now is standing in their bathroom scouring through my cabinets like a crazy person 😂 I found so much trash, ex expired creams. Gosh. The part when you said that we look at our stuff in groups so we go blind on individual pieces of trash was so true for me! And I thought I had my bathroom in check 😂

[@Laurashat]

I was watching/listening to you today and cleared my kitchen and sorted the drawers and cleared clutter and lots of trash. Since starting to watch you and the other two ladies in the past 3 weeks I have 😮cleared 6 trash bags . Sorted one if my wardrobes 5 bags to charity shops. And my kitchen is de trashed and everything has its own zone now. I feel great and next area Is my living room. Im in Northern Ireland. Also your voice is great to listen to you have motivated me big time.

[@ADCarbone]

Just finished the All Day Declutter this past weekend. Now I want to do it again for my upstairs rooms!

[@lots2learn373]

If you have unwanted towels pillows, or blankets please consider contacting an animal shelter to see if they need/want the items. The shelter near me gets excited to receive them.

[@TTidewater41009]

Thanks for the reminder!

[@Le_Comte_de_Monte_Felin]

YES! I work for a shelter & towels, wash-cloths & old blankets are like gold plus some animals 'crash' in shelters without some semblence of home (smells of something/someone other than the dog 3 pens down.) PLEASE DONATE! Some shelters even have thrift stores that sell home items to raise funds for animal care.😻🐈‍⬛😺😽

[@MakeDwell]

I did this successfully after I went through my towel/linen closet.

[@idid138]

We do deserve decent towels

[@idid138]

And sheets. Cass is right about bamboo material. It is the best temp regulator. Really helped me with not getting overheated at night.

[@AW-zv3es]

I love how calm and comforting your podcast is ❤❤❤

[@sk8oasis788]

33:00 Most important thing for us to hear. Thank you so much Cass As always 👏🎉

[@elgabenedicta]

I replayed your video a lot of times to accompany me doing the trash bag therapy all around my house!! ❤❤ thank you Cas! You're the best!!

[@DebS1965K]

I have never tried this but today is the day!!! Gonna get this motor going 🗑️🚮

[@Snitzler4710]

You CAN do it! Go Deb. 😊

[@anns.218]

I actually listen to you while im driving at work. It keeps declutering on my mind. When i get home i spend at least 5 minutes before worrying about other tasks. ❤ You

[@donnamiller4630]

Last night after dinner your words went through my mind, "wash now or scrub later" thank you! Starting the day w no dirty dishes!

[@TheWaterlou25]

Watching this on my lunch break at work is upsetting because I want to be decluttering my house now

[@sandrainontario6710]

😂

[@idid138]

You can listen again while you declutter. I listened to it 1st without doing it because I'm bad at taking direction. Then I listened to it a few times while I hunted trash. It was such a good podcast today!

[@JamieAndrick]

I like to make it a point, that everytime I'm in an area/room.. I take care of whatever is out of place in the area I'm in.. trash, relocate. For any room I'm in, I take care of something while I'm in that area/room. I noticed that when I keep track of trash, relocate and donate, I feel incredible and want to keep going. Keeping track of everything I dealt with has really helped the depression and the physical pain I was going through. I also noticed the more excited or happy I was about getting our home in order, the less pain I had! 3 days in a row, 95% of the pain was gone! Then we went shopping! When we were checking out, the pain got stronger and by the time we got home, I was in severe pain again! This is proof to me, that clutter is one of the sources of the pain I've been experiencing!

[@pinkbutterfly3221]

Instinctively, I have felt this, for a while, but can't get the signs to back it up quite yet!

[@idid138]

Wow, sounds like it's stress triggering pain? That is really interesting.

[@sgallant2107]

IMHO decluttering is releasing endorphins, which act as an analgesic to mitigate your pain. Shopping just doesn't offer that bonus.

[@MrsBrit1]

Woo! So early! Let's get rid of some CRAAAAAP!!!

[@RebekahPowers-s1n]

Yes🎉🎉🎉❤!

[@pinkbutterfly3221]

🚮🩶🚮🩶🗑️ ONLY Cas can make you fall in LOVE with your Trashcan!! We Love you Cas, please please promise to not ever stop videos like this coming, no matter how many times we've heard it, we want you to give us a FRESH Kick of inspiration to keep going! Also, if you see this, please give my kids a Shoutout, they have done SO many Declutter projects with me in the Take Course House Back course 😁🎀😁🎀😁🎀😁🎀😁🎀😁🎀😁🎀😁🎀😁🎀😁🎀😁🎀😁🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😚😚😚😚😚😚😚😚😚😚😚

[@kg3753]

Cleaning out the “junk” drawer as I listen! Clutter blindness is real! Thanks!😘

[@lindsey361]

🎉🎉 my bins are full, I don't want to stop.... maybe next door has space ❤

[@Dona_Juega24]

I loved the examples of "trash"

[@brightpage1020]

❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉 Thank you! I trash bag therapied my closet & dressers the other day, right after doing the same to our boys’ room. It felt like an emotional enema - annoying but so much better afterwards!!! It really is addicting! Tackling my home office today to prep for a pro zoom discovery call and maybe living room after that to impress my hubby. The more I trash bag therapy my house, the more a sense of pride, protection, and fun returns to it. Just spending 20-40 minutes in each room to tidy or clean or trash bag therapy each day helps get through layers from years of their toddler and boxes from our move. It’s manageable and doesn’t eat my whole day and only a week or 2 I am seeing maintainable progress. Phew!!! I see taking care of our home now as part of taking care of myself, like walking the dog. It’s for her but also helps my physique and state of mind. ❤🎉

[@x-mess]

Thank u hunnie❤ The amount of overwhelming ANXIETY and GUILT about the things I didn’t get done-- SWOOSH! GONE W/ TRASH THERAPY!

[@idid138]

Right! We won't miss them!

[@debbiev.1311]

Thank you for the motivation & inspiration, Cas!! 🙏🏼💖🤸🏼‍♀️🗑😘

[@IQSim]

As a cricket I tend to put trash away (almost) immediately. But you're right about starting with old receipts and such. I tend to have old receipts, shopping lists, maybe some candy wrappers inside my coat pockets. Or inside my wallet. So that's a good tip.

[@JNICH4764]

This is sooo helpful!! You are a blessing! Thank-you!🥹

[@amylovy926]

I love listening to this motivational content sprinkled with examples. I would love a long playlist listening with earbods while I work to declutter. It helps me sooo much. Thank you so much Cas!

[@kanateriaki]

Just took my old fav pair of shoes out of the cabinet into trash as you were about to talk about shoes! Tysm, hope I would've found your channel before I moved at November last year. I would have sooo much less stuff 😂

[@jillapalooza]

When I first heard Dana say step one is trash, I thought to myself thats dumb. *I don't have trash in my house. I'm better than that. ... THERE WAS SO MUCH TRASH

[@mv1362]

Lol 😂

[@salishheights2320]

Ditti! Like Dana says, "There's always trash!"

[@HLR701]

Thank you for the motivation! I made 4 garbage bags today, yay!

[@idid138]

Nice! I did 3 bags. Felt so good & actually happened pretty fast. It was nice to only think about the one chore of trash.

[@biancamiscodan3782]

Hello Cas, great video as always. Listening to you, I was thinking I definitely don't have any trash. And the I started looking.... snd found expired tooth paste, medicine & hand masks and a bunch of other crap. So thank you for the motivation. 🤩

[@idid138]

It's like you're in my house or in my brain. You know us so well! You really helped me today. Thank you Cass. All I could handle today was trash & I have plenty of it. You made so much dang sense, you really inspired me to let go of stuff that was just slowing me down. I'm sick with a clogged sinus, running nose, and back ach, but I put this podcast on repeat & got going. My dishes are all dirty today but I dont care, because I'm sick and giving myself a pass on dishes. I'm seeing that it could get addictive to avoid dishes by tossing trash, lol, but trash is still a great choice! Thank you!!!!

[@audreyandrea460]

Doing the dishes is the only thing you need to do every day - it’s the first step to cleaning your house. Trash is the first step to decluttering your house. Cleaning isn’t decluttering, and you need to clean every day. Do the dishes, no matter how you feel, then do trash.

[@idid138]

​@@audreyandrea460 yeah, well I didn't, but I did throw out 3 huge bags of trash! I'm the boss of me and I'm not hand washing dishes, while I'm sneezing and snotting all over them and frantically getting the soap off so I can wipe my running nose. Trash bag therapy was just what I needed yesterday. I wasn't going to do the dishes anyway. I'm giving this another listen today, while I do some dishes. I hope I get excited to trash again today, even if it means dirty dishes.

[@SoliRhymesWithJulie]

I was making breakfast while listening, so going around with a bag was not an option... BUT, I tidied up some of the kitchen counter and did some hand washing I have been putting off for far too long.

[@honorburza9110]

I did this last weekend, got rid of mound of stuff around my bed stopping me accessing my window!

[@alicias7820]

Thank you for your inspiration! I am going to go through and fill more trash bags! I decluttered some this weekend and your words that clutter is not like a cat that you have to rehome inspired me to just trash some stuff that wasn't worth donating or worth finding a new home. I usually listen while I work for inspiration for later. I can't wait to tackle the cord/electronics dresser with full drawers.

[@idid138]

I know that hit hard for me too. Today was the 1st day I felt like it really clicked, like it's a great hack to just toss stuff, instead of having the chore of dealing with the some day project.

[@katrinabellingham4405]

You are an inspiration. I try to do everything with intention. The way I treat my possessions, I treat them with care. It makes them last longer and serve me better. Decluttering is a daily thing for me.

[@michellenmakeup]

so true, this is how I start now and it has literally changed everything for me, rather than starting off w the hard stuff that deters my motivation, it builds up my desire to keep going after the trash is done, and it has been so helpful for me

[@maureenburger9121]

I just sold a mattress, box spring, and I added the dust ruffle two sets of sheets, and then I gave her two pillows. She mentioned a dog so I thought at least her dog could use them. However, I keep all kinds of papers, sometimes even tags or packaging to use with printmaking. I’m an artist and I think of the use for almost everything…. Collage.,, stamp print., texture rubbings… I could use you here to say”what?!” “ you are keeping that why?!”

[@diannplatt-roberts8692]

I am a quilter and have started looking at fabric in my stash. If it doesn't "speak to me", i have been donating it away. Or projects that have been sitting here for years. Am i going to finish,. No. Donate it away. Such a good feeling.

[@kimdavies9364]

Yayyyyy Cas! Thank you!

[@heatherchappell2517]

Omg you made me laugh and laugh and called me out a few good times😂😂 thanks so much!♡

[@Le_Comte_de_Monte_Felin]

Thanks for the motivation, Cas! ADHD is a beotch, hoping to get my doc to stop thinking I want 'drugs' and, at 63yrs old, GET MY LIFE FOCUSED. Trash bag therapy definitely works, although for me your podcast was motivation to complete tasks started... oh, a year ago?

[@debranielsen2002]

I suffered a flood for New Year’s. 😢 It has forced me to put years of memories in the garbage. So now I am using it to Swedish Death Clean my life so I can move on. But I have, ever since I found you during Covid, used trash 🚮 bag therapy as a weekly way to do something to help my growing anxiety. So thank you. 😊

[@supergran1702]

I'm sorry you went through that. It's painful to lose objects that hold memories. Hopefully the memories remain in your heart. ❤

[@MizQuiz1]

Thank you.

[@jonelledavenport8701]

Yep, receipts in 👜 . Thank you for the motivation and here's to starting the week out on the right foot!

[@katia_gabriella]

🙏 It's forgiveness and permission TO yourself FROM yourself to move on and create joy ❤

[@brendaspencer6691]

We are moving next month and I have filled a bunch of trash bags but I have a lot more to go.

[@brightpage1020]

Get it! We had 2 weeks to move. My hubs freaked out and just had the movers pack everything - DON’T do this!!! You will pay WAY too much and spend years (it’s been 2 plus the year in the rental while we sold our old house) going through boxes and expensive storage units looking for stuff you already own but can’t find. The less you bring the better. Consider the new home your fresh start! It will save you so much time and energy later! And stress!

[@HannahRainbow88]

Wishing you all the best! We're moving in a couple of months, so I'm getting ruthless in my decluttering too! 😬😅

[@robinrutherfordcost4748]

Our local Staples takes recyclable electronics and you get a coupon per item. If nothing written on the front of greeting cards, St Jude's in NV takes the front only. I keep a manilla envelope on the kitchen counter -standing straight up, or in your paperwork station, so card fronts go in there and are sent once full. Hope that helps.

[@brightpage1020]

Gamify it - see how many rooms you have to go through to fill up 1 bag or how many bags you can fill up from 1 room, depending. We can usually get at least a bag out of our living room after the weekends. Challenging ourselves or setting a timer and seeing if I can fill a bag in 15 minutes or less. Have family members join the fun and compete with who can fill the bag fastest or who can get the most trash out in the shortest time. The prize could be a healthy treat. Like fruits and veggies presented like a funny face on the plate. With wheat crackers or a charcuterie board lunch - ok that’s for me. With wine. 😂

[@HannahRainbow88]

Wish me luck, I'm decluttering our home and my mum's, as we're gonna be moving back in with her 🤞😬🤞 I've been watching "A Hoarder's Heart" channel to help me understand hoarding disorder and how to approach her place. It's a great channel for anyone with (/family of someone with) hoarding disorder.

[@melissachapman4496]

Thank you for sharing that. I need to check it out. Have a family member that hoards

[@idid138]

I like her as well. I also watch Dana K White & The Minimal Mom. There's a few others too. The Carla Project, and I can't remember more because my head cold. Such great pod casters out there to help. We're fortunate. This podcast today was fantastic. Dawn from Minimal Mom also has a really great ability to talk through why & how to move forward. Dana has a 5 step process that is so useful & takes the emotion & overthinking out of the process. Good luck with your move & mom!

[@HannahRainbow88]

@idid138 yes! I love Dana's zero mess method, and Carla's chill vibe&music as a body double. Dawn has helped me a lot too with her "time will tell" bins (for kiddo's toys he's outgrown but won't actively declutter himself).

[@sandrareford2989]

think of trash bag therapy as a "warm up". I especially liked your trash bag therapy youtube video. I really got so much out of my house. That video was very motivating. I threw out stuff "with you" as I watched it.

[@kgummee]

Its funny, since finding you/dana/dawn, I find so much joy in throwing stuff away. I literally only have a few bits of trash in my house because of this. I do need to go through condiments and pantry for expired items.

[@marlenewebster7095]

It’s like retail therapy but less destructive over time

[@kaylealenarz3238]

FUN TIP!!! -> H&M will give you 15% off coupons for bringing in old clothes/fabrics. They use them to recycle or donate!! For me, this made the, “Bye Felecia!” SOOOOO easy. Thank you, Miss Clutterbug; love your mission and messages… deeper layers here, literally!!! 🎉

[@krisknutson5399]

I felt seen when you mentioned ‘tags!’ I stopped and took a photo of the little pile of tags from clothes I just bought. 😅

[@idid138]

I felt seen a few times. In fact it was almost creepy. How does she know I have broken dishes I want to do a mosaic with? She's right I probably won't. I actually think I'm going to trash them.

[@MsJujubee3]

I have zero trash. I tried to do this while listening lol and….. no trash. I guess I’m on top of decluttering!! It also helps that we have a small apartment. I swear the secret to having zero clutter is to have a small home. There’s no option to keep clutter.

[@trisharecupero3559]

Where is your sweater from!? I want one! It's gorgeous on you!! ❤

[@bookwormbon482]

4:30 Please could you do a video of places hidden trash live? Genuinely struggling to find any :( I want trash bag therapy 😂

[@CL-mn1yq]

What about garage, crawl space, inside kids lunch box, attic, back of closet, memory bin (not often revisited), hutch, hope chest chest, linen closet, kids rooms ...

[@bookwormbon482]

@CL-mn1yq great ideas thank you!

[@SummerDeFouw]

I love you… but this is the one thing you swear by that I don’t find helpful at all anymore after following you for years 😅 I used to! I know you say I should still be finding things but I’m not lol I’ve done a deep declutter over 5 years and now I do routine declutters, 1 in/1 out on most things, I don’t open a new cleaning product until the other one is used up, as soon as I noticed something is stained it’s in the trash immediately, I’ve stopped playing the games thanks you and Dawn! Maybe crafts I could go deeper on but I really don’t want to because I honestly do believe I can finish all my half done and fix it projects by the end of the year (that’s my New Year’s resolution)

[@jamesbriggs5740]

I don't have much trash out on a regular basis. I tend to throw items in the trash can and recycling bins right away. Dana K White's rule put it away right awa works here. Electronic things need to be recycled separately.

[@missyl4621]

Drool sponge of a pillow yuck!! but oh yeah that’s 💯 true!! 👀need to check for old pillows and towels to throw out or donate to animal shelters 👍👍

[@CoralMcPherson]

A Friend helped me declutter and reorganise my shed yesterday. She may have commandeered the wheelie bin from the vacant rental next door which we filled. there's still 2 wheelie bins worth of rubbish to throw out plus a car-load of donations. Only kept 50% of the contents of my shed...

[@calimama1981]

I helped get 2 large black trash bags full out of my inlaws garage

[@shay7090]

All of it, all of it is me Caaaaas 🥴

[@dragonfliesfordonna2112]

Ick-tacular. Funny how your made up words are still understandable 🤣

[@catherinemahone8841]

❤

[@Haghenveien]

Trash Bag Therapy is not easy for me. The reason is that I'm more of a Bee and my mother is a Lady Bug. In my childhood ,I would leave important things (to me) in plain sight and she would throw them away without asking. For her, anything that is outside of a drower is subsceptive of being thrown away. So I developed a tendency of hiding things just in case. I'm in my forties and I still do it. Some are trash, some there are not. But there's always a fear of losing something important because it was considered trash. I even do this thing where I fill a bag with trash, and then I hide the bag for a while before throwing it away. Needless to say I have issues.

[@idid138]

Pretty sure we all have an issue or 2. At least you are identifying what you're doing! That is a big step. Little by little.

[@jwuertz7101]

The 2nd part of greeting cards...if you got a set and arent sending one because the sentiment doesnt click for you...donate to the thrift store!!

[@shionajoseph3248]

Then there’s my 7-year-old who said “no” to me throwing away a wrapper because she was going to make earrings for her Barbie doll out of it lol

[@jonelledavenport8701]

😊

[@heathereyles8909]

I'm from the UK, and most people have a 'wastepaper basket' in every room. Of course, they sometimes get over full, and sometimes spill over, but it does keep the rubbish in one place. Don't you have these over the pond? Seriously, I'm confused. Bathroom bins too.

[@SnowySpiritRuby]

I'm not sure how common it is over here, but it's definitely a thing here, too.

[@sandrainontario6710]

Born and raised in Texas and now living in Ontario I definitely have a trash container in every room

[@idid138]

Yes. Just some of us have so much clutter or distraction we forget to use it.

[@audreyandrea460]

I don’t think that matters if you’re a hoarder or if you have hoarding tendencies caused by things like ADHD. Generally speaking, wastepaper baskets can end up as clutter, themselves. You can have bins in kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms, but not in common rooms or common spaces. Guests who drop in for an hour shouldn’t be making garbage in your home, so you don’t need any bins in the common room for them. Meanwhile your overnight guests will know where to find the bins or baskets. Just because a practice is common doesn’t mean it’s the best practice. If you’re in a common room and you make garbage, you need to train yourself to get up and go to the kitchen to deposit it. But if it’s a lot of garbage, like packaging on a large item, just put it outside in your big bin right away.

[@heathereyles8909]

@@audreyandrea460 I have a wastepaper basket in every room, including the living room. It's not in plain sight. Most people in the UK do. My husband empties it once or twice a week

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

TBH, I think this is one of those neurotypical things. I don't really have that much actual clutter that couldn't be contained with proper bins, it just covers every surface because my wife decides that she needs to help me manage my stuff and throws random bits away and takes everything out, and rearranges it, and since she has more free time than I do, there's no sort of meaningful progress made unless I have all the time necessary to do it at once. I do have some thing that I probably don't need, but the stuff I have clearly all would fit if it were properly put into bins rather than in whatever things I had available to put them in.

[@firerose7936]

I am definitely keeping the clean up puke towels! 🤮

[@idid138]

Okay, but we only need 1 or 2 and let's not keep them with our bath towels

[@trishferrer8209]

"Icktacular"? 😂🤣😂

[@ren8240]

Not gonna lie, I kinda found it dissapointing & disconcerting to have the gentle influence of a product sales pitch midway through a decluttering video. 🤔

[@idid138]

Disappointing & disconcerting.? Sounds like you feel pretty strongly about it.

[@ren8240]

I'm not someone who struggles with impulse buying or a shopping addiction, however I am mindful that some viewers do have issues with said behaviours & I wonder if having a person of influence that they look up to for decluttering inspiration recommend products to them during a decluttering video would ultimately help their progress or would the urge to impulse buy in that moment over-ride the desire to declutter, hence perpetuating the cycle that may have led them to Cas in the first place. I mean Cas is free to do whatever she sees fit or most conducive to creating an income as it's her channel. It's just not something that I've ever noticed before in one of her videos.