Decluttering and Downsizing with Donna Barwald

Donna Barwald, an LA-based professional organizer and educator with 20 years’ experience, shares how she has helped families, seniors and businesses organize, declutter, and downsize.  Donna explains how organizing helped her regulate her own ADHD, discusses supporting neurodivergent clients by creating systems that match how they use space (including entry “drop zones”), and describes how visual clutter increases stress and decision fatigue. She contrasts fight/flight/freeze responses to mess, describes body doubling, and connects decluttering to feng shui-style energy flow and a calmer home.  Donna addresses downsizing for current and future life needs—including preparing for assisted living or moving in with a child. She talks candidly about handling guilt, “might need it” objects, what to do with gifts, keepsakes and collections, and why hoarding is a separate mental illness.  She offers practical tactics like one-in/one-out, favorites-first packing, labeled storage, drawer-based organization, and planning moves by infrastructure and layout.  Note that the audio on Christi's part is a little faded, but Donna's audio is fine.  Contact Donna Barwald Website: https://neatlyarranged.com Email: [email protected] Contact Donna for a free consultation!   Donna’s Books This Mess Is Making Me Stress Improve Your Move: How to Downsize with Ease and Move On to Your Next Adventure   Timestamps 00:00 Donna Barwald Introduction 01:16 The Impulse to Organize 04:21 Donna's Mission 04:56 Creating the Environment in Which to Succeed 05:39 Drop Zones 07:53 Growing Up in San Jose, California 10:20 Finding Peace by Creating Space 11:33 Fight, Flight or Freeze 14:32 Body-Doubling 16:29 The Value of Decluttering 18:58 With Clutter, People Feel Bad About Themselves 21:53 Keeping the Judgment at Bay 27:37 Downsizing 32:25 "But I might need it" 34:40 You Don't Need a Presidential Library 35:42 Inner Peace Is More Important 35:54 Resistance, or 100 Pairs of Socks 37:05 Saving Things for the Future You...And Here You Are 37:40 Hoarders Are Not the Same as Collectors 40:11 Sticking with Your Favorites 41:11 Little Known Secrets of Downsizing 45:06 Crap Equilibrium 47:07 Dealing with Gifts - Wanted and Unwanted 49:04 Dealing with Keepsakes - Wanted and Unwanted 50:03 How to Handle Children's Keepsakes from School 55:36 Garages: The Home of Old Dreams 56:47 Cut Your Losses 01:02:27 Organization Is 90% Infrastructure 01:04:54 Drawers Are Key 01:07:05 Get in Touch with Donna Barwald CREDITSHost and creator: Christi CassidyContact: [email protected] by Phyllis BusellMusic by Eve’s Blue. Post-production help from Auphonic.com.Show notes written with assistance from Descript and Claude.ai. LINKS:More information and to listen to past episodes: https://movingalongpodcast.comPast episodes are here too: https://moving-along.simplecast.com/Tag and like Moving Along episodes on Facebook and Instagram