Goodbye, Dean of Clean

Before The Minimalists and Marie Kondo, before Peter Walsh and Elaine St James, there was Don Aslett.

Known as the Dean of Clean, Don Aslett was the founder of American contract cleaning company Varsity Facility Services and the author of 40 books about decluttering and cleaning. 

Don started publishing his books in the 1980s and when I discovered them they were the first that I had ever read on the subject made so popular decades later by Kondo and others. Written in a droll take-no-prisoners style, with goofy titles like Clutter’s Last Stand, Lose 200 Lbs This Weekend, and Not for Packrats Only, Don’s books gave me the impetus (okay, kick in the bum) to tackle the clutter in my home. Read, purge; read, purge: those books taught me to think differently about my stuff. 

I learned that Don passed away on August 21, 2024, which, coincidentally, was the day that my siblings and I put our family home up for sale (see my posts about clearing and selling the house that I grew up in).

RIP Don.