3 Reasons to Declutter Before Thanksgiving–It’s November and Thanksgiving is right around the corner, but maybe your house isn’t quite ready.
Here are three great reasons to declutter before Thanksgiving so you can have a happier holiday season.
You Need More Space
More than likely you have friends and family who will visit at some point over the next two months, or maybe you won’t be having any company because you are too embarrassed about the state of your house.
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to open your front door without running to hide things in your closet first? Wouldn’t you love to be able to host friends in your living room without having to apologize for the stacks of stuff lying around?
Even if you don’t need to make room for more people in your home, you will more than likely be adding more stuff for Christmas. Why not rid yourself of the things you are no longer using so you have room for all the new goodies?
You Need More Money
Believe it or not, your clutter is costing you money. Dealing with the constant distraction of the chaos in your home drains you of the energy to cook, plan or do other time and money saving activities. You may spend extra money on gas to drive to the store to purchase something because you can’t find it in your home, or pay for services because you don’t have the energy to do things yourself.
If you have a serious clutter issue, you may choose to spend time away from home to avoid dealing with it. Spending time away from home costs money: eating out, gas to drive to different locations and unnecessary purchases because you see something and “have to have it”.
You Need More Energy
Clutter not only costs you money, it also drains you emotionally, mentally and even physically. Maybe you are the kind of person who has trouble remembering things when you can’t see them. If you keep piles of stuff lying around as reminders instead of using a calendar or other organizational system, maybe it’s time to rethink your strategy.
The problem with the “leave it out so I can see it, because when I see it I remember it” method is that each pile represents an undone task, which causes guilt. The guilt drains you, which means that you don’t have the energy to actually do something about the piles of stuff. Getting rid of some of those piles before the holiday season begins will enable you to be more at peace.
If you realize that you need to do a little pre-holiday decluttering, take The Peaceful Mom 10 Minutes A Day Decluttering Challenge:
10 Minute Challenge Guidelines
1. Find 3 large boxes or laundry baskets. (You can also use garbage bags) Label them “GIVE AWAY”, “THROW AWAY” and “KEEP”.
2. Commit to 10 minutes a day. Every morning or afternoon for the next 3 weeks, spend 10 minutes in one room filling those boxes with the clutter that you see. Choose a more public room first like your living room, entry way or kitchen.
3. Immediately disperse the items. At the end of your ten minutes, put the “THROW AWAY” items into the trash immediately; put the “KEEP” items where they belong; and store the “GIVE AWAY” box in a closet until the next day. On your next errand day or on Saturday morning take the give away items to Good Will or Salvation Army (no going through the box again before you donate it!).
If you declutter one area a day for only ten minutes, you’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in the next few weeks. The clean spaces in your home will fuel your motivation to continue and before you know it, you’ll have a clean house ready for the holidays!
You can do this!
Will you join us for the Ten Minute A Day Decluttering Challenge?
Leave a comment and tell us which room you will start on tomorrow. 🙂
You May Also Enjoy:
This is great – I just found your blog on Pinterest and I’m excited to try this! I moved into my house almost 6 months ago and still have boxes stacked in the entry room. I’m a teacher, so when I get home from work I’m super tired and the thought of going through those last boxes is always a little overwhelming! This is a great idea and it gives me the motivation to pick away at them a little at a time 🙂
Woohoo! So glad Sarah. You can do this!
This is great – I just found your blog on Pinterest and I’m excited to try this! I moved into my house almost 6 months ago and still have boxes stacked in the entry room. I’m a teacher, so when I get home from work I’m super tired and the thought of going through those last boxes is always a little overwhelming! This is a great idea and it gives me the motivation to pick away at them a little at a time 🙂
Woohoo! So glad Sarah. You can do this!
Kimberlee, Read your piece on 3 Reasons to Organize. Very nice! It was a stand out in the sea of blogs that are out there. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so bad for cluttering my bedroom. I’m a single mom to an awesome son who has autism, 4yrs old. I also homeschool. I have 3 loads of laundry to fold and put away another 3 loads needing to be washed. I get overwhelmed looking at, so I don’t do it. I spend my energy on him. I will use your 10 minute a day challenge to get my laundry done.
You can do it Kim!
My home’s entry way is where I’m starting today. I’m coming to the challenge late for Thanksgiving, but I’m hoping that I’m right on time for Christmas. See my Christmas Wish on my newly created blog, http://zurirevisions.blogspot.com/
You are a wonderful inspiration. Your 10 Minutes a Day Decluttering Badge is going on my blog. I will try to post pics on my blog as I declutter. = )
Can’t wait to have a cleaner home!
Master bedroom… Started today.
I’ve been using a similar approach since my youngest left for college. Weekends are the best time for me now so I’ve been tackling one portion of the house per weekend. So far, my kitchen is now usable, the front room (living room) is almost clutter free and I’ve reclaimed two closets. I still have a long way to go but I’ve been ruthless in either throwing things out or making a donation pile.
After I finish the rest of the house, ill tackle the garage (springtime) but also my digital clutter. Any tips for taming that beast?
Good for you Mary! I use the 10 minutes a day method for my computer as well. Here is a link to the way I organize my photos: https://thepeacefulmom.com/2011/10/02/take-ten-photo-organization-update-2/. Hope that helps!
Will check it out. Thanks
Looking forward to my house looking amazing by Christmas
UGH!!! I’ve been trying to do something similar. But with a one year old, it’s hard for me to keep focus (and gather the energy) sometimes. I love your reasoning though, because it does drain me of energy to look at, pick my way around and think about the amount of unused and unappreciated stuff in my home! We live in a small two bedroom, so we could ALWAYS use the space, holidays or not. And I LOVE the point that it could (through seemingly unrelated ways) save us money to clear the clutter!
Thanks for this post, and challenge. Brilliant.
It is more difficult with a toddler Elaine, but by focusing on one area at a time for just a few minutes I think you can make some progress. 🙂
Already two days in, I guess I’ll have to set the timer for 30 min. tomorrow to play catch up. : ) Good thing, because I’m going to work on my master bedroom closet which has some hidden recesses of things that I’ve squirreled away for Christmas and will prevent me from buying more than I had planned. Thanks for the jump start.
I am the world’s worst (or best) collector. I have so many piles and it is overwhelming trying to decide where things go. Just 10 minutes a day? I can do that.
Yes you can Eron! You will be surprised how much better you will feel just by working for a few minutes on one of those piles.
I started with our living room today. Small start and yet already I feel good!
Good for you!
I can sacrifice ten minutes each day for the serenity of a decluttered home.
I’m moving from a 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bath where my daughter has an entire seperate room for toys to a 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment in the next week. I will be doing this decluttering tactic on steroids. I’m not only moving our things, but having a garage sale and setting up a classroom…SO many different “piles”. Prayers appreciated! lol
(so far I’ve packed one kitchen box and one box of books)
Yeah for progress!
Good luck, Amanda! I don’t envy you there! 🙂
Sign me up too, Kimberlee…my whole house needs this terribly, but I will start with my dining room table! (In my house, every flat surface just seems to attract piles to it. Yikes!)
I m cleaning out my junk draw in the kitchen…thanks for the idea.
Every room needs attention. If I list a room, I know I will rebel and work in a different area. LOL I would like to start in the living room/play area to weed out all the toys my son has outgrown. Many of them would be a blessing to another family during the holidays and I’m sure my son will need room to store all the blessings he will recieve.
Great idea Bev.
Amen! If you cannot make time to drive to a donation drop off, some organizations have pick up services, and believe me they save time, money etc. Just place the boxes right out front your door and let them come and get it!
Thanks for that reminder Kylee–even better than taking it yourself!
Alright. Sign me up. I will start on my living room tomorrow. Thanks for reminding me how damaging clutter is.
You can do it Kathryn!
I am in. You make it sound so easy, and believe me, my home needs it. 🙂
It really is easy when you just take a few minutes a day and don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Trust me, I know. 😉
I’m going to start with the diningroom – first room one see’s when entering the front door – can’t wait to try this