See my progress in the 31 Day Decluttering Challenge and share yours!
31 Day Decluttering Challenge
We’re midway through the 31 Day Decluttering Challenge so I wanted to give you an update on my progress and hear about yours. (Be sure to leave a comment below.)
Decluttering Challenge Update
For this challenge I’m working on three small areas:
Paper Pile in My Office
As I mentioned in my first challenge post, my office is my art studio and work space, as well as a library and sitting room when I want to ponder the wonders of the universe — ha!
BEFORE
My first project was to dive into the piles of paper in this crate which are leftover from several years of projects that I haven’t dealt with.
AFTER
I used my Quick Sort Paper Organizing Method (read more HERE) to quickly organize the papers into categories. I did throw some papers away, but my Quick Sort revealed that most of the papers are long-term reference information that I want to keep, so I grabbed some file folders to quickly sort the papers into relevant categories.
I would have liked to make more progress, but I did at least begin scanning some of this information into Evernote so I can throw away the papers, and I’ll be continuing that process over the next few weeks. (See How to Organize with Evernote HERE.)
Crate of Miscellaneous Clutter
I still haven’t decided what to do with this antique side table that belonged to my grandmother and I haven’t even touched the crate contents, so that’s my next project this week.
Pantry
The third area that I wanted to address is our kitchen pantry, but I haven’t made any progress there either.
Surprise Project
My husband and I decided to tackle a project that wasn’t on my list for this month which is our overstuffed garage.
BEFORE
The garage is basically the dumping ground for anything that I’m not currently using but want to keep. This makes sense for seasonal items like Christmas decorations, but I’ve developed a bad habit of storing items here that we are probably never going to use, but which I hate to get rid of.
Thankfully my husband is super supportive and helps me to analyze why I’m holding on to items and whether or not I have a good reason to continue storing them.
AFTER
We still have work to do here, but we made good progress and at least it’s all stacked nicely so we can access what we need without causing an avalanche or injuring ourselves!
DONATION ITEMS
I managed to let go of quite a bit of stuff even though it was difficult for me to get rid of some of the items like the stainless steel kettle in the upper left of the photo. My grandmother gave me the kettle, but I have a new more colorful one that I prefer. I kept hanging on to the old one, but hanging on to an item that you don’t use is truly the definition of clutter.
If you’d like to join me, you can choose one or two focus areas like I am, or you can use my free 31 Day Decluttering Checklist with simple daily 10 minute decluttering tasks.
To join us for the challenge:
1. Join The Peaceful Mom Community HERE.
You’ll receive a confirmation email, then a welcome email with instructions to print your 31 Day Declutter Checklist plus other goodies!
2. Leave a comment on THIS POST telling me your goal for this 31 Day Decluttering Challenge.
Remember, you can choose a focus area or use the 31 Day Decluttering Challenge Checklist to hit several areas in your home for 10 minutes a day.
3. Start Decluttering!
You can read the 10 Minutes a Day Decluttering Guidelines HERE.
Leave a comment to let me know how you’re decluttering is going — and remember our motto:
Progress, Not Perfection.
If you want to invite your friends to join you, share this post on Facebook.
We Can Do This!
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Hi Kimberlee,
I am new to your community and I am hoping to down-size from my 3 bedroom home to move into a one bedroom apartment. This freaks me out because I have way too much stuff. Help!! lol
Delphia
Hi Delphia – Thanks for joining us!
I understand your issue because we downsized from a 6 bedroom, 3.5 bath, 3 story house with a full basement to a two bedroom condo. My first suggestion is to do easy downsizing first by going room by room and getting rid of anything you don’t use regularly or love, as well as throwing away any trash. Next begin with one small section of one room, and when you are finished move to the next small section of that room until you are finished. Clothing and books seem to be the easiest items to start with so maybe begin in your bedroom closet.
You can also use my 31 Day Declutter Checklist to guide you.
You can do this! It will take concerted effort, but you CAN do this!
Hi Kimberlee,
I am so excited about this. So far I have de-cluttered 2 of my childrens rooms and done my room twice, getting rid of 2 boot loads of stuff to the Op-Shop ( I think you call them Thrift Shops) and a garbage bag of stuff to throw away. Phew!!
That’s so AWESOME Rhiannon! I’m so proud of you!!!
Thankyou Kimberlee xx
I’ve been able to get at least one 10 min. session in every day but one since March 1st. I’ve sorted through 3 boxes of old papers. I put them into piles of things that go together. Now I’m going through the piles & getting rid of old ones that do not need to be kept. That part is about 75% finished. I feel like I should be able to complete this paper decluttering by the end of the month!
This is SO awesome Kelly! I’m so proud of you for making such great progress! Way to go!
To be honest, I started out strong but life got in the way, so I haven’t been decluttering like I want to.
However! One of my projects was to clear out a deep cabinet in our bedroom (Our dresser is built into the wall and there’s a cabinet space on top). I haven’t attempted to organize it in like 7 years. So I started pulling things out and found an envelope; and upon opening it, I found there was $150 inside! We have NO idea where it came from. I had just told my husband the day before that after our pantry challenge, I wanted to stock up on non-food essentials as well but Swagbucks wasn’t earning me enough for a Sam’s gift card.
God shows up at the perfect time, every time. And thank you for inspiring me to declutter even a little, because who knows how long that envelope would have stayed in there! =)
I LOVE this story Jaime! So happy for you, and remember, any move in the right direction is progress. 🙂
I love the way you are open and honest about your decluttering progress. It makes me feel I am ok and do not have to be a perfectionist.
Thanks Tracy! I’m so glad it encourages you, and I know for sure that perfectionism is the one thing that will prevent me from getting started so I want to encourage others to let go of it as well. 🙂