Hey pal! Welcome to another challenge. :) I invite you to explore this doozy of a challenge with me. Let’s get into it!
What is the challenge?
Over the next 31 days we will be decluttering our lives. Each day you remove a corresponding amount of items based on the number of the day. So day 1 you remove 1 item, day 2 you remove 2 items, day 3 you remove 3 items, and so on. The items end up compounding throughout the month until you reach nearly 500 items total!
This is a serious decluttering challenge for those of us looking to shed some weight and clean up our lives.
Why should you try it?
Studies show that clutter can be linked to stress and other negative mental implications. When we live in a cluttered, messy environment we feel it mentally as well.
Personally, I accumulate clutter quickly. We’re a household of two ADHD folks and things get messy easily. Reducing the number of objects that can contribute to clutter will make staying on top of cleaning much easier for us.
Reducing and removing clutter allows us to make space for the items that truly benefit and bring joy to our lives. By removing what no longer serves us and weighs us down we can get that extra space back.
Peace of mind and mental clarity. Going back to our first point, clutter weighs down our minds and emotions. Think about working in a messy environment vs a clean and organized one. Chances are you preferred working in a well-organized environment. It’s easier to move around, find what you need, and get work done.
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My tips for the challenge:
If you live with someone else, get them involved. Ask them to contribute to the challenge even if it’s not their idea. Chances are they’ll be happy to find a few items to part with as well. (Note: don’t force anyone to participate. If they don’t want to they don’t want to. Your work will allow for better organization of their items in the end.)
Break from chronological order. While this challenge was designed to be done chronologically, it’s just not how life works realistically. Some days you’ll be busier than others. Some days you’ll be in a bad mood or have a hard time. Reserve the little days for when you’re feeling down and the bigger days for when you’re feeling motivated.
Stick to one room/one area. It can be easy to try to move from area to area on the bigger days but I highly suggest sticking in one room to find the items you need to declutter. Decluttering itself can be a messy process. Don’t make it harder on yourself by tearing up the entire house trying to find 10 items to remove.
Don’t get distracted. This isn’t a deep clean project it’s a declutter project. You can deep clean areas after the challenge is done.
Be critical. You will find items you forgot you had and think to yourself, “Oh this is great I should keep this!” Remember that there was a reason you forgot the item ever existed. Look at it critically and truly ask yourself if you will use this item or if it will just go missing again in a few months.
Re-visit areas. As iterated above, this challenge will be emotionally and physically draining at times. If you’re having a hard time finding items to declutter re-visit an area and see if you can’t find additional items to remove.
Don’t hold onto items during the challenge. Remove them immediately. Make weekly, or even daily, donation and trash drop offs.
Recycle and donate what you can and trash what you can’t. If you’re feeling bad about the amount of waste you’re creating during this challenge remember a lot of items can be recycled, regifted, or donated. A quick google search will put you into contact with places that will take items like cosmetics, food, clothing, etc. For the items that need to be trashed, remember this, if you don’t remove it from your life you’re just living with trash. Do you really want that?
Don’t forget a digital declutter counts! Our digital spaces take up a good portion of our lives now. Clean those areas up too. They count.
The small items count. Little pieces of paper, pens without ink, packaging, etc. It all counts toward the number of items you’re removing.
Download and print out the free tracker at the bottom of this post. (For paid subscribers.)
I’ll be sharing my experience with this challenge once I’ve completed it myself. At the time of this post’s publish date, I’ll have gotten through 10 days of the challenge myself. (Remember you don’t have to start this at the beginning of the month! 31 days is 31 days no matter when you start it.) Let’s declutter and clean up our lives together!
Until next time!
xoxo,
Roo