30 Day Declutter Challenge
Another New Year has come which means many resolutions have been made – only to be broken two weeks later. If your resolution this year is to declutter, why not make it interesting for 2016.
With Christmas out of the way and the house undoubtedly full of stuff, January and February is the best time to declutter and get organised for the year ahead.
Rather than get caught up in the humdrum of tidying up, try these creative ideas from around the web to help keep your resolution to declutter.
This month long challenge means you could do away with 465 items helping you to declutter in no time at all. The aim is to get rid of things one day at a time, so on Day 1, get rid of or donate one item. On Day 2, it’s two items, Day 3, it’s three items and so on. By the end of the month, you’ll have removed 465 items of clutter which have either been donated, dumped or given away.
Five Box Technique
This method is a simple way to declutter parts of your home in a quick and easy way. All you need to do is take one item at a time and consider it carefully before placing it in one of five boxes marked: ‘Bin’ – to throw away any items that are broken, ‘Store’ – for items that are needed but won’t be used on a regular basis, ‘Donate’ – for things that are in good shape but you no longer want or need, ‘Keep’ – you still need these items so they need to be put back somewhere and ‘Relocate’ – for any items that need to be put back in the right place.
Wardrobe Hanger Trick
Simply hang all your clothes in your wardrobe with the hangers facing back to front. After you wear an item, return it to your wardrobe with the hanger facing the correct direction. After six months, if you haven’t worn it, you can see which items of clothing you can donate to charity, sell to make a bit of cash or even give away or swap with family and friends.
Room by Room Declutter
If your whole house is overwhelmingly filled with clutter, try tidying room by room over a six week period. Breaking it down in this way will make things easier, particularly if you pick at least one problematic area in each room to focus on each week. Aim to spend 3 to 4 hours a week on the following areas: Week 1: Kitchen/Dining room, Week 2: Bathroom, Week 3: Master bedroom, Week 4: Kids’ rooms/Playrooms, Week 5: Living room/Family room and Week 6: Garage/Loft/Shed/Other storage areas.
This easy task means simply aiming to get rid of one item a day for a year – whether it’s going to the dump, being given away, sold or re-gifted – it’ll be a breath of fresh air to reduce your stuff one day at a time. Just think about how much less clutter you’d have by getting rid of 365 things. Perhaps even refrain from buying anything new, unless you’ve got rid of something old.
The 12-12-12 Challenge
Set yourself the weekly or monthly task of finding 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate and 12 items to be returned to where they belong. It’s a quick way to organise 36 things in your home! Feel free to adjust the rules, by picking a new number to suit you and the time you have. The important thing is to challenge yourself and stick to the targets you’ve set.
So go on, try these ideas out and make 2016 a clutter-free year.
If you have any other declutter hints and tips, let us know below.
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