Decluttering bursts are important to help us stay on top of clutter. It is important we love our homes and want to live in them, clutter can build up quickly so if we don’t stay on top, we can have a huge mountain of time-consuming clutter to wade through.
Add this simple 10-day declutter challenge into your planner a few times a year and along with my mega January declutter challenge you will stay on top.
I find decluttering my space a great stress buster and super soothing.
Do this challenge whenever it fits in with you and try to dedicate just 10 minutes a day, this way you are keeping it simple and quick.
Good luck!
Day 1: Mugs and Glasses
Really mugs and glasses should be dedicated to just one shelf in your kitchen cupboard, not the whole cupboard. Go through and throw out any that are chipped or cracked, and eliminate what is not being used. Use the two-cup rule for every person living in your home only two glasses/mugs are required. We are a family of 5 so we have 10 and a few spares for guests and tradespeople.
Day 2: Mail
Do you hang on and avoid throwing away mail? Well if that is you, today is the day for a mail sort out. Old bills that you have already paid, expired money off vouchers for the supermarket along with mail from the previous homeowner need to go.
Day 3: Books
I love books and hate giving them away but when you don’t have the room then once read, and you know you will not read again, there is no point in hanging onto them. The best thing about books is they can be easily swapped with a friend, gifted, or donated with ease as everyone loves a good book. Switch to reading digitally as it saves you so much space and eliminates the need for a book declutter.
Day 4: Wardrobe Clear Out
Now, we all know that this one will take you a lot longer than ten minutes, but no one has said you need to do it all at once. Open your wardrobe and just do a section, you could just do dresses today and plan in another ten minutes for another day to tackle trousers and so on. My best advice when tackling clothes is to literally get that whole section out, pop it on the bed and be ruthless. When did you last wear it? Does it still fit? Do you like it? Is it damaged? Ask yourself a series of questions like this and this will make the process so much easier. Then bag them up and sell, donate or gift them.
Day 5: Baking Cupboard
Back in the kitchen for day 5 and it is time to open that baking cupboard, the one you don’t open much as you hardly have any time for baking. Chuck out those out-of-date bags of shredded coconut that you never got around to using and that bag of flour that has burst and is just making a mess in your cupboard.
Day 6: Make Up
Today we need to toss out those dried-up old lipsticks and the off-smelling foundations that we simply hang onto because they are branded, costs a lot of money but you never actually wore them as the shade wasn’t quite right! Throwing away does feel like a real waste but it will remind you to make a better choice next time and choose a product that you will use and love.
Day 7: Junk Drawer
Let’s be honest we all have one, don’t we? Even I do and I call myself Little Miss Organised! Junk drawers normally consist of a little bit of everything, plasters, batteries, pens, lightbulbs, the list goes on but all these items need a home.
Day 8: Paperwork
Do you just stuff your papers and important documents into a drawer or unmarked folder? Well, if that is you and the paperwork is building up, today is the day you dedicate ten minutes to getting your paperwork in order. Treat yourself to some colour-coded folders and mark them, then you will have an easy to use system.
Day 9: Medication
For safety reasons, it is important to declutter your medicine cabinet regularly. Medicines are medical compounds and over time they will break down. Check expiry dates and organise into categories.
Day 10: Socks
Do you have lots of odd socks just hanging around without their mates? Than a good first step is to pull them out and try to match them up as and when you do your laundry, if mates don’t appear then it is time to toss them. You need to decide what is a reasonable number of socks to have and stick to that amount. Have a few different types, such as trainer socks and dress socks.
Mini declutter challenge complete!
Recognising the problem areas in your home and starting to chip away at them, one-by-one will make you and your home feel better.
