Inside: It’s that time of year again. Time to lessen the load, throw away things, conquer the clutter! Join us for our 2018 Decluttering Challenge–7 days, 250 items, and one determined woman hacking a path through the jungle that is our stuff with humor and good cheer. Machete not required.
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To Declutter or Not to Declutter?
Before embarking on the journey, one might ask, Why should I do the 2018 Decluttering Challenge? I say, don’t underestimate the power of a good purge to lighten your load–both mentally and physically. I took a short decluttering class a couple of years ago, and what surprised me most was how much lighter I felt. Seriously. . . Cleaner rooms, yes. More space, you bet. But feeling less weighed down by life, less burdened when all I did was get rid of stuff? That was a shocking–and amazing–feeling! The decluttering process paid off in ways I hadn’t expected, and I actually look forward to decluttering every year now.
Think of it this way: It’s like your house on a diet.
3 Simple Rules
- Choose your number of items. How many total items will you get rid of? My first decluttering experience I did 500 items in 14 days, and, no, it wasn’t as hard as you might think. (No hoarding going on. Really.)
- Pick your locations or categories. Where do you want to focus your decluttering efforts? You can choose locations, such as the garage, or categories like clothes. Or you can mix and match. You can go with seven different locations or categories or devote all of your energy on one location, like the basement. You decide.
- Determine how many items per location or category. You might only have a few items in your bathroom, but the bedroom closet is a mess. Allocate more items to the closet, then. You might be wondering, So what if I go under or over the amount? If you don’t get enough things from one category, move the remainder to another category. If you go over? Yay! Pat yourself on the back. But don’t subtract item amounts from elsewhere. That’s defeating the purpose.
When?
We start on Monday, September 24 and the challenge runs through Sunday, September 30. You can sign up to receive a short daily reminder.
Accountability
Don’t underestimate the importance of telling someone to keep you accountable. So I’m telling you. Here is what I’m doing in 2018:
Total items:
250 items in 7 days
Location and areas – how many items:
kitchen – 25
spare bedroom – 50
junk drawers (yes, plural) – 25
paper – 75
closet – 25
living room – 25
clothes and shoes – 25
Okay, I’m getting my game face on. Ready to do battle with my stuff come Monday. Gathering my boxes and trash bags and heading into the kitchen. First stop the fridge, but not for food like last year. (Promise.) I’ll be looking for odd growing strains of mold and other unidentified objects.
Stop by Monday for Day 1 and see how I’m doing. I’ll be decluttering early in the day to leave you plenty of inspiration.
So are you in? Tell us about it in the comments. Remember, we’re all in this together!
Resources:
Overwhelmed: How to Quiet the Chaos and Restore Your Sanity by Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory
Kathi Lipp’s Clutter Free Academy
Patsy Reiter
Love this post. I just need to get motivated and start tossing. Thanks for the nudge. Patsy
amy@amyharkemoore.com
Thanks, Pasty! That’s why I love to do these challenges because it’s like we’re all in it together, cheering each other on. 🙂 Very motivating!
Margo Dill
I’m game! I want to get rid of 250 things from my basement, and if I don’t have that many, then I will tackle Katie’s bedroom. (I’m actually going to try to go above and beyond my goal–500 things would be amazing, but we’ll see). The basement is ridiculous, so daily, I need to get rid of…35 things. Okay, here we go.
amy@amyharkemoore.com
Cool! Thanks, Margo. 🙂 Glad to have you along for the ride! We can do this!
Ann
I’m aiming for 500 items.
If I can get rid of some books I’ll be happy!
Beyond that I shouldn’t have a problem coming up with that many items.
amy@amyharkemoore.com
Hmm. . . Quite ambitious! Now you make me want to up my ante. . . We’ll see. 😀
Barbara
OK. Here we go! this is a brilliant idea. Thanks to the collective creatives behind the inspiration. No pun intended.
amy@amyharkemoore.com
Hi Barbara. 🙂 Great to have you on board! We got this!
Kelly Dunn
I have to do this!
amy@amyharkemoore.com
Oh my gosh, Kelly, I was just thinking about you today, wondering how you’ve been. . . Glad you’re joining in on the decluttering challenge again! We’re going to have fun and get rid of lots of stuff! 😀
Barbara
Today is the day! Tawanda!
amy@amyharkemoore.com
Cool, Barbara! Hope you had a productive first day! 🙂 Who knew getting rid of stuff could be fun?