Take on These Decluttering Challenges to Start Fresh in the New Year!

The new year is fast approaching! And it’s the perfect time to let go of the things you no longer need so you can get ready for a fresh new start! That’s why we’ve rounded up these decluttering challenges you can try to keep your home tidy and mess-free. Taking on these challenges will definitely help you start the new year a little bit more organized. Check them out below and don’t forget to tell us which challenges you’re working on!

7 Decluttering Challenges to Get Ready for the New Year

The Closet Hanger Experiment

This Oprah Winfrey approved organizing tip will surely get your closet in order! You can start by making sure that whatever you have hanging in your closet is hung in reverse. If you decide to wear a clothing item and take it out, hang it in the right direction once you’ve used and cleaned it. After a few weeks, you’ll see which clothes you wear often and which ones you don’t actually use. This way, you get a clear picture of which items you can do away with.

 

Fill a Trash Bag

Grab a trash bag and take a walk through your house. If you spot something you can throw away, put it in the bag! Keep going until you have a bag filled with items you know you can get rid of. You can also do another round of this challenge targeting items you can donate, so that not all your things have to end up in the trash.

 

Ten Minute Clean Up

Pick out a space in your house that you think has the most clutter and set aside ten minutes a day working on it. With a timer set for this clean up mission, you’ll be making no-brainer decisions, focusing first on the items that are easiest to get rid of. And as the days go by, that space will have less of the things you don’t need or use, leaving only your essentials. Once you feel the space is clutter-free, you can start on another part of your house!

 

The 12-12-12 Challenge

For those of you who have a hard time parting ways with your things, this challenge will help you ease into decluttering. All you have to do is pick 12 things to donate, 12 things to throw away, and 12 things that need to be returned or put back in the right places. You could even have everyone in the family choose their own 12-12-12 items to really declutter!

 

One Item a Day

If the last challenge was still too much too soon, start by looking for one (yup, just one!) item in your house that you no longer use, won’t be needing, or can’t use at all. Make sure to check its condition: Would someone else be able to get better use of it? If so, donate it and if not, throw it away and repeat the whole process tomorrow with one other item. Committing to getting rid of one item everyday is a slow but sure way to keeping your home free of non-essentials.

 

The Four Box Method

Start this clean up with three boxes (or bags) and your trash can. Set one box for items you’ll be keeping, another for items you can donate, the third for things you need to move, and the trash can for your trash. (You can label your boxes too so you don’t get confused!) Choose a spot in your house you’d like to work on and go over every item with your family so that everyone gets a say on what can be given away, kept, thrown, or what actually just needs to be moved to another room.

 

30 Day Minimalism Game

This idea comes from Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, two advocates for a minimalist lifestyle (also known collectively as The Minimalists). On your first day of this challenge, do away with one item that you no longer use. On the second day, get rid of two things. On the third, three things and so on and so forth until you’re donating or dumping 30 items on the 30th day. If you start today, you’ll have cleaned up 465 items by the first week of the new year!

Happy decluttering, mom!

 

Sources:

For more lifestyle inspirations click here

Tagged: / / / / /

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.