This Month's focus has been decluttering and I'm so excited to see folks who follow me on Instagram getting inspired and motivated by my one-task-a-day approach!
When I decided to tackle decluttering as my February Focus, I knew my house was in need of some cleaning and I didn't want to wait until Spring. February seemed like a great month to get going — we're over the holidays and now just trudging along until Spring. We've been in our house for so long and, I'll be honest, it's been incredibly hard to motivate myself to clean during the pandemic. I'm already so exhausted from working, childcare and the regular maintenance of the house that doing anything more is like pulling teeth for me.
But in doing so, those little piles of "I'll get to it later" and "I'll just put this here for now" ended up consuming every open surface area I have.
I have a few goals for this challenge:
Clean out my daughter's room to update it, since she's outgrown a lot of her toys as she's maturing into a pre-teen.
We want to get her a new bigger bed and a desk area for her computer she'll soon need for her own computer.
Clear out too small clothes since she usually gets clothes for her birthday, which is coming up.
Clear out common spaces and big clutter holes that have accumulated over the course of the pandemic.
Both kids are growing out of old toys and clothes and we want to claim the space back.
The 4-year-old's birthday soon and grandparents will no doubt want to get him stuff, plus he's growing
Mark and I want to declutter for our mental health. It makes a difference!
I have been working on a worksheet that maps out how I set my goals and I hope to make it available soon! Want a sneak peak? Send me a DM on Instagram and let me know you’re interested in
The whole project was so overwhelming and I didn't know where to start. I knew I wanted to clean and declutter in a way that made a noticeable difference so I decided to break down my decluttering projects by location in the house.
But I didn't just want to make a list. I had a feeling it would overwhelm me and it didn't have any kind of fun element to it.
Coming off of the Cooking-at-Home challenge I knew I wanted a bit more fun.
If you've followed me for a while, you'll know I really love doing daily challenges.
Before & After decluttering the kitchen cart
When I wanted to learn to roller skate for my 38th birthday, I gave myself the challenge to get on skates every day for the month of April, and I even started in March to prepare. I ended up not only learning how to skate but I kept going for more than 100 days! Since then it's been one of my favorite forms of exercise and mood boosters!
But I couldn't have learned if I didn't make it a point to chip away at it. So I'm doing the same with decluttering!
But let's face it — decluttering is not quite as enjoyable as roller skating. So in order to keep my interest level up, I needed an element of fun.
So I made it a game!
One-Task-A-Day Decluttering Game
Brainstorm all the decluttering you have to do
I like using bullet points for each task so I can check it cross them off as I finish.
Be aware of projects vs. tasks. You may write "clean the entranceway," but there might be three tables or shelves that each need to be decluttered. Those are the tasks within the project itself. Keep it small and bite-sized for expectation's sake. But you can always keep going.
Sort the tasks by room
Cut out the lists for each room and fold them up.
Put them in a jar
Every day, pick a folded piece of paper out. That's the room you’ll be working in.
Now you get to choose anything on that list, like a menu at a restaurant.
Here's a caveat about this game — the whole point is one-task-a-day. So if nothing looks good on the list, either add something to one of the blank lines or put it back and pick another room!
I have a calendar to check off and keep accountability. It helps to keep it in the kitchen so I can see it every day. I've also found it inspiring to write down what I decluttered on it so I have a nice To-Done list as well! (PIC)
Tips:
Gauge your energy for Decluttering. Because of my uterine condition, Adenomyosis, there are days when I need to be attached to my heating pad and don't want to be running from room to room. On those days I pick things on my list that don't require a lot of energy, like the day I sorted my box of photos. It was actually a wonderful distraction from cramps and if you saw my Stories that day, you for to see some questionable '90s hairstyles of mine 😂
Remember to rest! I found after the first week I needed to take a break. All the tiny decisions add up and I found myself with a major case of Decision Fatigue after 8 days in a row, so I took the next day off from decluttering and let myself simply enjoy the cleaner spots. If you want to count it as part of a Decluttering Challenge, you could say you’re using those days to declutter your mind 😉
Sometimes there are time constraints. On heavy workdays, I don't have a lot of time so I may pick an area, set a timer and just chip away without finishing. I don't necessarily cross it off, but when I eventually come back to that room, it's sometimes easier to finish something I've already started clearing than starting something new.
Be sure to plan what to do with the items you want to get rid of. Having a local thrift store I love has been such a wonderful thing! I love dropping off bags of stuff for store credit so I can refill my closet as soon as I finally get to decluttering it. But I know that keeping the boxes of clutter or clothes around sometimes leads me to take a second look, pull something out, and re-clutter! (I can’t be the only one who’s done this 😂)
I have some rooms marked with an O to let me know these are things outside the house or in the basement that I can put back right away until it's warm enough to get outside more.
One way I've found to reframe it is getting a head start on Spring Cleaning!
Do you want to join me? I have a feeling this will last a few weeks and into March, at least.
If you're decluttering, let me know over on IG 🙂
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