In So Many Words

I’m so ready to get started on this decluttering challenge and make it a routine in my daily life. And I’m even more excited about those of you who have decided to join me. Together we can do it!

The Basic Outline

Simply put, the 365 Days of Decluttering Challenge is a commitment to “donate, sell or toss one unused item from your home every day for a year.”

I’m sure logistical questions will come up as the year progresses, but my plan as of now is to designate a spot in my house to collect the items to be donated and then drop them off to charity or post them on Freecycle once I have a box full. If I find items worth selling, I will post them on Craigslist and donate them later if they don’t sell. Obviously, things that are being tossed will go into the trash immediately.

Focus Challenges

This part isn’t required to participate in the challenge, but Suzanne had created a series of mini challenges to serve as a reminder to the participants that they weren’t doing it alone. Each one focuses on a specific area or type of clutter. I asked her for permission to use them during my own challenge, and she graciously agreed.

Focus Challenge, Month 1 (click the link to read the full, original challenge)

Think of 7 areas or such that bother you (for example: a drawer/closet; a flat surface that always has stuff put on it, your desk at home or work, etc.) For the next week, the focus challenge is to look in one area each day for your declutter item of the day.

If this seems too difficult, or you don’t have that many areas which bother you, you could just focus on one area and remove one piece of clutter from that area each day for a week. The main point is that we are getting rid of the extra stuff!

Time to Get Started

Now go find one thing in your house to throw away, give away or sell. And then do the same thing tomorrow and the next day!

I will be putting up a MckLinky in a week (on January 8th) so we can all report on how the decluttering is going and encourage each other to stay motivated. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!

I have made some significant progress in decluttering my home this year – after years of moaning and groaning about it without taking any action. It has been a wonderful thing, but as I look around, I realize there is a lot more to be done, and I’m also finding that it can be difficult to keep the decluttered areas from becoming messy again.

So when I discovered the 365 Days of Decluttering Challenge, I was very intrigued. The basic idea of the challenge is “to donate, sell or toss one unused item from your home every day for a year.”

My first thought was – one thing? That’s not very much, how will that help? But then I thought about how much of a difference 365 things would make by the time a year is up. Of course, there will be days where I get motivated and do more than that, but I love the idea that I can make a difference by removing just one unused, unneeded or unloved thing from my life each day. And that by doing it every day, I am creating a routine that will become an automatic mindset.

Suzanne Sergis, who started the challenge and also blogs at Taking Care of You, even created monthly focus challenges to help inspire and motivate people as they go through the year. For her original year of decluttering, she had declared one day of the month as an anniversary and posted a focus challenge on that day.

My Plan

I have decided to take this challenge for myself and start on January 1st (And why not? It’s the classic day to start something new, after all.) Anyone want to join me?

My plan is to post the focus challenge on the 1st of each month and then put up a MckLinky a week later so we can report on how we did and encourage each other to stay motivated. I may post at other times throughout the month about how it’s going or what I’m learning through the process as well.

So, who’s with me? Leave me a comment and let me know if you’d like to join me so we can encourage each other over the coming year.

Links to the Monthly Focus Challenges:

January 1 – Month 1 Focus Challenge