Best Home Tips and Tricks: The Six Week Decluttering Challenge

The Six Week Decluttering Challenge

Spending time decluttering may not be the first thing that you think of doing during the summer, but it is actually a great time to get things done! In general, the days are a little more laid back, daily routines are more relaxed, and the nicer weather tends to improve energy levels. See? The perfect time to declutter!

Join in The 6 Week Decluttering Challenge to create a peaceful, clutter-free home that you can truly relax in! Customize your own plan with free printables. You can do it!

Decluttering your house doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment – with a plan in place, a little organization, and a few hours per week, you can easily work towards a more peaceful, organized home that you can truly relax in. Back in January, I posted a 31 Day Household Detox Plan to quickly start the decluttering process in just 15 minutes per day. While this plan is great for those that need a jump start or just a quick home decluttering {and can be done at any time!}, some people may require a little more time commitment. The 6 Week Decluttering Challenge allows more flexibility with the projects that you will be working on and how you want to use your time throughout the week – whether it be a little each day or a big chunk of time on the weekend or evening. Basically, you will be the one customizing your plan, so you can really target those problem areas in your home.

So the first thing that you will need to get started on the challenge is a plan. Each Monday, I will have a printable worksheet for you along with some decluttering tips. All you need to do is print it off, determine what “mini-projects” you will be working on in your space, write down when you are going to do it during the week, and then DO IT! Here are the rooms that we will be doing…

WEEK ONE: Kitchen/Dining Room

WEEK TWO: Bathrooms

WEEK THREE: Master Bedroom

WEEK FOUR: Kids’ Rooms

WEEK FIVE: Living Room/Family Room

WEEK SIX: Garage/Basement/Other Storage Areas

The 6 Week Decluttering Challenge Guidelines

This plan focuses on the actual decluttering process itself – getting rid of all of those unloved and unused items that are just taking up space in your home. The goal is to let go of as much stuff as possible in as short a time as possible. While you will be spending a little time organizing items as you put them away, this is not going to be the time to take on any major DIY organization projects. If you have any great ideas for future projects as you are working through the plan, write it down on the weekly printables provided and come back to it once you have lived in your newly decluttered space for a bit!
Each week we will be working on a different area in the home. You will pick at least one problematic clutter area from the room as your project for the week. This can include closets, cupboards, a cluttered corner, etc. – whatever areas are causing you stress! Feel free to do as many “mini-projects” throughout the week; however, you MUST complete one project before beginning another.
Choose your time commitment. This will be a little different for everyone, but try to aim for at least 3-4 hours per week. You can do it in one solid chunk if you have a big project that you are working on, or break it down into smaller time periods a few times per week. Write it in your plan {you can download it HERE} and stick to it!
For each project that you work on, you will be sorting your items into garbage, keep, donate/sell, or belongs elsewhere. Make sure you have lots of bins, large cardboard boxes, and/or garbage bags for this. Try to take your donation items in to Goodwill {or wherever you will be donating them} as you collect them so you or other family members aren’t tempted to keep them. For items that you are hoping to sell, you can either plan to do a garage sale at the end of the seven weeks {if so, plan the date now!} or try to sell off the items as you go using Craigslist, Facebook, etc. Read this post for more tips on determining what to sell and what to donate.
When you are working on your space, you must empty EVERYTHING out! This will allow you to truly see everything that is in there and makes it much easier to organize those items that are going back in. Take the time to honestly evaluate every item – if you do not love it, use it, and need it, it should probably be in the garbage or donate pile. If you are having difficulties getting rid of things, you may want to read this post for some helpful tips on overcoming decluttering paralysis.

This week we will be working on the kitchen and dining room. Projects could include decluttering the kitchen cabinets or the pantry, working on clearing off your countertops, getting rid of old recipe books that you no longer use, or sorting through kitchen gadgets and other small appliances. Start with wahtever areas are the most problematic for you and break tasks down into manageable projects that will fit the time that you have available. You may have one large project that you want to tackle or a few smaller areas that need attention – it is all up to you!