Imagine stepping into your kid’s room and being unable to see anything beyond a pile of toys, board games and clothes. Didn’t a mere thought of it make you feel suffocated? Now visualize yourself picking up your decluttering gear and stepping inside the kitchen to tackle with all the clutter that you’ve been accumulating for years only to realize that it might take you forever to tidy it up.
Decluttering can be really tough if you have been on a hoarding spree for years and yet can’t bring yourself to get rid of stuff because you can’t figure out where to start. Decluttering as a project is still doable for people who don’t have the tendency to hoard or have the habit of getting rid of clutter on a regular basis. But it can be a lot overwhelming for those who have been drowning in clutter so much so that it has even stopped bothering them.
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That’s exactly where this ‘30 bags in 30 days’ declutter challenge comes into play. It allows you to escape overwhelm by decluttering bit by bit or one bag at a time. All it needs you to do is grab an empty bag every day for 30 days and fill them up with unwanted stuff lying around in your house. The idea of decluttering for the next 30 days might sound like a long journey but at the end of this period, you will find yourself realizing that your house is now lighter by 30 bags of clutter.
30 WHOLE BAGS!! And that’s huge.
Here’s a list of things you need to keep in mind before you take up a ‘30 bags in 30 days’ decluttering challenge:
1. Get sturdy trash bags to collect the items you want to declutter. Make sure the bags are strong enough to carry at least 10 kgs of clutter. As an alternate, you can use cardboard boxes or plastic totes that are robust enough to carry the clutter.
2. Discard the bag of decluttered items at the end of each day rather than trying to deal with them all at once. If possible, get 4 cardboard boxes and label them as Trash, Sell, Donate, Repurpose/Recycle. Keep these cardboard boxes in your garage and toss the items from the bags of decluttered stuff into the relevant boxes at the end of each day.
On day 30, drop the ‘Donate’ box at a Donation center near your home. Take out the box labelled as ‘Trash’ to the garbage bin and that labelled as ‘Sell’ to a thrift store. Find ways to utilize the stuff tossed in the ‘Repurpose’ box or call in a waste management company to help you deal with them. Here’s a post on how you can repurpose some of the stuff in your house.
3. Mark the days on a calendar. Choose a particular date to mark the beginning of this challenge and label it on your calendar as Day 1. Keep marking the day numbers until you reach day 30. This will allow you to keep a track of your progress.
4. Take breaks if needed. You don’t have to complete the entire challenge at a stretch. Give yourself grace and feel free to skip a day or two in between, but don’t forget to mark the same on the calendar.
So if you’re ready to take this challenge, here’s the checklist of tasks that you need to accomplish every day:
Day 1: Kitchen Pantry. Get rid of broken, mismatch and lidless containers. Throw expired food items.
Day 2: Bedroom Nightstands. Clear the surface and sift through the drawers to find items that don’t belong.
Day 3: Home Office. Clear the desk off of unnecessary items and declutter the drawers and filing cabinet.
Day 4: Junk Drawers in your kitchen and the dresser.
Day 5: Cupboards And Cabinets Under Kitchen Sink
Day 6: Old Electronics like charging cables and cords, old television sets, cell phones, music systems and video games.
Day 7: Kids’ Toys, Games and Puzzles that are broken or have missing pieces. Also declutter the items your kids have outgrown.
Day 8: Garage Shelves. Get rid of damaged, broken or unneeded pool supplies, outdoor sports equipment and garden tools.
Day 9: Car. Don’t forget to declutter the glove compartment and trunk.
Day 10: Shoe Rack. Get rid of duplicates, torn and worn-out shoes.
Day 11: Art & Craft Supplies that are broken, old or not useful.
Day 12: Unneeded paperwork. Get rid of old magazines, newspapers, receipts, mail, notes and journals.
Day 13: Laundry Room.
Day 14: Makeup & Skincare.
Day 15: Cleaning Supplies & Decluttering Tools.
Day 16: Refrigerator. Throw out the rotten fruits and vegetables. Clear the items on the door and on top of the fridge.
Day 17: Kitchen Cabinets And Cupboards.
Day 18: Linen Closet. Donate or give away the extra bedding sets and comforters. Throw out the torn and worn items.
Day 19: Bedroom Closets And Wardrobe.
Day 20: Medicine Cabinet. Donate medicines that you don’t need and throw out the expired medicines.
Day 21: Under Bed Storage Boxes.
Day 22: Holiday Décor
Day 23: Gift Items, Gift Bags And Gift Wraps.
Day 24: Bathroom Cabinets And Countertops.
Day 25: Tupperware, Bakeware And Other Storage.
Day 26: Kitchen Drawers And Countertops. Aim for a clean line of sight.
Day 27: Email Inbox, Desktop, Photo Gallery & Digital Documents.
Day 28: Books. Donate the ones you’ve already read and the ones you don’t intend to read.
Day 29: Vanity Or The Dresser. Clear the surface off of unneeded items. Sift through the drawers and cabinets to declutter the items that are not useful.
Day 30: Sentimental Items & Keepsakes.
Once you’re done with this challenge, you will be able to register the amount of clutter you had been hiding beneath. While this challenge is best suited for people who have too much stuff in their house, the rest of you can take up a ‘7 bags in 7 days’ challenge or a ‘15 bags in 15 days’ challenge depending on your decluttering goals or the amount of stuff you have.
Have you ever taken a ‘30 bags in 30 days’ challenge? If so, how did it turn out?