Jade Small

Jade Small

August 5, 2024

Challenge: How to De-Clutter Your Home in 30 Days

I’m too busy, I don’t have time, it’s not Spring yet, holidays are around the corner… How many reasons have you come up with avoid cleaning the clutter over the years? It is amazing what we can get used to living in. You store this, you hide that, you forget about this, you ignore that… Although your house may not be a stereotypical pigsty, clutter can seriously affect how you feel about where you live.

Truth is… there’s a mental cost to clutter. As psychologist Sherrie Bourg Carter puts it: “Messy homes and work spaces leave us feeling, anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed. Yet, rarely is clutter recognized as a significant source of stress in our lives.”[1]

On the contrary, research shows that – in addition to stress – clutter can spur on anxiety and depression. Especially in women. A 2009 study in SAGE followed 60 dual-income spouses and analyzed what language they used while giving self-guided home tours. Using their words, researchers grouped them into two types describing either a stressful home or a restorative home. In comparison to women who used “restorative language,” those who used “stressful language” had an increased depressed mood as the day went on.[2,3]

“Cortisol data show a link between unhappy verbal characterizations of arrays of household possessions [chronically messy, cluttered rooms or unfinished remodeling projects] and higher stress levels as measured by the hormone cortisol in the MOTHERS in the study,” said UCLA anthropologist Jeanne Arnold.[4]

Clearly, we are in the midst of a clutter culture! That’s why we’re here today with an invitation…

30-Day DE-CLUTTER Challenge

30 Day De-Clutter Challenge Calendar - Printable Download

Is this de-clutter challenge something you’ve been putting off for days, weeks, months, or maybe even years? If so, there is no better time than now to start (thanks to Love + Marriage). Say goodbye stress and anxiety and make a calm, clean home your new reality. Right below we give some guidance on how to tackle each daily de-clutter challenge – hope they help!

Read More: Common Dry Cleaning Chemical Linked to 500% Increased Risk of Parkinson’s Disease

1) Empty out One Junk Drawer

Dartmoor, England. Kitchen drawer with essential items. Car keys, mobile phone, cash and notes, postage stamps. Purse. Phone chargers, face mask. tape measure, House keys, torch, watch.
Source: SHutterstock

It doesn’t matter how many you have… don’t even think about that! It will only overwhelm you. Choose one and tackle only that one. Whether it’s old flyers or bills, dried-out elastic bands, golf balls, or garbage wrappers (you’d be surprised) … get rid of it! A good rule of thumb is that if you haven’t used it in the last three months, you probably don’t need it (at least when it comes to little trinkets and things like that).

2) Purge Your Closet of the Things You No Longer Wear

Home wardrobe or dressing room of a clothing store. a young woman chooses a fashionable outfit in her closet at home or in a store. The girl thinks about what to wear.
Source: Shutterstock

Time to take a trip to your local thrift shop! If you have to think twice about a piece of clothing, throw it in that plastic bag. This is the only time where, if you don’t use it, you want to lose it.

3) Go Through Your Movie Collection

SAO PAULO, SP, BRAZIL - SEPT 2nd, 2020: A shelf full of DVD movies for family. Fun audio visual films for children. Selective focus.
Source: Shutterstock

Keep your favorites – no, they’re not all your favorites – and ditch the rest. Whether you donate your old VHS tapes or DVDs or leave them for the local landfill, be honest with yourself, you probably forgot they existed until now. Plus, does anyone really need those things when you have Netflix and other streaming programs?

4) Clean out Your Television Stand

TV stand.curve tv on tv stand wooden with hi-end speaker
Source: Shutterstock

You may even have some of those old VHS tapes or DVDs in there, not to mention cables you don’t use anymore. Some people spend a lot of time in front of a television, so why not make it as clutter-free as possible? No use setting down to relax with a movie while things like loose cables are poking out and bugging you.

5) Go Through Your Mail Pile

Pile of mails on white table
Source: Shutterstock

The flyers and newspapers start to stack up quickly… If you or someone you know has a fireplace indoors or outdoors, put it in a bag and use it that way. If not, just recycle all that excess stress-inducing paper. As for more important mail items such as bills, file them safely or pay them and throw them away. If you’re up for it, you can also opt for electronic billing at many places which will help keep your mailbox clear.

6) Clean off Your Kitchen Table

A mess in the kitchen, dirty dishes on the table, scattered things, unsanitary conditions. The dishwasher is full, the kitchen is untidy, everyday life
Source: Shutterstock

One day it’s clean and the next day, it’s as if it turned into an open-concept storage unit. Move the laptops, dirty dishes, homework, and loose sheets of paper. Being able to eat at a clean table during meals will also help foster less stressful quality time together.

7) Purge Two Kitchen Cabinets

Dalton, OH USA - 07 15 2024: 3 Open white cabinets of Cluttered items Overfull in a real Kitchen
Source: Shutterstock

Let’s say the average family has four members… so why is it that people have sets upon sets of cups, dishware, and cutlery? Unless you’re hosting weekly friend or family functions, you can do away with at least some of those things. Donate a set of plates, and re-gift those mugs you’ve never used. Fewer dishes means less washing, too! (You can even try these kitchen organization hacks.)

8) Discard Old Books

Book.
Source: Shutterstock

Yard sale anyone? Old books can be tastefully used for décor, but there is a very distinct line between a beautifully placed coffee table book and an open book you have the intention to return to. Of course, you’d keep your favorites, but ask around to see if anyone would be interested in reading any! If not, donate them or place them in a box on the street. You’d be surprised at how many people will stop and grab one (or ten)!

9) Clean out Your Wallet

Old battered wallet and lot of coins on concrete desk. Concept of social payments and donations, poverty
Source: Shutterstock

This may be the easiest one to do because your wallet is likely within reach right now. So empty it completely… Get rid of the empty gift cards, faded receipts, creased business cards, and whatever else you’ve managed to slip in there!

10) Clean out Your Purse

Funny Woman Looking inside her Disorganized Messy Purse. Disorganized lady trying to find something in her bag
Source: Shutterstock

Empty packs of gum, old lip balm, crinkled wrappers, soiled tissues… it’s definitely time for a purse purge. Empty everything out of your purse and once you’ve gotten rid of all the garbage or old items, only put back in the essentials: wallet, small makeup/hygiene bag, a pen or pencil, a planner, a little pack of tissues… it really depends on the person. The point is, you don’t want to carry around more than you have to.

Read More: Why Women Don’t Lick Their Babies Clean After Childbirth

11) Purge Your Makeup Drawer/Bag

Woman hands is taking out makeup brush set from the drawer of vanity table. Concept of decluttering and organizing of beauty cosmetics and makeup kit with MUJI's PP makeup boxes. Copy space
Source: Shutterstock

Using the logic from number 10, do the same thing with your makeup drawer and bag. Keep your lipsticks in one place, eyeliners in another, and only keep the ones you use most often in your makeup bag.

12) Clean out Empty/Almost Empty Containers in the Shower

Six white plastic bottles with shampoo and conditioner and shower gel on a white background.
Source: Shutterstock

It’s like the milk jug syndrome – no one ever wants to be the one to finish the shampoo, so it sits there sometimes for months on end just taking up space. The good thing about this is that you don’t need to open each and every bottle. Just pick it up and give it a quick shake… you’ll be able to tell whether it’s empty or close to it.

13) Purge Your Bathroom Cabinets

Top view of woman hands neatly organizing bathroom amenities and toiletries in drawer or cupboard in bathroom. Concept of tidying up a bathroom storage by using Marie Kondo's method.
Source: Shutterstock

The amount of loose hair and other unwanted things you’ll find in your bathroom cabinets will blow your mind. Clean all that out along with hygiene products packaging, empty toothpaste tubes, old mouthwash, and anything else you find!

14) Go Through Your Family’s Shoes (Donate What Doesn’t Fit)

Pile of old boots isolated on the white background
Source: Shutterstock

If the shoes are old and worn out, throw them away. If they’re relatively new but don’t fit, donate them to a thrift shop or friend. Simple as that!

15) Purge 2 More Kitchen Cabinets

storage grains and beans in jar on shelf in metal green cabinet at kitchen and female hand taking glass container with wheat for prepare food
Source: Shutterstock

See number 7.

16) Organize Your Linen Closet

Source: Shutterstock

It’s always nice to have extra linens in case people stay over, but maybe it’s time to revisit your linen closet. Take an inventory of everything you’re storing in there and get rid of the old, holey, tattered sheets and blankets. If you have a backyard, keep them stored out there for cooler nights, otherwise donate them.

17) Purge Your Medicine Cabinet

Man hold medication bottle reading instruction or prescription on packaging. Man looking at bottles from medicine cabinet
Source: Shutterstock

Old or expired medication is not something you want in your house. Check the expiry dates or if they’re old antibiotics, for example, return them to your pharmacist for safe disposal. If you’re trying to live life more holistically, you might want to try swapping those medications for natural supplements!

18) Go Through Your Freezer and Dump Old Items

Freezer drawers with chicken, fish and pizza logo in front of drawers.
Source: Shutterstock

You may have just hit the jackpot… Check the expiry dates. If the food in your freezer is too old, throw it out. But if the food is good, cancel your shopping trip and eat whatever you’ve already got! Dinner is served…

19) Clear off Your Kitchen Counters

Empty marble kitchen island with clean surface in blue vintage kinchen in provence style. Dining table against blurred stylish furniture with drawers and kitchenware. Pendant lights hanging above.
Source: Shutterstock

Crusty plates, dirty glasses, food from the past week still sitting in serving bowls… it’s time to clean those counters! Set aside a block of time – however long you think you’ll need – and just do it. There’s nothing like walking into a kitchen knowing you don’t have a mountain of dishes staring you in the face.

20) Empty Another Junk Drawer

Dartmoor England. Looking inside a domestic drawer with a large jumble of small rarely used articles including, compass, picture hooks, Tin Tin and dog model, decorative rope, knife, film.
Source: Shutterstock

See number 1.

21) Go Through Your Fridge and Dump Old Items

Los Angeles, California, United States - 05-05-2020: A view of a fully stocked refrigerator.
Source: Shutterstock

See number 18. Follow the same idea for the cleanest and freshest fridge you’ve ever had.

22) Purge 2 More Kitchen Cabinets

Young Asian woman stacks glass jars with horns in kitchen cabinet. Storage of bulk products. Zero waste. Vegetarian woman. Conscious consumption.
Source: Shutterstock

See number 7.

Read More: 6 Cleaning Products You Should Never Mix

23) Get Rid of Unused Accessories (Jewelry, Hats, Etc.)

Autumn female outfit. Set of clothes, shoes and accessories on brown background
Source: Shutterstock

No one knows your taste in fashion and accessories better than you do. So, if you try something on and you know it doesn’t suit you anymore or you don’t like it, put it in the donation bag or see if your kids or grandkids are interested. Don’t get stuck in the trap of telling yourself maybe you’ll wear it again one day because you probably told yourself that last time and, well, here we are…

24) Clean out Your Car

Car disinfecting service. Woman disinfecting and cleaning the inside handle of the car door. Safety and preventing infection of Covid-19 virus, contamination of germs or bacteria, wipe clean surfaces
Source: Shutterstock

Get out that vacuum and get to work. First, get rid of the empty bottles, old tissues, crumpled receipts, and whatever else you find. Then bang out the mats, clean out the compartments, and scrub down the interior with non-toxic car cleaner.

25) Discard Kids Unused Toys

Male volunteer holding donation box with old toys.
Source: Shutterstock

Depending on how old your kids or grandkids are, this will either be a hard day or an easy one. If the toys are in box and you know they haven’t been used in forever, those are fair game to put up for donation or sale. If they’re laying around the house, ask the kids if they still want their toys. If not, add them to the donation bin. If they do, get them to help clean up with you.

26) Organize Toys That Are Left

Woman hands applying printing sticker with name title of children toys for comfortable sorting and storage at home. Caring mother organizing domestic space for kids. Housekeeping and household
Source: Shutterstock

Designate a play area or toy bin where all the toys will go from now on. If you already had something like this, enforce it again at the peril of losing their playtime privilege. The toys may belong to the children, but they’re still toys under your roof.

27) Go Through Board Games and Electronic Games (Donate What’s Unused)

Lancaster Ohio USA: March 2023- A stack of popular board games in the US.
Source: Shutterstock

The same goes for board games and game consoles. Keep them neat and tidy and in one place – especially when so many little moving pieces and wires are involved. If no one uses them, we’re sure someone somewhere will find immense joy in a board game or console you don’t use anymore.

28) Organize and Discard Cleaning Supplies

Woman holding a bucket of cleaning tools. A housewife cleaning.
Source: Shutterstock

If you want to take a leap, get rid of all your toxic cleaners and replace with them with natural alternatives. This will create a safer and cleaner home – oh, and most natural cleaning supplies are made with ingredients you already have in your kitchen or pantry!

29) Purge 2 More Kitchen Cabinets

Dalton, OH USA - 07 15 2024: Open Double Cabinet in a Real Kitchen Tea Drink Mixes Containers Stuffed full and overflowing
Source: Shutterstock

See number 7.

30) Clean! Get Your Newly Organized Home All Sparkly

Spring atmosphere. Stylish room interior with cozy furniture in yellow and white colors
Source: Shutterstock

Now that everything is organized again, cleaning should be a breeze!

Read More: Scientists Invent an Artificial Leaf to Suck CO2 Out Of the Atmosphere and Produce Clean Fuel

30 Day Declutter Challenge - Infographic

Sources

  1. [1] Carter, S. B., Psy.D. (n.d.). Why Mess Causes Stress: 8 Reasons, 8 Remedies. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/high-octane-women/201203/why-mess-causes-stress-8-reasons-8-remedies
  2. [2] Saxbe, D. E., & Repetti, R. (n.d.). No Place Like Home: Home Tours Correlate With Daily Patterns of Mood and Cortisol. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167209352864
  3. [3] The Clutter Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://magazine.ucla.edu/features/the-clutter-culture/index.html