Keridwyn's progress in Decluttering (Jan 2022 - Present)
Instead of sharing multiple posts about my progress, I'm pouring my thoughts, wins, struggles ideas, and tips/tricks here in this post. I'll continue to update it as time goes on.
This blog post helps me document my wins and keep momentum going around decluttering, donating, and organizing. Read on if you’re interested and want some inspiration. I’ll update this post along the way, so I’m not spamming the heck out of this blog with daily decluttering updates. On with the show:
UPDATE: January 11, 2022
The donate a day process is going well! Now on 42 days in a row (I started on 12/1/21), in the last 10 days, I put the following in my donation corner: headphones, swimsuits, dust devil, plates, kinect, ornament, earrings, bracelet, shoes, pen set, and hangers.
I’ve intentionally made my “donation corner” a small finite space which will make me actually get things out of the house at least once a month.
I’m doing a mini “Declutter a day” activity each day (with a few days as exceptions).
I made an excel list of “mini tasks,” breaking each room/area into different tasks that should take 5-15 minutes each. Then I use a random number generator to pick what to do on any day (and date it when I do it, so I’m not doing the same tasks too often). We’ll see how it goes! I like it so far.
UPDATE: January 2, 2022
DONATING: December 2021 I did a 31 day Reverse Advent Calendar and it went so well that I’m continuing on, turning it into “Donation a Day” process. I can put MORE than one item in my donate bag/area each day, but I have to put at LEAST one item every day. It will be fun to see how long this continues! The goal isn’t to last as long as possible but rather use this method as a fun game to get to the end goal - where everything I have in my home is something I truly want or need.
DECLUTTERING: A few days ago, I discovered the Simple Home Simple Life free 5-day Declutter Dash. Thank you, Kelly, for offering this! I sure am glad your Facebook ad reached me. (If you need a jump start on this, I recommend participating in this if she’s offering it currently. She has a TON of great advice in her free offerings and she offers some affordable courses on her site as well.)
I ended up connecting with someone in the group (thanks Emma!) who was getting different prompts than mine, so I’ve been doubling up on tasks because I’ve had a lot of fun energy around decluttering lately and I have enough time (and have been on a roll with this for a while now, esp with the December Reverse Advent Calendar). If you’re just getting going again with decluttering, I recommend starting at a pace that will be manageable for you - which is why her one prompt a day (10/15 min max, generally, sometimes less time) is so genius.
Since January 1, I have decluttered the following areas:
nightstand, "one surface" (guest bed where things had accumulated), junk drawer, under kitchen sink, tupperwear area, utensils drawers, sock drawer, underwear drawer, tights drawer.
It’s felt really good. Lots of little efforts = big success and improvement!
I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s task already. There is something very cool about getting an email with an assignment of what to do next every day.
P.S. I had some good exchanges with friends in the comments section on my recent FB post about this. If you’re interested, check it out here.
FB post copy:
I'm having fun with "Donation a Day" until I run out of things to donate! Join me if you'd like:
On Dec 1, I started a month-long "reverse advent calendar" - donating at least one thing every day. Things would go in the donation corner bag for a future drop off or given away via Buy Nothing.
It helped to track what I gave away each day, so I knew I didn't miss a day (or could play catch-up after being out of the house for a couple days). That ended Dec 31.
So, I'm keeping it going - same thing, new name. With "Donation a Day" you definitely don't have to be limited to just one thing a day (especially if you haven't done a pass lately to see what is ready to be let go of). Today, I got rid of multiple swimsuit pieces that truly never fit me well. Done!
I've also been enjoying doing "bite-sized" decluttering challenges each day (small focused areas, something that would take 10 minutes tops). The success of a small, achievable goal encourages me to keep going!
Let me know if you decide to give this a try! Or chime in if you are doing a different method of decluttering!
Photo by Kelli McClintock (used with permission)