This challenge is perfect for anyone who wants to try a minimalist lifestyle but doesn’t know where to start.
But it’s also perfect for minimalists to do a little quick check-in and see if there is anything new that they want to say goodbye to.
How to do this challenge?
The rules are pretty simple – we’ll declutter 20 items a day, which means we’ll get rid of 100 things by the last day.
With every new day, we’ll declutter a new space or category, to make sure we complete most areas of our home in the span of the next few days.
I’ll also give you lists of suggestions on what you can declutter in each category to help you.
And if you feel inspired and you want to declutter a bit more, go for it 😉
*TIP: you can prepare a basket or a box where to put all the decluttered products.
What to do with decluttered items?
After you successfully decluttered the category of the day and you have your decluttered pile, I suggest you sort it into four piles:
- Sell pile: anything that has a lot of value and you want to sell in the future (just make sure the money is worth the effort of selling).
- Donate/gift pile: things in good condition that you want to donate to a charity or gift to your friends or family.
- Repurpose pile: some items can be used differently than their intended purpose (unused sports clothes can be used as pyjamas, or vice versa, beauty products can be used up in many different ways etc.). This is a rare occurrence though so be honest with yourself if repurposing makes sense for your items.
- Trash pile: expired and damaged products are best to throw away.
Now that you know how to do it let’s go over the categories and checklists 😉
DAY 1 – BEDROOM & LINEN CLOSET
The bedroom is an essential space of our home because we sleep and rest in there, so this is where we’re starting. The end goal is to feel completely relaxed whenever we’re in there.
We’ll also include a linen closet and decoration because they tie in with the bedroom nicely.
DAY 2 – BEAUTY PRODUCTS & TOOLS
On the second day we’ll focus on the cosmetics we acquired over the years.
And this applies to men as well because we’ll tackle things such as hair products, shavers, hand-care products and all the other accessories.
*TIP: If you don’t want to chuck or give away your unexpired items, you can always repurpose them and use them up.
DAY 3 – WARDROBE
Getting ready is a huge part of our day, so having a curated closet will make the biggest difference in our mornings.
That is why we’re tackling all categories from clothes and underwear to shoes and accessories.
DAY 4 – KITCHEN & CLEANING PRODUCTS
Now it’s time to tackle the kitchen. Cooking and preparing food in a clutter-free kitchen makes the biggest difference so it’s worth spending some time on organisation and decluttering.
The same goes for our cleaning products – it’s very typical that we keep piling things we think we’ll need one day, but then we never do. So now we’ll make sure to declutter the unnecessary items once and for all.
DAY 5 – BOOKS, PAPER & ELECTRONICS
The last category on our list is everything that we consider part of an office: books, papers, documents, stationery, notebooks, electronics, etc.
This is probably the most tedious category out of all, but it’s very important to do anyway and believe me, the feeling afterwards is very much worth it.
*TIP: If you feel like you have trouble letting some papers go, you can always take a photo or scan them to keep a digital version, without the physical clutter.
I hope you got some decluttering inspiration!
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