Declutter Challenge! 20 Projects to Kick Off 2020
/It’s the first day of a new decade! January is the month of decluttering when we get the itch to start fresh and get some post-holiday clutter relief. So, I thought we should declutter and organize together! I’ve compiled a list of 20 projects to tackle as we welcome in 2020 to get our homes a bit more organized. I’ll be doing these projects (and sharing daily progress in Instagram Stories!) so join me, why don’t you!?
I chose 20 projects because it’s fitting for the year 2020 and because I don’t want to pretend that everyone has hours of free time each day to commit to this. So, feel free to do one project a day with weekend rest days, or do three projects in a weekend, or whatevs!
A few things to note before you get started:
I included a printable checklist for each project. Download it and make a satisfying checkmark on paper!
I recommend doing one project a day. Some days may take more time and may bleed over to another day, and some days may be quick. It will vary based on your home.
You don’t need to do everything in order, but I did list them in an order that I think makes the most sense and some projects benefit from having done others before them.
There’s lots of text in this post. You can skim it now and then get into the nitty-gritty when you get closer to the day you tackle the project. I don’t want you feeling too overwhelmed to get started.
Share your progress on Instagram Stories! Tag your friends that you want to share in this challenge with you, and tag me to keep me motivated, too. I’ll share your progress, too!
Don’t stress if you can’t do everything. It’s not a competition and there’s no pressure to finish. Do what you can!
There are a few lines at the end of the printable checklist for you to add tasks you want to accomplish but maybe aren’t on my radar. Perhaps you want to re-organize your craft room or maybe you have a bowling alley in your house that really needs some decluttering.
Since cleaning tends to go hand-in-hand with decluttering, I made a separate deep cleaning checklist that you can mix in with your decluttering.
I’m not going to just give you a list of things to do and tell you to have at it. No, sir! I’ve included some tips and resources for each of the projects. Let’s get into it!
Join a Buy Nothing Group and prep for donations
The first step to getting organized is getting organized about how you’ll get organized. By this I mean identify what you’ll do with the things you declutter and how you’ll store your items. This is a great time to join your Buy Nothing Group which is my favorite way to get rid of even the most random home items - it’s as easy as taking a photo and putting items on your porch! Seriously, join now!
Now is also a time to identify local non-profits that can benefit from the items that no longer serve you. (Seriously - click that link to feel inspired about letting go over things!) I never take things to Goodwill anymore because I’ve found preferred organizations that put my stuff to better use than letting it sit on a shelf.
Lastly, this is a good time to inventory big cardboard boxes and bags for putting all the things you collect. Maybe even set up your boxes and label them with “donate,” “repair,” “gift,” “sell,” or “specialty recycle.” You’ll figure out more categories as you go along, but there’s something nice about clearing a spot in the mudroom or by the front door and putting all of the bags you’ll be tossing things into over the next couple of weeks.
If you know you’re in need of more storage bins or jars or things you’ll use for your organization tricks, ask your neighbors on Buy Nothing if they have anything to spare!
This is also a good time to read my post about why it’s worthwhile to pretend you’re a home blogger. It’s a helpful perspective when tidying (and it’s not what you think!)
Organize and put away holiday decor
You may have already done this, so skip along to another day. Good job, you! If you haven’t put that festive gear away, do so now. Before putting things in storage, replace any broken bulbs, wrap those lights strategically, and put like items with like items. I help my next-year-self by creating a handy storage bin list so I know what’s inside. I scribble the items on a piece of scrap paper and tuck it inside of the clear bin so it’s easily visible while still on the shelf. You can also tape the inventory list to the outside if you have opaque bins - bonus points if they’re seasonally colored. Here are some other hacks for storing holiday gear.
Purge and organize pantry
Take some time to go through the pantry and identify items you aren’t actively eating. Maybe you have snacks that don’t fit your 2020 diet, or bulk items that you ate too much of and now can’t stand anymore (snap pea crisps - guilty), or that ingredient you rarely use.
For the things you’ll never eat, give them away on Buy Nothing or donate to a local shelter (check their regulations first) or stock a Little Free Pantry - don’t toss perfectly good food! If snacks are expired, keep in mind the expiration dates are loose, so only toss if it’s truly gone bad.
For the ingredients you don’t use much or you bought for just that one recipe, find something to make with the item to use it up! Use the ingredients to help you meal plan for the next week or two. For me, that means I get to make ice cream with that fancy syrup. Win win!
Once you’ve pared down the pantry items, arrange them in a way that makes sense for you. It’s popular to run to the store and get a bunch of bins and tags then decant everything and label it. But let’s not get carried away. You don’t need a big glass jar labeled pretzels. 1. We can all see that they are pretzels - we don’t need a label - and 2. Your pantry will shift inventory, so don’t lock yourself into always being packed with pretzels. I don’t use bins and labels, but I do like to keep baking items together, snacks together, tea/coffee together, and dry cooking ingredients together. Sometimes I make a little corner dedicated to all of the things I want to actively use up before it goes bad or gets lost in the back of the pantry.
Pare down kitchen tools, gadgets & serving wares
I love my kitchen tools and gadgets, but a few months back I realized I had 9 spatulas. To some people that’s far too few spatulas. But to me, 3 was just right. So I laid all nine of them out and picked my favorite 3 and I’ve never looked back since. The Faux Martha has a great free course on organizing your kitchen pantry and tools - I highly recommend giving it a read!
One of my favorite tips Melissa gave is to pare down those extra six spatulas and put them in a box then label, “donate April 1st, 2020.” This way, if you really needed that one special spatula, you could go rescue it from the box. But, if you never went back to claim those other five spatulas within 3 months, then that means you don’t need them and you can donate them! This method can be applied to any of these other decluttering projects if you have a hard time letting go of things.
Declutter hanging clothes in closets
Woo! Clothes time. Paring down the closet always feels so refreshing, right? We start every day in the closet, and if it’s a mess, it feels like just one more thing on our to-do list that we’ll never tackle. It can be a messy downer.
I purged my closet two years ago with my friend Natasha and we documented the whole process and shared tips in this blog post and video. If you want to try some alternative ways of paring down your closet, I recommend the reverse hanger method, or a few others listed here.
You’ll notice I split up this project by tackling the hanging clothes first, and then the drawers. I figured it would be a big project for folks with lots of clothes or folks that have kids’ closets, too, so I tried to help ya out. But feel free to also do the dresser tidying, too.
If you find clothes that need mending, set them aside - we’ll tackle that later.
Tidy desk and office supplies at home and work
I’m guilty of having several stacks of papers on my desk at all times. When it feels too cluttered, I just stack everything into one stack and pretend it’s better. But really, it’s not. Clear off that desk at home and at work! Don’t get too in the weeds about cleaning out your filing cabinets since we’ll go through papers later. But now is a good time to sort things, pare down the excessive number of pens we all have, and identify some preferred desk storage options. Perhaps a clear paper sorter?
Declutter folded clothes in drawers
You’ve already gone through the process of purging the hanging clothes, so you’ve got the gist. Once you pare down, take it a step further by organizing your folded clothes with a new folding technique! I highly recommend folding your clothes in the KonMari style - I shared this tutorial a year ago and I’m still getting messages from people about how life-changing it is. Try it out!
Pare down cleaning supplies and clean out cleaning cabinet
I’ve been slowly paring down my cleaning supplies to the bare minimum. I have a few favorite plant-based cleaners but I mostly just have a bunch of vinegar and baking soda. If you have cleaners that are toxic or you never use, try setting them aside and focus on using just the ones you actively use. You can take the toxic ones to a specialty waste drop-off, or you can list them on your Buy Nothing Group for other people to use. While I don’t use Windex anymore, there are still other people that are actively buying it and can benefit from my half-empty bottle.
While you’re at it, maybe now is a good time to clean the cleaning rags. Maybe add a tension rod to help lift the spray bottles off the base of the cabinet or a lazy susan to reach the items in the far corner? Perhaps a caddy to carry the supplies around the house would help you out? Did you empty any containers from the pantry purge and now have some spare hummus containers to store the bits and bobs or a jar to make your own homemade citrus cleaner?
If this process was relatively brief, you can put your clean cleaning cabinet to work by doing some of the deep cleaning tasks, too!
Tidy cords and set up cable management systems
This is my most popular blog post of all time, so I have a thing or two to say about cable management! I’ve tackled every room of my house so now I never see a single cord or electronic item - it’s blissful! Read the blog post for all of my tips and tricks for decluttering cords! For a bonus, call up your cable provider to have them remove the un-used telephone line you still have running to your house.
Declutter and organize toiletries and under bathroom sinks
You know how to declutter now, I don’t think you need instruction from me on this one. I will, however, recommend that you send excess or unwanted toiletries to shelters where people can really put them to use. I shared a few resources in this post. Depending on your storage situation, you could probably benefit from drawer dividers or baskets. I like this little system in my bathroom cabinet. Instead of buying them, ask your Buy Nothing Group, thrift them, or upcycle little boxes you already have!
Create a home binder
Oh boy! This is another Ashley-specific organization hack that’s all the rage. I created a binder full of all of my home paperwork, manuals, receipts, paint colors, and more. Get the full scoop in this blog post.
Sort paperwork and file documents
Now that you have a home binder you can sort your paperwork into it! But of course, there’s more than just home documents. So, go through the stack of papers in your “to file” folder and sift through the other paperwork you may not have glanced at in awhile. If you can digitize documents, consider getting this scanner or even use the Notes app in your iPhone or the Dropbox app to digitally scan papers with your camera. It’s pretty magical and helps reduce that clutter. Now is also a good time to shred those documents that you don’t need to keep anymore. Click here for a handy guide to how long you need to keep each of your important documents.
Purge and clean fridge & freezer
I have a blog post all about cleaning the fridge and freezer here. My same rule applies as cleaning out the pantry - don’t waste food! Use this opportunity to make meals with those nearly-empty containers, freeze holiday leftovers you can’t finish soon, pickle those veggies, and sort the condiments into categories.
Declutter books, magazines, records, & media
This one can be really fun or a real pain depending on your collection of media! Marie Kondo says to keep only what brings you joy, so if you’re stuck, ask if that paperback brings you joy. Even if you know you’ll never read it, you can keep it if you love it. I’ve been working on going through my stack of magazines by tearing out the relevant pages and making a pile to revisit or save for blog content. Do whatever you need to do to get that pile reduced - if that’s what you’re after.
If you store a lot of media digitally (music, movies, photos, games, etc.) you might want to save this for another day. Digital media can feel overwhelming because you can’t always see the virtual bottom of the stack. Kim has great tips on organizing digital photos here.
Purge and sanitize kids/pet/sporting gear & toys
Depending on your family, this can be a giant task. Sorry! You may need to do one kid or one sporting activity per day. I don’t have kids, pets, or athletic hobbies so I won’t be joining you for this day. As someone without kids, I think it would be very bold of me to suggest any tricks for how you can take toys away from your kids, so you do what you think is best or borrow techniques I’ve shared earlier.
Now is a good time to clean and sanitize the items you plan on donating, and the ones you want to keep. It’s germ season!
Organize the linen closet
Linens can be hard because I always think, “well what if I needed to host 5 people, I’d need all this bedding!” but planning for the unreasonable is just silly. Let’s be realistic and keep what we need.
I donate my dingy towels to Project Wildlife so they can be used in the rehabilitation of wild animals. It makes any hesitation I had about keeping that towel disappear. Anything for the animals!
Sort and refill first aid kit
I’m guilty of getting sick, using everything in our first aid kit, leaving the medications around the house, and then throwing nearly empty bottles back in the cabinet willy nilly after I’ve recovered. Then when I get sick again, I never have anything I need. I’m going to sort through everything, refill the bandage box, replenish the Tylenol, and make some fire-cider to ward off more germs. PSA: Don’t dump medications in the toilet! Never. Ever. Here’s what to do with unwanted medications.
Purge and organize little drawers throughout the house
The miscellaneous drawers around my house tend to be the junkiest. The nightstands, the table by the front door, the ones in the media cabinet under the TV, and the cabinets in the built-in hutch all fill up with junk. I recommend going through these drawers towards the end of the decluttering process because knick-knacks take the longest to declutter and hopefully by now, you’ve identified some other newly-organized parts of the house that they can live in. By now, you probably have the decluttering tools to tackle these messes and hopefully, you’re familiar with your Buy Nothing Group so you can give those miscellaneous items a new home.
Organize jewelry and accessories
Jewelry, belts, purses, cufflinks, sunglasses, heirloom tchotchkes. Let’s lump all of those spare little trinkets into this category. I like to get out my jewelry cleaner and drop my jewelry in as I decide what I’m keeping and donating. Treat yourself to a job well done with a vintage jewelry box to store your goodies in.
Tidy laundry room and mend clothes
You know all of those clothes that you found in your closet in need of repair? Now is the day to mend them. Or, if they’re too far gone, maybe make a produce bag out of the legs of your old pajama pants, or take them to textile recycling. I tend to iron clothes once every six months, so I’ll probably get out the iron this day. If you have a laundry room, here’s a day to go through those cabinets and tend to the items in there.
Take collected items to donation and recycling centers
You’re done! Celebrate by loading up the car (or backpack or public bus or boat) to take all of your treats to their new homes. You can do this as you go if you amass big bags of donations, but I like to save them for the end. It’s simply more satisfying, but it also helps me stick to donating items instead of making it feel like an ongoing chore to cart things out of the house. Don’t forget to take donations to specific organizations that can best benefit from your goodies.
Bonus!
Are you itching to clean while you tidy? Or do you want to do a project every 31 days of January because my 20-day challenge wasn’t enough for you? Here are some cleaning tasks you can sprinkle into the rest of your tidying projects. The list is relatively short because everyone has different focuses for deep cleaning and I’d rather save this project for a spring cleaning blog post. Also, I know it’s cold and snowy for many people in the winter, so I excluded things like “clean the trash cans and let them air dry in the sun” or “clean the freezing cold garage.” You’re welcome for that.
There you have it! I realize that was a lengthy post but I hope you can digest it in pieces. Don’t forget to share your participation on social media so we can all hold each other accountable! Follow along with me on Instagram Stories as I tackle my own house.
Oh and feel free to leave your favorite organization and tidying tips in the comments of this post!
Happy organizing!
