Sticking with this challenge will help you rid your house of more than 400 unwanted items!
But the best part about this simple challenge is that you don’t have any special rules or regulations you need to follow.
There aren’t even any specific tasks you need to complete each day.
All you have to do is rid your home of things you don’t want or need. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?
Here’s how it works:
- Day one: Pick one item from your home you don’t want or need and throw it away or place it in a box to donate.
- Day two: Pick two items from your home you don’t want or need and throw them away or place them in the donation box.
- Day three: Pick three things from your home to declutter and throw them away or put them in your donation box.
Continue this process for 30 days, adding an additional item to your grouping every day until you reach the last day, where you’ll get rid of 30 items.
By the time you’ve reached 31st January, you’ll have gotten rid of 465 things from your home.
While the basic 30-day challenge is a great way to get started, sometimes you need a more guided approach to decluttering your home, so here are some ideas:
Day 1: Sort through your mail and create a place to hold incoming mail in the future.
Taking the time to organize your mail is the first step to stopping paper clutter.
After you have sorted through your current mail, think about how you can keep the paper clutter under control in the future.
Start by taking the time after you bring in the mail to sort and throw away all unneeded mail. Then create an organized area to keep important mail, like bills, until it’s time to take care of it.
For important bills and coupons, I like throwing them up on a cork board.
Once they’ve been actioned, I put them in a filing bin for future bulk filing or shredding.
Day 2: Clean out and organize your junk drawer.
Empty out the contents of your kitchen’s junk drawer and sort through everything.
Throw away anything that is broken or unneeded, then return the items to the drawer in an organized manner.
Day 3: Throw away old and expired food from your refrigerator and freezer.
Dig through your refrigerator and freezer and throw away all the food that has expired.
After that, look through each food item and toss old leftovers, as well as anything else that your family won’t use in the near future. Follow the same process as you clean out your freezer.
Day 4: Throw away old and expired food from your cabinets and pantry.
Open up your cabinets and pantry and look through all the food inside.
Throw out all expired food and sauces. Then, take a good look at everything that’s left. Throw away or donate food that your family doesn’t like or won’t eat in the near future.
Day 5: Declutter your countertops.
Remove everything from your kitchen counters and wipe down the countertops.
Take a look at all the items that were previously on the counters. Get rid of the things you no longer want, then replace the items that must go on your counter.
Find a place to store all the other things you don’t want on your counters but that you still need.
These under shelf storage baskets are really handy.
Day 6: Find 10 items in your kitchen to throw away or donate.
Once the food situation is under control in your kitchen, it’s time to tackle all the other clutter in the room.
Look through your drawers and cabinets to find at least 10 items you no longer need or use.
It’s especially important to discard duplicate items, broken tools, and unused appliances.
Otherwise, throw the things you decide to discard in the trash.
Day 7: Clean out master bedroom dresser and nightstands.
Today, move on to your bedroom to start organizing the space.
Declutter everything from your dresser, nightstands, and any other storage areas in the room.
Look through the items and throw away, sell or donate anything that no longer fits, is broken or damaged, or you don’t like or want anymore.
Day 8: Sort through the clothing, shoes and accessories in your master closet.
Now that the bedroom has been decluttered, start clearing out your closet.
Look through all the clothes, shoes, and other accessories that you no longer want or need.
It’s a good idea to get rid of all ripped, stained, or broken pieces, as well as items that don’t fit or haven’t been worn in over a year.
Day 9: Declutter your master (or main) bathroom.
Focus on cleaning out clutter from your bathroom’s cabinets and storage areas.
Throw away old toiletries, hair care products, and makeup, along with any other products you don’t like or use.
Then, take a look at the linens. Get rid of ripped or stained towels and washcloths, along with other linens you don’t like or use.
Day 10: Clear out paper clutter in living areas.
Take a good look at all the common areas in your house to find unneeded paper clutter.
Throw away all old magazines and newspapers, as well as extra mail that may be laying around.
Day 11: Declutter your entryway.
Sort through all the things cluttering your entryway.
Remove all items that aren’t necessary to the space and throw away everything you don’t want or need in the area. Reorganize the space to ensure it stays clutter free in the future.
Day 12: Clean out your purse.
Pour out everything in your purse and sort through the items inside.
Throw away all the trash and unwanted things like old receipts, then take a look through everything that’s left.
If it’s not an essential item, find a new place to store it. Then, return everything else to your purse in an organized manner.
Day 13: Declutter your phone.
Scroll through the apps on your phone and delete everything that you no longer use.
Then, take a look through your photos and other files and remove all the files you don’t want or need. Delete blurry pictures and all photos you no longer want.
If you want to keep most of your photos, but still want to make space on your phone, consider getting a separate hard drive.
Day 14: Clean out another closet.
Move on to another closet in your home, like the closet in your kid’s room or a coat closet.
Remove everything from the closet, then sort through the items.
Throw away all ripped, stained, and broken items.
Then, remove all clothing, shoes, coats, and accessories that don’t fit or you no longer need. Toss, sell or donate the items.
Day 15: Find 10 items around your house to throw away or donate.
Take a walk around your home with a trash bag or box.
Place at least 10 items from anywhere in your home in the bag.
If the things are old or unusable, throw them away. Otherwise, place them in a donation box, sell them or drop them off at your local donation center.
Day 16: Clean out the cabinet under your sink.
Open the cabinet under your sink and remove everything inside.
Throw away all empty bottles and all the cleaning supplies you no longer want or use. Clean out the cabinet and return the items in an organized manner.
This area under the sink cabinets can be difficult to organize. I find using a 2-tier basket system works best.
Day 17: Declutter another bathroom or closet.
Repeat the decluttering process that you did on day 8 in another bathroom in your home.
If you only have one bathroom, declutter another closet or storage area in your home. Throw away or donate items you don’t want or need, then return everything back to the storage area.
Day 18: Declutter the dresser and nightstand in a kid’s room or guest room.
Move to a second bedroom in your home to work through the clutter in that room’s storage areas.
Sort through everything stored in the room’s nightstand, dresser, and any other storage areas.
Remove everything that you don’t want, is damaged, or doesn’t fit. Then, return everything to the storage spots in a more organized way.
Day 19: Declutter your kid’s toys.
Look through all the toys your kids have and sort out the ones they’ve outgrown or no longer play with.
Donate all good, usable toys and throw away everything else.
If you don’t have kids at home, use this day to sort through your books, movies, or any other large collection of items you have in your home to clear out all the items you don’t need or want.
Day 20: Clean out a bookcase or storage cabinet.
Pick a bookcase or storage cabinet in your living room or family room and sort through the things on the shelves.
Clean out everything you no longer need or want, then clean the shelves and organize the items stored inside.
Day 21: Get rid of old devices.
Look through your home and gather up all your old phones, tablets, computers, remotes, and gaming systems.
Don’t forget to remove all the cords and chargers that go along with each item.
Make sure all the devices are wiped clean of personal data, then take the items to an electronics recycler. Usable devices can also be sold, if you desire.
Day 22: Remove one large item you no longer want.
If you have an old piece of furniture or an unwanted TV, find a way to remove it from your home today.
List the item for sale online or schedule a waste disposal company to come pick up the item. You can also haul the item to a disposal site yourself.
Day 23: Clean out another junk drawer.
If you have another junk drawer in your home, repeat the process from day 2.
If you don’t have a second junk drawer in your house, work your way through the remaining drawers in your kitchen to find items you no longer want or need.
Discard everything that is broken or unusable, then place the remaining items in a donation box.
Day 24: Declutter your inbox.
Take a look at your email inbox and clear out every message that you no longer need.
Organize important messages into labeled folders so you can find them when you need them in the future.
Day 25: Clean out your desk.
Go through the drawers and shelves in your office or desk area. Throw away all unneeded papers, then toss all unused office supplies.
Day 26: Declutter your car.
Head outside with a trash bag and clear out all the clutter and trash from your car.
If there are things in your car that you need to keep, set them aside.
Vacuum and wipe down the interior, then return everything that belongs in the car to the vehicle, making sure to sort and organize as you go.
Then, bring in everything that belongs in the house and return it to its location.
Day 27: Declutter your laundry room.
Go into your laundry room and identify all the items that shouldn’t be in the room and take them out.
Make sure the laundry room is organized to do its main function of cleaning clothes, sorting them and folding them.
Day 28: Clear out one untouched spot in your house.
Now that you’ve worked your way through most of the common cluttered areas in your home, it’s time to think about the spots you haven’t tackled yet.
Head to one area in your home that hasn’t been decluttered yet and clean it out.
Throw away things you don’t want or need, then return everything else in a more organized way.
Day 29: Find a home for everything.
Once the majority of your home has been decluttered and reorganized, it’s time to think about how you’ll keep your house organized in the future.
When reorganizing spaces, it’s a good idea to designate a spot for everything in your house.
When you remove something from its spot and use it, make sure to return it to its designated location when you’re finished.
And before you buy something new, make sure you consider where you’ll put that item before you make the purchase.
Day 30: Donate your unwanted items.
Once you’ve finished the minimalist challenge, you’ve probably accumulated a ton of unwanted stuff.
Take everything that is still in good, usable condition to a donation spot.
These items can be donated to Goodwill, your local church, a shelter, or another charitable organization.
When your donation box is empty, return it to the spot it was stored in and continue adding to it throughout each month.
At the end of the month, donate the items and repeat the process again.
If you’re looking for a printable checklist:
Here’s a 30 Day Decluttering Checklist (5 types).
