Welcome to Mission #8 of our 52 Organizing Missions.
One of the simplest ways to live a more organized life is to have less stuff – in fact, the less you have, the easier it is to get organized and stay organized.
So in this mission we’re going to get rid of 50 pieces of clutter from your home. It’s easier than you think – especially with my room-by-room, clutter-busting suggestions.
Now before you hyperventilate, please let me reassure you that you won’t have to part with anything you use and love. I promise. 🙂
Remember – you only need 30 minutes for the basic mission. Extended Options are below. If you’re new, check out 52 Organizing Missions.
Note: If you started with 52 Organizing Missions at Week 1 and Filled a Hu-uge Trash Bag, it’s been a couple of months since that mission – so now’s a good time to take another stab at stuff reduction.
Get Organized Mission #8: Declutter 50 Items
This week I’d like you to spend your 30 minutes finding 50 items to flick from your home.
It doesn’t matter where in the house they come from, as long as you can count out 50 of them.
Here are some decluttering ideas…
Declutter the Living Areas
Get Rid Of:
- Books you’ve read and won’t re-read, or will never read
- Magazines from any month other than this one
- No-longer needed magazine racks
- Newspapers
- Old coasters
- Videos, cassettes, computer floppies, camera film – any storage device for which you no longer have hardware
- Photos in frames – unless they’re genuinely special to you
- Tatty cardigans, socks and other apparel strewn around the furniture
- Knickknacks you don’t love
- ‘Displayed’ items on shelves that collect dust but hold no meaning for you
- Dead pot plants
- Threadbare or stained cushions, throws, rugs, etc
Declutter the Kitchen
Get Rid Of:
- Recipes and recipe books you haven’t used in the past 12 months
- Knickknacks you don’t love
- Anything in the pantry that’s old or not used
- Photos on the fridge – unless they’re genuinely special to you
- Broken appliances
- Old, yucky utensils
- Chipped, stained crockery
- Rusty or ancient pots and pans
- Take-out menus for places you don’t order from
Declutter the Closets,Drawers & Storage Areas
Get Rid Of:
- Tatty bed linen
- Tatty underwear, pajamas and t-shirts
- Old, yucky toys
- Junk jewelry
- Old or broken exercise or sports equipment
- Decorations and seasonal items in poor condition
Declutter the Home Office/Study
Get Rid Of:
- Bills, receipts, mail items – all paperwork not needed for tax or reference
- Birthday, Christmas and greeting cards – unless they’re genuinely special to you
- Defunct phones, computers, cells, PDAs etc (check for disposal info with your local council)
- Abandoned craft, knitting, scrapbooking and other projects and the various accompanying supplies, storage containers, etc
- Old notebooks not needed for reference
- School or college notes (unless you recently graduated)
- Old lamps, chairs and other equipment in poor condition
Declutter the Bathroom
Get Rid Of:
- Empty or old/expired toiletries and bath products
- Tatty towels
- Old or yucky make-up
- Old perfumes and lotions
Declutter the Garden
Get Rid Of:
- Rusty, yucky patio furniture
- Chipped or faded garden ornaments
- Dead plants
- Broken lighting fixtures
Dos & Don’ts
- Don’t be over-analytical about whether something counts as clutter. If your first instinct when you look at something is ‘euw – clutter!’, then out it goes.
- Don’t worry about organizing at this stage – this mission is about decluttering.
- Do let yourself off the hook for accumulating a lot of clutter to begin with. You’re changing now, so give yourself a big smile and a pat on the back.
- Do move quickly and stay mindful of your ticking 30-minute timeframe.
Extended Organizing Mission Options
Want to go beyond this 30-minute organizing mission?
- If other household members want to participate, then assign them a target number of items to declutter (based on how much clutter they have), and do the mission together.
- If you run out of time or reach 50 items and want to keep going, then do.
Ready, Set, Go!
Remember – move quickly, act fast, don’t overthink.
Before You Go – Please Check In
You’re now accountable to your organizing mission-mates! Once you’ve completed this week’s Get Organized Mission please add a comment to let us know you’ve done your assignment and you’re keeping your commitment.
And see you back here next week!
UPDATE:
You can now get your weekly organizing mission delivered to your inbox. Click here to sign up for 52 Organizing Missions.
Image by Bern@t
I see other women talking about throwing out their husbands’ things because they won’t. I think my husband would never forgive me if I did that but I have not been able to motivate him to organize or declutter his belongings at all. What can I do? I’m tired of living with this mess!
1 kitchen cabinet = 60+ items trashed. I am certain my clutter breeds in dark corners
Done.
Finished this one… We’ve been doing a pretty good job of staying clutter free, but I did clear out a bunch of old purses I don’t use.
Anything you don’t use or love is wasting your space, time, and energy Sarah – so yay!
I did this today and actually got addicted. After I did the first 50 items, I set the timer again and did another 25, and then another 30, etc. I probably got rid of over 200 things. I tried to stop, but I was so motivated that I just kept setting the timer and getting rid of more stuff. That was the most fun I’ve ever had decluttering. I can’t wait until tomorrow to do it again!
Ha ha I love it Angela!
Hm! Who uses Maxwell cassettes I have five brand new ones still in the wrapper….
But, I am going through old photos and getting rid of them or scanning them and putting them on the computer if they really mean a lot to me.
Good strategy Marielle. And you’ll actually get to enjoy them that way. 🙂
They are gone – and so is the tape deck —- lol
I lost count but it was almost 2 hours and you can now see my desk and the floor in the office, the bins are half full and it feels good to de clutter. more to go but a great start.
Fantastic start, Chris! Yay you!! 🙂
I just read this, 50 items and my hubby is out for a bit today. endless possibilities, its just a shame its not garbage day too so I get away with it before he notices the bin full of junk. I am bad enough but that man won’t let go of anything.
i know what you mean, wayne and his cars and the rest
do you have any suggestions as to what to do with the video/cassette tapes? I would like to recycle them rather than fill the landfills. I have a ton. Goodwill doesn’t even want them, since no one else wants them.
You could try your local council Diane.
Done. Focused on the kitchen only and found over 50 items that are not even worth donating, straight to the bing they went. Old cleaning supplies, rusted baking trays, paper shopping bags (just they alone counted almost 50!). Very liberating feeling. I think I will repeat this exercise in every room in the house this week.
Make sure that Harold knows before you throw anything of his out 🙂
I love that liberating feeling Vesna. So LIGHT! 🙂
I love the decluttering tips that lady gives 🙂
move quickly, act fast, don’t overthink….keep it short….THAT IS THE ONLY WAY to cut through clutter!
move quickly, act fast, don’t overthink….keep it short….THAT IS THE ONLY WAY to cut through clutter!
You have to act before the voice in your head distracts you, right Lorna? 🙂
You have to act before the voice in your head distracts you, right Lorna? 🙂
Spent a good portion of afternoon on this one. I am giving everything i have decluttered to my son’s church for their spring yard sale. So much to give away,I am amazed.
That WAS easy! I didn’t count my items, but just continued until the 30 minutes was up. I hope I keep doing this regularly!
Done decluttering 50 items!
50 items just from my kitchen in 30 minutes! How easy was that? A few more minutes and I could have hit 75!
Done!
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