Two-week decluttering challenge!

“The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.

 – Joshua Becker.

Decluttering always makes me feel light, and it takes a load off of my shoulders.  It just gives you space to breathe.  A tidy home is the start of a beautiful home.  It is also shown to reduce stress and anxiety.

After having baby number two and with a very sassy little 5-year-old girl (who wants to do everything by herself), everything in my house feels either out of place or misplaced somewhere never to be found again, and above all, cluttered!  My house is in desperate need of some TLC! 

So with spring on our doorstep, I believe it is the perfect time to start preparing for a proper spring cleaning.  I usually spring clean the house after the first rain has fallen, so hopefully, by the time the first drops fall we’ll have the house neat and ready to do only cleaning. 

Today I am not about a deep organisation of your house and cupboards; I am merely talking about clearing the counters and tidying up your living space.   Decluttering always sounds so dull. But it doesn’t have to be!  With only 15 minutes a day, you can get the job done quite efficiently. 

Today I want to challenge you to join me in a two-week clutter cleanup! 

You will need:

·         Something to listen to. It can be your favourite music, radio show or podcast. I can strongly recommend the Focus on the Family podcast App. It has daily devotionals and conversations about our relationships with God, our family, and relationships in general. I find it very motivating and also very applicable. You can find it here. https://www.focusonthefamily.com/shows/broadcast/

·        Refuse bags, to transport the donated goodies.

·        3 Medium-sized containers. One marked “relocate”, one marked “donate” and one marked “toss”. Moving boxes work well for this, but you can use any container at hand. Even the laundry basket will do. You can get these cute printables here. (Available in English and Afrikaans.)

How to tackle the job.

Make sure you set a time slot of 15 minutes aside every day.  I usually do it once I have finished the morning school run, just before I go to the gym.

Now turn on to your music and have a good cup of liquid courage, also known as coffee!

Start by decluttering one room per day.  I usually start with the living room, since this is where my family tends to spend most of our leisure time. Then I work my way through the house: the entryway, the dining room, the kitchen, the scullery, the study (O my goodness, the study! I’m going to need a double shot of espresso for that study!).  

After doing the ground floor, I’ll move upstairs to the guest room, the master bedroom and I leave the children’s bedroom (the worst) for last...

Start by clearing your space. Do not over-think this! Just make sure you enjoy your music and do this part very mechanically.  Clear the room of all of the things that are not supposed to be in that specific area.

Have your 3 containers ready for action.  Now, as quick as you can, and without dwelling on an item, sort the things you cleared from the room into the three containers.  If you are anything like me, I easily get distracted by books, photos, and sentimental items. Try to avoid being distracted by staying focused on your time limit of 15 minutes.

To avoid brooding on an item, I apply 2 golden rules when sorting: 

1.      The 6 months rule:  It states that if we didn’t use an item in the past 6 months, toss or donate it. 

2.      When in doubt, throw out. When you are not sure whether you will use an item again, you most probably will not.

Immediately throw away the “toss” items... I used to struggle with this step. For some reason, I’m always afraid that I “might need it again” in the future. This only created more clutter inside my cupboards.  Now I try to be realistic and I try not to make emotional decisions. 

Get a “maybe box”.  Sometimes you need to keep certain things like receipts and small appliance’s boxes for warranties or returns.  For those items, I have created a “maybe box” that I’ll keep in the garage cupboard. Twice a year, empty this box and throw out all of the expired documents and packaging.  This prevents clutter building up with boxes and unnecessary paperwork.

Make sure that you relocate items in your “relocate” container to their designated spaces, instantly.  Don’t just dump it somewhere else.  (I’m so guilty of this!)  Remember, you only have 15 minutes tomorrow!

For donations, I always keep a black refuse bag at hand for the items that I want to give away.  At the end of the week, I pop in into the trunk of the car and on Sunday morning we usually drop it off at church.  Another amazing organisation I like donating to is President Kruger Children’s home in Pretoria.  They truly appreciate all household items, as they do not receive any funding from the state.  Find them here: https://krugerkinderhuisafr.co.za

The trick is to make quick work of your “15 minutes of madness”.   

If you have any decluttering hacks please do share them with us.  Also, tell us about your progress in decluttering your home!  Find us on Instagram @tuisteskepper.sa and Facebook @tuisteskepper

I would love to hear from you!