The mini Declutter Week challenge

Do you feel like having a little tidy up and a declutter? Here’s a bite-sized mini Declutter Week challenge to kick off the New Year.

These are all quick, simple activities that should make life easier, and as usual this challenge is completely free to join in with. You can tailor it to what’s most important for your needs, and it’s designed to be effective without becoming overwhelming.

From Monday, there’ll be something new to try each day for five days. It’s time to get organised, streamline your space, make life easier, and maybe find a few things to sell or donate.

Mini Declutter Week schedule

Here’s what the five days will be covering:

• MONDAY: Ten minutes in the kitchen
• TUESDAY: Ten minutes in the bathroom (no giggling at the back)
• WEDNESDAY: Ten minutes in the bedroom (don’t start, you lot)
• THURSDAY: Ten minutes in the hallway
• FRIDAY: Ten minutes of finances / home office

There will be several suggested activities for each day, and all you need to do is pick one of them. That could be the one that you think would give you the most useful results, something you feel you can easily complete, or anything you think you’ve been putting off for too long.

Because these are all manageable, quick decluttering exercises, you can also decide to run them all together on one day over a weekend instead. Whatever works best for you.

What to expect from the daily mini challenges

All the activities follow the same format, and it starts with you deciding exactly what you want to use this particular area for. Should it be practical, should it be attractive, or should it be both?

Think about your intentions and requirements properly before you get started. There’ll be different tips and ideas for this each day in case you get stuck.

The rest of the daily format will be as follows:

• Clear up the space (for example, remove physical clutter from a shelf or drawer)
• Clean the area (dust, wipe, etc)
• Sort through the clutter (keep here, keep but move, put on mending pile, recycle, donate, sell)
• Add structure if needed (boxes, vacuum bags, drawers, folders)
• Add other items if you like (vase, picture, ornament)
• Put the ‘keep here’ things back
• Other immediate jobs (put things away elsewere, bins, recycling)
• Choose timeframe for other tasks (go to charity shop, mend or wash, list on Vinted)
• Make a shopping list (what do you still need for this space, if anything?)

It’s good to keep busy at this time of year, especially if it’s cold and rainy outside. A good declutter also makes the inside of your home feel so much calmer and more comfortable once it’s done.

Hope you can join us for the 5-day mini Declutter Week challenge!