Our house has a lot of great features, like a nice open kitchen and a large family room. Something it doesn’t have? Storage.
I don’t have a linen closet or a pantry, and our closets are tiny. We barely have any cabinets at all, and what we do have is small. So because of our serious lack of storage, I am constantly- and I mean constantly– decluttering our house.
That said, this time of year I really amp up my decluttering efforts for a few reasons. First of all, as soon as I decorate for Christmas our house is even more cluttered with items on basically every surface.
The other and more pressing reason? We’re about to get Christmas presents. And those presents need somewhere to live.
Every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I do a pretty deep declutter to try to make room for the incoming new items. Between Santa, family members, and of course us, the kids end up with a lot of new stuff.
If they still have too much old stuff that they don’t even play with anymore, it can be hard for them to even keep track of the new things that they want to use, and it definitely makes a mess when we have a gift pile that doesn’t have anywhere to go!
If you’ve run into the same problem before- or just want to be proactive and make sure you don’t have that issue- then this 30 day declutter challenge is for you!
We are currently 31 days out from Christmas Eve, so this is the perfect time to start. I know the holiday season is crazy and you probably have a LOT to do in the next 30 days, and decluttering your whole house probably sounds super overwhelming. But this free printable decluttering calendar cuts it into bite sized pieces that are easier to manage, so you can take it bit by bit and fit it into your schedule whenever you can.
There are no rules, you can totally double up on some days and skip others entirely. Do whatever is right for you. But if you put some time in now, post-Christmas you will be very grateful!
You can declutter your house in 30 days with the free printable calendar found here! {And the bonus list of items to declutter!}
What do you need to declutter your house?
To make decluttering run smoothly, there are a few things I like to have on hand:
Empty boxes- You’ll want a few different sizes- you don’t want a giant box for when you’re decluttering books! Keep a few boxes from any deliveries you get for the next few weeks- and with holiday shopping I’m sure you’ll get plenty!
Garbage bags- Some of the things you declutter will be straight up garbage. You can also use garbage bags to collect certains type of donations, like clothing. Just be careful not to throw away your donations on accident!
Laundry baskets- I like to use laundry baskets for a couple of different uses:
They’re really helpful for placing items that I don’t want to get rid of, but I do want to move to another location, like another room or drawer. Rather than interrupting my decluttering over & over, I collect the items as I go and then go around the house putting them where they belong.
Tip: you can even assign each member of your family their own basket so that they can put away their own stuff!
Laundry baskets are also really great for sorting as you go, or for leaving in one place to add to whenever you come across something that you’re ready to declutter.
One thing I don’t get before I declutter? New storage containers. You really need to get the stuff out first and assess what you have left so you can figure out what you actually need. Since you have less stuff, you might actually end up clearing out some containers that you can repurpose. You also want to avoid buying containers that don’t ultimately fit your needs. Declutter and organize first, add new storage options as needed second.
What do you do with donations?
As of the time I’m writing this, in November 2020, many typical donation centers are not up and running at this time for obvious reasons. If there is a particular place you tend to donate goods, be sure to call them or check their website to see if they’re currently accepting donations. Otherwise, a quick search for donation centers in your town can help.
A word of warning about garage sales
Garage sales are fine {well, not so much in 2020 but generally speaking} but they can also cause a big problem: you might just move your clutter to the garage for the garage sale you’re going to have “someday”. You’ll have to decide what’s best for you but keep this in mind, along with when you would feasibly be able to host a garage sale, when deciding what to do with items.
Questions to Ask Yourself When Decluttering
If there is an item you aren’t sure about donating or not, here are some questions to ask yourself and tips for deciding what to do:
Do you use this item on a regular basis?
If something is a staple in your home, you should keep it- unless it’s broken and you don’t know how to/don’t want to repair it or if it’s worn out. In that case, toss it and add a new one to your shopping list if you must.
Do you love this item?
If you have something that doesn’t necessarily do anything, but you do love it, then you should keep it. Even Marie Kondo says you should keep things that spark joy. If you genuinely love something, no need for reasoning- just keep it.
Are you only holding onto it because you spent money on it?
I am so guilty of this one- I sometimes hate getting rid of things because I spent money on them, and it feels like I’m throwing away the money.
But guess what? The money is already gone. You don’t have to keep the item- keeping it won’t bring that money back. If you don’t like the item, it doesn’t fit, it’s broken, whatever- don’t keep it just because you bought it.
Do you feel like you have to keep it because it was a gift?
Don’t keep something because someone else spent money on it, either. If you have something your late Grandmother gave you as a gift that has sentimental value, that’s one thing. But the 20 ceramic chickens your aunt gave you even though you hate chickens can be decluttered.
Your aunt won’t know, and even if she did, I’m sure she wouldn’t want you keeping something out of obligation. Would you want someone you gave a gift to keeping it forever even if they didn’t like it?
Do you still need the item?
We all do it- we buy supplies for a craft we are SO excited to make or a game we just know our kids will love and then time goes by. We never get around to the craft, or the kids grow out of the game. It happens. If the time has passed and you know the item will never be used, toss it.
Do you actually have plans to use this?
Maybe you bought craft supplies for a craft you never made- but you want to “someday”. Either make the craft or toss the supplies, don’t hold onto it forever. Write the craft down in your calendar if you must to remind yourself to do it- but if that date comes and goes and you still don’t want to make the craft, it’s time to let the supplies go.
Could you get by with a photo of the item instead?
You may have lots of sentimental things- I know I tend to get attached to things from the memories they can bring. But one thing that changed the way I declutter things is taking pictures of the things that mean a lot to me but that I just don’t need to keep anymore.
Whether it’s because something is big and bulky- like a baby’s highchair- or because you just have too much stuff, taking photos of things that you want to remember but don’t have room for or don’t need to physically touch or use can really help you let go of those sentimental items.
Is the item using space that you could be using better if you got rid of it?
Like I said before- we have no storage space in this house. If I come across something that’s taking up room for no good reason, I will get rid of that item and find a more useful way to use the space.
Now that you have your tools and your mind in the right space to declutter, be sure to grab this free printable 30 Day Declutter Challeng Calendar and get to work! You can totally do this challenge right now leading up to the holidays or in January to kick off the new year. You can even do it both times, or over and over as needed!
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