Tomorrow begins a new month! Summer is going by so quickly, and I'm not getting everything done that I had hoped. One thing I'd still like to do before beginning our school year in September is a major declutter. So today I made a plan, one inspired by Minimalist Packrat's 30 Day Declutter Bootcamp. I would love to be able to afford that e-book, but I need to do some more surveys to get some dollars into my Paypal account first. So I made up my own plan. Maybe that will work better, anyway...I don't really need inspiration to declutter, after all. I've always loved doing it, loved the feeling of freeing myself from the mountain of stuff we seem to accumulate.
So here's my plan:
20-Day Clutter Challenge
1. (August 1) Shoes and Outdoor Wear
2. (August 2) Paper
3. (August 3) Dishes, Rubbermaid Containers, Cutlery
4. (August 5) Pots & Pans (including baking pans and casserole dishes)
5. (August 6) Spices, Baking Supplies
6. (August 7) Food (including pantry, fridge and freezer)
7. (August 8) Canning Supplies
8. (August 9) Cleaning Supplies, Personal Care Supplies
9. (August 10) Toys
10. (August 12) My Clothes
11. (August 13) Stephen's Clothes
12. (August 14) Boys' Clothes
13. (August 15) Games, Music Books
14. (August 16) Photos, Notebooks, Stationery
15. (August 17) Tools, Paint, Renovation Supplies
16. (August 19) CDs, DVDs
17. (August 20) Linens, Blankets, Bags & Suitcases
18. (August 21) Children's Books, Novels
19. (August 22) Nonfiction, Christian Books
20. (August 23) Homeschool Supplies (not decluttering so much as finding a home for them for now.)
To make things fun for me, I'm giving myself points:
15 minutes/day = 1 point
30 minutes/day = 4 points
60 minutes/day = 10 points
Finished the job = 20 points
And for even more fun, I'm giving myself rewards:
20-80 points: an e-book
80-150 points: date night without any children along
150-300 points: new slipcovers for my couches
300-400 points: new clothes
I'm going to try to post a short update every day. I'm not committing to before and after pictures. If I can, I will. I'm hoping this will keep me on track. This is going to be fun! (And if any of you want to do this with me, that would be awesome!)
I should also be clear that my goal is not to finish decluttering each of these categories in this amount of time. My goal is to do what I can with the time I have (at least 15 minutes every day), and if it's no-where near done, the little bit that is done will at least be a blessing. The fast pace is really just my way of trying not to get bogged down in the enormity of the task. I can always do this again another month, after all. (Or maybe not...let's see how this works first, OK?)
I feel like I have been de-cluttering every 3 months lately... it is hard work, but I like the extra space I get after :-)
ReplyDeleteGood luck, you can do it!
I need to do this too. My major problem is that there is nowhere to put things away so they just get piled. :) I need to de-pile things. :)
ReplyDeleteGo you! I need to do toys, toiletries and clothes quite badly.
ReplyDeleteA little part of me thinks I should do it with you, but the rest of me tell me that I should be weeding.
Good rewards especially the date one. :)
Ooh, I like it. I might play along. Now, to think up some good prizes...
ReplyDeleteHow on earth do you get Stephen to take you on dates?
We have a gift certificate for the Pilate House that we got for our last birthdays and never used yet. We'd still have to pay a babysitter, but I'd say the work I'm doing is worth at least that.
ReplyDelete