Decluttering your home sounds overwhelming right? What if you could spread out the process over the course of a year? With the 12 month declutter challenge, you can do just that! With the 12 month declutter challenge, you can tackle clutter systematically, one space at at a time.
What is the 12 month declutter challenge?
The 12 month declutter challenge is designed to be a transformative journey to help you declutter and organize your home without overwhelming yourself. In the process, you can create a more serene and functional living space.
By dedicating just a little time each month to decluttering, you can achieve significant results and enjoy the benefits of a clutter-free space. The benefit of doing it this way is that you don’t have to tackle the entire house at once. You don’t even have to tackle an entire space at one time. You can tackle it over the course of the month!
While I know a lot of people love to start this in January, this can be started at any time. Personally I like to start this in late winter or early spring because it’s dark and dreary outside and I have more motivation to clean out in the house where I’m stuck. So let’s dive into the challenge!
Month 1: Wardrobe Clean-out.
For the first month of the 12 month declutter challenge, focus on decluttering your wardrobe. This means sorting through your clothing, your shoes, and accessories.
This is a great opportunity to get rid of clothing that is worn out, faded, or no longer fits you. If there are items that you haven’t worn in a long time, this is the perfect opportunity to get rid of it.
Don’t be afraid to donate, sell, or just throw away things that you don’t wear or love. Just because you spent money on something or because someone gave it to you, doesn’t mean you have to keep it.
Month 2: Kitchen Organization
For month 2 of the 12 month declutter challenge, it’s time to tackle your kitchen. You are going to tackle a few different areas here: countertop, the pantry, the cabinets, and the drawers.
I recommend tackling each of these areas in their own small sections throughout the month rather than trying to do it all at once. Otherwise, it’s going to get very overwhelming, very fast. I also recommend that you do them in the following order:
Countertop
Start with the countertops. This is going to be the place where you most visually are going to see a difference. To keep motivated, you want to declutter where you will see a difference.
Get rid of anything that shouldn’t be there or doesn’t get used. This includes things like trash, small appliances that don’t get used, decorations that you don’t like or are difficult to clean, and anything that detracts from the overall look of your kitchen.
Pantry
Next, tackle the pantry. Get rid of all expired food items. If you’ve got stuff in there that you are never going to eat, consider donating it to a food bank. This is a good time to go through your canned food and make sure that it hasn’t gone bad.
Cabinets
The cabinets should be third on your list. I do these after the countertops and the pantry because otherwise you get the temptation to just shove those things from the countertop into your newly decluttered cabinet space.
In your cabinets, get rid of things you don’t like or don’t use. You probably don’t need 25 coffee mugs. I chose to get rid of a bunch of plates and dishes that we never used but ‘they look nice’. Looking nice wasn’t enough to justify the space in the cupboard. Anything chipped or broken should be disposed of.
Drawers
Be prepared, the drawers are probably going to take up the most time of anything. Use this time to get rid of single purpose kitchen utensils that never get used. For example, we didn’t need a banana slicer, a knife works just fine.
If you’ve got things that are broken, rusting, worn out, or you have tons of duplicates of, get rid of them. I realized we had 11 baking sheets. Now some of them served specific purposes but many of them were just old and gross looking. We reduced it down to 6, keeping the 2 general purpose ones, the 2 that I use specifically for cookies, and the 2 we use for grilling.
Month 3: Do the Paperwork Purge
For the third month of the 12 month declutter challenge, it’s time to do the paperwork purge.
If you are lucky, you’ve got all this contained to a specific section of the house. If you are unlucky like me, it was spread through several rooms depending on where we could find quiet time to get things done while the kids were napping.
Sort through bills, receipts, and files, and shred or recycle any unnecessary paperwork. I also like to use this time to scan in any files that are ‘nice to have’ but I don’t need physical copies of.
Month 4: Living Room Refresh
For month four of the 12 month declutter challenge, declutter your living room. If you have excess furniture, get rid of it. Declutter those old electronics that you never use and are just collecting dust.
If you’ve got decorations you don’t like, donate or sell them. This is also a good time to get rid of an extraneous physical media that you don’t use anymore like CDs, DVDs, or Blu-Ray discs.
Declutter until you’ve made your living room into a cozy and inviting space, leaving only things that have a purpose or that you enjoy.
Month 5: The Bathroom Makeover
For the fifth month of the 12 month declutter challenge, you are going to declutter your bathroom. Or bathrooms depending on how many are in the house.
If you have expired or empty toiletries, get rid of them. This includes things like old lotions, shampoos, creams, expired medicine, and makeup.
If you have old towels that you don’t like using, get rid of those too. Leave only the ones you like or use.
Organize each drawer and cabinet so that everything is easily found and accessible.
Month 6: The Bedroom Retreat
For month six of the 12 month declutter challenge, it’s time to turn your bedroom into a relaxing retreat.
Clean out any storage you have under the bed so that it only contains what needs to be there. Get rid of old bedding you never use. Declutter your bedside table so that they look nice and only contain the essentials.
If you’ve got extra furniture in your bedroom that you never use, like that chair that only seems to collect laundry, get rid of it.
Create a serene sleep environment by keeping only the things you need in the bedroom and nothing else.
Month 7: Home Office Cleanup
For month seven of the 12 month declutter challenge, declutter your home office. If you don’t have a home office, this might be an easy month for you. Instead use this time to take care of the space where you computer is or where you generally do any kind of administrative work for your home like paying bills.
For this month, organize any paperwork you might have. Since you did a paperwork purge a few months earlier, you should have less to organize at this point.
If you have electronics that you never use, get rid of them. If you have random cables for things that you aren’t sure what they are for, get rid of those too. If you haven’t used them by now, you probably never will.
For the rest of the cables, make sure they are organized and bundled together to look neat and tidy. I use Velcro cable ties, but twist ties will often work just as well.
At the end of the day, you want your home office area to be a functional workspace that promotes productivity and creativity.
Month 8: The Great Closet Overhaul
For month eight of the 12 month declutter challenge, it’s time to tackle your closets.
Take the opportunity to go through every closet in your home. Clear out any seasonal clothing. Get rid of old shoes you don’t wear. Declutter those shoe racks and get rid of those uncomfortable shoes you never wear. Organize your accessories for easy access.
Month 9: Storage Space Simplification
For month 9 of the 12 month declutter challenge, we will take on storage space. This means, places like the garage, the attic, the basement, or that one closet you avoided last month because it’s a storage space rather than an actual closet.
Get rid of anything that is broken. If you’ve got unused or duplicate items, sell or donate them. This is also a good opportunity to declutter decorations you don’t like or don’t use.
Month 10: Sentimental Items
For month ten of the 12 month declutter challenge, it’s time to go through Sentimental items.
These are things like keepsakes, photos, and memorabilia. Especially if you’ve traveled a lot, you may have a lot of random touristy things you’ve picked up over the years. Get rid of items that you don’t really care about. Only keep things that hold significant meaning or bring you joy.
Month 11: Digital Clutter
For month eleven of the 12 month declutter challenge, we are going a bit more abstract and we are going to get rid of digital clutter.
Digital clutter needs management just as much management as your home. Use this month to organize and clear out files on your computer.
On your phone, evaluate the apps that you use and get rid of ones that you don’t ever use. If you are like me, you probably have a million tabs open on your phone. Close them out and only keep open the ones you need.
This is also a great opportunity to clear out and unsubscribe from any email newsletters you don’t want clogging your inbox.
Month 12: Final Touches and Maintenance
Wrap up the declutter challenge by completing any remaining tasks and implementing maintenance routines to keep clutter at bay. Set aside time each month for regular decluttering and organization to maintain a clutter-free home.
Final Thoughts!
12 months is a long time to be working on decluttering, but you did it! Congratulations on completing the 12 Month Declutter Challenge! By dedicating just a little time each month to decluttering and organizing, you’ve transformed your home into a more serene and functional living space. Enjoy the benefits of a clutter-free environment and continue to maintain your organized home for years to come. Cheers to a happier and more organized life!