Starting Friday, I’ll have a series of posts to challenge us to simplify and organize our homes and our lives. Something simple and easy to tackle each week. Check back Friday for the first in the series.
In the meantime, here’s an update on the Goodbye Junk challenge…
Note: This is an update of an older post, because it’s always a good thing to declutter and organize, right? Who doesn’t want to make more time for things that are truly important and more enjoyable than cleaning?
If you’re interested in more information, check out the Goodbye Junk tabs up at the top of the blog for links and resources and older Goodbye Junk posts. I hope you’ll join me…
The GOALS:
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Say Goodbye to Junk
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Be intentional about what you keep and bring into your home
Free yourself from clutter, worry, debt, negativity, & all the other JUNK that is weighing you down.
I started the Goodbye Junk Challenge because I’ve been trying to embrace life, and have more time for my family by getting rid of the junk that has found it’s way into our house since moving in three years ago. The clutter is taking up time I don’t want to devote to it.
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Time to find things.
- Where did I see that ___again?
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Time to clean.
- It takes more time to clean if there is more stuff sitting around.
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Time being frustrated with how much stuff there is everywhere.
- This is big for me, because it robs me of enjoying my day even when I’m not cleaning.
Getting rid of junk is the first part of it.
Giving everything a real home is the other part.
Everything that stays needs to have it’s own home. Not just some pile on the counter, but a real place to be put away. Sometimes this is more of a challenge than the getting rid of junk part, but I’ve found that I’m much more successful and consistent about keeping things neat if there is a home for things. The kids are better at cleaning this way too. Things that don’t have a home inevitably end up in a pile on some horizontal surface in my house. And stay there. Not good.
Do you have junk like this that you want to deal with once and for all?Take the Goodbye Junk Challenge.
Here’s THE CHALLENGE:
*Get rid of one item each day. It must leave your house for good…donate it, trash it, recycle it, give it to someone, sell it on ebay, whatever, just so that you don’t ever have to deal with it again. More than one is fine too, but if you just get rid of one thing a day, count that as success!
*Find one item that needs a home, and give it a home. Maybe something that you’ve never known where to put…figure out a place. Or maybe just put something back in it’s rightful home. Easy!
That’s it… quick and simple, right?
Here are a few other details:
- Feel free to make this challenge fit your life. Want to do a week worth all on Saturday? Fine! Want to fill up a box before taking it to Goodwill? Great! Just make sure that the stuff you pile up to leave your house actually leaves your house, otherwise, you’ll just be going through it all again in the future, and who wants that?
- If you miss a day here and there, or even a whole week, don’t give up! There are no Junk Police to knock on your door, and ask what you’ve donated today. You don’t have to do the whole year. There is no right or wrong. Just clean until you’re happy!
- Remember there are lots of sites out there with helpful ideas. Unclutterer.com and http://orgjunkie.com are two of my favorites, and Pinterest.com is a huge source of organizing and cleaning resources. Don’t forget the Goodbye Junk tab up at the top of this blog for more links and resources too.
It’s a win-win challenge. I {we} get a nicer, cleaner, more organized house, and Goodwill (or the charity of your choice) gets to benefit from our donations.
