This post is for the people who can never find their keys. The people who fear opening wardrobe doors because an avalanche of clothes is waiting on the other side, ready to bury them alive. The brave men and women who wrestle for 10 minutes at a time to open the junk drawer because it’s too full to function properly. This post is for anyone, anywhere, who has a clutter problem.
And I totally include myself in that!
In the last few years, I’ve lived in three different countries and packed and unpacked my bags more times than I can count. Quite frankly, I’m sick of hauling my stuff around. And, since I started my no buy year back in January, I’ve come to the realisation that all this stuff really doesn’t make me happy. It makes me stressed!
So I’m taking a stand against the clutter once and for all. I’ve decluttered in the past and I’ve gotten rid of dozens of bags of junk, but this time it’s different. This time it’s personal. This time, I’m kicking things off with the 5 Day Declutter.
What is the 5 Day Declutter?
The 5 Day Declutter is a very basic decluttering programme I’ve put together as a way to kickstart the massive task I’ve set myself of decluttering my entire life.
Quite simply, the idea is to tackle 5 different areas of clutter across 5 days. Ta da!
The categories can be big (think decluttering your entire wardrobe) or small (like decluttering your handbag), but the idea is to pick 5 categories that are your biggest problem areas. The goal isn’t to declutter your entire home in the space of 5 days. There’s not enough coffee in the world for that!
This is just the jumping off point. Spend 5 days tackling the areas where the clutter has the biggest impact on your life and then use the motivation you’ll get from that success to spur you on in dealing with the less urgent areas.
So 5 days, 5 categories. Easy enough, right?
Why do the 5 Day Declutter?
‘Ok, but why the whole 5 day thing?’ I hear you ask?
Part of it has to do with accountability. Committing to declutter one category of stuff every day for 5 days (even if it’s only for an hour) will have an impact and get the ball rolling. In the past, my decluttering has been sporadic. I’ve done a day or two and then veered off course and forgotten about it for months at a time. Setting an achievable, but somewhat challenging goal of 5 straight days of decluttering will keep me focussed.
Also, the faster you declutter, the better. If you can steadily work on decluttering your entire home over the course of 8-10 weeks, the results will be more noticeable and you’ll be more likely to keep the declutter at bay. If you take too long between decluttering sessions, you won’t reap the benefits and, before you know it, all manner of weird plastic junk will start to worm its way back into your drawers.
How you can take part in the 5 Day Declutter
Everything in life is better with company. That’s why I always insist on having someone come to my dentist appointments with me, even though I’m almost 30 years old. Having someone by your side can make all manner of unpleasantries bearable.
And this challenge is no different! Having people along for the ride means we can all share our successes, hold each other accountable and motivate one another.
So I’d love for you to join in!
You can download a copy of my free 5 Day Declutter workbook to help you get started and track your progress. You can also check out my 5 Day Declutter progress on my Youtube channel to see how I’m getting on with daily decluttering videos.
How to use the free printable worksheets:
- Set your goals. Decide what you want to achieve by doing the 5 day declutter.
- Decide which categories you’ll be tackling and make a note of them in the daily tracker. (You could choose clothing, cosmetics, DVDs, books…anything that’s a problem area for you.)
- Set yourself smaller daily goals in the daily tracker. Think specifically about what you want to achieve on that particular day.
- Use the prompts in the worksheets to help you work through your items and decide which ones you really want to keep and which ones you can part with.
- Keep a note of how many items you’ve parted with each day in the daily tracker.
And remember, you can go at your own pace! If you want to tackle big areas each day, good for you. If you don’t have the time or energy to do that, you can choose smaller categories and designate an hour a day to the process. That’s completely fine!
This is your journey so don’t be afraid to tailor the plan to fit your lifestyle.
So Let’s Get Started!
So who’s ready to part with some junk?! Personally, I can’t wait to dig in and start clearing some more space in my life. I really hope you decide to join in and take part.
Remember, you can join the 5 Day Declutter Facebook group to share your progress and keep up to date with how others are doing.
And you can check out my 5 Day Decluttering videos on my Youtube channel. I’ll be uploading one at the end of each day.
So let’s get to it!
