I Tried the Easiest 30-Day Decluttering Challenge and Now My Entire Home Is Officially Clutter-Free

Once I had my list set, I realized how important it was to make sure my storage unit was fairly empty so that I could bring things down as I decluttered throughout the month. And I planned to schedule a donation pick-up at the end of January to haul everything out. This is crucial: Having a plan established to remove everything from your home is just as important as the actual decluttering process. You don’t want to just relegate everything to your garage or attic and have it sit there until the end of time. You need to have a firm plan in place to get everything out of your house!

Finally, I set a daily calendar reminder so I wouldn’t forget to do it! I found this extremely helpful, especially in the beginning because it helped me establish the habit.

What My 30-Day Decluttering Challenge Was Actually Like

I love setting goals. Truly, I love building timelines and establishing new habits. And I’m actually pretty good at it! But this 30-day challenge had me itching for the month to end by mid-January.

The issue is that I’d often wait until the end of the day to tackle my tasks. And it usually wasn’t a big deal because it was such a tiny chore. Plus, I always felt better afterward! But it got to the point where my knee-jerk reaction would be, ‘Didn’t I just do this yesterday?!’ Because yes, I literally did just do this yesterday. And I will have to do this tomorrow, and then the day after that. It felt pretty endless by week two. So none of this was hard at all—the sameness of it all was just… a lot.

I did hit a turning point though by day 18. As I was sorting through my closet, I realized I had made so much progress. But the change was so gradual and subtle, it didn’t sink in until over halfway through the process. I do small declutters frequently, but I also love completing massive purges in the span of two to three days that guarantee immense instant gratification. This slow burn was a new sensation for me, and it’s something I want to hold onto because it makes me want to keep clutter out of my house even more. I needed day 18 to happen because it motivated me to keep going.

To be fully transparent, I definitely did slip up a few times—on weekdays when I was out late, I gave myself grace and skipped the day, doubling up on tasks the following day. This happened a few times and I didn’t beat myself up over it. It happens! However, I hit a major bump in the road around day 20: I was running out of spots to declutter, because some days I was in such a groove, I would do multiple spots in a row! I ended up really stretching things out. For example, doing just a few upper cabinets one night, then some more the following night.

On top of all this, my storage unit was at maximum capacity—everything was crammed in in Tetris-like fashion. In fact, I had to push up my donation pick-up almost two weeks earlier than I planned, just so I could make space for the rest of the month’s loot! 

Also, if you’re wondering how I handled this with my husband: He mostly steered clear. Of course, I consulted with him on shared spaces like the pantry, and in some situations when he was too busy for questions, I pulled things out and let him sort through what he wanted to keep. But I did not go through his clothes drawers, desk, etc. He’s a grown-up who can do that on his own time! I focused on my personal zones and shared spaces. 

What I Learned From My 30-Day Decluttering Challenge

There were so many takeaways from this, but the biggest one for me is that I hold onto way too much stuff I don’t need. (And I thought I was pretty good at decluttering before this… nope!) I was pretty ruthless in my approach and asked myself the hard questions. Like, who needs a zillion tote bags, vases, and candlesticks!? Maybe some people, but not me. There were things I forgot even existed in my home that I unearthed during these 30 days. 

My other takeaway is something that I pretty much already knew, but this month really affirmed it for me: Decluttering doesn’t have to be this massive ordeal. It can be as simple as sitting on your sofa and unsubscribing from a bunch of spammy emails. Or a quick check of expiration dates on products in your medicine cabinet. I already do a lot of decluttering in small doses throughout the month, and I’ll continue to do this because it feels good! (However, I probably won’t do 30 consecutive days of this again.) 

One final thing that stuck out to me was how much we manage to hide in places. I found so many things, for example, tucked away beneath my kitchen sink. We’re all really good at sneaking things into tiny black holes then forgetting they exist because they’re out of sight. Out of sight, out of mind! And if you don’t see it (or you make it really hard to access), the less likely you are to use it—and the more likely it’ll just become clutter.

Who a 30-Day Challenge Is Good For (and Who It’s Not Good For)

If you’re the type of person who loves routine and habits, a 30-day challenge could be for you. However, just cautioning you: I consider myself one of those people (I’m a huge creature of habit), but even I could barely handle the monotony of this challenge. 

This is also a good challenge if you have a big home or a ton of stuff to declutter. Truthfully, my apartment is not that big, and I’m already pretty on top of my decluttering game, so it’s not surprising that I almost ran out of things to do before the 30 days were up. Someone with a bigger home or a less consistent decluttering schedule could benefit even more from this method.

If you’re the type of person, though, who has an all-or-nothing approach to projects, this may not be for you. It’s likely you’ll want to give up pretty early on in the process because you won’t get the same instant gratification you would get after an intense-but-short decluttering spree.

Regardless, if you choose to embark on this 30-day challenge, then my best advice is to just keep it simple! Be realistic with yourself, set up micro goals, and make sure you have a firm plan in place for actually removing things from your home. And set a reminder for yourself to actually do it!