Day 7: Simplicity Challenge

Declutter your night table.

I absolutely hate cluttered night stands. Imagine going to bed with clutter next to you and waking up with clutter in your face! I couldn't think of anything more stressful than that. Let's declutter together.

If you have the luxury of space, keep your night stand items to a minimal. Keep an alarm (if you use one), a lamp, a book/whatever you use before bed, personal items, and water. In your drawers, place personal items like lotions, socks, eye masks, etc in drawer organizers. Keep your alarm and small decorative items on the top. It's seriously that simple. Everything else should be thrown out or relocated to a new space. 

Day 4: Simplicity Challenge

Throw Away Newspapers and Magazines

You're at the midway point or challenge hump day! You are halfway there, don't give up! Today we address the stacks of unused or old newspapers and magazines. I love print media, but not so much that I would let those products clutter my house. Purge your mags and papers!

1. Collect all your newspapers. Pick up the most recent paper and throw the rest away! Trust me, you will not have time to catch up or read all the others. You just won't! If you want to keep an article, clip it. Or if you want to keep a specific date because it showcases important news, fine keep it but STORE IT away. Otherwise, you should be left with today's paper. Everything else in the recycling! Put this paper somewhere it will be read.

2. Collect all your magazines and divide them by category (if you have many) or by magazine name. Pick the latest (that month's edition) magazines out of each category and trash the rest. If you like an article or an ad in a magazine that has to go, clip it and save it somewhere. If you , say work in fashion, obviously you can take these rules more loosely. For the rest of us, stick with the "one in, one out" rule and keep these magazines where they will be read, such as bathrooms, living rooms, etc. For every magazine in each category that comes in, another has to come out. If you have 50 magazines total, maybe you should consider cutting down on your subscriptions....

Aren't you glad you got rid of all those newspapers and magazines. Continue to keep only the most recent magazines and papers and your piles will never get out of hand.

Any remarkable success stories? Send them in, I'd love to share them here on my blog!

Day 3: Simplicity Challenge

Purge Your Pantry

Welcome to day three, where we tackle the pantry. Most people over stuff their pantry so much that they don't even realize how much of what they buy has already expired. Let's clear our the pantry today.

1. Take all of your food items out and give the pantry a good wipe down.

2. Sort through your items and classify them into 3 categories: Expired, Give Away, Keep. Food that has expired automatically toss out. Certain foods that you don't eat, see if your local pantry/food drive/friend/family will take them. If you have a gluten intolerance and have 4 bags of white flour, you can give those away.

3. Re-shelf your pantry, making sure to group like items and displaying items that expire first at the front. (We'll address pantry organization another time- for now work with what you have).

I bet after completing this task you'd be shocked at the free space in your pantry. Don't go restocking. Just because the space is there, doesn't mean it has to be filled. Think about NEEDS not wants.

Enjoy the clean pantry!

Day 2: Simplicity Challenge

Welcome to day 2! This is probably my most favorite task! Let's organize our bags!!!!!!!!

Bag Organization

We all have them and we all use them. Every time I head to buy groceries I get at least 4 plastic bags and if I buy clothing or shoes I always get a shopping bag! I can't run away from bags! Year ago, our under the sink cabinet was just full of bags. All colors, shapes, sizes, materials, etc. We used (and still use) most of the bags as trash bags so we never gave their storage much thought. If they are going to exit your house, what's the point of organizing them?! Boy were we wrong! One day we discovered we had a leaky pipe and that all of our bags were soaked in water  and covered in rust. After cleaning up the leaky mess we decided to control our bag situation. Here's how we did it:

1. Buy/reuse a basket to place in the cabinet's under your sink. Use this basket to store plastic bags. When you come home with plastic bags, knot each once and stick in the basket. You can use these bags for trash- you'll never have to buy garbage bags again!

2. Paper bags, which are not damaged, should be neatly folded and kept in a largish shopping bag. These are useful for say sending packaged food out of the house with guests, for storing paper to be recycled, or packing presents. Whatever your use, make sure to keep all paper bags together and in a dry nonflammable place.

3. Store reusable shopping bags in a tote or container. If you drive keep these in your trunk. If you use public transportation keep one foldable bag in your purse and the rest near the door so you can grab and go.

Voila, it's that simple! Send me before and after pictures of your bag organization.

Day 1: Simplicity Challenge

So happy you have decided to take the 7 Day Simplicity Challenge! I know at the end of the challenge you'll see the change in your house and you'll be so proud of yourself! Here's your first task:

Sort School Books

For those of us who have school books and textbooks, do you ever wonder what to do with them? If you haven't already sold your books, returned rented books, or donated them now is that time to do so. Filter through your books and keep the ones that you would be interested in keeping for your personal library collection, otherwise let go of those books.

7 Day Simplicity Challenge

7 Day Simplicity Challenge: DECLUTTER YOUR HOME

Sometimes when I think about ALL the cleaning and organizing that I have to do, I become overwhelmed. How can I possibly get to everything! It seems I can't make a dent in my increasing list of household duties. It's time to take control of the growing monster and simplify 7 spots in your house!
Take my simple 7 day challenge to decluttering!!! Everyday for one week, complete one task for 20 minutes after dinner. Challenge starts tomorrow- game on!