Since this year is a leap year, I figured it is an excellent opportunity to create a leap year challenge this month.
As you know, small items in any house can envelop the home if not controlled. Every group in this challenge can get out of hand rapidly if not looked at and scrutinized periodically. This time we will be sharing a new opportunity to declutter. It's called the Small Items Big Clutter Challenge. Are you ready? Set, let's begin!
Clear the Small Items Clutter with a 29 Day Organizing Challenge
But wait, remember this should be a quick 15-minute purge. No need to spend a lot of time pondering what to keep. Pick up each item, look at it, say "Yes," I want it, or "No," I don't. Place the "No" things in one pile to get rid of or donate. Visit our updated Locations to Donate Your Stuff and our Recycling and Shredding Pages for places to get rid of your stuff.
Day 1: Purses: Yes, purses. These items can be inside one another, and you may not even know you have as many as you do.
Day 2: Vitamins: How often do you go through to check your expired vitamins. They are less effective if they are expired.
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Day 3: Canned food: If you ever eat expired canned food, you know that the flavor and sometimes the consistency changes.
Day 4: Cutlery: Knives can also get cluttered. Determine the ones you use most often and get rid of the rest. Wrap knives in bubble wrap or cardboard before disposing of them.
Day 5: Makeup Supplies: Lotions, foundation, and other supplies that you may have tried but didn't get rid of, now is the time to do just that. Feel free to visit our What to keep in your vanity checklist and post.
Visit our Makeup Self Life Organizing post for a free printable to label your makeup.
Day 6: Hair Supplies: If you are like me, you probably have a variety of hair supplies. With my curly hair, it's all about the products so that I don't look like Kramer from Seinfeld. LOL. It's essential to keep the items that you use and get rid of the ones that are not necessary.
Day 7: Shirts: Shirts also include sweaters. So keep that in mind when purging your stuff.
Day 8: Pants: Now, it's time to look at all your pants. Be sure to also check out your sweat pants and PJs too.
Day 9: Dresses: Pull out anything that doesn't fit or that is outdated. Is there a dress in your closet you haven't worn in over five years? Donate it!
Day 10: Papers on Desk: Let's focus on your home office desk. Are there papers on there right now that don't have a home? Take care of them.
Day 11: Planner: Let's turn to your paper or digital planner. Get rid of the stuffed papers you may have tucked in the back of it. Make sure you clear out any unnecessary recurring appointments that you haven't deleted yet.
Day 12: Crafts: Are you into craft projects? If you have a lot of crafts, focus on one area, and purge that area only. Remember time yourself; it is only 15 minutes purge.
Day 13: DVR cable digital recording: Visit our DVR cable box or other recordable devices you may use to record shows. Purge shows you don't have time to watch or don't enjoy watching.
Day 14: Luggage: We tend to not look at all our luggages at one time. Today's the day to do just that. Pull them out and purge as many as you can.
Day 15: Coats: Let's focus on your coats only. Leave the other family members coats for another time.
Day 16: Shoes: Go through all the areas you leave your shoes and place them in one place. Get rid of the ones you don't want right now.
Day 17: Socks: While going through your socks, if you don't match them, do that as well and then only keep the ones that are not discolored or have holes in them.
Day 18: Hats: You would be surprised at how many hats a family can have. Place all the hats in place and then go through them and get rid of the ones that are too small, have holes in them, or ones that you have already replaced but never got rid of the original.
Day 19: Sheets for beds: How many sheets do you have for your bed? Is it more than three? Go through them and find out. Get rid of the older ones.
Day 20: Pens: How many pens do you have in your home? We are a household of artists and writers, so we have A LOT of pens and pencils.
Day 21: Scissors: If you have crafts or kids for that matter, you probably have scissors around your home. Get rid of the ones you don't use any longer.
Day 22: Photos on Devices: Let's turn to your devices, photos in particular. Delete as many as you can in 15 minutes.
Day 23: Files on Laptop: Go through your laptop and get rid of the files that were left there to never look at again. Move them or delete them.
Day 24: Cables: If you have electronics, you probably have cables. Pull out as many as you can in 15 minutes and get rid of them.
Day 25: Prescription Medicine: This is tricky. Go through your prescription cabinet and then bring them to an appropriate place for proper disposal. National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is on April 25, 2020, from 10 AM – 2 PM – Click here for location details. If you live in Montgomery County, PA, you can visit this page for details on where to dispose of these items.
Day 26: Platters: Do you have parties? Today, you need to go through your party platters. What haven't you used in 3 years? Can you get rid of it now?
Day 27: Nail Polishes: If you like to paint your nails, you probably have nail polishes that are dried out or finishing up. Declutter them today. Feel free to check out our "Nail care supplies organization tips made easy" post.
Day 28: Dried Food: Do you have dried food, like beans, in your pantry? While these items take time to expire, you should go through them and see if there are any open bags or containers that need to get discarded.
Day 29: Herbs and Spices: And, last but not least, it's time to visit the herbs and spices. Below are two posts on how to organize these items.
HOW TO CREATE AN INVENTORY CHECKLIST FOR ORGANIZING SPICES AND HERBS
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ORGANIZING HERBS AND SPICES
Well, there you have it. Are you planning on taking this challenge? If so, please come back and leave a comment on how you did. After completing these 29 days, your home and you will feel lighter and more focused to bring on Spring Cleaning next month.
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If you want to visit our numerous challenges, click here and start getting organized today.
Janet Schiesl
I love doing small projects like these. Small changes make a big difference and they are doable even if you are super busy.
Seana Turner
I love the concise and action-oriented nature of this challenge. It is so easy to print out and tackle during these cold winter days. I just worked with a client on the "nail polish" category. What is so interesting is how she kept hardly any, and said, "I usually just go to the salon." Still, she had quite a few bottles and accessories she had been holding onto. Once she had the lightbulb moment, most of it went out the door.
Sabrina Quairoli
That lightbulb moment is amazing to watch, isn't it? Thanks for commenting.
Sara Skillen
Great idea for breaking things down into manageable steps. And pens!! I think all pen factories could stop production for a year and the world would still have enough.
Sabrina Quairoli
It's crazy how many pens we accumulate over the course of our lives.
Linda Samuels
I love these mini decluttering challenges! Most of these areas are in good shape for me, but a few ones that you mentioned made me think further. The canned goods and some of the digital items (photos and files) could use some attention. Recently I did the purse and clothing editing, but there could be room for doing another round of edits. Thank you for the inspiration.
Sabrina Quairoli
You are welcome! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Janet Barclay
Somehow I knew spices would be on the list! It doesn't seem that long ago that I went through mine, yet I found something yesterday that is nearly two years past the best before date.
Sabrina Quairoli
Those spices and mixes that are stuffed in the back of the cabinets seems to be the ones I forget all the time. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.