2019 in 2019 Decluttering Challenge
Let this be the year you simplify and turn your home from a cluttered, overflowing space into a clean, organized and joyful oasis!
Let this be the year you embrace minimalism (or at least a form of it) and devote the time you want to, to those things that are a real priority for you!
Let this be the year you halt clutter in its tracks, take control back and let your home be something that serves you!
Come join me and 22,570 others in the “2019 in 2019” decluttering challenge!
Enter your name and email and get your free chart delivered to your inbox:
The GOAL:
Rid your home of 2,019 items in the year 2019.
The RULES:
- Each time you get rid of an item, put an “X” on a square (or black it out, depending on who’s helping check the boxes!!)
- The rules are your own: If you have a stack of magazines to get rid of, you may
- count it as one item or
- you can count each one as an item.
- You may even guess the number! The point is to see progress as you eliminate.
- Keep the chart on the front of the refrigerator or a cupboard where you can watch your progress and keep motivated.
- If you have children, get them involved! Let them mark the boxes. Use different colors for different family members so they can see how much they contributed!
- Plan out a celebration after each 100, 500 or 1000 is reached (you’ll need to decide how much you have to get rid of, and how rewards motivate you).
- Then, join the community on Facebook for motivation and encouragement!
BONUS TIPS:
- If you are getting rid of an item that you know you need to, but have been avoiding for whatever reason. Count it as a more substantial number: 25, 50, 100, depending on how much emotional relief you feel when it’s finally gone.
- When decluttering your home, set aside the sentimental items to be sorted last. They are emotionally charged and take much more effort to get rid of, thus giving you a sense of “decision fatigue” and limiting what you accomplish in the areas of your home you need to simplify most.
- Have a designated place to put all the sentimental items; this can be there “holding facility” until you are ready to devote some time to those emotional decisions.
- Focus on one room until it’s complete. The tendency it to run from room to room grabbing up things to declutter, but if you want to see actual change in your home, pick one room and sort every shelf, drawer, closet and category before moving to a different room.
- Ask the right question. Don’t ask “What do I want to get rid of?” instead, pull everything in the category out and ask yourself “What do I love/use/enjoy enough to keep?”
- Start with a plan. It’s easy to be gung-ho at first and jump in with both feet, but having a clear idea of attack means you will be so much more successful. For example, this might be writing down categories in each room and working on one room a month, or it might be following a workbook or joining a group coaching course where you have accountability and constant motivation. Pick the one you know you will stick with and follow it through.
Sign up here, and the FREE chart will be sent directly to your email inbox:
Hooray, I’ll join again next year! It’s so rewarding to check those little boxes 🙂 But now, to make it easier to fill in the boxes (and also for environment consciousness), our family will also check boxes for trash items we remove from the nearby streets and playgrounds! I’m thinking of some fun rewards to extra motivate the kids.
Just curious, do you really still manage to remove over 2000 items each year from your home? Because the second year I joined it’s already a lot harder for us to complete the challenge…
I don’t, but we do manage about 500 each year… most of it is from the kids’ rooms- school papers, crafts, junk toys from random places, etc. It adds up quick!
Bonus tip (or cheat confession if you will…) : I also check a box when I feel tempted to buy an item and yet decide not to buy it. Or when I am offered free (marketing) stuff (key chains, pens, waterbottles, cheap toys etc) and manage to say ‘no thanks’ (still a hard one for me and more so for the kids!)
Colette, that is a great idea. Over time as our houses have less items, it’s harder to fill the sheet. (Though still able to be done). The important part really is not bringing in what is not needed. Great idea!!
Hi
I didn’t get the email with the printable chart
Pls send me the link
Hi Cathy- I’m sending you a quick email. But please check your spam/junk or promotional mailbox.
Hi, I’ve requested the chart at least 4 times and have not received it, yet 🙁 It it not in spam or being blocked. can you please send it directly to my e-mail? thanks so much. Looking forward to being a part of this group!
I emailed it to you Beth!
I’ve tried getting this chart a couple of times now and it hasn’t arrived. It’s not in my spam folder either. 🙁 Is there any way to just have it manually sent to me?
I emailed it to you Kristen!
I still haven’t received the chart. Signed up more than once
Hi Lara! I just emailed you- but please check to see if it’s blocked by your email provider or going into spam.
Hi Rachel! I also did not receive the 2019 chart. I checked my spam and trash folders but don’t see it anywhere.
I just resent it! 🙂
[…] I found a great website – Nourishing Minimalism who has a great challenge to get rid of 2019 items from your home during 2019. I definitely do not see myself becoming a true minimalist, but it would be nice to not trip over […]
Please resend chart, Rachel. I accidentally deleted the link. Thanks!
Just wanted to share how I dealt with a minor vexation of the spirit. I had a box full of cufflinks. Had to dig through a whole bunch every time I searched for a pair. I realized I never wore many and sold those on Etsy, keeping the ones I liked and buying a nice case to display them in. That can be done for any number of things…
[…] you need extreme decluttering, the 2019 in 2019 challenge may be right for you. This system requires — you guessed it — that you get […]
I still haven’t received the chart 🙁
Hi Anna! I’ll email you!
[…] decluttering, we do an annual decluttering chart to help track how much we’re getting rid of. This is the FREE decluttering chart we use (each year she posts a new one). Using this system motivates us to work together as a family to get […]
If I’m already on your email list how can I get the NEXT 200 Declutter Challenge Checklist?
I don’t remember receiving one for 2019. But I didn’t want to “sign up” again for emails since I was already receiving them regularly.
Just planning ahead for the BIG 2020 in 2020!
Jayne, you can sign up, it will send you the PDF. It won’t double the amount of emails you get or repeat emails, it will only send you the new PDF
I will have the 2020 version mid-December. 😊