As we’re working through The Clutter Challenge, we’re working in a specific order to touch most areas in the home and to declutter.  Don’t feel like you have to do everything this week – I’m just sharing the information with you so you have it and can work at your own pace.

If you haven’t printed out the Declutter Order Checklist, make sure you keep reading and do that. Before you do anything this week, it might be helpful for you to figure out when you’re going to do the tasks. I use my Homekeeping Planner but you can write it on the checklist, in a calendar, on a scratch sheet fo paper. I find it really helpful to block out when I’m going to do specific tasks. This helps me break it down into manageable tasks and steps and so I don’t get overwhelmed.

Throughout the month of January we will be following this free printable – Clean Mama’s Declutter Order (also found in The Clutter Handbook) as our guide. I’ll be posting on Mondays with a couple bonus posts for the week ahead. Make sure you’re following me on Instagram for behind the scenes progress in our home!

If you’re ready for decluttering but not quite sure where to start, I have a simple method to make a lot of progress in a short period of time. Ready?

Here are your steps to a decluttered entertainment and kid stuff:

First things first, make sure your declutter station is nearby and go through everything if you can. 
KEEP – Love it, need it, or use it
TOSS – Recycle or trash
DONATE – Don’t love it, need it or use it but someone else could
RELOCATE – Still love it, use it or need it, but it doesn’t belong here

I used the labels from The Clutter Handbook and attached them with a clothespin to these laundry baskets from IKEA.

ENTERTAINMENT

Work in this order and assess what you have – clear what you can and declutter ruthlessly to find your way to a decluttered home. As you are doing this portion of decluttering, challenge yourself (and your kids if you have them) to keep what you/they use and love. It’s refreshing to have and use less.

MAGAZINES
MUSIC – CDs, tapes, etc.
GAMES – board games, card games, video games
BOOKS – cookbooks, fiction, non-fiction

I decluttered our game/workout/coat closet this week – I’m going to use this as an example for how to work through the decluttering:

I emptied the coat closet – we have game bins and games that weren’t in bins (that’s what you see on the table). I also pulled out the rolling baskets that we keep in the closet with workout gear (weights, floor mat, etc.). See that vacuum cleaner hose at the bottom of the image? I vacuumed the floor when everything was pulled out.

This closet holds out of season and dress jackets, workout supplies in the rolling baskets, hats, gloves, snow pants in the hanging organizer, and games up above. I treated it like any decluttering project:
1. take everything out
2. clean the space
3. assess and edit
4. group and categorize
5. put everything back

The Hanging Closet Organizer is from Target found here and the rolling baskets are from Pottery Barn – similar ones found here.

KIDS

If you have kids you know that decluttering takes a little more finesse. You have your schedule to work around and their schedule. Are you at work all day? At home all day? Somewhere in between? With three kids at a variety of ages and stages, I know that there are quite a few factors involved in getting things done when they’re up and awake.

CLOTHING
I keep a bin in each kids’ room and they put clothes that they’ve outgrown in the bin. This is typically decided when they put on a shirt or pants and suddenly it’s too small – I tell them to put it in the pack away bin and choose a different ensemble. Once the bin is filled up it’s either given to a cousin or put in the basement for a younger sibling.

TOYS
Involve them in decluttering their stuff too. If there are toys that they’ve outgrown or don’t play with, suggest packing them up for a younger sibling or donating to a local charity or preschool that would be interested in them. If you want to do this secretly, put the items in a bag and if they don’t ask for them for a week or two, it’s probably safe to say they won’t miss it. I don’t necessarily agree with this approach for everything but there are some items that it works with.

BOOKS
ACTIVITIES
When it comes to sorting and organizing toys and activities, figure out what works for your child/ren and your space. Take Legos for example: we have tried organizers, drawers, categorizing by color and what works the best? Throwing everything in an underbed organizer with wheels and store it under the bed. It’s out of sight when it’s not being played with and it’s easy to see everything and sort. Our youngest loves it this way. 

Same kid, we’ve tried binders, open organizers and other ways to sort his football cards and we finally figured out that having them organized by team and division is what he loves. He can see the teams at a glance and he can sort them himself. Our oldest likes keeping his in a binder that he organized by team.

ART + CRAFT SUPPLIES

As you work through decluttering, this is a great time to decide if a system is or isn’t working. Adjust if necessary and come up with a system for the items you are KEEPING.

Here’s what you can expect on the blog for the month of January:

January 1 – INTRO – Join the Challenge!
January 2 – Decluttering Quick Start + Cleaning Supplies / Laundry Area
January 6 – Kitchen
January 13 – Bathrooms
January 20 – Clothing + Bedrooms
January 22 – Entertainment + Kids
January 27 – Office Space + Paper Clutter
January 29 – Digital Clutter
Find all the posts from the Clean Mama Clutter Challenge here.

What will you GAIN when you declutter?  TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

please note: the Clean Mama Clutter Challenge is free – it is not necessary to purchase the handbook to take part in the challenge but the handbook will definitely help! Grab it now while it’s on sale!

Ready to clear the clutter? I’m SO excited to share The Clutter Handbook with you! It’s updated and ready to help you take on your clutter in a fresh, new way for 2020. The FREE Clean Mama Clutter Challenge through the month of January will be on the blog, Instagram, and in a new private Facebook group (purchase The Clutter Handbook to be in the Facebook group). Grab The Clutter Handbook to take you even more in depth through the challenge!

The Clutter Handbook is a 47-page pdf guide designed to take the guesswork out of decluttering your home. If you’re starting from a room you can’t walk into or just a couple clutter piles, this guide is designed to take you from clutter to decluttered in simple, manageable steps.

The problem with decluttering is not knowing where to start. If you’re just happening on this post, go here first. I have 4 steps to give you a quick start on your decluttering. You’ll gain momentum and be motivated to continue – that’s the best kind of decluttering. Getting rid of the clutter quickly, easily, and while seeing almost instant progress in the early stages.