40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge

Declutter your life - starting NOW!

Feel like you have stuff  all over the place?  Feel like you might be sucked into a big paper/junk pile when you walk into your house?

Then this challenge is for you.

I found this 40 bags in 40 Days challenge on Memories on Clover Lane.  Every year, during Lent, she goes through her house, one area at a time and declutters the area.  The goal is to remove (at least) 40 bags of clutter/stuff/garbage/paper in the 40 days during Lent.

Here are some areas to consider:

Master Bath Cabinets
Master Closet
Master Bedroom
Medicine cabinet
Hall Linen Closet
Pantry
Kitchen Cabinets
Front Hall Closet
Basement Closet
Family Room
Craft Cabinet/ Area
Office
File Cabinet
Laundry Room
Garage
Attic
Night stand
Papers to shred / file
Email
Purse
Work bag, back pack, gym bag
Kid's Closet (s)
Kid's Dresser (s)
toys
play room
Living Room
Dining Room
Desk
Car
yard
shed

The places are endless.

So, what do you do?  How do you start?

Choose a room or area that you want to clean/purge/declutter and start going through it.  The point is to touch it once.  Make quick decisions.  Think about it.  Do you really need to keep this item?  Keep a box and garbage bag by you.  Toss what you don't need or want to donate.  When you are done with that area, toss the bag of garbage, recycle (if there are items to be recycled) and put your donations in the trunk to be dropped off the next time you are running errands.

This purge is done every (week) day (you get the weekends off!).  If you miss a day, it's okay.  Just jump right back in and pick up where you left off.  This isn't a race.  There are no winners.  Just do your best and keep going.

This challenge is something that you can do a few times a week, once a week or, if you're house is really cluttered, then every day for the 40 days.  I don't think I have enough clutter and places to make the 40 days, but, with the kids bringing home tons and tons of paper, junk mail that enters the house and the all of the miscellaneous items that the kids find and bring home, I might come close.  

If you reach 40 bags, Great!  If you have less than 40 bags, that's great too!  The key is to keep going.

It's almost Spring. What a great way to start off your spring cleaning. Get rid of some things and once the area is clutter free, start cleaning.

Give it a try.  I know I will.  I would love to hear what you plan on tackling and be updated with your progress.

So, what are you waiting for?  Get started!