Simple Declutter Challenge – Decluttering Closets and Bedrooms

Let’s continue tackling all the clutter in our homes with the hardest, messiest areas yet. Yes, we are decluttering closets and bedrooms this week!

Welcome to the third week of the Simple Declutter Challenge! This week we will be decluttering closets and bedrooms. Hopefully by this half way point in the 28-day challenge you have been excessively ridding your home of all your unwanted clutter. Good news – we only have 14 more days until we reach the end of this challenge an achieve a more clutter-free home!

Now since this is the third week, there’s been a ton of information packed into the first two weeks of the declutter challenge. So, if you missed week two (decluttering the office and living room) or week one (decluttering the kitchen and garage), be sure to go back and check those out! Then come back here to tackle week three. 🙂

Before We Get This Simple Declutter Challenge Started…

First, things first. If you missed the introduction to the Simple Declutter Challenge, you will find it here. And if you haven’t downloaded and printed the Simple Declutter Challenge calendar, it’s not too late!

I suggest you mark tasks complete on the calendar as we go through the challenge. By doing so, you will feel a greater sense of accomplishment and hopefully stay more motivated to complete the entire 28 days of tasks.

Don’t Forget Your Tools

Before you actually start decluttering, you will need a few items to help you. Grab a cardboard box (or two), a couple of large trash bags, a large basket and a timer. The boxes are for items you want to donate. The trash bags are for anything you want to throw out. And the basket is for items that don’t belong in this room and need to be moved to a new location. Your goal is to stay in the one location you are decluttering and stay focused on this space, uninterrupted, for as long as you can.

Once you’re ready to start decluttering, set the timer and work in a systematic pattern moving quickly to see what clutter you can remove from the space. Now, you may be thinking: a timer? And I have to move quickly? Yes to both and here’s why. Putting a timer on, creates a little bit of urgency and will help you make a gut decision rather than debating with yourself whether or not you really need the item.  If you don’t immediately say “I use this” or “I love this”, it can go. Spending time thinking about that “just in case” situation when you may or may not need it, is not helping you!

Always Keep These Four Questions In Mind

As you’re quickly sorting through items in your home, you may come across something and not know what to do with it. So here are a few questions to keep in mind and ask yourself. This will help you make a decision faster and keep you on task with decluttering!

Do I use it? If yes, move on to next question. If no, there’s your answer. (And no, the question is not ‘WILL I USE THIS ONE DAY’.) 😉

Do I have more than one? If no, move on to next question. If yes, extra items are just that – extra. Donate for others!

Would I buy this today? If yes, move on to next question. If no, there’s your answer. Maybe your style has changed. So if you don’t love it, you don’t need it. Donate or trash.

Does this help to make my life easier? If yes, keep it. If no, then most likely this item is adding to the clutter in your life. Donate or trash.

So now the details of what you need and how to declutter are out of the way. Let’s continue removing more clutter from our homes by returning back to our closets.

Let’s Continue Decluttering Closets

Cleaning up your closets can totally improve the quality of your life. It’s true! Just think about how much time you’ll save when you’re no longer searching for items you “could’ve sworn were in there.” And you’ll be able to make room for new belongings that actually bring you more joy.

Plus an added bonus, you’ll save yourself the risk of items falling out onto you the next time you open a closet door! 🙂 So let’s continue getting our closets decluttered by hopping into our bedrooms.

DAY 15: Today we will declutter our bedroom closet clothing.

Now todays decluttering challenge may seem just like that – a huge challenge. But if we break down the process into simple steps, we can do this and we’ll reap the rewards!

So start by gathering all your bedroom closet items into one spot. Whether that be the bed or the floor, just pull everything out and place it in a pile. Then begin with your off-season clothing items first. Ask yourself. “Do I want to see this item/outfit next season? Or you could ask, “If the weather changed immediately today, would I wear this?” Once you’ve completed all the off-season items, then focus on the clothes you are currently wearing and continue to repeat the process.

Tips to Keep in Mind:

Be careful saving to many items for loungewear. You know, those items we don’t want to wear out but we can’t seem to let go. We often transition these pieces into ‘loungewear’ and then actually never wear them. I say life is too short and when you want to lounge at home – wear actually loungewear. There’s clothing designed just for this purpose that’s super soft and comfy and will allow you to completely relax at home while you’re lounging. So if you wouldn’t wear it out, it’s time to get it out. 🙂

Organizing Tip for Bedroom Clothing:

Clothing is often very hard to part with so even after decluttering, you’ll probably end up hanging onto items that you probably should’ve tossed. So as you organize your clothing back into your closet, try the “backwards hanger” trick to weed out any other items. Start your clean, decluttered closet with all the hangers’ tips facing the front of the closet (backwards). After you wear something, put it away with the hanger facing the back of the closet. Then at the end of this year, you’ll be able to easily identify the clothes that you don’t love/wear and aren’t worth hanging onto any longer.

Another organizing tip when rehanging your clothes, is to place the same category side by side. For example, divide your closet into a jacket section, a jean section, etc. Hang heavier items on the left side of the closet and lighter items on the right. What are heavier items? Items longer in length, made from heavier material and darker in color. And as you move across your closet to the right, you clothing items will get shorter, lighter and brighter. So an example of how this might look in your closet would be: (starting on the left) coats, dresses, jackets, pants, skirts and tops/blouses.

Bedroom closet organizers to consider: (click on image to shop)

Next, Let’s Declutter Our Bedrooms

Did you know the bedroom ranks at the very top of of the rooms most cluttered in our homes? Yup! When you think about all the necessities stored in such a small area, it’s no wonder we all struggle to keep our bedrooms clutter-free. And since the bedroom is designed to be a space of rest and relaxation – it’s kinda crazy we allow so much clutter to rob us of our tranquil retreat.

Well, today we are going to take back our bedrooms. We already started a little yesterday by getting our bedroom closets cleaned up. So now, let’s get the rest of the room in order!

DAY 16: Today we will declutter our bedroom jewelry.

I’m sure we all have clutter in our jewelry boxes. There’s probably a few broken or tangled chains, grandma’s ring, maybe even a few pieces from some old boyfriends from years past? It’s time to get our jewelry reorganized and possibly even make a few bucks on the side. 🙂

Tips to Keep in Mind:

As you clean out your jewelry, gather your unwanted gold pieces into a pile. Then take them down to your local jeweler who can sort them out and then give you cash. It’s a great way to get rid of (and get cash for!) broken, common, or unattractive jewelry that has little antique value. But note, finer pieces or those having quality diamonds and gemstones, will get a higher price than this “scrap” value. So those pieces should be taken to an estate jeweler for evaluation.

Organizing Tip for Jewelry:

I don’t have an extra large collection of jewelry. And often just wear a few pieces that are always in rotation. But I try to keep like styles together, so all my gold in one area and all silver another. It’s a method that works well for me.

Jewelry organizers that work wonders: (click on image to shop)

DAY 17: Today we will declutter the bedroom dresser and night stands.

Bedroom dressers and nightstands can end up cluttered with the strangest items – especially those nightstands. And their flat surfaces can get piled up in a blink. Clothes that need to be put away (so guilty here) and books/magazines can soon take over.

Our goal when it comes to our bedroom dressers and nightstands is to keep flat surfaces clear and store only the essentials. Even if we have drawers to hide things away, make sure that what’s inside is only what’s needed and it’s neatly arranged.

Tips to Keep in Mind:

A decor item, a lamp or picture on top of your dresser or night stand is totally fine. But I do encourage you to try and limit each surface to less than four things on top. The reason is, when you have less things cluttering the flat surfaces in your room, the space will feel more calming and peaceful. And that’s what we all want and need desperately in our bedrooms.

Organizing Tip for Bedroom Dressers and Nightstands :

For dressers, take everything out of your drawers, and ask yourself the following questions about each item: ‘Does it belong in the bedroom?’ and ‘Have you used or worn it in the last year?’ Then grab yourself some drawer dividers for the items you’re keeping to help everything stay as organized as possible.

For nightstands, drawer organizers are great for keeping needed items easily accessible. If your nightstand doesn’t have a drawer for storage, a basket underneath can be just the solution you need.  Arrange your necessities inside the baskets then simply place under the nightstand.

Dresser and nightstand essentials: (click on image to shop)

DAY 18: Today we will declutter our sock and underwear.

When it comes to our socks and underwear items, I’m guessing many of us have: socks with missing partners, tights with gaping holes, tangled bras, even maybe even a few dust bunnies. We convince ourselves we’ll organize it all on our next laundry day, all the while knowing we never will. So now it’s time to stop putting off ’til next laundry day what we can and will do today. Let’s get those undergarments under control! 🙂

Tips to Keep in Mind:

The first step will be the easiest, instantly get rid of any socks or underwear that are aged, stained, ripped, or threadbare. Set up designated zones for underwear, bras, socks, and specialty pieces. And to avoid another jumbled mess in let’s say 24 hours or less, make sure the items you wear the most are up front and center. 

Organizing Tip for Sock and Underwear:

Folding skills will help you tremendously when it comes to keeping an organized sock and underwear drawer. I suggest folding your bras—one cup into the other—so they keep their shape and take up less space. 

Some amazing sock and underwear organizers: (click on image to shop)

DAY 19: Today we will declutter our cleaning supplies.

Just like everything else in the house, cleaning products and supplies need a good decluttering every now and then. The better your cleaning supplies are organized, the less time you waste finding them, the more likely you’ll be to use them. Which means a cleaner home – more easily!

Tips to Keep in Mind:

If you have small amounts of product left in various bottles, combine them into one bottle {if it is the same product/brand} or commit to using up those bottles first before opening up a new, similar product. You don’t necessarily need a different cleaner for every little cleaning task.  Look for products that are more versatile so they can be used for multiple tasks.  Not only does this take up less space and create less clutter, but it also makes it faster for you to switch between cleaning tasks. 🙂

Organizing Tip for Cleaning Supplies:

Since we want our supplies to be convenient, creative storage options will really be helpful. Adhesive hooks are great to hang cleaning cloths, towel bars can be used to hang items with ‘s’ hooks, and clear plastic bins can hold larger items such as sponges or cleaning brushes.

Favorite cleaning supply organizers: (click on image to shop)

Now, Let’s Start Decluttering The Basement

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “out of sight, out of mind”. This definitely seems to apply to basements. It’s the #1 area in the home that needs the most decluttering based on your survey results.

So before we begin, I want to prepare you and suggest to set aside a good chunk of time because this isn’t going to be an hour-long task. And that’s why I have assigned the next two days (day 20 and 21) to decluttering the basement.

DAY 20 and 21: Over the next two days we will declutter the basement.

Let’s start by grabbing all our tools mentioned above (box for donations, trash bags and a basket for items that belong in another location). Remove all the trash first. Then create an area in your basement to sort the remaining items.

Next, set up zones for where you want to place items you’re keeping. For example, seasonal items in one location and holiday decorations in another. (If you have time and are willing, I also suggest you sort through holidays items and store each separately (per holiday) for easy access.)

Tips to Keep in Mind:

As you start to reorganize remember to put items you rarely use toward the back of your basement and out of the way. And keep items that you will need/use more often up in front so they are more easy to find and grab.

Organizing Tip for the Basement:

To keep the items you’re storing in good condition, use airtight containers to put everything in. Doing so will protect and keep any critters away as well! Once you get everything organized, you don’t want to forget what’s stored. So be sure to add large, clearly marked labels to all items to ensure you know what you’ve stashed away.

Another organizing tips is to make the most of the storage height you have in your basement. Use vertical shelving units and wall/ceiling hooks to get items out from underfoot.

Great organizing tools for the basement: (click on image to shop)

Preparing For Next Week:

Here’s what you may need for next weeks decluttering tasks as we make our way to the bathrooms, laundry room and craft room.

We will start to declutter bathrooms so if you have any extra small storage organizers be sure to set them aside for next week. We will also be tackling an craft items that may be causing clutter in your home. So if you are an avid crafter – prepare yourself to part with some crafting supplies you may no longer need. 🙂

So if you found this weeks tips on decluttering closets and bedrooms helpful, be sure to PIN IT so others might find these tips as well!

So, are you ready to tackle decluttering closets and bedrooms? Any questions or something I missed? Let me know!