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It’s incredible how much the junk on surfaces affects the atmosphere in a room. Now that the dresser tops are cleared off and we donated all the junk we were storing in our room to the thrift store our room feels relaxing and inviting. I need to pound this into my brain so it doesn’t get so crazy again!
If you are just joining us, here’s the deal:
I still had this mindset of decluttering being a big ol’ chore up until a few months ago when I read this fantastic post from Nony at A Slob Comes Clean. It was like a huge light went off in my brain! Decluttering is simply the act of getting rid of what doesn’t belong, isn’t needed, or belongs in the trash. It doesn’t mean buying a whole slew of new bins for your things to go in or coming up with some type of system that you hope will change your life – that’s organizing. It’s a whole different ball game. Right now, I’m in the game of decluttering. I just want things GONE.
When there’s less stuff, especially less of what has no purpose in your home anymore, organizing can often happen naturally. You won’t be cramming thirty towels into the closet because you only need ten and they fit nicely. You don’t need to dig through a tub of medicines to find what you need only to keep coming across bottles that are long since expired.
Here’s my challenge: Each week, take on ONE area of your home. I’ve already made the list for you so that part is done. Go to the area, throw away trash, put items that you no longer need but are still in good condition into a donation box, and put other items where they belong. Simple!
You can read more about the challenge on the week one post.
Week 18: Master Bedroom Dresser Drawers
I did a mini version of KonMari style decluttering last year when I first started the blog so I didn’t think I’d have a whole lot to get rid of in my drawers. I figured I’d find one or two things to donate and then I’d be done. Easy peasy.
Then I opened them. I decided there are several tops I leave in the drawers until I have no other shirt options and pants that I’m never going to wear again. I pulled out anything I didn’t love, had been a part of my life for way too long (as in capris from a trip to Florida in 2004) and in general just didn’t want. I want my clothes to be items that I love and enjoy wearing!
Here’s the after picture with everything folded nicely.
Micah even got in on the action! I took pictures of three of his drawers but he only ended up sorting through two of them. This is a man that wears jeans, and only jeans, to work. So tell me how he had six pairs of black dress pants plus a pair of dress khakis in his drawers? I’ll tell you – being in wedding after wedding and then buying new pants for interviews because those wedding pants didn’t fit or weren’t “dressy” enough for job interviews. Now that our days of being in weddings (or even invited to weddings) are most likely over for quite some time and he has no plans on changing jobs ever we decided to downsize – to one pair.
He also had a drawer full of “work” pants. Not pants to wear to work, but pants to wear for working on messy jobs like sheetrocking, painting, plumbing, etc. The types of work we had to do frequently at our old house because it was OLD and we were always in the middle of some project. Not so in this house. Most of those went in the trash but he kept a pair or two for working in the garden and the few DIY home projects we have in mind.
He did not go through the top drawer of tshirts. He is very attached to his shirts and wasn’t ready to tackle those yet. He knows if he goes through them he will need to get rid of quite a few and then need time to replace them. He decided he’d rather buy new shirts and replace them one by one instead of all at once. Sounds like a plan.
Overall we cleaned out a decent amount of clothing from the five drawers we sorted through. It overfilled this box and I know this isn’t a great picture to show you everything we got rid of this time. Plus a few other items like hangers and a pair of kid shoes got thrown in as well. It’s significantly easier to find what I want to wear now because there aren’t items I don’t love clogging up my drawers.
Now go through your drawers and get rid of everything you don’t love, doesn’t fit you, or is no longer worth keeping. Donate what you can!
Share a picture in the comments or on social media with the hashtag #clutterbusterchallenge of what you found to declutter.
Come back next week for week 19 of the Clutter Buster Challenge to sort through the racks in our closets. Anything that is hanging up is fair game so don’t be shy about donating the dozen bridesmaid dresses or the sweater that simply doesn’t fit right. See you then!
If you are looking for a better way of keeping on top of your homemaking tasks now that you are steamrolling through all this decluttering you might be interested in a new course from Humorous Homemaking. Home Management How To: A Guide to Daily Success is open now! I’ve got a post about my experience with this course here but this is a great course for you to take control of all the household tasks in a way that is tailored specifically to your family and life.
