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Thanks to clearing out the clothes that were too small or not seasonally appropriate Mercedes has been coming up to breakfast in the cutest outfits, all on her own! She’s discovered she likes jeans and has been pairing them with various tops, including a western style button up on top of a long-sleeved gray shirt – “because that’s how you wear this type of shirt.” Where does she get this stuff? 

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 42: Kid or Guest Bedroom Closet Shelves

I’m still in Mercedes room for this challenge. I could easily have gone into one of the boy rooms for this because both rooms have “stuff” on the shelves but its mostly extra bedding, seasonal clothing, or toys that have been confiscated for a short time. Mercedes uses her closet shelves for her current wardrobe. She has all these little cubbies to house her pants and a shelf above her dresser for skirts. 

I did the same thing as I did with her racks last week. First I pulled everything out that wasn’t okay to wear during the colder months. I found lots of shorts and capris and sorted those into the donate or store away piles. Most went into the donate pile because by next summer she will not be able to wear 4T shorts any longer. She’s already taller than most kids her age and those things will be like underwear on her! Note to self: buy longer shorts next year. 

Skirts are always hard for me to sort through because she could get more use out of them but she also doesn’t need twenty skirts. Ultimately I decided on a few of her favorites and a few of my favorites to keep and put the rest in the donate pile. Apparently it had been a while since I’d done this because that purple sparkly skirt at the end? It’s a 24month… she’s going to be 5 in February! Whoops. 

I kept only 5T or larger pants because all her 4Ts are above her ankle and I plan on putting size 6 on her Christmas and birthday lists so we are ready for the next size. She frequently gets mistaken for a kindergartner or older already so I know her height is not slowing down. 

I also pulled out all her warmer pjs and matched them up. I’m not ready to pull them down quite yet but the summer pjs are away and the winter pjs are folded and ready for another month or so from now. 

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 43 so we can dive under the bed in our guest room or kid’s bedroom. Yikes! I know how good my kids are at “cleaning” and I’m a little nervous about what we might find. Good news? We are down to the final 10 weeks of this challenge! WHAT? Yes! Only ten weeks remain before we can officially call our home busted of clutter. Ah, who am I kidding. It’s a never ending process! But year one will be finished successfully.