If you checked last week’s post about kid toys when it first went live you may have noticed that it was missing all the pictures and didn’t really make a whole lot of sense. I realized a day or so after I published it that the changes I thought I made didn’t get saved! I quickly went back through to add in the photos and missing words but I wonder how many of you saw the unfinished version. 

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 49: Junk Drawer

Drawers are something this house is severely lacking. We only have two in the entire kitchen and one is technically in the built in desk. While this stinks for places to put needed items, it does cut down on the possibility for a junk drawer… except that we have small cubbies. Little slots above the built in desk that are perfect for slipping all sorts of junk in when I don’t know where else to stash the stuff. 

I think it’s impossible to not own a a junk drawer. It might be organized but a drawer or space with a hodgepodge of items that don’t belong anywhere else or that make sense to have in one space but don’t necessarily go together simply happens to everyone. Or at least everyone that I know. Embrace that it’s normal to have one and that with simple and normal decluttering it can be a space that doesn’t always overwhelm you. It might right now, and that’s okay. That’s why we are doing this challenge. 

Well, here’s my “junk drawer” in all it’s glory. It’s been worse than this before but it’s still pretty bad. No rhyme or reason to most of the cubbies so let’s get to it. 

First up I pulled everything out so it was completely empty. 

I spread everything out on the table so I could sort through it and figure out what was worth keeping in the cubbies and what needed to get put away somewhere new or tossed. 

I knew I wanted to keep the important school papers, stickers, and a few basic tools in the cubbies. I moved some coupons to my wallet and a few property tax papers down to our filing cabinet. I also found an entire pile of papers to recycle. Most of these are old school papers and sight words from when Parker was in 1st grade… two years ago. I kept them because I thought I’d use them again but that didn’t happen so out they go. I did keep the kindergarten words for Mercedes, though. 

It really bugs me that this center cubby is neither deep enough nor wide enough to keep folders or papers. What’s the point? Oh well. I’ve learned to deal with it over the years but man I don’t get it.

Far left cubby has tools and flashlights, next cubby is a set of walkie talkies that are out of batteries. The new batteries should arrive today and I’ll send them down to the bedrooms. After the walkie talkies is a bag of colored pencils followed by the center section with school folders, empty notebooks for scratch paper, stickers, and sight words. On the right side we have playing cards, then my three-hole punch, and finally an instruction manual for a cleaning product, chalk for the menu board, and the portable battery charger. And that’s it! 

Share on social media with the hashtag #clutterbusterchallenge of what you found to declutter.

Come back next week for week 50 to declutter your holiday and party decor. As you pull out your Christmas decorations you might find items you no longer want. Perhaps its ornaments, wall decor, or burnt out lights. Don’t hang on to what you no longer love or need – declutter it!