30 Day Declutter Challenge – Free Printable Guide

Is clutter taking over your life? We’ve been there!

It makes you feel anxious every time a piece of Tupperware falls out of a crowded cabinet… every time you can’t find that permission slip your kid needs for school, but you know it’s somewhere in that big stack of papers.

Clutter makes you feel anxious… it’s not just you… it’s based on science.

So, if you want to feel calmer and more at peace in your own home, perhaps it’s time for you to take our 30 day declutter challenge.

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30 Day Declutter Challenge – How to Get Started

As you look at the decluttering calendar, you’ll notice that some items, such as “clean out and organize kitchen cabinets” are on there more than once.

That’s for good reason… if we asked you to declutter all your kitchen cabinets at once, you’d probably lose your mind. Those things are a mess!

Wait… we’re not the only ones with scary messy kitchen cabinets, right?

Didn’t think so.

We do feel that we should mention that this calendar is a guideline only. If you have a lot of clutter, you may not even be able to finish one cabinet in a day… or one closet in a day. That’s okay!

If you can only dedicate 15 minutes to decluttering, do that. You’ll still be making progress.

And once you complete the 30-day declutter challenge, if there’s more to do, just run through it again.

A little progress every day is still progress.

Speaking of decluttering, you don’t want to miss our 21-day minimalism challenge, either. You’ll feel so much better doing a little bit for three weeks!

30 Day Declutter Challenge – Step by Step

Day 1 – Clean out and organize two kitchen cabinets. If some of your cabinets house food, you can save those for the pantry decluttering day and simply focus on cabinets that contain dishes, pots and pans, etc.

Day 2 – Clean out your refrigerator. – If you’re like most of us, you probably have some things way in the back that have expired or gotten moldy. Toss those things out! Make sure you check the expiration dates on all of your condiments, too.

Day 3 – Clean out your freezer. – If you have a chest freezer, you’ve probably put this off for a while. It’s time to dig down deep into that freezer to pull out foods that you know if you haven’t eaten by now, you’re probably never going to eat.

Day 4 – Organize spices and throw out old and expired ones. – You may not need to dedicate an entire day to this task, but if you enjoy cooking like we do, you’ve probably got quite the collection!

If you have three partially-used bottles of cinnamon, combine them into one bottle. If you have a spice that you’ve used once and never again, you may want to consider throwing it out.

These spice jars look nice if you’d like to get a cohesive look to your spices instead of bottles of different shapes and sizes.

Day 5 – Clear out one junk drawer. That drawer that barely shuts? Time to clean it out! Sorting the drawer with small bowls or baskets is often helpful.

Day 6 – Clean out your pantry. Toss the expired foods. Move older foods to the front so you can use them before they expire. Organize like items into baskets or plastic containers to keep food packages tidy.

Day 7 – Clean out your purse and wallet. Toss those old receipts. Put your change into your coin purse. Pull out the half-eaten snack your kid asked you to save for later. That sort of thing.

Day 8 – Clean out your makeup drawer or makeup bag. – Toss nearly empty containers and palettes. Get rid of brushes and sponges that have seen better days. Don’t forget to clean the brushes you plan on keeping!

Day 9 – Clean out and organize two more kitchen cabinets. – You know the drill.

Day 10 – Clean out your car (or cars). – Depending on the state of your vehicles, you may need to assign two days to this. Bring in toys, clothes, and other random things that belong inside. Clear out the trash.

Day 11 – Clean out your bathroom cabinets. – This is another item that may take more than one day if you have lots of bathroom cabinets. Just tackle one at a time until you’ve cleared the clutter.

Day 12 – Clean out your medicine cabinets. Get rid of expired medicines safely. If you’re not sure what to do with them, your local police department will probably have a drop-off area for old and expired medications or will be able to tell you where to find one.

Day 13 – Organize cleaning supplies. If you store them under the sink, consider using a dowel or tension rod to hang spray cleaners from. You can organize the other cleaners in plastic storage containers.

Day 14 – Clean out the kids’ closets and donate clothes. The kids should help you with this!

Day 15 – Clean out the kids’ drawers and donate clothes. Find a friend or family member to give them to, or donate them to your local Goodwill or women and children’s shelter.

Day 16 – Clean out toy chests and donate gently used toys. – Personally, we don’t bother with passing along used stuffed animals because those can look a little grimy even after they’ve been cleaned, but plastic and wooden toys are great options to pass along.

Day 17 – Clean out and organize two kitchen cabinets. – You’re in the home stretch with the kitchen!

Day 18 – Clean out your nightstands. – Get rid of old magazines… put books back on your bookshelf… get rid of any other junk in there.

Day 19 – Clear out and donate old books, DVDs and other media. Are you really going to rewatch all of those movies? Are they worth hanging onto?

Day 20 – Clear out one junk drawer. – Just in case you have another nightmare drawer, clean it out and organize it today. If not, tackle the other car, another cabinet, or another closet.

Day 21 – Go through old papers and mail. Your counters will look so much better without that huge stack of papers in the corner.

Day 22 – Clean out adult closets and donate clothes. If you haven’t worn it in the last year, you don’t need it. Simple.

Day 23 – Clean out adult drawers and donate clothes. Be sure to check with your local women’s shelter, particularly if you have professional clothing to donate. Those items can be so helpful for helping newly single moms land jobs.

Day 24 – Go through old shoes and donate gently used items. Get rid of anything badly scuffed or smelly, of course.

Day 25 – Go through accessories (purses, scarves, hats, jewelry, etc.). These items can also be donated to a shelter or Goodwill… or your girlfriends may have fun going through them!

Day 26 – Clear off your desk or workspace. This is something I have to work on constantly, but a good decluttering every few months does wonders for my desk.

Day 27 – Clean up your computer. Organize your files. Unsubscribe from unwanted emails.

Day 28 – Organize the linen closet. Put matching sheets and pillowcases inside one pillowcase from that set. Get rid of blankets, sheets, or curtains that you no longer want.

Day 29 – Clean out the laundry room. – If you have piles of dirty laundry in there, bring in a sorter or some baskets, and at least get them organized. To save space and organize your laundry products, consider a skinny sliding shelf that goes between the washer and dryer.

Day 30 – Delete unwanted apps and photos off your phone. You’ll be surprised at how much zippier it is once it’s no longer bogged down!

30 Day Declutter Challenge Free Printable Download

Get started with the 30 day declutter challenge today by clicking HERE or on the image below for the printable PDF file.

Want to make decluttering a habit this year? Get our free printable habit tracker!