Our first-ever decluttering challenge is complete! Over 700 people signed up, and we are simply falling all over ourselves… who knew that decluttering was so exciting?! Just kidding, we’ve ALWAYS thought that.
Our challenge was 20 decluttering tasks for 20 days, all to be completed in 20 minutes or less… in honor of 2020, of course.
Ultimately, our goal was not only for our amazing community to do the challenge but to also start CREATING HABITS, as this is such an integral aspect of living an organized life.
If you want to take the challenge NOW, grab it below:
2020 Decluttering Challenge
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If you’re in the process of organizing, streamlining or systemizing your own spaces and lives, we have a few suggestions to help you START and also STAY organized:
COMMIT TO A TIMELINE
It can be easier to create a new habit if you commit to a temporary amount of time at first — and be specific! Instead of: “I’m going to maintain a tidy home,” consider “I’m going to spend 30 minutes tidying, three times a week.”
Try committing yourself to this new habit for at least a month. In the beginning, many of us may forget or fall out of practice, but if you can reach it, that 3-4 week mark can get you through the initial conditioning phase and help you sustain the change.
Don’t be too hard on yourself if you miss a day, keep going! Every day is a fresh start.
STAY FOCUSED
We’re sad to say it, but multitasking isn’t always a positive thing. Our brains are simply not wired to give true focus to multiple items at the exact same time. And even more sadly, switching our focus from one task to the next rapidly depletes all those necessary brain nutrients.
So answering emails on your phone while tidying your closet as you mentally meal plan? It’s actually NOT the best for your brain.
So, farewell multitasking!
What we recommend instead, if your lifestyle allows, is to set a timer and stay solely focused on the habit or system that you’re working to create.
Try to ignore interruptions – can that text message wait ten minutes until you’re finished? Can you resist the urge to check your inbox until the task you’re working on is complete?
Focusing is SO IMPORTANT to habit building, but it might feel overwhelming in the beginning. So, that leads us to our next tip…
START SMALL
Set yourself up to win! As you begin, smaller tasks and chunks of time will feel easier to get through. Don’t try and get through everything at once.
Of course, you can build up to the bigger changes you want to make — but starting with 10, 15, or 30-minute tasks will likely feel more feasible to fit into your day at the outset.
And you deserve that yummy hit of dopamine when you get to cross a task off your list!
GO EASY ON YOURSELF
This tip is probably on every suggestion list we’ve ever created… and for a good reason.
We spend enough of our time wishing we’d done better or feeling like we’ve failed, and we’re not on board for it. Ultimately, it’s not productive or motivational for us.
So on that note, take a moment right now to congratulate yourself. It doesn’t matter what it’s for — just give yourself a little praise. You deserve it!
You may not meet your new goals every day. Give yourself a break if you miss a day or a step. Just start fresh the next day, no strings attached.
Let’s commit to feeling good about ourselves, our new systems and the new year!
So, what are the new habits you’re creating for yourself in 2020?
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