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Need a simple plan to help you toss that clutter- one that fits into your busy lifestyle? This 52 weeks To A Simplified Home Plan can help you with that.
How I Created My 52 Weeks to A Simplified Home Plan
Our families clutter piles got pretty bad this past year. I didn’t do my normal Christmas cleaning, which really helps, and I also didn’t join various bloggers in decluttering series all year long either.
When I was reading Ruth Soukup’s book “Living Well Spending Less: 12 Secrets Of The Good Life” her chapter on simplifying her possessions convinced me that it really is time I gave the house a top to bottom decluttering.
Now I know most books say clear a few days, and get the whole house done. But, in my current stage of life, finding a few days to do nothing but declutter is next to impossible.
So instead I decided to break up my home into 52 areas one for each week of the year.
I also made a few rules.
Rules for 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home
1. I can work ahead if time allows, but not to the point where I let other priorities of my life slide.
2. I cannot fall behind more than 2 weeks at any given time. If I do I have to catch up right away
3. I will not save anything for reselling that has a reselling value of under $20. All items below that price point go straight to a locally run thrift store that uses the proceeds they earn to run their soup kitchen.
4. I am setting up an area in the basement for resale items. I plan to date items with a sticky note when I place them in these boxes. I will go through them at the end of each month and any item that has been in them for longer than 4 weeks must be sold that very day, or it is off to the thrift store they go. No exceptions no matter what the value of the item.
5. I am approaching the decluttering like I am moving, if I wouldn’t want to take the effort to pack, move and unpack the item, out it goes.
6. I am going to be realistic about what I can do at this stage of life and not save things for the “hopeful” next. As in “when the kids have graduated and I no longer need to devote hours to homeschooling, I can sew and then I will want all these yards of fabric”.
I plan to use you my readers to hold me accountable and to humble me. By showing you my mess I hope that I won’t let things slide this bad again. I am also hoping some of you will join me so we can support each other.
Every Tuesday I will write a short 52 Weeks To Simplified Home update , with a before and after post of my decluttering area that week, as well as tips I am learning that are helping me to simplify my home.
This might be a picture of my teenager’s room but a lot of our home looks like this, time to clean up.
Join Along And Watch Those Clutter Piles Shrink
I would love to think that perhaps I am not the only one out there with a home that has become more cluttered than it should be. I would also love to think that I am not the only one that can’t declutter it all in a weekend or even a week.
If you too have too much clutter, and your daily life doesn’t allow you to tackle it all in a short amount of time, I would love to have you join me in my 52 weeks to a simplified home challenge.
Grab a notebook, pen and a cup of coffee. Spend a few minutes going from room to room looking for clutter and giving each clutter hotspot its own week. Keep the spots small so that they are doable in a small time frame each and every week.
Make your own list of rules. Keeping a few things in mind. Will you donate items or sell them? If donating them when and where? How high will you let the donation pile build before you donate it?
Make sure if you are thinking of selling things, that you have a plan of how to sell them before you begin, and set yourself a deadline to sell them. Life just might be too busy to both declutter and sell, and if it is, isn’t a decluttered home worth the money you might lose when you donate the item instead of selling it.
Don’t forget to also think of those you might be helping by donating items. Find a locally owned thrift store that donates funds to causes you agree with. This really helps me feel okay with donating over selling when I know we could put the money made by reselling to good use if I just had the time, but in my current stage of life I often don’t have the time.
I made it even simpler for everyone to join by making a free printable for those of you who would rather fill in the blanks and follow my preset rules than make up your own. To get your free printable go here and sign up for my newsletter .
Once your list is made make sure to do one more thing, join the Snail Pacing Goal Achievers Facebook group, where you can share your progress see how others are doing, and get encouragement and tips.
A peek at the simple handwritten list I made before I began my 52-week decluttering journey.
My Plan For 52 Weeks Of Decluttering
Here is my list of 52 areas in my home that I will be decluttering . These 52 areas cover my entire home except for the basement and our shed. Those are my husband’s domain, and hopefully seeing me declutter will inspire him to do the same.
I divided up each room into areas. My plan is to work one room until it is 100% done and then move on to another room. I don’t plan to follow the areas in the order listed here, but pick and choose as I go to satisfy my creative spirit a bit.
Update: I finished this challenge so below are the links to all my weekly updates showing my progress.
1. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week One
2. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Two
3. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Three
4. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Four
5. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Five
6. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Six
7. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Seven
8. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Eight
9. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Nine
10. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Ten
11. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Eleven
12. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twelve
13. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirteen
14. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Fourteen
15. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Fifteen
16. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Sixteen
17. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Seventeen
18. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Eighteen
19. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Nineteen
20. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty
21. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-One
22. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Two
23. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Three
24. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Four
25. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Five
26. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Six
27. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Seven
28. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Eight
29. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Nine
30. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty
31. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-One
32. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Two
33. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Three
34. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Four
35. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Five
36. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Six
37. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Seven
38. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Eight
39. 52 Weeks To A SimplifiedHome: Week Thirty-Nine
40. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty
41. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-One
42. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Two
43. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Three
44. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Four
45. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Five
46. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Six
47. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Seven
48. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Eight
49. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Nine
50. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Fifty
51. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Fifty-One
52. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Fifty- Two
This Year (2019) I am doing another year-long decluttering challenge: Find out all the details here! I would love to have you join me.
Let’s get on with it. Let’s toss the clutter and embrace the awesome feeling of a simplified home.
A few great posts to help you with your clutter roadblocks…
- How To Start Decluttering When You Feel Overwhelmed By It
- How To Declutter When You Just Don’t Feel Like It
- 4 Essential Items For Efficient Decluttering
Do you really want to declutter your home but the thought of taking on one more project is overwhelming even if it is broken into small snail paced bites? Check out Crystal Paine’s course Make Over Your Mornings. With just 15 minutes for 14 days this course can shape up your days from overwhelming to enjoyable! {well at least most of them we all have overwhelming days sometimes no matter how good we are at time management}
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Kristi D says
December 31, 2014 at 9:41 amI stumbled across a pin of yours today and raced over to your website to read more. I’m not a blog-reader…yet, but yours is going to be the first to get me going. Thank you for the tips and plan for decluttering your home. I will join you in this endeavor!
Victoria says
January 1, 2015 at 8:51 amGlad to have you join along in simplifying our homes.
L.L. says
December 31, 2014 at 5:42 pmHow o I sign up to be an affiliate, esp. for amazon?
Victoria says
January 1, 2015 at 8:48 amIt has been so long since I signed up for Amazon, I think I just found the link at the bottom of their home page. If you visit my disclosure page all the links to the other affiliate program sign ups are there (link found at top of this post) . For point program sign ups visit my point rewards page https://snailpacetransformations.com/point-programs/. Hope that helps.
NANCY C says
December 31, 2014 at 9:28 pmThanks.. this is excellent. I accept your challenge. I do wish the printable was 1 line shorter so your web address is on the 2nd page instead of the only line on page 3. Great information. Thanks for sharing.
Victoria says
January 1, 2015 at 8:41 amSo glad your joining me and thanks for letting me know about the website on the 3rd page thing! I will have to go in and correct that, on my copy it is the last line on the 2nd page, but I altered it a bit after that.
Robin Steinweg says
January 2, 2015 at 8:16 amVictoria, What a coincidence. I had already begun filling out a list of weeks on scratch paper when I received your article. I’m so happy to have company and accountability–and thanks for the printable! I’ve gotten nearly 6 years behind in decluttering due to caring for aging/ill parents while homeschooling, running a home-based music studio, and writing. Papers–my most challenging category–will require many weeks. I’ve invested $7 per month on Paper Tiger, an online program in which you list where to find items (not just paper!) in your house. I lose things filing them because I forget what I named them, and I forget what I’ve put into a box, or which shelf or container did I put these things into? This allows me to jot down any words or phrases by which I might think of an item. If I type in any of those words, my item will show up. Happy decluttering!
Victoria says
January 2, 2015 at 8:20 amHappy decluttering too!
Faye says
January 3, 2015 at 11:13 pmPlease add me
Victoria says
January 5, 2015 at 8:20 amGlad your joining us. Simple check the blog on Tuesdays for updates.
Emily says
January 5, 2015 at 9:33 amI like how you have broken this down. And that you give yourself grace 🙂 I think I need to give myself a resell limit also. I often wonder if it’s worth the time & hassle make $3 on eBay!
Victoria says
January 5, 2015 at 6:30 pmSetting a resell limit and sticking to it I think will be the hardest part of the challenge for me, for years that is how I provided money for our family, so it seems so spendthrift to toss. I keep reminding myself though that by letting it go to the thrift store I am increasing my giving which is something I also want to do more of this year.
Jho Tacorda says
January 5, 2015 at 10:16 amNice challenge. My family and I live in a small space but it always get cluttered. I will join you in this endeavor too. Hopefully, I can keep up with it!:)
Victoria says
January 5, 2015 at 6:27 pmGreat! And yes small spaces clutter up fast!
The Imp says
January 5, 2015 at 11:16 amI probably should totally NOT admit to this, but is ‘my bedroom floor’ considered a spot for decluttering, or should I just get a shovel involved, and keep quiet?
Victoria says
January 5, 2015 at 6:26 pmLOL! You are not the only one, if you look at my master bedroom plan you will see 3 weeks devoted to basically the bedroom floor. One for down my side of the bed, one for down my hubbies side of bed and one for the end of the bed area.
Sara says
January 5, 2015 at 2:16 pmI found this just in time! I am starting my decluttering goals today, since my kiddos are back to school. Thank you for this breakdown!
Victoria says
January 5, 2015 at 6:24 pmYour welcome. I just finished my first area today. Can’t wait to share it with everyone tomorrow.
Julie S. says
January 5, 2015 at 3:16 pmThis is a great challenge. I like that you are telling us to divide the house into 52 manageable little projects. Surely something small that doesn’t take too much time can be accomplished, and then keep going from there. I’ll have to try to follow along.
Victoria says
January 5, 2015 at 6:24 pmYes, I thought long and hard about how to get my house under control and truth is I don’t have much time, so the projects have to be small and manageable otherwise I won’t be able to succeed at it and I so want to get my home decluttered. I hope you do follow along.
Tina says
January 10, 2015 at 12:45 amI love this! I am currently doing a ‘One room, one month, one project” at a time. And sharing changes 2x times a week about purging, organizing and decorating. I can’t wait to follow along. I already did my closet, every piece of clothing in our 5 person house, and my desk.
Shiloh says
January 12, 2015 at 2:35 pmI am organizing my house as well. One box at a time.
Stella [email protected] Purfylle says
January 16, 2015 at 8:50 amI feel overwhelmed just thinking about having to come up with a 52 week list. My decluttering is a lot less structured. I really hope your list system leaves your house under control by this time next year. What a lovely thought :0)
chrissy says
January 22, 2015 at 7:06 amGreat idea to pick your 52 areas of your home yourself – the smaller the better as then you can achieve it and stay motivated to continue – and 52 little things adds up to a LOT by the end of the year! – Good Luck x
Angela @ Setting My Intention says
June 24, 2015 at 4:05 pmI love this idea of breaking down clutter spots into bite size chunks. I’m decluttering this year too – but I haven’t been organized enough to write down the specific areas! I do know which areas are bothering me most and start with those. Blogging about it definitely helps to keep one accountable to the process!
Victoria says
June 25, 2015 at 7:58 amYes blogging does really help keep me on track as far as reaching my decluttering goals.
doni says
August 14, 2015 at 12:58 amI like how you tackle one small area a week and not an entire room. Small areas, if done right, can take one day or more. Any suggestions for getting rid of a junk drawer?
Victoria says
August 14, 2015 at 6:22 amJunk drawers are hard. I sort ours out once or twice a year but the “junk” always comes back. I use ziplock bags to keep like items together or small glad containers.