Last updated on August 28th, 2021 at 02:01 pm

Last year I spent 52 Weeks tossing clutter. Near the end of the year-long challenge I went on an FYI app Tiny House (TV show) binge  and decided that even though the 52 week declutter challenge was over, I still had way too much stuff.

After all, if people can be content living with only what fits into 400 square feet or less, surely I should be able to fit our belongings comfortably into our almost 2,000 square foot house. I should not have to stuff or pile a single thing when I live in a house this size, even if there are 5 of us living in it.

And with that thought in my mind I came up with a new decluttering challenge for 2016, one that would stretch my pile loving ways to their maximum.

I am hoping those of you that joined me in the 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home challenge will join me in this new challenge. I need your support!  If you haven’t joined us yet, jump over and join the Facebook group. You can post pictures of your updates there.

The 30 Times 12 Challenge: Toss Clutter & Gain Time

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This challenge is pretty simple–each and every month of 2016 I am going to rid our home of 30 items.

That means over the course of a year I will rid our home of 360 items! And if you join in, you will rid your home of 360 items too.

The Rules

The items can be given away to charity or a friend, sold, recycled, or simply tossed in the garbage if that is truly where they belong.

The items can be as small as a magazine or as big as a couch (but I am pretty fond our our couches so I think they are staying! 😉 ).

The rate in which you delegate your 30 items each month to toss, sell, or donate is up to you. You can do all 30 in one day (being a snail pacer, I probably won’t choose this method), you can do one a day, or 7 1/2 items each week. OK, it is hard to toss a half of an item, so it would be more like 7 one week, 8 the next, 7 the following, and 8 the last week of the month.

Try to stick to 30 items each and every month and forget about the 360 number, otherwise you are going to be overwhelmed and get behind and it is going to be hard to catch up.

How to keep track of the clutter you are tossing

To keep track of my items I will be keeping them all in one donation box, boxes, or area depending on size of item, until the end of the month where I will photograph them and then share an update on the last Monday of every month of 2016.

You can do the same and share it in the Facebook group, or you could grab an inexpensive calendar and put a check mark on each day you toss an item. One check mark per item. Then add the check marks up and see if you reached 30. If not, spend some extra time the last day finding enough items to make it to the 30 goal.

Another great way would be to grab two jars and fill one jar with 30 buttons (coins or marbles work too) and each time you toss an item, move a button to the other jar. When the first jar is empty, you know you have made your goal for the month.

Do whatever charting method works the best for you.

The Rewards

After 52 weeks of decluttering I am noticing huge dividends for all my hard work.

• It takes less time to get the house in company shape.
• I don’t feel so overwhelmed–even on my most stressful days.
• I am not spending as much time searching for items.

See that key word in the first and last dividend? Time. I cannot believe how much time our family is gaining by having fewer items. Time we used to spend dusting those items, maintaining those items, moving those items, looking for those items–the list goes on and on.

That reward right there is a huge motivator for me to do this new challenge and succeed at it.

How To Make Time For This Challenge

Does the thought of attempting one more challenge overwhelm you? Are you afraid to start one more thing, only to fail at it because you simply can’t seem to find the time?

You would benefit from the Make Over Your Mornings course. Crystal Paine, the course author, isn’t going to tell you how early to get up. Instead she is going to show you how to prioritize your to do list in a way that will make time for what matters most.

Complete the 14 day course in just 15 to 20 minutes a day, apply what you learn, and you will start finding time to reach your goals and finally join in challenges like this one with success.

Follow Victoria @Snail Pace Transformations’s board Organization on Pinterest.

Feel like you would love to get rid of the stress your cluttered home is causing you, but you simply don’t know how you could squeeze time to declutter into your already cram packed life?

I recommend taking Make Over Your Mornings and/or Make Over Your Evenings. These are 15 day, video driven courses that come with a workbook for you to complete. Each day’s lesson consists of a five minute video, five minutes of reading and a five minute workbook activity.

The information I learned in the Make Over Your Evenings course gave me 30 minutes each and every morning without getting up earlier. The Makeover Your Mornings course is just as full of great time saving advice that can help you carve out time to rid your house of clutter and finally make your home the haven you know it could be.