Clutter... we all have it, whether we'd like to admit it or not. Over the holidays, I eagerly jumped on the Tidying Up with Marie Kondo bandwagon. I love to be neat and tidy. I thrive on a clean and organized work and living space, putting everything in its proper place. The reality, however, is that I have two kids who haven't mastered the art of picking up after themselves, and a hubby who lives by the 'leave it for later' mindset.

Not seeing eye to eye on the reasons why we should clean up or put things away, or even get rid of 'stuff' results in the bulk of any arguments we have as a married couple. I can't stand messes. I cannot properly function when there are stacks or piles of toys, papers or random junk sitting on a table. I like for books to be evenly sorted from tallest to shortest on a shelf, or turned and stacked on top of each other. I organize my closet by color and clothing type. Yes- I am that girl.

Living in a cluttered, messy environment can actually raise your stress level and lead to increased anxiety and depression. So, why do we continue to live like this? For my family, it's a space issue. We live in a craftsman bungalow, each room sectioned off, some with short walls, and with small closets. We have no attic or basement. We have to make storage appear from scratch. 

One of our goals this year is to turn our dining room into a multi-function dining/workspace, with wall to wall bookshelves, a long, floating desk, and dining table to seat six. I've already mapped out my needed materials for the project and am creating my IKEA wishlist for the bookshelves, storage compartments, and the like.

Before we take on an entire room re-do, we have to tackle the stuff that's taking over our house... you know, the baby toys, clothing that's outgrown or never worn, old books, endless drawers of random cords and chargers, non-working small appliances, etc. When I stop to think about all of the cabinets and drawers I need to go through, it's easy for me to become overwhelmed by the task at hand. To simplify my efforts, I am following a 30-Day DeClutter Calendar, to break down tasks day by day, giving myself a month to accomplish an entire home clean-out.

Let's De-Clutter and Live Better

Courtesy of Love and Marriage

During the month of January, I'll be following this simple calendar with daily tasks to re-organize and declutter the home. Pretty much every space of the home is covered on this chart, so if you can take an hour a day to work toward cleaning out unneeded items and junk, I'm sure you'll have more space to store the things you actually need and use on a daily basis.

If you want to pick and choose the tasks out of order, I might suggest keeping this chart as a visual on your fridge, and just Xing out the completed tasks to keep up with your progress. My biggest challenges will be going through the kids' items, organizing random holiday decor, and cleaning out cabinets, as well as letting go of things that have been gifted/given to me over the years, which I no longer need or use.

As far as the 'does this item bring me joy?' method goes, very few tangible things bring me joy. People and memories, along with experiences bring me joy. I probably won't be asking myself the joy question as I purge and reorganize, but if it floats your boat, I say- go for it!

Will you join me?

Will you accept the 30-Day DeClutter Challenge with me? I'm getting a late start, but that's okay!

Which areas of your home do you need to tidy up? What are your biggest fears or stumbling blocks when it comes to clutter and trying to stay organized? Let's chat about it in the comments or on MBP social media & help/encourage one another so we can achieve our goals!

Let's do this!