I have a confession to make: I am a fairly inadequate homemaker. My house will never be featured in a magazine (except perhaps as a cautionary tale). I do not have a creative decorating bone in my body (going into Bed, Bath, and Beyond to register for our wedding overwhelmed me so much that my husband did most of it). Most of the time, my house is nowhere near “company ready.”
And, honestly, I feel pretty guilty about it. I want my house to be a calm relaxing place for my family instead of the cluttered mess that it often is.
I look longingly at magazine photos and Pinterest images of houses with clear counters and organized shelves. I walk into friends’ houses and feel a touch of envy when I see their homey touches. I know I need a change–probably a drastic one–to turn my house into the space that I really want it to be.
Therefore, I am issuing a challenge: 10 Days to a Tidy Home.
This challenge is aimed primarily at myself, but I have the sneaking suspicion that others may feel the same way that I do. So, as we begin to talk about the challenge (the specifics, the ground rules, etc.) know that I am coming from the position of fellow learner instead of teacher.
10 Days to a Tidy Home Challenge
Goals: 1. To dramatically declutter our homes
2. To reorganize so that we can refresh ourselves
3. To create a home that we feel proud of
What this challenge is not:
-This is not a professional organizing course. I will be sharing resources that I find helpful as I research various methods and ideas, but I am by no means an expert.
-This is not a competition. We all win.
-This is not a one-size fit all. I decided to make this a 10 day challenge mainly because that sounded doable for me. There are many month-long courses or challenges out there, but they simply overwhelm me. I am not sure that I can personally make a commitment of that length. However, you may decide to spread out the daily tasks over a longer period of time as it fits your schedule. Whatever works for you is fantastic.
Challenge Details:
The 10 Days to a Tidy Home Challenge will begin this coming Monday, January 11 and go through Friday, January 22. Each weekday I will post about a different area that we will focus on (for example: clothing, kids clothing, books, etc.). The post will contain checklists, ideas to help you decide what to keep and what to toss, organization inspiration, and more.
I will be basing our approach on parts of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. If you haven’t already read the book, I highly recommend purchasing it or checking it out from your local library! Kondo’s approach revolutionized my view of organizing and made me excited to put it into practice (and was the inspiration for this challenge).
Just one word of caution: Some of her ideas–especially near the end–are a bit strange and even made me stop to pray for her. However, her basic approach to decluttering is excellent and worth reading.
Receive The 10 Days to a Tidy House Challenge in your Inbox
You can also sign up to receive each day’s challenge directly in your inbox! Just fill out the box below with your e-mail address, and you will get the challenge sent to you. That way you can keep it for future reference and can work at your own pace.
Are you in? I would love to have you follow along! Or, even better, take the plunge and begin the process of Tidying Your House.
I will be sharing my own journey through the challenge on my Facebook page (if you’re not already following me, I’d love to see you there!). I will try to update with pictures (gulp) and my thoughts on the day’s challenge. Yes, I will show you actual embarrassing pictures of how much I junk I have in my house. 🙂 You can also leave comments or pictures sharing your progress.
As we begin 2016, let’s reorganize our homes in order to refresh our lives.
Have you read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up? What did you think?
(Linked to Frugal Fridays, Share the Wealth, Small Victories Sunday.)
Marie Kondo’s book really does change the way you think about your home and organizing! I have been working my way through Kondo’s method, but I’m afraid I’m on the 6 month track instead of 10 days… 🙁 Someday, when I’m done, I’m sure I will cheer :).
Anyway, I’m going to follow along on the challenge just because I’d love some extra motivation to keep going with the process… Thanks for the inspiration and good luck!
You’re very welcome. We’ll see if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew 🙂
Hey there! Sounds good to me! 😉 I signed up for 31 days of decluttering, but so far I’ve started it twice and not made it past Day 2.. haha!! But, then again, I just realized that I haven’t posted on my blog since Dec. 17th! Yikes!! Perhaps it’s time I reorganize my life.. 😉
Ha! I hear you! I am glad that you’re joining. 🙂
Hey lady! I signed up for the challenge, but didn’t get the first email.. will you check to see if I’m on the list? 😉
Hi Ciara. I think that it is because you were already on the list. I will talk with MadMimi and see what we can come up with. Thanks for letting me know!
Ack! I’m late to the party! But I love the idea and will check out all the posts. Thanks for sharing this on Frugal Friday, and I hope you linkup an update on there this week! 🙂
You are definitely welcome, Ann! Join in, take it at your own pace. We’re glad to have you. If you sign up for the e-mails, they will start on Day One. Have a great day!