The 10-Week Tidy Challenge!

I recently posted a 10-week tidy challenge on my social platforms to encourage people to build tidying habits by doing a small thing each day and then adding in a new challenge the following week.

When I’m working with clients in my organizing business, I see a few common elements about their homes or their habits and I thought, if I could get folks to focus on a few of these, they would be on their way to a more tidy and organized space.  I’m a Certified KonMari Consultant which means that I choose to use the Marie Kondo Method when working with clients.  I find that it teaches a process and helps them keep using the KonMari strategies long after I’m gone.

If you need a kick-start to your own tidying journey, try this for the next 10 weeks! The idea is to do the challenge each day of the week to build it into your routine.  The following week, you add in the next challenge and keep doing the one from the previous week(s). 

Week 1 – Make your bed every day.

Making your bed each day means that you start your day by accomplishing a task.  A made bed is also a sign that you care about your space and what it looks like matters to you.  This seemingly small task is a catalyst for respecting your personal spaces and thereby respecting yourself.  It’s also a small, yet joyful experience to get into a nice, well-made bed at the end of the day.  Surely, you can show yourself the teeniest bit of love by making your bed?

Week 2 – Keeping the entrance to your home clean and tidy.

When you step into your home, it should be a moment of bliss – you should let out a deep, contented sigh – you’re home!  However, if the first thing you see is an entrance that is cluttered and messy - it’s not a joyful homecoming.  Keeping this area free of excess shoes, coats, book bags and sports equipment may be ideal, but it’s not easy in a busy household.  Having dedicated hooks, bins and systems is how you can get a handle on the clutter that should not greet you or your guests.  Make it a point to keep this area as tidy as if you were expecting guests.

Week 3 – Tidy your kitchen each night.

Kitchens are likely the busiest place in our homes and it often seems like you’ve just given everything a good cleaning when someone needs a snack or just has to have a big glass of milk.  It’s no wonder that so many of my clients tell me that they’ve just given up – they’ve been defeated!  But, if you clean up your kitchen each night, there’s a good chance that it will still be that way (or close to it) when you get up in the morning.  Much like being greeted by a serene entry way, waking up to a tidy kitchen is a good way to start your day.  Additionally, once you get into the habit of it, it’s much easier to keep up and you may also develop a reputation in your household that, at some point in the evening, the kitchen will close up shop!

Week 4 – Do one load of laundry a night.

I’ll admit that if you have a small household, laundry is likely not a serious problem, but if you’re a bigger crew, then laundry is often an issue. Most people I work with don’t seem to have trouble DOING laundry…they just have trouble folding, hanging and putting it away!  The washing/drying is the easy bit - it’s the sorting before, folding, re-sorting and putting it back where it belongs that is the problem.  I often see piles of clean laundry waiting to be folded and put away – for ages and ages. If you do a load a day, the amount is smaller and it takes waaaay less time to put it away.  For me, I like doing at least one load a day, which tends to coincide with my cleaning schedule.  For example, on the days I clean my bathrooms, I switch out the towels and put the dirty ones through the laundry.  Same on the day of the weeks that I do the bedroom cleaning – the sheets get washed and put away.  Laundry is also something that you can teach kids fairly early.  One person who followed my challenge had the brilliant idea of each family member having a dedicated colour of towels.  Their towels were their responsibility.  Genius!  Everybody finds a system that works for them – the trouble starts when there is no system at all.

Week 5 – Clearing off one horizontal surface a day.

The horizontal surfaces in your home are the biggest clutter culprits.  Tables, desks, countertops – it’s easy to just put something down wherever and say you’ll deal with it later.  The trouble is, that “later” often means moving it from one surface to another and not necessity to where it belongs. Again, systems are key.  If you have a place for things that is easily accessible, the bits and pieces of daily life have somewhere to go.  For example, I sometime see that the front hall table is full of piled up items – mostly things that you’re carrying as you come through the door.  A tray for mail, a bowl for keys and a couple of bins by door will keep your items corralled and tidy.  An added bonus is that clear surfaces are easier to dust and clean!

Week 6 – Unsubscribe from an email list

If your inbox fills up each day with tempting deals from every store you’ve ever shopped at, now’s your chance to get in under control!  Who are we kidding – we all have given out our email address when we’ve shopped – sometimes to get a little discount or sometimes to track our packages.  Regardless, once a retailer has your info, you’re going to get a steady stream of digital clutter.  The best solution I have is to unsubscribe from lists as the emails come in.  It’s amazing how, by just doing this, your inbox becomes easier to navigate; you can pay attention to the messages you really need to see, rather than wading through a sea of spam. 

Week 7 – Tidy one drawer

I once visited potential clients for a consult and was taken aback with how pristine and tidy their house was kept.  I looked around and I said, “Goodness! What do you need me for? Everything looks great!”  But, when they opened the cupboards and closets and drawers, things were simply piled in there!  Living in a tidy and organized home is not just about what people see; its about the hidden spaces too! Unless you define and dedicate a space to something specific, it ends up as a catch-all with no purpose at all.  Tidying small spaces like drawers helps you get a handle on the little items that otherwise can spiral out of control.  Although, I don’t love buying special organization items, I make an exception for drawers – especially ones that hold little bibs and bobs.  Having small containers keeps these items in place and strategically, makes it harder to put things in that don’t belong!

Week 8 – Run your dishwasher every night

This ties in with the “Tidy your Kitchen” challenge. Running the dishwasher at night sets you up for a morning full of clean dishes ready to use. Plus, you’re making yourself clean up so that everything can be put into the DW.  It’s not only dishes that can be washed, you can fill in the open spaces with other items too. The food cover and turntable from the microwave, glasses that you don’t use often and need a refresh, even that little tray from the fridge that has soy sauce drippings.  You can even give your kitchen sponge and holder, toothbrush holder and plant saucers a clean. Dishwashers also use way less water than handwashing.  And, if you live somewhere that has reduced electricity charges at night, it’s a win-win.

 Week 9 – Donate something every day!

 You don’t have to do this each and every day, but set up a goal of a week or a month, where you’ll find something to donate.  Decluttering is the first step in organizing – you have to thin out your items in order to have some semblance of what you actually need.  It can be anything from socks to décor to books and kitchen items.  If you’re not using it; if it’s getting in the way; if it doesn’t spark joy – then let it go.  This really is the hardest part of any organization project.  My clients will find any reason at all to keep the things.  ALL the things!  One strategy is to think about what you want your space to look and feel like before you begin.  Then when you’re deciding whether to keep or discard an item, see if it fits into your vision.  Discarding is a habit – the more you practice, the easier it becomes!  The follow-up to this, is that as your reality gets closer to your vision, you’re less likely to bring more items into your space.  You’ll become more and more discerning about what you buy and therefore have less and less to discard.

 Week 10 – Don’t leave a room empty-handed.

 Organized spaces tend to be tidy spaces.  If you make it a habit to move things back to where they belong on an on-going basis, your organizational hard work will pay off.  If you’re getting up from the couch, take your coffee cup back to the kitchen.  If you have taken items out of your pantry to bake, put them back in when you’re done.  If you don’t have anything to replace, take a couple of seconds to tidy up.  At the end of the evening, re-fold the couch blanket and fluff the pillows.  Put your water glass directly into the dishwasher. Tidy up your desk at the end of the day.  These little micro-tidies keep the mess at bay and ensure that you’re not having to do a large scale clean up that leaves you exhausted and questioning your life choices.

 If you follow this, you’ll be well on your way to a more decluttered and tidy space.  As a KonMari Consultant, I do have to say that doing a full, rip-off-the-band-aid whole home tidy is really worth the work if you want to do it right.  Reach out to me through social media or my website if you want to talk more about whether this is the right time to get started on creating your own Simple Sanctuary!