Being content with the essentials, eliminating the superfluous, to save time and space, gives a feeling of freedom… Decluttering our home is often an essential part of the Zen attitude. We buy, we accumulate, we keep everything just in case. Our cupboards are full, so we buy more cupboards, then we need a bigger house… Decluttering my home was a small revelation for me and my loved ones. A feeling of space and freedom… Which I wish for each and every one of you.

So here are 5 easy mini-challenges to help you take your first steps towards decluttering your home: where to start? How do you go about it? Follow the guide, and it’s up to you!

(The times given for the mini-challenges are, of course, only indicative and correspond to the time I spent completing them. They depend on the number of items you own!)

MINI-CHALLENGE #1. SORTING MEDICATIONS
Time: 15 minutes / Materials: a “give-away” bag.

When you start decluttering your home, you often don’t know where to start – there’s so much to do! This exercise is ideal for taking the first steps, because the effect is immediate and doesn’t last very long. And the questions to ask yourself are simple:-)
Sit down in your workspace (large table, bathroom floor…), and lay out all your medication boxes in front of you. Check your handbags and bedside tables to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.

Put all out-of-date boxes in the bag to be given away, as well as those corresponding to a treatment you’ve finished. Keep only a few basics that you can take without a prescription: paracetamol, bandages, an anti-inflammatory, a painkiller, a disinfectant…

Slip the filled bag into your car and take it to the nearest pharmacy as soon as possible.

Store the few boxes you’ve kept in your cupboard and enjoy the space you’ve freed up!

MINI-CHALLENGE #2. SORT YOUR HOUSEHOLD LINEN
Time: 20 minutes / Materials: one “donate” bag, one “throw away” bag.

I don’t know about you, but at home we had 2 closets full of bath towels, gloves and beach towels, a third of a cupboard for bed linen sets and a kitchen cupboard for cloths, towels, tablecloths and table runners. A good half of which had no use at all, yet took up this crazy amount of space.
Arrange all your household linen (towels, gloves, bathrobes, sheets, rags… ) on a large table, not forgetting those lying around or in your dirty linen basket (just long enough to sort them out!) and counting the sheets on your beds.

Keep only 2 towels per person in the house (and gloves if you use them), 2 sets of sheets per bed and an extra set reserved for guests (2 towels + one sheet).

When it comes to table linen, it’s ideal to keep your best tablecloth + napkin set (small size!), and to simplify ironing, why not opt for fabric placemats and a table runner instead of tablecloths?

Keep only the most beautiful pieces, those that are of good quality, soft and pleasant. Donate any unused pieces that are in good condition, and throw away any damaged or stained ones.

Put the bags in your car and take them to the nearest recycling center or association as soon as possible.

Stow the few remaining towels/gloves/draps in your cupboards and enjoy the space you now have, allowing you to arrange and enjoy them better.

MINI-CHALLENGE #3. SORT YOUR BEAUTY PRODUCTS
Time: 20 minutes / Materials: a “throwaway” bag.

This little de-cluttering challenge is both simple and effective, and it feels great! Your bathroom closet will look much bigger if you play along.
Gather all your toiletries, skin and hair care products and make-up on the bathroom floor.

Don’t hesitate to throw all the products and bottles you haven’t used in a year into the garbage can: it’s quite simple, they’re out of date and no longer good for your body.

Throw away all travel-size products, opened products you never use, and samples you’ve received as gifts.

Before arranging the products you’ve kept in an airy cupboard, don’t hesitate to give them a quick wipe down and you’ll feel like a job well done:-)

MINI-CHALLENGE #4. SORT YOUR PAPERS
Time: 1 hour / Materials: throwaway bag, new or used boxes/folders/folders

When I set myself the goal of decluttering my home, I’d never sorted my papers, which I’d been accumulating for ten years or so. I thought I’d run out of space, but once I’d sorted through them, I realized that I actually had a lot.
Sit down in your office with an hour to spare, the idea being to finish sorting and tidying up before moving on to other things, so as not to leave your papers as they are.

Go folder by folder, file by file. Please note: sorting your administrative papers is not an easy task, as many documents are impossible to throw away: pay stubs, employment contracts, rent receipts, diplomas, property deeds, invoices for major purchases, insurance documents, pension and health-related papers need to be kept for life. Make sure to find out how long they must be kept!

On the other hand, you can get rid of invoices for goods of no value or that you no longer use, instruction manuals for goods you’ve thrown away, and telephone and insurance bills that are more than two years old.

I’ve also saved a lot of space in this area by getting rid of bank statements more than 5 years old, and a lot of papers linked to my schooling (photos, report cards, etc.). I was even able to get rid of two (out of 5) completely broken storage boxes.

MINI-CHALLENGE #5. SORTING DECORATIVE OBJECTS
Duration: one hour / Materials: a “give away” or “sell” bag, a “throw away” bag

This category contains a wide variety of objects. Clocks, decorative candles, live or artificial plants, photo frames, travel souvenirs, books, knick-knacks… Most of the time, we use these objects to decorate our homes. In reality, they are a major source of clutter for our space and our minds.
To sort this category of objects, I suggest you proceed by sub-categories. Start with all your candles, then your books, then your photos…

As far as possible, group them together in the same place, for example on a large table. This will enable you to see at a glance all the items you own by sub-category.

Take a good look at each item and ask yourself if it’s a friend to you. Do I really love it? If I lost it, would I replace it?

Keep only objects with good vibrations. Some objects make us feel uneasy, repulsed or bring back painful memories. For all these objects, don’t hesitate! Decluttering your home means decluttering your mind.

As for your photos, if you find it hard to get rid of them, you can, for example, take photos of them and store them on your computer. That’s what I did before I got rid of my school photos.

When it comes to your books, accept the idea that a book is content, an encounter. This encounter may be fleeting. Not every book is worth reading a second time. Instead, look forward to sharing them with others.

Make your decision on the spot, item by item. Then place the bags to be donated or disposed of directly in your car, so that you can do what’s necessary as soon as possible.

You’ve got 5 mini-challenges to take on as you take your first steps towards decluttering your home. I have no doubt that, once you’ve taken up these little challenges, you’ll want to go further in the decluttering process, which really does make you feel lighter, more serene and freer. Decluttering my home was a revelation for me, and I hope you’ll experience the same!

I hope you enjoyed reading this!