🧺 I Decluttered Every Day for a Month—Here’s What Surprised Me

Am I Marie Kondo? No. But did I love this experience? Yes.

At the start of the year, I declared that I would channel my inner Bill Nye and commit to an experimental mindset for the entirety of 2024— setting out to tackle 30-day challenges, one month at a time.

Then... I got pregnant (yay 🥹). With twins (double yay 🥹🥹🙏🏼). But, in the process, I faced months of hyperemesis, severe anemia, preterm labor scares, and the ever-delightful symphysis pubis dysfunction (absolutely-not-yay! 🤪)

So, while my original timeline of monthly challenges didn’t exactly go as expected, I’ve still managed to sprinkle in four so far:

• I tracked my spending for 31 days,

• I meditated every day for a month,

• I reached out to a loved one every day for 30 days,

• And most recently, I decluttered one area of my home each day.

And hey—progress is progress! I’m still committed to working through my list of challenges one by one, at my own pace.

If I’ve learned anything about self-growth, it’s that being flexible is key to actually getting things done.

That’s especially true for this month’s challenge: decluttering one space every day for an entire month ⬇️ This challenge was a commitment, but one that I found very flexible and doable amidst a busy season of life!

Don’t worry—this is not going to be one of those extreme minimalism posts where I tell you to toss out all your coffee mugs in the name of ~siMpLe LiVinG~ 🤣 In fact, I own approximately a zillion cookbooks, as shown in the background of this photo. Do I need them all? Absolutely not. Do they bring me joy? You bet! So, they stayed. When it comes to decluttering, I’m all about finding that sweet spot—creating a clean, simple space while keeping the ‘just because’ items that add beauty and joy to our lives.

🏠 Decluttering Our Entire House— One Small Space At a Time

Call it the 'nesting' instincts of pregnancy, but I was on a mission to have our entire house decluttered, simplified, and feeling light and fresh before these babies arrive...

But, let’s be real—tackling the whole house felt ridiculously overwhelming (um, because it is…), so I decided to break it down into manageable chunks and turn it into a daily challenge to make things easier.

Side note: Pregnancy nesting is hilarious because honestly, all babies really need once they arrive are food, diapers, cuddles, and a safe place to sleep. But here I am like, 'I MUST SCRUB THE BASEBOARDS AND DECLUTTER UNDER THE SINK IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM IMMEDIATELY!'

With my nesting instincts in overdrive, I quickly realized that finding an entire weekend or large chunk of time to declutter our entire home wasn’t going to happen.

So, I broke it down—one small area per day—and guess what?
It worked wonders.

I got rid of so much stuff, made a surprising amount of money selling things, and now I’m here to share the full rundown— my tips for making it happen, how I found (and, um, made) the time as a pregnant working mom to accomplish this challenge, what I learned along the way, my process for selling/donating items, and more.

Let’s dive in!

As with any goal, setting yourself up for success is crucial to actually accomplishing it.

In this instance, there are 4 specific things you should do before you begin…