The 20/20 Decluttering Challenge — Take This On and You'll Have a More Ordered Life by the End of the Week

There are lots of buzzwords and jargon when it comes to declutteringand it’s hard to separate the useful from the useless. If you’re struggling to conjure up the motivation to organize your space then you may need a helping hand.

Why not see if you can set yourself a particular challenge for decluttering your home? This way, you can give yourself a goal and you’ll have the determination to achieve it. Keep reading to see how the 20/20 challenge could help you create a more ordered home.

What is the 20/20 challenge?

@neat.caroline

♬ original sound - Neat Caroline

It can be difficult to carve out time to declutter when you have busy schedule to focus on decluttering, but in order to get the result you want you’re going to have to commit. But, not to worry — you don’t need to set a side an entire day every week, we’ve got a challenge for you that requires your time little and often.

The challenge is to tackle two areas of your home, twice a week for 20 minutes. You’ll be able to cover a lot of different areas in the home, without it taking up too much of your free time.

A lot of the problem when it comes to decluttering is that it can feel like a mammoth task, this challenge breaks it down into smaller chunks to make it easier to digest.

The best places for the 20/20 challenge

@maizimmy

♬ original sound - Mai Zimmy - Cleantok & MomLife

1. The ‘everything’ draw

Every home is guilty of having a draw that seems to house the most random items. It becomes a dumping ground for batteries, spare consoles, medicines and more.

Take 20 minutes out of your day to get rid of all of the unnecessary items you don’t need. It’s more than likely there will be dupes of certain things which you’ll be able to throw away.

To avoid this happening in the future, invest in a drawer divider or small storage bins to house the different items that you definitely want to keep. This way, things shouldn’t end up in the drawer that don’t belong there.

2. Linen closet

Organizing a linen closet is important — it's another example of a space in the home that can become easily cluttered without us realizing. Because they often have a door, we can throw stuff in there and shut it away so we can actively ignore it. However, this is the wrong approach to take.

Use your 20 minutes to sort out all of your linen and towels and to donate the ones that you no longer use or that are looking a bit worn out.

3. Bathroom cabinet

Bathroom cabinets can be a haven for junk. Bathrooms are often one of the smallest spaces in the home therefore they come with very little storage resulting in the bathroom cabinet becomes a free for all.

It’s important to organize your bathroom cabinet as much as you can and to use every inch of space. Try and get some hooks to hang on the back of the door so you can store things like jewellery and eye masks. Use plastic storage tubs that are wipeable to store all of your cosmetics in.

4. Under your bed 

Tackling under your bed might need a little more courage as it can become cluttered very quickly, as well as not being touched for a very long time.

It’s common to keep spare clothes under the bed that you only wear in certain seasons, therefore it doesn’t get touched often. Maximise the potential of this storage space and invest in large plastic bins that can store clothes and other accessories. At the same time, you’ll be able to give your summer and winter wardrobe a good clear out.

What is the 20/20 rule?

The 20/20 rule can refer to a lot of different things depending on what context they’re in. In the world of organization, the 20/20 rule is a simple method that says if you can replace something in your home in less than 20 minutes for less than $20 then you can give yourself permission to declutter it. This can mean to either chuck it away or donate it.

Lilian Chiu from Peony Professional Organizing says ‘when space and storage is limited, the amount of ‘what if/I might need this someday’ items can overwhelm a home. I encourage my clients to use the 20/20 rule to eliminate the extraneous from a particular space’.

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