October Decluttering Challenge (Themed Weeks and Quick Wins)
We’ve pulled out all of the stops with our October decluttering challenge to make it fun, engaging, and goal-specific, so you can stay motivated and notice a difference.
Each week is themed to keep things interesting, and the ideas will rarely require more than 30 minutes of your time.
As with all of our decluttering months, the goal is to make progress through a daily routine of decluttering.
Don’t try to declutter in one go. Do a little bit every day, stay motivated with the visible wins, and make decluttering something you do on a regular basis.
You’ll find the calendar at the foot of the article. Have fun, get the whole house involved, and focus on small wins. They’ll very quickly add up!
Decluttering Ideas for October
A Good Start to The Month
October 1: Set up a donation box to add to throughout the month.
October 2: Do 15 minutes of surface decluttering and organizing in the living room (e.g., coffee table, TV stand).
October 3: Pick your favorite area of the house and declutter it for 15-30 minutes.
The Clutter Culprits Week
October 4: Set a timer for 30 min and sort paperwork into 3 piles: shred, recycle, and organize.
October 5: Go through your digital files and delete what you don’t need for 30 minutes.
October 6: Set a 30-min timer and declutter your toiletries.
October 7: Declutter cleaning supplies for 30 min.
October 8: Set a timer and declutter the kitchen utensils for 30 min.
October 9: Sort cables and other electronic accessories into 3 piles: toss/recycle, donate, organize.
October 10: Declutter your linens (e.g., towels, bedding) for 30 min.
The Free Zone Week
October 11: Make a list of 6 areas you want to declutter this week (e.g., rooms, drawers, categories).
October 12: Declutter zone 1 for 15-30 min.
October 13: Declutter zone 2 for 15-30 min.
October 14: Declutter zone 3 for 15-30 min.
October 15: Declutter zone 4 for 15-30 min.
October 16: Declutter zone 5 for 15-30 min.
October 17: Declutter zone 6 for 15-30 min.
Miscellaneous Week
October 18: Organize sentimental items by category (e.g., cards, photos, souvenirs).
October 19: Declutter hobby/craft supplies for 15-30 min.
October 20: Declutter and organize the entryway for 15-30 min.
October 21: Toss expired items from the fridge.
October 22: Toss expired items from the pantry.
October 23: Go through old Halloween (or holiday) decorations & only keep what you plan to use.
October 24: Donate old Halloween (or holiday) costumes you don’t want or need to keep.
The Numbers Week
October 25: Find 3 pieces of clothing to donate.
October 26: Find 1 broken item to toss or donate
October 27: Find 1 old item (e.g., old shoes, old blanket) to donate or toss.
October 28: Find 1 empty container to toss/recycle.
October 29: Find 3 items out of season to store away.
October 30: Toss or donate 1 thing you kept just in case years ago and never needed.
October 31: Find 1 item to toss, 1 item to recycle, 1 item to donate, and 1 item to relocate.
