Declutter Challenge Recap Part 2: Days 15-28

The annual Organized-ish 28 Day Declutter Challenge just finished, and here’s a recap of what we worked on during the second half, plus bonus tips and donation ideas for the things you’ve purged.

The Declutter Challenge finished up yesterday on Instagram, and if you’ve been sticking with the schedule, you have officially decluttered and tidied up twenty eight areas of your home! Doesn’t it feel amazing? Here’s a recap of all we have done, and in case you’re joining in late and didn’t get to participate live, you can snag my biggest tips right here.

28 Day Declutter Challenge Recap Part Two: Days 15-28

Day 15: Craft Supplies

Craft supplies can get out of hand quickly. We often buy supplies when they’re on clearance with big hopes of using them later. And a lot of times, we just end up with way more than we can ever possibly use. This is the day we made space for supplies we actually need by saying goodbye to the ones collecting dust.

Donation Tip: End up with a lot of craft supplies to get rid of? Call your local senior center to see if they’d like them for craft days with their members. Or you can host a Craft Swap Party with your friends to give them to other crafters.

Day 16: Kitchen Baking Cabinet

You know that cabinet that has spices, oils, recipes, a cookie cutter, a hair clip, and a hammer? Yeah, the kitchen baking cabinet! Go through and take out anything that doesn’t belong and purge old spices and ingredients. Yes, they do expire, and yes, you have way too many.

Maintenance Tip: If you decant your spices and oils (aka, you take them out of their original package and put them in glass jars) write the expiration date on the back of the glass jars with a fine point chalk marker before you trash the original container. Chalk markers wash off with water so you can update the date when you refill it.

Day 17: Dresser Drawers

Now is the time to go through the folded clothes in your dresser. Shirts, shorts, sweatpants, underwear, socks, bras, and workout clothes are the focus of today’s challenge. Get rid of anything you no longer love, things that are damaged, and especially the pieces of clothing you keep pushing to the back of the drawer.

Maintenance Tip: Use the file fold method to keep your drawers tidy and your clothes more visible. Here’s my tutorial for perfect folding every time.

Day 18: Laundry Supplies

The laundry room is one of those spaces in the house that gets a little less love than the others. Guests never see it, so we sometimes forget about cleaning it as often. Go through all your laundry supplies and downsize anything you don’t need anymore. And while you’re there, clean out the lint trap in your dryer. It’s probably been a while since you did, and it helps prevent a fire.

Maintenance Tip: Add “expiration date” tags to mateless socks. If they still haven’t found their mates by a month or two, it’s time to let them go. Here’s the whole process, plus free printable tags.

Day 19: Coffee & End Tables

Do you have magazines on your coffee table that date back further than your oldest child? Take a few minutes while watching your evening TV shows to declutter your coffee table and end tables. Rehome things that don’t belong, and throw away trash.

Donation Tip: Find small electronics like remote controls, e-readers that no longer work, or flashlights in the side table drawers? Most electronic stores accept these items and they’ll send them off to be safely recycled.

Day 20: Pet Supplies

Go through all your pet toys, clothes, grooming supplies, bowls, treats, bedding, and anything else you may have. If it’s something you never use, a food they don’t like, or something that’s damaged, it’s time to let it go. Don’t bother sewing up dog toys unless it’s their absolute favorite one. It’s faster and easier to just buy a new toy.

Donation Tip: Extra collars, leashes, bedding, and grooming supplies can be donated to your local animal shelter. Also, those old pet Halloween costumes can be donated to shelters. Volunteers often do photo shoots with the dogs and cats to help them get adopted, and a pet in a costume is simply irresistable.

Day 21: Junk Drawer

The junk drawer is usually intimidating, but I promise it’s not as bad as you think. Remember, your goal is just to declutter, not organize. All you have to do is take out anything that doesn’t belong there. Just make some space. You can always organize another time.

Maintenance Tip: If your junk drawer lacks organizing trays, go ahead and take measurements of the drawer interior while you’re decluttering. Save the dimensions in your Notes app on your phone, and the next time you’re at Walmart, Target, or HomeGoods, check the drawer organizers they have to see if any will fit.

Day 22: Catch-All Bin

Every house has a catch-all bin somewhere. Mine just happens to be in my TV cabinet. I found all kinds of random things in it when I cleaned it out. I ended up freeing up so much space my cat Doc found enough room to make himself a bed.

Maintenance Tip: A catch-all bin is actually a great thing to have, so don’t think you have to get rid of it. Instead, set a recurring reminder in your phone’s calendar app to clean out the bin monthly.

Day 23: Bookshelves

Today we went through every bookshelf in the house on a mission to downsize what’s stored on it. Bookshelves look less cluttered when there is space between items, so try to allow breathing room for books and collectibles.

Donation Tip: Consider donating books to your local library or nursing home instead of thrift stores to share new items for your community to enjoy for free.

Day 24: Kitchen Pantry

It’s pantry day! You know the drill, look for expired food, old baking ingredients, snacks you’ll likely never eat, and almost-empty containers. Don’t worry about reorganizing, because that can take hours. Instead, just do a quick purge sesh.

Usage Tip: If you find some things in your pantry that need to be cooked soon or are almost empty, use the website Super Cook. You simply type in the ingredients you have and it tells you what you can make with them.

Day 25: Cup Cabinet

Do you have sippy cups in your cabinet but your kids are all teenagers now? Or maybe you have over 30 mugs but you really only use about six of them? (Guilty!!) Downsize the cup collection and free up some space in your cabinet.

Small Space Tip: Love your large mug collection but can’t fit them all in one cabinet? Divide the collection into groups, put one group in the cabinet, and pack up the other groups in your storage location. Every so often, swap them out so you have a rotating mug selection.

Day 26: Excess Home Decor

Today is all about getting rid of excess home decor. Those throw pillows stashed in closets that don’t match your style anymore, the 43 candles you never light, and the knick-knacks that are stuffed inside cabinets that haven’t seen the light of day in years. Time to pack them up and drop off at a donation center.

Styling Tip: To ensure all your decor always goes together no matter what room you put them in, create a home color scheme and try to buy decor and accents in neutral shades like black, white, wood, and metal. They’ll never go out of style and are more likely to stay on display.

Day 27: Clothes On Hangers

The dresser is already done, so today is all about the clothes on hangers. If it doesn’t fit, suit your style, or you just don’t love it anymore, time to thin out that clothing rod and stuff the donation box full.

Storage Hack: If the rod is still jam-packed, consider moving some items to the dresser or another closet. Things like coats, special-occasion dresses, and party clothes can be stored elswhere.

Day 28: Cell Phone Photos

I know you don’t need all 10,000 photos that are in your camera roll. Grab a cup of hot tea, turn on your favorite Spotify playlist, and cozy up under a blanket. Then tackle those digital photos. Delete anything you don’t need, have duplicates of, or all those accidental screenshots of your Home Screen. (I can’t be the only one that does this all the time…)

Watch Each Day’s Challenge Video On Instagram

Every afternoon on Instagram, I posted a video with tips and tutorials for that day’s challenge task. Follow along @lelaburris to catch up on past videos in the IGTV video tab. You can also download the Declutter Challenge Checklist here for the full 28 Day list. And visit this post for Part One to see tips for Days 1-14 in case you’re starting at a later date and didn’t get to participate Live.