As a De-cluttering Expert I spend much of my day supporting people to get order in their homes and lives and gain more time and energy. I often tell them about the health benefits to de-cluttering. The emotional and physical impact of clutter. And how it is much much more than just having a tidy house. It is about gaining order, having less stuff and creating more time and space for the really important stuff. And ultimately how it can lead to much more happiness in your life.

And I often direct them to The Minimalists website as well as this fantastic TedTalk. One of the fun things The Minimialist’s do is the 30 Day Minimalism Game. Over 30 days you clear out 1 item on day 1, 2 items on day 2, 3 items on day 3 and so on until you clear 30 items on day 30. In total, you will clear out 465 items! I know what you are thinking, I don’t have that much stuff to throw away! Wrong! With the average family home having around 27,000 items in it, 465 is but a mere fraction.

I recently ran a workshop on de-cluttering and mentioned this game as a fun way to de-clutter. And I thought to myself, I would love to do this. The thing is, 2 years ago I did an extreme de-clutter as I packed up my life to move from Scotland to Munich and reduced 40 years of belongings to 9 boxes. Then at the beginning of this year we moved house again and we did a major de-clutter of clothes and furniture. And as a de-cluttering Expert I know that de-cluttering is an ongoing process and believe I do this regularly. But as June was coming up I felt it was a perfect 30 day month to try the game.

So what does a de-cluttering Expert de-clutter?

Well, I am halfway through the De-Cluttering Challenge. 15 days means 120 items out. And I have, so far, found it surprisingly easy. Last month I participated in a Make -up workshop with the wonderful Noleen Sliney and realized that I still needed to throw out some of my make-up – things that had been open more than 6 months, things I barely used but were expensive, make-up I will never use. Well there was 20 items straight away! And although I have a small amount of clothes I found that there were still some items I could donate that, if I was honest, I will never wear again. I also still had my pregnancy and breastfeeding clothes so I was able to donate some to the refugee accommodation near me and sell the rest.

Now, the second half of the De-Cluttering Challenge. As a working mother, I have many obstacles to de-cluttering and staying de-cluttered. The main one being time! But this challenge is motivating and fun and it feels good to clear and be organized. So watch this space for how I get on as I increase the amount of items I get rid of. Will I get rid of the target 465 items?

For more fun tips on De-Cluttering take a look at this post.