Forty-day decluttering challenge

Today is Shrove Tuesday or pancake day, traditionally the day on which some Christians use up their supplies of fat, eggs and sugar before observing the forty days of frugal eating which symbolise Christ’s days of fasting in the desert.

Over the years, the forty days of fasting has developed into forty days of giving up something you love, such as chocolate and sweets, but as professional organisers we encourage a different way of marking these symbolic days: forty days of focussing on decluttering.

Some professional organisers advocate decluttering a whole bag of items every day of the challenge but many of the people we work with would find this a daunting and completely unrealistic goal. They already feel overwhelmed by the amount of ‘stuff’ they have accumulated; trying to dispose of a bag of surplus items every day would cause them untold stress, they would probably give up before the forty days were over and would then feel that they had failed.

This is why we suggest starting with something much more manageable: getting rid of just one item per day, or 40 items over the whole project. By following this simple challenge, not only will you have made a bit more space in your home, you might end up with forty items you can donate to a local charity or community group.

We find that achieving success on a manageable scale can lead to finding the confidence to tackle larger projects and declutter on a bigger scale. 

If you want to make a start on sorting out surplus items, why not try this 40-day project? If you feel overwhelmed by the prospect of any decluttering or sorting, why not consider getting professional help? We think you’ll be amazed at the difference we can make.

Liz Aitken and Julia Durand, Carefully Sorted - proud to be members of The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers.

https://www.apdo.co.uk