31-Day Purge Project

Can I entirely purge and organize my house from top to bottom (and side to side) in 31 days? My best shot will be to break up the massive project into mini-challenges—one step at a time, one day at a time. That’s where the 31-Day Purge Project comes in.

I love living in a space where absolutely everything has a spot. However, it’s not easy to build a home where everything has a spot with two children and a partner who isn’t as committed to a ruthlessly organized house as I am! For example, they are constantly bringing new stuff into our home, and they have a really hard time letting things go.

I think my love of an organized and tidy home came from spending summers with my grandmother. For example, there was no junk drawer in her house. I think that tells you all you need to know!

Why a Tidy & Organized Home Matters to Me

When everything is put away and surfaces are clear and organized, I feel more lightness and spaciousness in my mind and heart. As a result, I feel lifted and supported by my surroundings rather than bogged down. I feel free to put my efforts and energies into bigger and more important things.

Excess stuff (and, frankly, junk) can accumulate in a space. Our surroundings can literally become heavier and more dense over the years if we don’t put any attention or effort to it on a quasi-regular basis.

That’s why this 31-Day Purge Project matters to me. If you, too, feel lighter and more clear in a tidy and organized space, please join me in this project (or some version of it). Or, if you have other endeavors tugging at your heart, then ignore this project all together! Each of us has to find our own joy and our own purpose in this vast world.

31-Day Purge Project List

First, here’s what I’ll be working through:

• Day 1: Adult clothes
• Day 2: Children’s clothes
• Day 3: Costumes
• Day 4: Adult books
• Day 5: Kids’ books
• Day 6: Filing cabinet papers
• Day 7: Papers on counters
• Day 8: Warranties and manuals
• Day 9: Arts and craft supplies
• Day 10: Technology
• Day 11: Games and puzzles
• Day 12: Office supplies
• Day 13: Cleaning supplies
• Day 14: Freezer & fridge food
• Day 15: Pantry food
• Day 16: Dishware & bakeware
• Day 17: Sheets and blankets
• Day 18: Medicine & vitamins
• Day 19: Toiletries
• Day 20: Photos
• Day 21: Journals
• Day 22: Memorabilia
• Day 23: Letters
• Day 24: Children’s memorabilia
• Day 25: Adult bathroom
• Day 26: Guest bathroom
• Day 27: Kitchen
• Day 28: Master bedroom
• Day 29: Living room
• Day 30: Car and purse
• Day 31: Garage

This approach is a mixture of various approaches, including the KonMari Method. Marie Kondo recommends organizing by category rather than space and completing purging everything before starting to organize it. For example, when we organize our “books” instead of our “living room,” we can pull all the books together from various spaces and have a wider perspective about what we own and how it all fits together.

First I like organizing by category first (clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous, and sentimental). Next I also like to go back through by space, as time allows. Hopefully that part gets much easier if I’ve done the pre-work of organizing category by category.

Important Questions

I’ll be asking myself these questions:

1. Have I used this item within the past year?
2. If I haven’t used an object within a year but feel worried that I might use it in the future, would it be relatively easy to replace it?
3. If I donate it to someone else, are they more likely to use it much more often than I currently do?
4. Am I holding on to it just because it’s expensive (but not useful/relevant to my life)?
5. Am I holding on to it just because it’s a gift?

No matter what your journey looks like, I would love to hear from you on Instagram with the hashtag #31daypurgeproject. For me, being in community increases accountability and follow-through!

Cheers to more lightness, airiness, and clarity in 2022!