Welcome to week two of the declutter challenge! If you need to play catch up, you can read week one over here. If you’re up to date, how have you found it so far? Which task did you find the most rewarding over the last few days?

I have to say that cleaning out my fridge made a massive difference – I finally have more space and there aren’t seventy seven expired sauces that no one really likes.

Are you ready for week two? Let’s go!

Home decluttering challenge – week two

Organize the Tupperware cupboard

If yours is anything like mine, there are tons of lids and tons of containers but none of them fit together – which means you’re constantly scratching for something, ANYTHING to store food in!

Today, unpack it all, every single piece of Tupperware you own, and put the lids with the containers. If something doesn’t have it’s partner, it’s time to part ways with it.

Put lids on juice bottles and then group similar items together, i.e. square containers, drinking bottles, round containers.

Once you’ve done all of that, pack everything back into your cupboard in a way that makes sense to you.

Organize the grocery and spices cupboard

I blame the snacks; I’m forever rummaging around in the grocery cupboard for them for the kids (read: myself) and so everything gets topsy-turvy.

The spices cupboard just seems to never get cleaned, and there are always these random spices that never get used… like that very specific one, you had to buy for Christmas lunch but will never use again.

Like with the Tupperware cupboard yesterday, pull everything out, sort similar items together, and pack them back neatly. Don’t forget to check expiry dates and chuck what’s gone off.

While you’re there, you may as well wipe down the insides of those cupboards.

Sort through your cutlery drawers

There was a stage when we owned about 5 sets of salad servers – why?! I whittled it down to two sets and I’ve never missed the other three.

Today’s task is all about minimizing what’s in your cutlery drawers. Here’s my view: It’s always good to have as many knives/forks/spoons that match, they always come in handy, but do you really need 5 bottle openers?

Think about how often you host people for meals, and realistically, how many of each item you actually need, and then, you know the drill, unpack everything, sort through it all, and then pack it away neatly.

Don’t forget to give the drawers a wipe-down inside!

Purge and organise your make up and accessories:

Guys, if there is one area in my life where I used to hoard, it’s my makeup.

Sure, it comes with the territory of being a blogger, especially because beauty is where I started and is still something that I love, but I had about 12 red lipsticks that were exactly the same shade… and then about 7 others in different tones and shades.

I don’t even want to tell you how many lipsticks I had in total! We all have our vices…

Anyway, when the decluttering bug bit me at the beginning of last year, I literally set aside half a day and went through all of my makeup, swatching, comparing, and really being honest with myself about how often I used a specific product and if I had something similar that I preferred.

It sounds silly but it really wasn’t easy! Giving away some palettes was like giving away a little piece of me, but I can honestly say that I don’t miss them, they really weren’t getting used and now someone else is enjoying them.

Anyway, now that I’ve gotten all emotional about makeup, hopefully, it will inspire you to give your stash and accessories a really good once over.

If it hasn’t been used in 6 months (3 months if you’re being ruthless – it’s usually what I work on), then I would suggest donating it.

When it comes to your make up, if anything smells a little funky, has a weird colour or just doesn’t seem right, into the bin it goes.

Remember that everything has a shelf life, here’s a guide to help you.

Sort out your bedside drawers

Okay, this is one area that both Dan and I are completely guilty of making a dumping ground. Need to clean up our bedside tables? No problem, just shove it into the bedside drawer. Something doesn’t have a place? Chuck it into the bedside drawer. And so the clutter accumulates until you can barely shut the drawer at all!

Empty your drawers completely and then go through each item one by one; does it have a specific place where it belongs? Go and put it there.

Do you really need it, or like Marie Kondo says; “does it spark joy?”, if not, away it goes. Keep only what you need and what holds special value to you.

While you’re right there, you may as well tidy up the top of your bedside table too…

Declutter everyone’s wardrobes

For some, this is a massive undertaking so if you want to work through it slowly throughout the week, that’s totally fine!

I’m quite strict when it comes to our wardrobes, especially the girls. If something is ruined, too small, or just is not getting worn, it gets donated. The same with my clothing.

My general rule of thumb is that if it hasn’t been worn in 3 months (within the correct season of course), then it gets donated. If I put the garment on and I don’t feel comfortable or confident, it gets donated.

When I go through the wardrobes I sort everything into 4 piles:

• keep
• mend
• donate
• store away

I like to do my wardrobe shelf by shelf and then put everything back in right at the end so that I can decide on where I would like all my different categories of clothing to be.

When it comes to the girls’ closets I hang almost everything and it saves so much space! The only things that don’t hang are shorts, underwear, and pants.

If you’re on a roll with your decluttering, you can tackle the tops of everyone’s cupboards too – it’s definitely a hot spot for just chucking stuff and leaving it there forever…

And that’s week two’s declutter challenge done and dusted! I have loved seeing all of your posts over on social media so please do keep sharing them – they’re such a huge motivator me and I’m sure for everyone else too.

See you next week Sunday for week three!