Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) said, “The true art of memory is the art of attention.”

To improve our memory, we have to pay attention and focus. To pay attention and focus, we must minimise distractions.

100 Items Declutter Challenge

To minimise distractions around me, I challenged myself to declutter my home office by removing a hundred things in one day.

It was relatively easy because the room is partly used as a storage room for my family, and there is a lot of stuff there. Here is the list of things I eliminated from the room:

– an unused automatic insect spray,
– a costume,
– a piece of clothing,
– 3 kid’s items,
– 62 paperwork/documents,
– 20 business cards,
– a photo,
– a folder,
– 2 receipts,
– 3 Xmas/message cards,
– 6 magazines/catalogues,
– a small gift box, and
– an ads paper.

That day, I eliminated 103 items in total.

7-Day Declutter Challenge

I knew I could and should do better, so I made it better. I expanded this challenge to a 7-day challenge to eliminate 1,000 items from my house.

Day 1 – Home Office

My first challenge was decluttering my home office, AKA the storage room. There were unused automatic insect spray, costumes, out-of-season clothing, kid’s items, paperwork and documents, business cards, photos, folders, receipts, Xmas cards and message cards, magazines and catalogues, boxes and an ads paper. In the end, I put 119 items in a bin, including small pieces of notes etc., 15 in recycling, and 4 for donations, totalling 138 items.

Day 2 – Benchtops & Tables

My second challenge was to declutter benchtops and tables around the house, including side tables and the shelving space underneath. There were envelopes, letters, pens, and other random little things. I have thrown 23 items away and put 23 in the recycling. I also used two items to repair other things to reuse. In two days, I decluttered 186 items in total.

Day 3 – Drawers & Toy Boxes

My third challenge was to declutter drawers and toy boxes. Of course, there were a bunch of toys, but also books, pens, pencils, charging cables, electronic devices, jars and little containers that my kid used to use separating LEGO blocks. My son and I have thrown 70 items away, put 35 in recycling and one for donation. In three days, we decluttered 292 items in total.

Day 4 – Cupboard

On day four, my partner and I went through a cupboard where we kept tools, cables, and various bits and pieces. We have thrown 33 items away and recycled 20. In four days, we decluttered 345 items in total.

Day 5 – Pantry

My fifth challenge was decluttering a pantry. We had many mismatched glass jars and lids and some expired medicines. I’ve put 25 items in a bin, 75 in recycling, one for donation and one in compost. In five days, I decluttered 447 items in total.

Day 6 – Laundry & Bathroom

The sixth day was about the laundry room and bathroom. There were many unused bathroom toys that my kid no longer wanted. We have put 45 items in a bin, 6 in recycling and 7 in compost. In six days, we decluttered 505 items in total.

Day 7 – Kid’s Room

The final day of my 7-day declutter challenge was about the kid’s room. My son and I have thrown 110 items away and put four aside for donation and ten aside to sell.

We decluttered 629 items, which means 371 short of my goal. So I went back to my workspace and decluttered another bunch – 418 things, to be exact.

Conclusion

Throughout this challenge, we decluttered 1,047 items in total! That’s a lot! (To remind you, I counted even a little note as one.)

I gave myself only 7 days to complete this challenge, so I decluttered many things each day for those 7 days. This is an excellent way to declutter when you have many unnecessary items.

Generally, though, my rule is to eliminate ten things every time I get something new. If I get two or more items at a time, I get rid of 20 or more at once.

It is also a good decision-making tip before you buy something. Think about losing ten things you already own to get one new thing. Is it worth it, really?