What 31 Days of Declutter Taught Me

Over the month of October, I participated in the 31 Days of Declutter Challenge that was created by Bonnie of Beautiful Minimal Millennial. If you are interested in more posts about living with less & sustainable living, definitely check out her page. This challenge really taught me a lot about why we hold onto the things we do & the importance of letting go of unnecessary items.

If you want to see some of the things I decluttered, check out my Instagram highlights where I tried to document each day. But to be honest I think I missed a few days. But I’m human. Let’s get into what I learned.

I STILL HAD PLENTY TO DECLUTTER

As someone who donates items regularly, I was surprised how much I still had to remove from our home. Most things were those just in case items that I felt like I needed to keep in the hopes I’d need it in the future, because you just NEVER KNOW. I also realized, when you first move into a place of your own, you are advised to have an assortment of belongings in numerous categories, primarily for guests. Being it 2020 & we don’t really have many overnight guests anyway, I felt like owning a closet filled with extra linens was WAY TOO MUCH. A lot of the ones we had were old & worn out anyway. Now I have a nice small collection of backup sheets, a blanket, pillowcases & towels in a spare closet, organized in nice drawers. They are accessible but out of plain site to create an aesthetically pleasing look. But I realized a lot of the things I’ve held onto are those someday items. “Someday I’ll have an occasion to wear this dress.” “We may need this blanket someday.” When in reality, someday never comes & all you have is a closet full of junk.

I’M TIRED OF MY MAKEUP COLLECTION

I’ve been learning a lot about color theory & which shades complement certain appearances. With that, I’ve been letting go of the products that don’t provide that confidence to my face. Not only this, I still own some products that are just super old. If you would like to see a post on color theory / decluttering makeup collection further, let me know. I realized I still held on to those experimental products that I was persuaded to buy through Youtube videos. I used to feel like I needed every new product out there. But now, smaller collections are the rage.

CLOTHES I CHOSE FOR PROJECT 333 HAD TO GO!

I will for sure discuss this in more detail once Project 333 is over. But basically, I realized some of the clothing choices for this challenge did not compliment my appearance whatsoever. So I was able to pair down my wardrobe even further. I’ve really learned to stick with clothing that makes me feel the most confident. Experimenting with trends & styles that aren’t me isn’t my thing anymore.

IT’S HARD TO FIND THINGS TO DECLUTTER WHEN YOU ARE FORCED

The idea of finding at least one thing to get rid of each day was exhausting. Some days I’d forget. Or other days, I’d plan ahead. I think on a day to day basis, this way of decluttering isn’t ideal. But I will say decluttering a little at a time made it feel less daunting. I think this challenge would be perfect for someone who hasn’t really decluttered at all yet. But when you already have that mindset engraved in your brain, it can actually become more difficult. There were some moments where I personally felt like if I got rid of anything else, I wouldn’t own anything. So, that was rather eye opening.

THIS WAS GREAT PREPARATION BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS

I don’t know about you, but once the holidays roll around, gifts & purchases start piling in pretty quickly. This is why I get my holiday shopping done before Halloween. But anyway, I found decluttering this month has allowed me to clear out my space for new items & also prepare myself for the months to come. I always seem to be the busiest during the last few months of the year. With family get togethers, shopping & other responsibilities, I find myself having no time for cleaning & organizing until the new year. So, this decluttering challenge came at the perfect time. I even spent a few days going through my wrapping supplies to see if I had enough for this coming holiday. Since, I’m doing a low buy this year, I wanted to be fully prepared.

I’VE REEVALUATED HOW I SPEND MONEY

Whenever I declutter, I always have an epiphany over the money I wasted. Even though I’ve been better about clothing purchases, I always seem to come home with some doozies. I’ve also learned purchasing items from fast fashion companies is probably not the best idea even though the price seems great. I purchased quite a few dresses from Forever 21 since they are going out of business, & some of the clothing pieces just didn’t work. I’ve gotten to the age where certain cropped shirts just don’t do me justice. I want to mature my style more & choose pieces that are more flattering.

Again, if you want to see the exact items I decluttered this month, go over to my Instagram & check out my #goodbye31 story folder. Did you participate in this challenge? Would you like to try this out in the future? If you did try it out, what did you learn?

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