Can you believe this week marks the halfway point in the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge? To celebrate, I’m starting some bedroom decluttering, focusing first on those horizontal surfaces that always seem to be a magnet for clutter. I’ve also got a recap of my progress in the first 26 weeks of the challenge.

Are you ready for week 26? Let’s get decluttering!

This post was originally published in July 2021 and republished in June 2024.

What is the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge?

In this year-long journey, we’re tackling one task at a time with the goal of cleaning up and organizing our homes. If you’ve just joined us, no worries. You can jump right in with this week’s challenge. Just check out the first two posts in the series to download your free checklists.

• 52-Week Decluttering Challenge
• Week 1 – Easy Decluttering Checklist

You can get easy access to all previous weekly posts on the main Decluttering page.

Week 26 – Bedroom decluttering – Horizontal surfaces

Earlier in the challenge, we spent a few weeks in our bedrooms decluttering closets. Unlike closet clutter, which is something you don’t see, this week we’re taking on the clutter we see when we look around our bedrooms. I’m talking about the clutter on top of our night-tables, dressers, armoires and even our beds.

Here are a couple of pictures of where I started this week. This is my night-table and vanity table. What a mess!

And this is the top of my armoire. It’s one of the places where I display some of my favourite things, like collectibles and music memorabilia. I’m pretty sure there are a few things lurking back there that I can get rid of.   

This week’s decluttering and organizing tips

Before we get to what I got rid of in my bedroom decluttering, here are my tips and learnings from week 26.

• A simple way to make your bedroom look less cluttered is to make your bed every day. It only takes a few minutes, but it gives a sense of calm and order every time I walk into my bedroom.  
• Another quick and easy tip is to keep the closet door closed. It sounds silly but it really makes a difference.
• On top of your night-table, leave out only things that you use every day. I was in a bad habit of just setting things down and leaving them there.
• Decluttering extremists and minimalists may disagree, but I say you should proudly display your collectibles and memorabilia if they make you happy. I think we all need a special place to display things that bring back memories, or that just make us smile. For me, that place is on top of the armoire. It’s out of the way but it’s one of the first things I see when I wake up, and the last thing I see before I go to bed at night.

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Bedroom decluttering – What I got rid of

Here’s what I got rid of this week. Some of it came from the top of my night-table. Most of it I found in a basket on top of the armoire, way at the back. That basket used to sit on top of my blanket box until I moved it a couple of years ago so I wouldn’t have to look at it every day. This is a great example of what Dana K. White calls “procrasticlutter” in her book Decluttering at the speed of life.

In total, I got rid of 66 items this week. This was definitely one of my more productive weeks.

• 2 sets of airline headphones—from a trip to Florida 13 years ago!
• A 50^th birthday badge
• 3 empty containers
• 1 bottle of body spray
• 1 lanyard
• 3 toys
• 2 collectible boxes
• 1 drink cozy
• 11 theatre programs
• 2 greeting cards
• 2 envelopes
• 1 mattress warranty card
• 1 receipt
• 12 attraction brochures
• 1 set of old film negatives
• 2 London Transit Oyster cards – from 2014
• 5 dried up pens
• 3 elastics
• 1 broken pedometer
• 4 doilies
• 1 nail file
• 2 dead batteries
• 1 button
• 2 scraps of thread
• 1 empty shopping bag from Harrod’s

A few of these items will be good material for upcoming installments of Clutter Tales.

I also relocated a bunch of things to their rightful homes. Here’s how things look now. Much better!

Halfway update – 26 weeks of decluttering

I started this challenge in January for a few reasons. The first one was mostly selfish. I knew if I committed to blogging about my decluttering progress, it would force me to do it. Secondly, I wanted to share my tips and learnings with all of you. Even if a handful of people declutter a few things and simplify their lives, it’s worthwhile. Finally, I knew you’d all have tips and ideas, and I wasn’t wrong. I really appreciate every comment and idea you’ve shared.

So, how am I doing?

Some weeks have been more productive than others. But in total, I’ve decluttered 716 items in six months. I am so happy with that.

I’m also really proud that I’ve been able to donate, give away, or recycle most of those items. In six months of decluttering, I’ve filled less than 2 garbage bags.

I’m really feeling a difference and I’m excited for the second half of the challenge. Will you join me? I’d love to hear about your progress and little wins.

2024 Update

It has been three years so I’m rebooting the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge to see how much I can get rid of in 2024.

After a few slow weeks in terms of results, I got back on track this week. I had fallen back into bad habits and accumulated a pile of stuff in a small cardboard box on top of the blanket box in our bedroom, so that was a quick win. In total, I got rid of 27 items—and I’ve removed the cardboard box and resolved to stop setting things down and leaving them.

As for the running tally, so far in 2024 I’ve decluttered 312 items, putting me just under half of my 2021 pace

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So that’s week 26 done.

If you have friends or family members who could benefit from a little less clutter in their lives, please share this post and spread the word!

Are your bedroom surfaces a magnet for clutter too? Tell me your best decluttering and organizing tips below.