We’re into the home stretch of the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge, but we still have work to do. This week’s decluttering task was one that I had been putting off for a while. I can procrastinate no longer. It’s time to declutter the mess that has accumulated on our basement floor.

What is it about open flat spaces makes them magnets for junk? In one of the decluttering Facebook groups I’m in, someone said “Piles of stuff and flat spaces are the devil” when I said I was taking on my basement floor this week. I can’t argue with that. In previous weekly tasks, I’ve tackled the piles on my desktop, bedroom surfaces, and living room and dining room tables. It’s an ongoing struggle.

This will be another marathon task! Let’s go.

This post was originally published in November 2021 and republished in December 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 46 – Declutter the mess on the basement floor

A few months ago, when I cleaned up the laundry area, I ignored the pile of stuff that had accumulated on the floor in front of the washer and dryer. Every day, I walk past that pile. Every day, I’d try to pretend it wasn’t there. But I can ignore it no longer. It is time for it to go.

Here’s a picture of where I started. It’s a fairly well contained mess, but I’m pretty sure most of it is junk that hasn’t seen the light of day in years.

What I got rid of

This week, I said goodbye to a total of 93 items from the basement floor! We made a trip to the thrift store with a big box, along with a huge bag of my husband’s old clothes. It has been a very productive week!

Here’s the inventory:

• 6 pieces of speed skating safety equipment. It has been at least five years since my girls did speed skating. I dropped the stuff off at the skating club and they were happy to take it off my hands.
• A pair of curling shoes, and an extra grip.
• 3 baskets
• 1 portable cooler and warmer
• A huge bag of pens, pencils and other art supplies
• 2 blankets
• A CD holder
• 5 receipts
• A scarf
• 6 toys
• 14 fridge magnets
• 1 stray kitchen utensil
• 1 hanger
• A keychain
• A lone glove that long ago lost its partner
• 1 watch
• A broken umbrella
• 1 candle
• 2 empty containers
• Lipstick holder
• 3 candle holders
• Digital tabletop thermometer
• Christmas tablecloth
• Photo album
• 6 picture frames
• Blue Jays baseball cap
• 16 books
• A pair of gloves
• Mini basketball
• An appliance bracket
• An MP3 player case
• Huge pile of papers
• A map
• 2 glass bowls
• 1 oversized remote control
• An old pair of glasses
• 2 empty boxes

Finally, here’s how things look now. I had almost forgotten what the floor looks like! Now I can walk through the basement without cringing and feeling guilty about the mess.

In addition to what I got rid of, I relocated a ton of stuff to its rightful home. It kind of makes me wonder how some of these things ended up in boxes and baskets on the floor in the first place.

This week’s decluttering and organizing tips

Here are my tips and learnings from week 46:

• When you finish a decluttering task, make a plan to control the clutter. I left an empty laundry basket on the floor in case I’m tempted to start a new pile. The new rule: When there are more than 10 items in the basket, it’s time to clean it up. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.
• Avoid the temptation of just setting things down and dealing with them later. There’s a decluttering quote from Barbara Hemphill that I like, “Clutter is no more than postponed decisions.” It’s so true. Maybe my goal for 2022 needs to be to deal with clutter before it accumulates.
• If there are things you can’t part with, find a way to upcycle them. When my daughter was young, she used to collect rocks and pebbles. I found a big bag of rocks this week. I decided to do something fun with some of them for Christmas this year.

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.

The basement floor is an area where I have not been following my own advice. I had accumulated quite a pile of stuff in the space between the laundry area and the furnace. Every time I did laundry, I thought “I really should clean that up.” or “I really should make a trip to the thrift store to drop off those donations.” Then, I would go back upstairs and forget about it. Barbara Hemphill was right! “Postponed decisions” was an accurate description of my basement.

In total I found 22 items on the basement floor that I recycled or discarded. And I had a box of decluttered items destined for the Thrift Store that had been sitting for a while, so I made a trip there to drop them off.

While this is a significant improvement over the 93 items I found last time around, it’s still a sign that I need a better system to manage this. I’d love your suggestions!

So that’s week 46 done. It felt great to declutter the mess. It’s so wonderful to see the basement floor again, and to have more room for my indoor clothes drying rack now that winter is on the way.

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!

Do you have an area in your home that is a magnet for clutter? Tell us about it below.