We all do it. To keep our homes looking tidy, we stuff things in drawers, baskets, cupboards, and closets. In January, I’ve been tackling this out-of-sight clutter in a series of decluttering blitzes. It has been a productive and interesting experience.
Decluttering is an ongoing process
I’m a big believer in ongoing decluttering. After my year-long decluttering challenges in 2021 and 2024, I intentionally took a break from decluttering in 2025, focusing instead on other ways to simplify life. Decluttering wasn’t my focus, but there were exceptions. My daughter Colleen and I cleared out her room in preparation for her move to Prince Edward Island. And we did a major cleanup of our garage and garden shed—although full credit for that goes to my husband as these areas are his domain.
As I sat down at the beginning of this year to write what I call my “big list” of projects for the year, decluttering was back on the list. Instead of simply repeating the previous challenges, I needed to take a different approach to maintain momentum. I identified two decluttering initiatives for the year:
- Weekly 15-minute decluttering blitzes
- A capsule wardrobe challenge
The weekly decluttering blitz
When I put together my January goals, I added a “weekly 15-minute decluttering blitz” to the list. The idea was to pick an area, set a 15-minute timer, and see how many items I could declutter.
Before I could complete my first weekly challenge, I went for lunch with three of my high school friends. Amid our catching up and reminiscing, the topic of decluttering came up. It was fascinating hearing the different perspectives and concerns. Of the four of us, my one friend and I are avid declutterers. One of our other friends doesn’t want to part with things she paid good money for. And the fourth is a die-hard packrat who knows he should declutter but just can’t bring himself to get rid of a thing—and he keeps adding to the problem by acquiring more stuff.
It was a great conversation, and it gave me the push I needed to up my game in January. Instead of a weekly decluttering blitz, I decided to do a 10-day challenge to tackle out-of-sight clutter.
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Tackling out-of-sight clutter
I started the challenge by making a list of 10 areas where I knew out-of-sight clutter was lurking:
- A plastic storage unit in our home office
- Night table drawers
- Bedroom closet floor
- Bedroom closet shelves
- Basket beside the chair in the living room where I do most of my reading and writing
- Side table beside my chair in the family room
- Bench inside the front door
- Baskets under the living room coffee table
- Filing cabinet
- Desktop
Day 1 was a big day
There was a reason I chose the plastic storage unit in our home office as the day 1 task. During that lunchtime conversation with my friends, the topic of photos came up. We reminisced about the days of film cameras. Every time we took a roll of film to be developed, we’d add a second or even third set of prints for 99 cents. What did we do with those extra pictures? We shared some of them with our friends and family. And for me, the rest got stuffed in these plastic drawers.
Two of the three drawers contained pictures that weren’t good enough to go in my scrapbooks or photo albums, along with those double and triple prints that no-one wanted. The third drawer was full of old cables and two spindles of blank CDs and DVDs.
I took the time to look at every picture. I set aside a few to scan and keep and put the rest in a bag to be used as fire starter.
As for those blank CDs and DVDs, I put them on the Buy Nothing group and someone claimed them.
That day 1 task took way more than 15 minutes. But it reignited my motivation to continue. I was on a mission.
Days 2 to 10
None of the remaining days was as productive as that first day, but the results still added up.
Next, I tackled out-of-sight clutter in our bedroom. On day 2, I went through my night table drawers. Then on days 3 and 4, I cleaned out the storage bin on the closet floor and the contents of my closet shelves.
I spent days 5 to 8 in the main living areas of our home—emptying out baskets and drawers where junk had been accumulating for years.
Finally, on days 9 and 10, I returned to the home office, cleaning out the filing cabinet drawers and clutter that had accumulated on my desktop. That’s where I found the most interesting of all the items—handwritten performance appraisals from the early days of my career in the retirement business in the early 1990s. I think it might be time to reprise the Clutter Tales series once I’ve had a chance to read through them.
A productive start to 2026
I didn’t keep an exact tally, but over the 10 day challenge, I decluttered:
- About 100 items
- Hundreds of photos
- Hundreds of paper documents
Overall, I’m happy with the results of this 10-day challenge. It was a productive way to kickstart my 2026 decluttering.
I plan to continue with weekly mini decluttering blitzes for the rest of the year. And stay tuned for more information on my capsule wardrobe project.
What areas of your home are hiding places for out-of-sight clutter? Drop me a comment below to let me know.
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I love decluttering. It always makes me feel great. I’m currently decluttering my wardrobes and clothes drawers and listing brand-new items purchased years ago on a well-known auction site. Used items I know I’ll never wear again are in a charity bag, which will be taken to the local charity shop once it’s full.
I also decluttered the medicine cupboard and got rid of all out-of-date medicines, supplements and tablets. Some dated back to ‘best before end of 2016!’
What’s the ‘Buy Nothing’ group? Is it an online place where you can advertise items that you don’t want anything for?
You’re right Hugh. Decluttering feels great. It’s surprisingly therapeutic. I always just feel lighter after a good decluttering session.
Ah yes…the medicine cabinet! Before I got serious about decluttering, I used to see expired medicine on those lists of “100 thing you can declutter right now” and roll my eyes. Then I tackled my own medicine cabinet. I was surprised at how much I found. Now I make a point of doing it once a year and dropping anything that’s expired off at a local pharmacy for safe disposal.
The Buy Nothing group is a Facebook group. You post anything you don’t need that you think someone else can use, and people can contact you to pick them up. I have been amazed at the number of things I’ve been able to get rid of on that group and how grateful people are when they pick things up. If you’re on Facebook, check to see if there’s a group in your area. If not, Freecycle.org is another similar option.
Thanks, Michelle. I’m not on Facebook, but I have used the ‘Items for free’ page on Gumtree, which is a place to sell and give stuff away locally for free.
“January Decluttering Blitz” I love it! Maybe giving the challenge a name gives the importance more heft and urgency???? I’m in the midst of sifting and sorting through tons of academic crapola which has gathered dust in our basement. Old papers, documents, stuff I wrote in grad school that serves zero purpose to anyone now. Horrifying how much space all of this has taken up but I’m tackling a bin a day and making headway. Thanks for the rallying cry, Michelle! 💝😊💝
Ha ha. “Academic crapola” – that calls to mind the “career crapola” that I cleared out of my filing cabinet. I can’t believe I hung on to some of that stuff as long as I did. January is a great time for decluttering. As Ab pointed out, it’s a good way to pass the time when the weather is bad. I did some more today! 😉
So true!!! Productive indoor tidying up. No better time when it’s oh-so cold! Take care! 🥰
Exactly!! Everything is expendable most of the time
Here’s my worst secret. My drawers and shelves and cabinets are in pristine order. Yet some areas still retain too much stuff because as much as I purge I still have too much stuff. Some of my clutter was holding on to storage containers that are no longer useful. My last salvation army drop off I got rid of a bunch. I always feel like they will eventually come in handy, but since I don’t have a dedicated space to store them they become useless….
Good for you for keeping your storage spots clean and organized. Those storage containers can be a scourge because we’re tempted to want to fill them. When my daughter moved to PEI, we packed a bunch and sent them with her. The temptation is gone. 😂
Nice work! It always feels good to clear out the clutter, and the out-of-sight items really seem to multiply where we’re not looking.
I know. How does that happen? I’m really trying to get in the habit of dealing with something once and for all rather than just stuffing it in a cupboard or drawer.
Decluttering is so satisfying and therapeutic – and thoroughly enjoyed reading about your process and seeing your photos. I do believe that visual clutter leads to mental and emotional clutter too – and tidying up the physical leads to cleaning up the mental baggage too. And with the cold weather we continue to have, a good way to pass the time inside too! 😊
That’s so true, Ab. Clearing physical clutter is very freeing for the mind. When I look around my living room now, I’m not distracted thinking “Oh I should clean that up!” 😂
And you’re right about the weather. I’m sensing some good decluttering sessions in the next couple of weeks.
It can be so easy to simply stuff things out of sight.
I know. It’s a bad habit that I am trying to get out of. Rather than postponing the decision, just rip off the BandAid and deal with it.
I decluttered and organsied my stationery drawers last week and now feel so much better, and donated a bag full of craft bits for charity 🙂
Ooh that’s wonderful Caroline. It does feel good, doesn’t it?