I Decluttered 600+ Items in 3 Days: Here’s What Happened

I did a 465 item 30 day decluttering challenge in three days and got rid of over 600 items at a certain point. I just stopped counting. Have you ever looked around your house and seen so many things and items and gadgets and knickknacks and all these things that you just don't have a need for anymore? Maybe at some point they held some kind of important meaning, but you don't even remember what that meaning is anymore. Maybe at some point they were useful and it was something that you used every day. So, it feels crazy throwing it away, even if I haven't picked it up in the last year or two. But I'm sure that day is going to come when I need it again. You have drawers that don't close. You have boxes filled with miscellaneous items. And for me, all of those items that take up physical space also take up mental space in my mind. Because I can't help but see... Hanana, you are so funny. I love you. Because all I see are things that don't have a proper place in my home and I probably just don't have room for in general. I see materials for all the projects that I said I was going to do and never got to. All the clothes for events I said I was going to wear and never went to. All of the things that are broken and for whatever reason I'm holding on to them because they have some kind of value in my head. And at a certain point you just see all of the clutter and all of the excess and you realize I don't need this much stuff. And I am not a minimalist. I do not strive to be. No one who knows me would ever call me a minimalist. I love being surrounded by things that tell a story, spark a memory, or just make me smile. Marie Kondo. I love being surrounded by things that bring me joy and I have no shame in that. But at the end of the day, I just had to reflect. Do all of these things in my home really bring me joy? Can you honestly say that all of these items spark joy? And if they did, then why are they shelved in the back of your closet? They probably are not as joyful as you think they are. And then recently I came across a quote that just really made me reflect. Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. And then the next question is, okay, so how do we go about it? Like what, how do we tackle all of the things that is my borderline maximalism home? So I did some Googling and I found this challenge. It's a 30 day decluttering challenge where on day one you get rid of one item, on day two you get rid of two items, day three you get rid of three items and so forth. And at the end of the challenge, guess how many items you would have decluttered? 465 items in 30 days. I just was like, wow, that's crazy. That number just like blew me away. But then of course me being the person that I am, when I get ideas in my mind, I just have to execute them immediately. Like 30 days was too long. Even though this stuff has been shoved in the back of my closet for two years, 30 days is too long. I want to get rid of these things while I'm inspired because maybe in a couple weeks I won't feel the same so I need to strike while the iron is hot. So then I was just like, Sunshine, why don't we just do this in three days? Hi, I'm Sunshine. So I figured I'd share some lessons and tips from what I learned during this decluttering challenge. So tips for getting started. Create a tracker. You have to have some way to track your 30 days of items. So I just made 30 circles, numbered them from 1 through 30, picked out 30 different colored markers because I'm a super color coded individual. But anyways, one thing about this is not only is it obviously useful in tracking the number of items that you've decluttered, but it's also extremely motivating because you just cannot wait to fill in another circle and check off another day of items. And if it's easier for you, you can do this in the 30 day format. I'm just sharing what I did. Also a tip is do not feel like you have to work in chronological order. Personally for me, I will never have been able to do this challenge in 30 days in chronological order because it starts off so slow. Day one is one item. Day two is two items. And I can get that that is easier for some people to start off slow and then ramp up. But for me, when I'm like really inspired to do something, I want to just tackle as much as possible. So my very first items of decluttering was my 30 days. 30 items here. Woo! That's a good first item. And then my very next set was like 27. One day I bought a bunch of sequins because I convinced myself that I would use them in an art project, which was nonsense. So here we are, like three years later, finally getting rid of it. Let's count. 22, 23, 23. For me, it was much easier to not really worry about the numbers in the beginning and just grab as much stuff as possible, then count it, and then fill in my circles. And then one other thing that I do not recommend for everybody, but it always works for me when I start these huge spring cleaning decluttering binges. I like to see all of my stuff. It is helpful for me to create chaos before I get organized. And by that I mean, when I'm decluttering, I take out all of the items in basically every drawer in my house and just lay them out on the floor. And I take out every single article of clothing that's in my closet and lay it out on the bed. And I go into every crevice that I think is hiding some kind of miscellaneous items. And I grab them all and I just dump them on the floor. So my house looks insane. It is an insane method. I'm not saying I could recommend it for other people, but for me, it's always helpful. But when I see all of this excess in front of me, it makes it extremely easy for me to get rid of things because I just am overwhelmed and I'm looking at this like there's no way in the world I need all of these things. I just cannot wait to start chucking things in the trash in the donation bin because when I just see a mountain of clothes in front of me, I'm very less likely to like fight to hang on to something because I'm like, okay, you got 60 other articles in this pile alone. Okay, future Sunshine here, y'all are not allowed to judge me for my decluttering methods in this video. I'm editing it and watching it back and I realized that my house looks a total chaotic mess and I am being transparent and open about just the process that I do. And I only go to this level of extreme with dumping every single item in my drawers and my closets out when I'm doing like a huge decluttering binge like I am in this video. That's not my normal cleaning organizing method on a day to day basis. Got me feeling like that girl Alex from Love is Blind when they show her house and it was just a complete mess. And I was like, girl, why would you go on national television with your house look like this? And here I am exposing myself on YouTube. And I can understand that that would be extremely overwhelming for some people. So another approach is to keep your decluttering pretty minimized or confined in certain areas. So maybe you go room by room, area by area, or category of items by category of items. So room by room means, okay, first I'm tackling the bedroom, next the kitchen, next this hallway closet. So category by category looks like, okay, so today we're tackling clothes, tomorrow we're tackling paper, the next day we're tackling books, the next day we're tackling miscellaneous drawer items. So just think about yourself, know yourself, and know what approach feels the most approachable for you. I like that. Know what approach feels the most approachable for you. I will admit that my approach made it seem like a Tasmanian devil went through my house that week. Just a tornado flew around my whole house while I was decluttering. Here are five very important questions I asked myself over and over and over again while I decluttered. Question number one, you already know Marie Kondo, does this spark joy? And if the answer is anything other than yes, then the answer is no. If the answer is, well, it used to, or, well, it would if I fix it up a bit. If the answer is any gray answer outside of yes, then your answer is no and you should get rid of it. As I say get rid of things, I mean to donate it or recycle it. And some things you just honestly cannot donate or recycle, do not let that be a reason why you keep it. Do not let your fear of waste be a reason that you keep something that you do not like, need, or use. Donate, recycle, and if you have to, throw it away. Question number two, would I buy this again today if I didn't already own it? If I'm in a store and saw it on a shelf right now, would the person I am today buy this item? This question was so important for me during this process, I can't even tell y'all. So I'm extremely short and I have not grown in a very, very long time. I still fit clothes from my first year of college. I still fit some clothes from high school that I kept and didn't wear, didn't like, but because they still fit, I felt obligated to keep them. We are not the same person that we were 10 years ago or a couple of years ago or even last year. Naturally, our tastes change, our style changes, our aesthetics change, and we should allow the things in our homes and in our closets to reflect this growth. Question number three, super straightforward, I like it. Have I used this in the last year? Have I used this item in the last 365 days? Y'all, 365 days is a long time. If you haven't used something in the last 365 days, how important and useful and valuable could it really be? Question number four is, could I replace this item easily if I needed to in the future? Y'all, our homes are not meant to be stores or storage units. That random cord to some random gadget that you don't even know what it plugs into or what its use is, you are keeping it for this what if case scenario in the future that you think you might need it. And I'm willing to bet if you find out three years from now that you need this exact cord again for whatever reason, that you could buy it again for less than $5. Which sounds more appealing, holding onto something that you don't use and you are not aware of any immediate need or value that this item has, but you are scared to let go of it. So you allow it to take up space in your home for years on the fear that you might need it one day. Or option number two, you get rid of it, donate it to someone who actually needs it and uses it now and in the rare scenario that you need this item like six years from now, you just buy it again. That goes for that stack of junk notebooks that I know for a fact I cleared out a ton of them in this video, so I held onto them too. And that goes for those quirky gadgets that you bought on a whim and never found a use for it in your day to day routines or month to month routines even. And question number five, we're about to get deep. Hold on, strapping you a seatbelt. Am I keeping this out of guilt, obligation, or fear? So what does that look like? So keeping something out of guilt looks like, okay, I spent a lot of money on this item. This was actually a pretty expensive purchase and I ended up not either liking it or using it, but I feel like I need to hold onto it just because I spent a lot of money on it at some point in my life. Either way, you're not getting that money back, but keeping it and not using it is just taking up precious space and is a constant reminder of the money that you spent on something that you don't use, need, or love. That can also look like buying things for a purpose that you said you were going to do and never did. Like maybe you said you were going to work out and you bought a lot of fitness clothes and workout equipment, but that was never something you brought into your routine. Keeping those items does not make a difference in what your habits are. It just takes up space. Also, side note, buying things to get us started with a habit is a really bad idea because I've done that too. I'm like, okay, I'm about to start working out all the time and I buy all these cute fitness clothes. Buying the fitness clothes did not make me work out. What I learned to do is establish those routines and then buy myself things as like a treat myself. Like congratulations, you did what you set out to do, you did what you said you're going to do. Here is a gift and maybe it's workout clothes or whatever that scenario may be. So keeping things out of obligation may look like gifts. So someone bought me this dress and I know I don't like it. It's not my style. I don't like the way it fits me. I've never worn it and I don't plan on ever wearing it. But because of the fact that someone spent their money on it, I feel obligated to keep it. So I'm just going to keep it in the back of my closet. That helps no one. That's not a good reason to keep something. Or even worse, oof, this one was tough for me during this challenge, but even worse is keeping items because you think they represent who you should be and don't actually reflect who you are. Like keeping a bunch of suits or business clothes in your closet for the career that you thought you were going to have or think that you may have in the future. Keeping random art supplies for all of the hobbies that you said you were going to pick up. I am so guilty of that. In this video, you're going to see me throw out some crochet hooks and all kinds of different art supplies and materials for these projects that I said would be really cool for me to pick up and do, but it never aligned with what I really wanted to do with my art. And the books that you think that you should read because they are classics or books that you think are intellectual reads, but you never actually read them because they're not genres that you enjoy. And I don't say these things to be depressing. I say it to just be true to who you are, accept who you are. Do not keep items in your home that you use to try to force yourself into boxes that do not fit. If that fancy cooking set has been sitting unused in your pantry for years because you actually hate cooking or at least cooking elaborate meals, that's okay. Accept that about yourself and get rid of it. Keeping things out of obligation can also look like holding onto sentimental items or heirlooms maybe family gave it to you or you inherited it from someone, but you don't really vibe with it. And for these things, you just have to remember we are not obligated to keep anything in our home that does not spark joy or we do not find to be beautiful or useful. And keeping items in your home out of fear stems from anxiety and uncertainty about the future. You have to let go of the just-in-case mindset if you truly want to declutter your home. And you know what? There's a sixth question I forgot to mention. Does this item have a specific place in my home? Does it have an actual physical location, a designated spot in my home? If you don't have a designated spot for something, you either don't need it or don't have space for it. It just doesn't fit. And if either of those two things are true, then get rid of it. If it's something that is valuable to you and you want to keep it, then you have to find a designated space for it, or it's always just going to be an organized clutter just kind of floating around. So asking myself these five questions throughout this challenge was essential. Every time I hesitated on something, if I was not sure, which happened very frequently, I asked myself those five... Just burp on me. I would ask myself these five questions and I would know what to do. When you upgrade something in your home for the love of everything that is good, get rid of the old item. You are not going to use it. I was like, why do I still have this old Xbox? I done bought the new one. Why would I ever plug my old Xbox in and play it? And now I've kept it for so long that it's basically obsolete. But if I had donated it at the moment that I upgraded my Xbox, it could have still been much more useful to someone else. The longer that you hold on to items, the more they lose their value. The quicker you donate things, the more likely someone will still be able to find use in it. You guys, we are not required to take items just because they're free. When you go to an event, if you're at work and people are handing out promotional items and freebies, just because it's free doesn't mean you have to take it home. I had so many promotional items that I never used that I had to get rid of because I got them from work or some kind of event and I was like, oh, it's free, of course I'm going to take it. Like, who's going to turn down free stuff? You and me, we, we should turn down free things. If it's not a freebie that you think has practical use, just leave it where it's at. Do not bring anything in your home that you don't have an actual need for it at that moment. I'm so bad at bringing things in my home for my what-if projects. I got these mirrors from work, another freebie item, because I worked in construction and so I just always was in the midst of items that were being thrown away and trashed. And I would think, okay, well, maybe if I want to upgrade the mirrors in my home, I can use these mirrors. Never did it. Because it wasn't something that was a priority. It was just something that I saw the item and then tried to make up a need for it instead of having a need and then buying the items. Hanada had to get rid of some things, too. Ain't that right, girl? When I brought out her items, she was like, what? How dare you touch my stuff, declutter your stuff, but don't touch my stuff. So you guys have obviously met Hanada today and I decluttered some of her items, too. And also, when you get rid of them, your pet's going to see them and going to be like, what? What are you doing with my stuff? I love this. This is my favorite thing in the entire world, even though they never played with it. Do not be manipulated. Get rid of it. You want to know something fun? The more you declutter and the more stuff you get rid of, the less need you have for random aesthetic storage boxes. In your home, out of sight, out of mind, if anything is in a miscellaneous box in your home, I guarantee you, probably 90% of those items you do not need. When do you honestly ever go into the miscellaneous storage boxes in your home and get out these random items and knickknacks? And then as you declutter and get rid of items, you also get to get rid of the boxes that were holding the miscellaneous items. And now you have more space. And I'm not going to lie, decluttering does not come easily for me. It does not come naturally for me. Getting rid of things is just like any other skill. The more you do it, the more you practice it, the better that you get. Be patient with yourself throughout this process because letting go of things that you've held on to for so long is not the easiest thing to do. And if you find that this challenge is harder than you were expecting, do the 30 days. Do 60 days. Do as best as you can now and revisit the challenge again in the future. Revisit it a couple months from now and see if any of those items that you put in the maybe pile, you're now ready to get rid of. Also very important, and this is essential, this is a non-negotiable, but have something that is keeping you peaceful and motivated throughout this process. Because it will get overwhelming. But if you are listening to a very good book, which is my go-to, or listening to some lovely music and you have some candles going and you are drinking your favorite tea, it will help you get through this process. And I promise you, you will get through this process. And at the end of it, you will be so much happier. You will have so much baggage lifted out of your house and off of your mind. And you will now have space for the things that are most important to you and have room to grow for future things that come into your life. Where did they stay? Inside of a drawer in my home. Thanks. Let me know some other decluttering lessons that you've learned that I didn't mention. Let me know if gamifying your decluttering worked for you.