Welcome to week 6 of my 52 Things in 52 Weeks Declutter Challenge. If you haven’t signed up yet, join me today and remove all those things in your home you no longer need or use.
When you look around at home, what do you see? If you see a lot of unnecessary items just lying around in spots where they shouldn’t be, then it is time to make a start to declutter that home of yours and reclaim the spaces that you have lost with accumulated clutter!! Decluttering doesn’t have to be daunting, you just need a little motivation and take baby steps, remembering that you have the power to transform your home, so just make a start, you’ve got this! Let’s work together this week to get rid of more clutter around your home and let’s lift that heaviness off your shoulders with another decluttering challenge.
The ‘Declutter 52 things in 52 Weeks’ Challenge is completely FREE!!! Sign up to my daily emails so you don’t miss when the next task goes live. Alternatively, visit the blog each Wednesday to see the latest task. I will publish a new task on the blog every Wednesday.
Please share a photo of your space each week on Instagram using hashtag #declutter52 and tag @theorganisedhousewife
Decluttering Task #6
Drop Zone Areas
What is a drop zone area you ask? It’s an area where you dump your car keys, mobile phone, handbag, receipts and other important bits and pieces. The problem is that your drop zone area doesn’t just stop there!! Soon, you will find that you’re dropping other cluttering items on it like unopened bills that get lost, junk mail that you plan to read but never do, toys, pens etc, and you end up with a big fat mess all over the place that you hope to, one day, get to and declutter.
A very long time ago I used to have a dumping zone too. I would come home from work and dump mail, handbag, keys, sunglasses, shopping, basically anything that was in my arms onto the dining table. More than likely it would just stay there for a few days (was just laziness). It drove me crazy, as I constantly had a mess on our dining table and no room for family dinners with us together. It has always been important for hubby and me to eat dinner as a family at our dining table, so something had to change, and it changed for the better. I’ll share my method with you below, and will tell you that it’s worth doing because it worked for me, so I think it will work for you too.
DECLUTTERING YOUR DINING TABLE
6 meals out of 7 are eaten at our dining table every week, with Friday nights usually being something fun like mexican or pizza in front of the TV while we all watch a movie together. Eating at the table encourages family conversations, where you chat about your day. It’s very important for us to have this special time together. We find out how we all feel and we get to see if the kids have had any struggles with subjects at school, or what great school achievements they have for us to hear about. Precious time like this is worth you to declutter that dining table at home once and for all.
READ MORE: 9 Reasons To Make Time For Family Dinner
To help me (all those years ago) stop using the dining table as a dumping zone was that I purchased a really nice table runner and ornament and placed it in the middle of the table, and it looked so pretty. This was my trigger, and when I came home I would see a beautifully tidy table (which made me smile), this stopped me from putting items onto the table and cluttering it up again. From that day (I was about 20), I have always put a table runner and/or ornament on my table.
READ MORE: Ideas For Decorating Your Dining Table
I purchased my dining table online here, it’s no longer available, however, they do have some similar pieces.
DECLUTTERING OTHER DROP ZONE AREAS
Other bad drop zone areas usually on top of tv units, cabinets and side tables and even corners of rooms. How many times have you put your phone and keys down in the house and ran around frantically looking for them and just couldn’t find them among the clutter in your home? There is nothing more frustrating than knowing you need to leave the house that very second so that you’re not late for work or late dropping the kids off to school and you just can’t find those keys! If you have your drop zone areas sorted and decluttered, you can put your keys and other items there again and always find them where you left them. Here’s how you can simplify your life with a decluttered drop zone area at home! Start with taming your junk mail pile.
image credit wisconsin homemader
TODAY’S TASK: DECLUTTER YOUR DROP ZONE AREAS AND PURGE ANYTHING THAT’S CLUTTERING THEM UP BY FOLLOWING THESE SIMPLE STEPS:
Note: My definition of purge – sell, donate, repurpose or throw away items as you see fit!!
- Go through and throw out old, unnecessary receipts, junk mail & paperwork
- Create a special nook area that will be used just for keys and phones or hang your keys on a hook in the garage
- Perhaps keep your sunglasses in the car
- Create a hanging area for your handbag
- Open all mail as soon as it arrives to avoid dumping it onto a pile that will grow
- Unpack and put away your shopping straight away
Tidy up your dumping zone, whether it be your dining table, kitchen bench, coffee table etc, and try and come up with a system that will stop you from continuing to put clutter in these zones. Colours and pretty ornaments help and inspire me, so surround yourself with whatever works for you, and get rid of your clutter!!!
image credit, my bella bug
I wanted to show you this gorgeous entryway by Stylkea, the wallpaper make a stylish impact to this space and a great area to drop all the begs you come home with, keeping shoes tidy under the bench.
