30 Day Declutter Challenge: 15 Minutes a Day, One Spot at a Time
Here’s the whole challenge: one small spot a day, 10 to 15 minutes, starting with the places you see every day and ending with the hidden ones. Four days are for rest or catching up. Day 29 is a donation run, because a full box that never leaves the house doesn’t count.
The full 30-day declutter challenge list is below. So is the routine for each session, what to do when you miss a day, and how this plan stacks up against 30 Bags in 30 Days and the Minimalism Game.
Before day 1: what you need
- A trash bag and one donation box. Keep them handy all month.
- A timer. Stop when it rings, even if the spot isn’t perfect.
- Optional: a photo. Joshua Becker suggests you “take before and after photos of a small area”. Take yours on day 1 so you can see the difference on day 30.
Never decluttered before? Read where to start decluttering first. It walks you through your first 15-minute session step by step.
How each 10 to 15 minute session works
Every day uses the same five steps from Dana K. White’s 5 Steps for Working Through an Overwhelming Mess:
- Trash. No decisions needed.
- Easy stuff: things that already have a home somewhere else. Take them there now.
- Duh clutter: the obvious stuff goes straight into the donation box.
- The two decluttering questions for whatever is left: “If I needed this item, where would I look for it? Take it there now.” and “If I needed this item, would it occur to me that I already had one?”
- Make it fit. The shelf, drawer or bin is the limit.
Not sure where something goes, like old batteries, cables or papers with personal information? Our decluttering checklist lists where each of those goes, with links to the official guidance.
The 30‑day declutter challenge list
The order follows Dana K. White’s Visibility Rule: start with spaces you see every day, so the progress keeps you going. Hidden spots like the junk drawer come last. The rest days come from Ann Marie Heasley’s 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge, which is “designed so that you have one day off per week”. The choice of spots and the tips are our own plan, not a program from any one author.
Week 1 (Days 1-7): surfaces you see every day
| Day | Spot | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kitchen counter | Just trash and easy stuff. That’s enough for day one |
| 2 | Dining table | Everything that isn’t meant to be on it goes back where it belongs |
| 3 | Entryway | Shoes nobody wears, bags beyond what fits on the hook |
| 4 | Coffee table and living room surfaces | Side tables and the TV console count too |
| 5 | Bathroom counter | Empty bottles and near-empty samples first |
| 6 | Nightstand | The top first, then one drawer |
| 7 | Rest or catch-up | Finish any spot you skipped, or take the day off |
Week 2 (Days 8-14): kitchen and bathroom, inside the cabinets
| Day | Spot | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Fridge | Spoiled and forgotten food goes. Wipe one shelf if you have time left |
| 9 | One pantry shelf | Group duplicates together and use them up first |
| 10 | Food storage containers | Match every lid to a container. Keep what fits the drawer or cabinet |
| 11 | Mugs and water bottles | The shelf decides how many stay |
| 12 | Utensil drawer | Keep the duplicates you actually use, donate the rest |
| 13 | Medicine cabinet | Set aside expired or unused medicines for proper disposal (see below) |
| 14 | Rest or catch-up |
Day 13, medicines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s first choice is a drug take-back location or a prepaid mail-back envelope, and it reminds you: “don’t flush your medicine unless it is on the flush list.” This day is only about getting rid of medicine you’ve already stopped using or that has expired. Whether to stop a medicine is a question for your doctor or pharmacist.
Week 3 (Days 15-21): clothes and the bedroom
| Day | Spot | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Sock and underwear drawer | Quick decisions: no pair, holes, doesn’t fit |
| 16 | Closet: tops | One section only. Clothes that don’t fit you now go in the donation box |
| 17 | Closet: pants and skirts | Same rule as yesterday |
| 18 | Shoes | The rack or shelf is the limit |
| 19 | Coats and bags | Coats nobody wears are easy wins |
| 20 | Towels and bedding | Keep the sets that fit the linen shelf |
| 21 | Rest or catch-up |
Week 4 (Days 22-28): hidden spots and paper
| Day | Spot | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | Junk drawer | Now it’s time, after three weeks of visible wins |
| 23 | Cables and chargers | Anything for a device you no longer own goes. Batteries and old electronics need a special drop-off (where they go) |
| 24 | Mail and paper pile | Junk mail and catalogs go. Shred anything with personal information |
| 25 | Books and magazines | Finished and won’t reread: donate. Old magazines: recycle |
| 26 | Under the kitchen or bathroom sink | Leftover cleaners and paint count as household hazardous waste, so check the drop-off rules (details) |
| 27 | Car | Trash first, then take the easy stuff back into the house |
| 28 | Rest or catch-up |
Days 29 and 30: get it out and look back
| Day | Spot | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| 29 | Donation run | Get every box and bag out of the house, not just to the door |
| 30 | Walk-through | Look at your day-1 photo, then pick the one spot you’ll keep up next month |
If you miss a day
Skip it and do today’s spot. You’ll have a rest day within the week to catch up. Doubling up is how 30-day plans get dropped. (That’s our advice, not a rule from any author.)
Some days you’ll have more energy than 15 minutes’ worth. On those days, try the 12-12-12 challenge described on Becoming Minimalist: “Locate 12 items to throw away, 12 to donate, and 12 to be returned to their proper home.”
30 Bags in 30 Days, the Minimalism Game, or a task a day?
The 30-day declutter challenge you see on Pinterest usually comes in one of three forms. They measure different things: spots, bags or items.
| Challenge | How it works | By day 30 | Good if | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A task a day (this page) | One spot a day, 10 to 15 minutes, four rest days | 24 spots cleared, plus a donation run | You’re starting out or short on time | Nothing forces a number, so the donation run on day 29 matters |
| 30-Day Minimalism Game (The Minimalists) | Get rid of 1 thing on day 1, 2 on day 2, and so on. Everything must be out of the house “by midnight each day.” Play with a friend or family member | 465 items (by our count) | You like competition and have a lot of stuff | They say it “grows considerably more challenging by week two.” By the last week you’re removing 24 to 30 items a day |
| 30 Bags in 30 Days | Usually: fill one bag a day with things to toss, donate or sell | 30 bags | You want to see the pile shrink | No single author we could trace, so the rules vary from site to site (see below) |
Where 30 Bags in 30 Days comes from. We couldn’t find one author for it. The closest traceable version is Ann Marie Heasley’s 40 Bags in 40 Days, a group challenge she has hosted since 2011: “It is a forty day period (coinciding with the 40 days of Lent) where you go through your home and declutter one area a day.” Her rules are gentler than the name sounds. “You don’t need to have a bag per day, or you may have more each day,” and “if a sandwich baggie is all you can manage then great!” If you try the 30-bag version, borrowing those two rules (one area a day, the bag is a target, not an obligation) keeps it from turning into a race.
Declutter challenge checklist
Tick each day as you finish it:
- 1 Kitchen counter
- 2 Dining table
- 3 Entryway
- 4 Coffee table and living room surfaces
- 5 Bathroom counter
- 6 Nightstand
- 7 Rest or catch-up
- 8 Fridge
- 9 One pantry shelf
- 10 Food storage containers
- 11 Mugs and water bottles
- 12 Utensil drawer
- 13 Medicine cabinet
- 14 Rest or catch-up
- 15 Sock and underwear drawer
- 16 Closet: tops
- 17 Closet: pants and skirts
- 18 Shoes
- 19 Coats and bags
- 20 Towels and bedding
- 21 Rest or catch-up
- 22 Junk drawer
- 23 Cables and chargers
- 24 Mail and paper pile
- 25 Books and magazines
- 26 Under the sink
- 27 Car
- 28 Rest or catch-up
- 29 Donation run
- 30 Walk-through
Starting in December? Our 31-day countdown to declutter before the new year plans the month around the holidays.
Quick recap
- One spot a day, 10 to 15 minutes, with a timer.
- Same five steps every time: trash, easy stuff, duh clutter, the two questions, make it fit.
- Visible spots first, hidden spots last.
- Missed a day? Skip it and use the rest day to catch up.
- Day 29: everything leaves the house.
Sources
- The Minimalists (Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus), “The 30-Day Minimalism Game”: https://www.theminimalists.com/game/
- Ann Marie Heasley, “40 Bags in 40 Days Decluttering Challenge,” White House Black Shutters: https://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/40-bags-in-40-days/
- Ann Marie Heasley, “40 Bags in 40 Days Printable,” White House Black Shutters: https://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/40-bags-in-40-days-printable/
- Joshua Becker, Becoming Minimalist, creative ways to declutter: https://www.becomingminimalist.com/creative-ways-to-declutter/
- Dana K. White, 5 Steps for Working Through an Overwhelming Mess (PDF), A Slob Comes Clean: https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/DASL-5-Steps-to-Working-Through-Mess.pdf
- Dana K. White, “The Visibility Rule,” A Slob Comes Clean: https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/2018/01/visibility-rule-important-decluttering/
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Where and How to Dispose of Unused Medicines”: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/where-and-how-dispose-unused-medicines
