The Ten Week Organizing Challenge
Get your home in order with my ten week organizing challenge. More than just decluttering and purging, this challenge helps you setup organizing systems that work.
Since moving into our home a few months back I don’t feel that we’ve ever gotten truly organized.
Basically we moved in before everything was finished (including the kitchen), so we put away everything we could as best we could but not in the most thoughtful or organized fashion.
This month marks the five year anniversary of my original Ten Week Organizing Challenge and I’ve decided that it’s time to revisit and revise the challenge and do it all again!
I’m tired of feeling like things look okay on the surface but knowing that my cupboards, drawers, closets, cabinets, and shelves are lurking in a state of complete disarray. I should have tackled it in the summer, but I was burnt out from building and the move and, frankly, the crazy 2021 world.
But I know that the time has come. I’ve got that “I-want-to-cry-when-I-open-the-pantry” feeling. That “I can’t stuff another shirt in this kid’s drawer” feeling. That “is everything going to fall out when I open this closet” feeling.
It’s time.
A big key to the organizing challenge is NOT just purging and decluttering.
It’s SYSTEMS.
Systems are what we put in place after we purge and declutter, so that our home stays in an organized state. Without systems we end up right back where were started.
Feeling like all we do is tidy; that our lives are a constant cycle of picking things up and move them from one space to the next. All the while, feeling like we spend way too much of our time and energy dealing with stuff.
Have you ever had that feeling? Where it’s just all too much stuff; that all your belongings are cluttering up your life and stealing your joy? Then join me! I’ll be working through my original Ten Week Organizing Challenge once again, beginning this week and wrapping up in mid-March.
The last time I completed this challenge in 2017, I had so many readers asking about a printable/paper copy, that I even made it into an e-book!
Knowing that the method I used was super successful for me the last time around (and in our last home), I can’t wait to use the same techniques and method again in this house. I’m going to purge, declutter, and then reorganize each space in our home, step-by-step, putting systems in place that allow me to keep things organized going forward.
Systems are more than just going out to the dollar store and buying a bunch of baskets. Systems are methods whereby everything has a place and your home has an order and functionality to it like never before.
Systems are things like:
- A Command Center
- A Paper Filing System
- A To-Do List
- A Planner/Organizer Calendar
- Weekly Meal and Grocery Planners
- Labeled and Categorized Storage Bins
These are some of the systems I’ll be sharing and implementing during this challenge after I work through the process of purging and dealing with ALL the things! While some organizing programs are 30 days, I like to spread this over ten weeks because I do believe it takes a considerable amount of time to not just declutter but to organize and restructure your home so that the new found order will continue after you’ve purged.
The basic outline of the challenge is this:
Week One:
Paperwork and filing. Dealing with all that incoming paperwork! Setting up a mini home-office/command center. Dealing with the junk drawer, school papers, and our calendars.
Week Two:
The Kitchen. This includes all of cabinets, drawers, pantry, under the sink, and the fridge and freezer. I’ll also work on organizing our system for menu planning and shopping.
Week Three:
The laundry area, mud-room/entrance area, and cleaning supplies. Although these spaces aren’t grouped in everyone’s home, it is common that they are so I’ve put them into one week.
Week Four:
The Bathrooms. This includes the vanities and all bathroom storage areas.
Week Five:
Week Six:
The Primary Bedroom. This includes our closets, dressers, and nightstands etc.
Week Seven:
The Kids’ Bedrooms. This includes their clothes, toys, books, and any other clutter that has built up in their bedrooms. We have two children so I’ll do both boy’s rooms in one week, but if you have more children you may (or may not) wish to extend this an extra week.
Week Eight:
Family Room/Playroom/Rec Room: I’ll be tackling our upstairs bonus/family room, but you may have a different space to focus on if you follow along with the challenge.
Week Nine:
Bonus Space. What space do you have in your home that hasn’t been dealt with yet? It might be a home office (like mine), or it might be a basement storage area, attic, or the garage.
Week Ten:
Wildcard: Choose an area in your home or your life that still needs purging and organizing! This may stretch on beyond week ten as well depending on what you want and need to eat with. I plan to deal with the boxes of children’s schoolwork and art that we have piled up, as well as work my way into organizing our digital family photos.
I’m actually getting really excited thinking about how much better our life will be once we finally get all of these areas purged and organized and has a system in place for keeping it that way. This challenge isn’t “easy” – it will require time and effort and energy (some weeks more than others), but it will pay off. I can guarantee that having lived through the process myself previously it was totally worth the effort!
So far in the challenge this round I have shared…
Introduction to the Ten Week Challenge
How to Setup a Family Command Center
7 Steps to an Organized Kitchen
Tips for an Organized Laundry Space
How to Setup a Functional Family Entry
Bathroom Cabinet Organization Ideas
6 Steps to an Organized Linen Closet
Primary Bedroom & Closet Organization
Kids’ Bedroom Organization
Playroom Organization
So each week over the course of this challenge, I’m going to be sharing my process of working through this challenge in our new home with updated tricks, tips, and organizing systems. If you want to follow along with my new version of the challenge, sign-up below for my new email list! Ten Week Organizing Challenge 2022.
All of my previous organizing posts as related to this challenge!
Introduction
Join Me! A Ten Week Organizing Challenge for Your Entire Home
Week One: Paper Clutter and Command Center
Tackling paper clutter & organizing it once & for all
How to Purge and Organize your Paper Clutter (updated for 2020)
Reorganized an existing Command Center
Organizing Paperwork with a Colour Coded File System
Week Two: The Kitchen
How-to completely organize your entire kitchen
How to Completely Organize Your Pantry
Free Printable Weekly Meal Planner and Shopping List Planners!
DIY Giant Chalkboard Weekly Planner
Inspiration Articles:
Super creative kitchen organization ideas
20 Incredible Small Pantry Organization Ideas & Makeovers.
Week Three: Laundry and Mud Room
How to Create an Organized Entry or Mud Room in a Small Space
How to Completely Organize Your Laundry Space in Three Steps
How to setup a functional mudroom in small space (updated challenge in 2020)
How to organize your laundry space with a rolling cart (updated challenge in 2020)
Inspiration Articles:
20+ Beautiful & Organized Small Laundry Rooms
Small Entry & Mud Room Organization Ideas.
Week Four: Bathrooms
How to Completely Organize Your Bathroom
Bathroom (updated challenge in 2020)
Inspiration Articles:
Ingenious Ideas & DIYs for Bathroom Storage & Organization
Week Five: The Linen Closet
How to Completely Organize Your Linen Closet
How to Replace Wire Shelves with DIY Wooden Shelves
Simple Tips to Organize and Refresh Your Linen Closet (updated challenge in 2020)
Inspiration Articles:
20 Beautifully Organized Linen Closets
Week Six: The Primary Bedroom
How to Complete Purge Your Clothing
7 Tips for Organizing Your Closet & Dresser
Inspiration Articles:
25 Ingenious Ways to Store & Organize Jewelry
20 Incredible Small Walk-in Closet Ideas & Makeovers
Week Seven: Kid’s Bedrooms
How to Completely Organize Kid’s Rooms
Fantastic Ideas for Organizing Kid’s bedrooms
Week Eight: Playroom / Family Room /Rec Room
How to Completely Organize a Playroom or Kid’s Play Zone
25 Fab Ideas for Organizing Playrooms and Kid’s Spaces
Week Nine: Home Office and/or Craft Room
How to Organize a Craft Room Workspace
Creative, Thrify, & Small Space Craft Room Organization Ideas
Organized and Colourful Craft Room Tour
How to Install a DIY Giant Pegboard Wall
Week Ten: Wildcard – what is left?
Setting Organization Goals to Finish off the Ten Week Challenge
And once you are done the challenge?? Tips on how to keep it up!
Real World Organizing: How to Keep your House Tidy!
Sign-up for my email list below to keep up with my posts this time around!
BOY DO I EVER NEED THIS. I’M MUCH OLDER NOW, 77, AND NEED TO RID MYSELF AND HOME OF YEARS OF ACUMULATED THINGS. SINCE I’M HANDICAPPED, IT MAY TAKE ME 2 WEEKS PER STEP. BUT I’M IN AND LOOKING FORWARD TO A BETTER ENVIORMENT! THANKS.
Bloody awesome indeed
i am in! i SO need this- especially to get a handle on all the paper work, but i need my husband’s help with that, so i may have to switch weeks around. do you think that would be ok?
This is so awesome Krista! I can’t wait to follow along. I saved it to my organizing board to share this idea!
xoxo
Love this challenge! This time of year I’m always looking to organize everrrrrrything!
Looks amazing, Krista! I can only imagine that you’d need to organize after all those renovations. It’s gonna feel so good to have a beautifully renovated AND organized home!
Hugs, Jamie