7-Day Declutter Challenge—It’s Time To Deal With The Pile

Welcome to Week 4 of the 90-Day New Page Challenge!

But first—Week 3. How did it go?

Did you drink more water? Add some protein? Survive a no-sugar day without dramatically collapsing onto the kitchen floor?

I hope so. And if it was messy and imperfect and you definitely still had cereal for dinner at least once… same. That’s okay. You tried. That is the whole point.

Now. Let’s talk about Week 4

We’re Clearing the Clutter.

Literally.

We’re talking about the piles. The junk drawers. The “I’ll deal with that later” corners that have slowly taken over your home like a very quiet, very passive-aggressive invasion that you’ve been pretending not to notice since approximately October.

Week 4 is all about decluttering and simplifying. And before you close this tab because that sounds overwhelming, I need you to stay with me.

We are not doing a total home overhaul. We are not Marie Kondo-ing every item in your house while tearfully thanking your socks for their service.

We are doing small things. Simple things. The kind of things that take 10 minutes and somehow make you feel like a completely different, extremely put-together person afterward.

Why Decluttering Actually Matters

I used to think clutter was just a visual thing. Like, sure, the counter is covered in mail and mystery chargers and a grocery receipt from three weeks ago, but it’s fine, I know where everything is. Except, I didn’t. And it wasn’t fine.

Here’s what I’ve learned: physical clutter creates mental clutter. When our spaces are chaotic, our brains feel chaotic. It’s harder to focus, harder to relax, and harder to feel like you’re in control of your own life when there’s a rogue pile of papers judging you from across the room.

What We’re Resetting This Week

Week 4 is about creating space, in your home and in your head.

Not by doing everything at once.

By doing one small thing every day.

Things like:

• Getting rid of items you don’t use, need, or love
• Tackling the pile that has been sitting there since January and has somehow developed a personality
• Clearing surfaces so your home actually feels like a place you want to be
• Donating things that could genuinely help someone else 

Not perfect. Just better.

Let’s Be Clear: This Is Not a Full Home Renovation

Quick pause, because I know how brains work, mine especially.

If you’re already mentally renting a dumpster, repainting the kitchen, and researching built-in shelving systems on Pinterest… Stop. Put Pinterest down. Step away slowly.

That is not what we’re doing. That’s how you end up exhausted, overwhelmed, and somehow surrounded by more mess than when you started because you pulled everything out and then ran out of steam.

This week is about small, manageable actions that actually get done. Not a grand master plan that looks great in your notes app and never happens in real life.

Pick up 10 things. Organize one drawer. Toss the expired cans lurking in the back of your pantry like little ghosts of grocery trips past. That’s it. Small things done consistently. That’s where the magic lives.

Week 4 Nudges—Pick a Few and Actually Do Them

Same rules as always: don’t do everything. Pick two or three, and just start. Forward motion is the goal.

Purge 10 items daily: Set a 10-minute timer and find 10 things to toss, donate, or rehome. 10 might sound like a lot, but it’s not, not really. You probably have old receipts and junk mail on your counter, don’t you? That’s a few items right there. Do this every day this week, and you’ll have cleared 70 items by Sunday. Seventy. 

Empty or clear 1 container or pile: You know the pile. The box in the corner. The mystery tote bag from three events ago that’s been sitting by the door long enough to become part of the décor. Deal with one of those this week. 

Organize 1 drawer: Just one. The junk drawer, the bathroom drawer, the one you have to hip-check closed while refusing to make eye contact with. Pick one and actually organize it. You will feel unreasonably proud of yourself.

Toss 1 stack of papers: Old mail, school flyers, receipts, coupons from a sale that ended in 2022—gone. If it’s important, file it. If it’s not, recycle it. If you can’t tell the difference, it’s probably not important. And yes, this can totally count towards your 10 items a day. 

Clean out your car: Your car is a room you are in every single day. Treat it like one. Take out the trash, the water bottles, the forgotten sunglasses, the french fry that’s been under the seat since last summer. It takes 10 minutes and feels absolutely incredible.

Donate one bag: Clothes, toys, books, kitchen gadgets, the bread maker you bought with great intentions and have used exactly once—bag it up and get it out of your house. Someone else will love it. You will love not tripping over it.

Toss expired pantry food: Go through your pantry and throw away anything expired or anything you are genuinely never going to eat. This is your official permission to let go of the canned artichoke hearts. You’re not going to use them. You know it. They know it. Let them go. 

Clean out your fridge door: The fridge door is a mystery zone. Condiments from years past. Half-empty bottles of something that might be teriyaki sauce. That one jar of fancy mustard from a charcuterie board situation. Take everything out, wipe it down, and only put back what you actually use.

Ready to Level Up? Here’s Your Bonus Challenge:

If you’re feeling ambitious this week, try the Level Up Challenge: One full closet purge.

Pick a closet—the bedroom closet, the hall closet, the one you’ve been meaning to deal with for two years and have instead been aggressively not thinking about closet—and go through the whole thing. Take everything out. Only put back what you actually use, wear, or love. I love this hanger hack to help me clean out and organize mine. 

Spring is literally the perfect time for this. You can see exactly what’s been quietly gathering dust all winter, and it’s warm enough outside to feel motivated instead of just hibernating next to the pile.

If a full closet feels like too much, start with one shelf. One rod. One small corner you can actually conquer today.

Progress over perfection. Always.

A Little Reality Check

Will my house be perfectly organized by the end of this week?

Absolutely not. I have 8 kids and a junk drawer that I’m pretty sure is sentient at this point. There will still be a pile somewhere that magically regenerates overnight no matter how many times I clear it. There will still be a drawer I am not emotionally ready to deal with. And someone will probably undo half my work within 45 minutes of getting home from school.

But if I toss 10 things a day, deal with one pile, and finally face the fridge door?

That’s a win.

And if you do the same? That’s a win too.

We’re not trying to become minimalist influencers with pristine white homes and zero evidence that real humans live there.

We’re just getting 1% better every day.

We’re In This Together

I’ll be on Instagram this week showing you the real decluttering process—the good decisions, the “why do we own six of these” moments, and the very satisfying before-and-afters that make it all worth it.

Come find me and show me what you’re clearing out. I want to see the piles. The junk drawers. The expired pantry items you’ve been in denial about. All of it.

• Sign up for weekly emails — every Sunday, the new theme and nudges land in your inbox
• Follow along on IG — daily updates, behind-the-scenes, and more shenanigans than I probably should share publicly
• Download the 90-Day New Page Challenge calendar – download and print the free 90-Day New Page Challenge calendar and write down your nudges each week to help you stay organized. (If you printed this last week, we made a few small updates, so you’ll want to print a fresh copy!) 
• Tag me and use #90DayNewPage — I will find your posts, cheer loudly, and repost you. Share the messy parts. Especially the messy parts.

If you’re just finding us and want to join, learn more about the challenge here: https://lifeonanewpage.com/the-90-day-new-page-challenge-lets-level-up-together/

Let’s keep getting 1% better every day. Now go find 10 things to throw away.