The No Spend Declutter Challenge!
If you have been visiting Simply Frugal for some time, you will know that every January we embark on some sort of decluttering challenge. This year is no different! However, this year, there are going to be a few additions.
After my recent reader survey, it was very apparent that the majority of you would love to combine a No Spend Challenge with a Decluttering Challenge! To be honest, this never crossed my mind, but it makes total sense to combine the two! After all, I am a firm believer that being organized is one of the keys to saving money. Decluttering only emphasizes the need to cut waaaaay back on impulse spending.
Why do a Declutter Challenge?
If you choose to join us this month, we will be completing 21 decluttering tasks together. When all is said and done, you will have a home that is much lighter, peaceful and clean.
Decluttering not only frees your home of excess, it has a huge impact on your mental well-being. It is way easier to make decisions, handle stress and feel less anxious and despair in a home that serves us with the items we have thoughtfully chosen to keep. Decluttering may also help you feel better about yourself, because it is an accomplishment!
Clutter-free living also allows us to complete daily tasks more efficiently. It allows us the space to be on time for appointments, cook at home more often, and even complete cleaning tasks in less time. It also allows us guilt-free time of enjoying our hobbies!
Why do a No Spend Challenge?
A No Spend Challenge is a great way to reset our spending habits. The end goal for me personally, is not to deprive myself, but to reframe how I spend money. Completing a No Spend Challenge helps me to make more intentional purchases that align more with my true goals.
Speaking of goals, a No spend Challenge is also a great way to kickstart your financial goals. Once you reset or reframe your spending habits to serve you, you will be well on your way to completing those goals you never thought possible!
Why combine two challenges?
As I mentioned above, I believe being organized and feeling content with your home, is a key aspect in saving money. Decluttering is something we can control. As we learned from 2020, there are financial aspects we cannot control, like job loss. However, we can control how we spend the money we do receive. That can require some rewiring of our habits. Challenges like a decluttering challenge will help us discover that we already have plenty, thus the desire to spend can be greatly diminished. A No spend Challenge will help break the habit of impulse spending by allowing us a peek into our spending triggers.
How are we going to do this?
Quite honestly, I'm flying by the seat of my pants on this idea! With that in mind, we will be starting The No Spend Decluttering Challenge on Wednesday, January 6, 2021.
- I will provide you with a decluttering task each weekday, Monday - Friday until the end of January.
- I will also give you a No Spend task on many of those days too.
- Each decluttering and No Spend task will vary in effort required, but they will still be very achievable.
- Print this checklist and gather empty boxes and bags
- If the idea of combining these two challenges is not appealing to you, by all means, pick just one challenge. It will be easy to separate the two.
Where are we doing this?
- Here on Simply Frugal (Every task will get posted here to the blog first)
- In the private Facebook Group (This is where the main discussion will happen)
- Instagram (I will post the tasks there as well. Along with some stories.)
Who wants to join? 🙂 We start January 6!
Here are the posts to far in the challenge:
- Day 1: Whole house quick declutter / No Spend rules
- Day 2: Evaluate cleaning supplies / No spend success
- Day 3: Declutter toys / Make a list of free weekend activities
- Day 4: Organize pantry / take inventory
- Day 5: Organize fridge and freezer/brainstorm meal ideas
- Day 6: Declutter two kitchen cupboards or drawers/order groceries online
- Day 7: Clean junk drawer/ no spending
- Day 8: Clean out purse/ Reward Yourself
- Day 9: Bathroom cupboards/Make a Wants List
- Day 10: Linen Closet / no spending
- Day 11: Nightstands / no spending
