My personalised January challenge

When January comes around I always feel the need for a good tidy up and house reset. For the last few years I've signed up to the Apartment Therapy January Cure - a twenty day challenge with a home related task each day to help you refresh and reset your home. They include things like making a list of projects to complete around the house, decluttering a specific area and getting rid of expired items.

It's a really good idea and I have wanted it to work for me but I had a few problems with it. The main one was that the e-mail with the day's task arrived in my inbox at 2pm, and you can't see future tasks in advance. That's just too late in the day for me, by then I'm winding down ready for school pick up. Another problem was that some days I had lots of time to spend on a task and other days I have less time. Finally some of the tasks didn't really achieve anything, they were either things that I already do or just weren't relevant.

I recently wrote about trying out a bullet journal for the new year, and it seemed like the perfect space to work out a personalised January challenge for myself. I went around the house and looked for the areas that needed a bit of extra attention, then I worked out a list of tasks which would help me to get the house in order. I tried to mix it up with longer and shorter tasks, with some being more enjoyable than others. I knew that I would be away for a few days in January so my list only had 27 tasks.

Then I wrote them all out on a blank page in a bullet journal and put them inside boxes. Usually when I complete tasks in my bullet journal I scribble them out but this time I planned to colour the boxes in. This means that I can easily refer back to the list if I want to make myself another challenge at some point!

It's not perfect - clean kitchen floor was in there twice so I had to divide it into edges/skirting boards and the main floor area! But I stuck to it and got everything done and the house is definitely cleaner as a result. I really liked being able to choose the task I wanted to work on each day, I usually chose a task related to an area I was cleaning that day anyway and I saved easier tasks for busy days.

I'm going to repeat the challenge in the spring I think, maybe for the month of March as we are away for some of April. I have a few specific spring jobs like jet washing the patio and cleaning the garage doors, and of course some of these January jobs will probably need doing again by then! I've found it a really useful way to get some of those awkward areas looking much better.

How to conquer the "to be read" pile in 2023

I always like to have a lovely big to be read pile, and I very rarely run out of things to read. But sometimes that big pile of books by the bed and those free downloads lurking on my Kindle can start to feel a bit overwhelming.

Recently I've been making a big effort to tackle my unread book mountain, and I thought I'd share a few tips, in case tackling the tbr pile is one of your New Year's resolutions!

Firstly, start by making a list of all the unread books. I made a page in my bullet journal where I wrote down the title, author, and whether it was a Kindle book or a physical book. I track my reading in Goodreads and so I also added my unread books to a bookshelf there. This was especially helpful for the Kindle books, because it made them seem more real when they were written down where I could see them. Also make sure that all physical books are gathered together in one place.

If even the thought of adding all the unread books to a list seems overwhelming then it might be time to have a cull! Think about whether there are some books in the pile that you are not realistically going to read, maybe ones that were recommended by friends or that you picked up for a good price. Feel free to pass those along, I regularly take bags of books to a local charity shop.

Begin with books that belong to other people. If you don't fancy a book that someone has lent you either be honest and say it wasn't for you, or give it back saying thank you and that you enjoyed it - they probably won't ask for specific details!

Then I like to start with the low hanging fruit. These are short and easy books that I know I can read very quickly in a day or two. It's very satisfying to tick books off quickly!

Photo credit Clay Banks via Unsplash

Mix it up - sometimes I find that some of the books on my tbr pile have similar themes, for example I seem to end up with lots of 'inherited house romance' stories and they can all get a bit samey so I spread them out a bit. I also try to alternate short modern stories with a longer classic. 

Don't persevere if it's not for you. I select my books carefully but I often start reading ones that just don't grab me. I either stop reading when I realise I'm not bothered about what happens next, or I skim them to get a sense of the story.

Put the books away when you've read them - either shelved on the bookshelf or passed on to a friend, family member or charity shop. Then you can enjoy all the new space that you are creating!

And of course probably the most important thing - stopping adding new books to the pile! Avoid bookshops and the library for a few months, don't hunt out those free Kindle books, and politely turn down any books thrust upon you by friends and family. Easier said than done!

A year of crafting from my stash

Over the years I've accumulated quite a stash of crafting supplies. I do love having lots of materials that I can pick and choose from, and it's true that I usually have the right button or length of ribbon on hand to finish a project perfectly. But I also have some supplies building up that I really need to do something with. In particular I have lots of fabric and felt, and also a sizeable quantity of Hama beads and normal beads. 

So I have decided that this is the year when I will really make an effort to craft from my stash. I made a start this summer when I started to work through my fabric stash and I made some projects that I was really pleased with. In particular I learned how to make zipped pouches, and I've found them really useful for all sorts of purposes. I also made some really handy laundry bags which we have taken away on holiday with us.

I've spent some time brainstorming by listing the supplies that I have and thinking about the projects that I want to make. I've also been browsing on Pinterest and I've created boards - one for my fabric stash and one for my felt stash - filled with ideas of projects that I could realistically attempt. This helped me to make an initial list in my new Bullet Journal of things that I could start to work on.

In September I challenged myself to complete ten craft projects by the end of the year and I found having a list written out really motivated me to get things completed. So to start myself off I have made myself a list of stash projects that I want to complete by the end of March. Here they are:

* Scrunchies - these are intended for an upcoming cruise. I want to make six in total, two for me and four for Mia, in anchor and pirate themed fabrics.

* A set of stretch beaded bracelets in red/brown/gold - similar to the ocean themed stretch bracelets that I made last year.

* Four adult trainer sized drawstring bags to hold spare shoes in the suitcase for holiday. 

* A sleep mask to wear on planes

* A small fabric case for my sunglasses

* Some felt Easter hanging decorations

I think that this gives me enough to be getting on with for now!

Ten craft projects to complete by the end of the year

I seem to have collected rather a lot of new craft materials recently, as well as already having a sizeable stash. So in order to motivate myself to get on with some projects I thought that the best thing to do would be to make a list of the things that I want to work on and get finished. Only one of these projects has already been started, so I have plenty to be getting on with! 

Ideally all of these crafts will be finished by the end of the year. 

Felt Autumn leaves - I have lots of felt that I need to work through so I fancy making some Autumn leaves, something like these ones from Bugs and Fishes - Embroidered Felt Oak Leaves. I'm not sure yet if I want to string them into a garland or just leave them on display in a bowl or basket.

Felt sugar skulls - Another project to use up some of my felt! I've seen lots of inspiration online but I do particularly like these Felt Sugar Skull Sachets. I've got lots of felt scraps in bright colours and plenty of embroidery thread, and I bought some pumpkin ribbon last week which I might use to string them together with.

Cross stitch Christmas hanging - This is the one project that I've already started. Last year I bought three mini Christmas cross stitch kits from Hobbycraft. I've finished two and have just the caravan to complete. I also bought some Christmas fabric and so I want to put it all together to make some kind of hanging. I'm not quite sure how yet though, I need to do some planning!

Three Christmas themed wooden shapes to decorate - I bought this sleigh, wooden house and hanging sign from The Works a few weeks ago, they were only a pound or two each which I thought was a bargain. I'm going to paint them in acrylic paint. The wooden house will definitely be a gingerbread house and the sleigh will be used to hold chocolates. I'm not sure about the wooden sign yet, I need to come up with four (short!) Christmas words to paint.

Stretch beaded bracelets - I also recently bought some beading supplies and I'd like to have a go at making something like these stretch bracelets from Accessorize. I've got lots of little coloured beads and also some glass beads that look a bit like sea glass so I'm going to go with a blue/green/cream theme. I've not done this before really so I need to have a think about the best way to do it so that I don't end up with beads pinging everywhere!

Wooden READ sign - I bought a wooden sign which spells out the word 'read' to go on my bookshelf. I'm torn between leaving it neutral and painting it cream, or going all out to decorate it with different colours, beads, buttons and so on. 

A sea themed fabric project - I recently acquired some new fabric with sea themed motifs and some ocean themed ribbon. I'm not sure what I want to make just yet, maybe a simple zipped pouch or pencil case. 

A Christmas mini cross stitch designs craft - I'm not sure exactly on this one either, but I want to make some kind of Christmas craft using the free mini Christmas cross stitch designs which I shared last year. I also came up with a red and white Scandi colourway so I think I'd like to use that in some way, perhaps for some individual hanging decorations.

That gives me plenty to be getting on with! I think that I'm going to start with the felt Autumn leaves as I love working with felt, and I need to get a move on now as Autumn will be over before we know it!

Different types of decluttering challenges

I always find myself in September with a longing to sort out the house once the children are back at school. I find that a good decluttering challenge helps me to stay motivated and can make a big difference to the tidiness of my home, so I thought I'd share some of my favourite challenges below. Some of them I have tried in the past with great success, and others are ones that I definitely want to attempt in the future!

The Minimalism Game

I love playing the Minimalism Game, and I've done it several times over the years. It's very simple, you just discard the same number of items as the number of the day in the month. So Day 1 is one item, Day 2 is two and so on. It's very easy to start with, but it's pretty tough by the end! It also requires a certain amount of self-policing - for example do you count smaller items in a container as a group, or as individual items? A twist on the game is to play it in reverse, so that you get the most difficult part out of the way first thing. 

A certain number of items each day

This is the challenge that I'm working on this September. It's a variation on the Minimalism Game, but you remove the same number of things each day. For me, ten items per day is a manageable amount.

A particular amount of time each day

Set a timer, for example fifteen minutes or half an hour, and declutter as much as you can during this time. This challenge doesn't work so well for me because I get easily distracted and then panic that I'm not working efficiently, but I can see this being effective if you have a very cluttered house or lots of rubbish lying around.

A different area each day

Plan for this by making a list of all the areas in your house that need decluttering but try to keep it manageable, for example a cupboard or drawer at a time. Then work on one area each day. It's best not to be too rigid about it, and to keep the larger or more difficult spaces for days when you have more time.

Photo credit Elena Mozhvilo via Unsplash

A different category each day

This is the core of the Marie Kondo method and I find it works really well for me when I need to have a big clear out. Sorting by category means that it's easy to get rid of duplicates which might be missed if you are working on different areas at a time. It can be quite overwhelming and messy at times though, and you need to have the space to set aside an area for sorting.

Declutter the things that you don't use

This challenge works really well for clothing but can also be used for other items. Take out all your clothes, and only return them to the wardrobe or drawers once you have worn them. After a certain amount of time you will easily be able to see the clothes that you don't wear regularly and pass them on. Of course there are exceptions for seasonal items and special occasions, but it's a good way to remind yourself just how much you own.

Photo credit Sarah Brown via Unsplash

One item in, one item out

Every time something new enters your home, something else must leave. Ideally this would be something from the same category, for example a new pair of shoes or a book.

Join in with an online guided challenge

There are plenty of online challenges that you can take part in which can be very motivating and inspiring if you want to share your progress with others. Often there is an attractive printable calendar available for download.

My favourite challenges are run by Apartment Therapy, and they host regular free decluttering challenges using a daily e-mail to keep you on track. The next one starts on the 19th September 2022 and you can sign up here - Decluttering Cure 2022. You can also find the older completed challenges with links to the daily tasks, for example the January Cure which I did this year, or a previous two week Decluttering Cure challenge.

I hope that I've given you some inspiration for a September declutter!