30 Bags In 30 Days Declutter Challenge (Free Printable)

Getting motivated to declutter your home can be a daunting task. With so many different areas and items to tackle, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and give up before you even start. Or you reach your personal breaking point before you find that motivation. Like walking in your kids’ bedrooms…

That’s where the 30 Bags in 30 Days Declutter Challenge comes in!

This challenge is designed to help you break down the decluttering process into tiny manageable tasks that can mostly be completed in under 10 minutes each. And the end result means you’ve got a house that makes you feel much calmer at the end of the 30 days. Woohoo!

30 Bags In 30 Days

Before we jump into the nitty-gritty of this challenge, it’s crucial to understand that decluttering is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. The pace at which you clear through your belongings is less important than the commitment to the cause.

That’s why I love a 30-day challenge like this one to keep up the momentum and build up the decluttering muscle, day by day.

All healthy habits take practice. Even when it comes to decluttering your home. And doing anything for 30 days straight is going to have a pretty incredible impact.

Unlike my 30-day declutter challenge which focuses on specific spaces, this one is really simple. You just need to fill 30 bags with things to get rid of in 30 days.

Now, before we go any further, have a think about 30 bags of stuff piled up in your living room. That’s a lot of stuff, right? That’s how much less clutter you will have to stress you out at the end of these 30 days.

How To Do This 30 Bags In 30 Days Challenge

Alright, let’s get to the important stuff. Everything you need to know to get started on your 30 bags challenge:

Step 1 – Print Your Free Challenge Tracker

There are two ways to do this challenge. I’ve created a printable 30 bags in 30 days challenge tracker to help you along the way, with whichever version you choose to do. The first step is to print off your printable 30 bags in 30 days tracker.

Find the free printable trackers in my FREE email newsletter resource library.

Why use a tracker? Because tracking habits is a proven way to keep you motivated! Plus they are pretty!

Option 1: Daily Prompts

Each day you’ll be given a prompt with a specific area or type of item to declutter. You can tackle these tasks in any order, and if you miss a day, don’t worry, just pick up where you left off.

Option 2: You Choose

For this second variation of the challenge, you get to choose what you declutter each day. It’s completely up to you what and where. The goal is simply to declutter a bag of unwanted items each day.

Step 2 – Gather Your Supplies

Before starting the challenge, you’re going to need your bags. You can get a pack of heavy duty trash bags for this purpose. The thicker ones are good for avoiding tears.

Or use what you already have.

Bin liners, plastic grocery bags or paper ones. Where I live, we only get heavy-duty paper bags when we get our groceries delivered now and they are designed to carry heavy groceries, so they are pretty decent for the initial phase of the challenge. However, you might want to put your decluttered stuff into boxes or garbage bags later if you are using small bags.

The size is really up to you. Got a lot of clutter? Use a trash bag. Not so much? Use a smaller bag. Or switch to suit the space.

Step 3 – Start Decluttering

This is where the challenge really begins. Set aside some time each day to declutter a bag of unwanted items.

If you’re using the prompts, start with one of those. If you’re using the blank tracker, start with a small area like a drawer or shelf that you know needs decluttering. This quick win will help you work up to bigger spaces that can feel more overwhelming.

Some days you will be decluttering items that still have value to someone. Other days, you will find yourself pulling out ‘junk’ that has no value for anyone anymore.

NOTE: I always take a second bag with me as I work through my home. This second bag is a trash bag and everything that is rubbish goes straight into the bag and into the bin afterwards. This way you can easily donate your other items without mixing them with the trash or needing to re-sort after you’ve decluttered a space.

Step 4 – Sort Bags Into Categories

As you declutter, sort your bags into categories. This will make it easier to organise and donate or sell later.

To do this, I simply label the bags so that I know what each one has.

Some common categories include clothes, books, electronics, and household items. You can also create sub-categories such as tops, bottoms, and shoes for clothes or get more specific like size 4 girl’s clothing.

Your goal is to make your own life easy with this 30-bag decluttering challenge! Avoid having to double dip in any of your bags later.

30 Bags In 30 Days Declutter Challenge

Here is a quick view of the 30 bags in 30 days list of prompts. If there are any spaces or areas on this list that you don’t need to worry about, like if you don’t have an 11 year old daughter who loves to hoard all the things and can skip kids’ rooms, then simply switch the out with spaces you do have that need your attention instead:

1. Day 1: Kitchen Drawers – Read my complete guide on decluttering the kitchen
2. Day 2: Pantry
3. Day 3: Kitchen Cabinets
4. Day 4: Bookshelves
5. Day 5: Bathroom Cabinet & Drawers
6. Day 6: Cleaning Supplies
7. Day 7: Linen Closet
8. Day 8: Clothing Drawers
9. Day 9: Shoes & Belts
10. Day 10: Wardrobe – Read my tips on how to declutter clothing
11. Day 11: Kids’ Clothing
12. Day 12: Kids’ Toys
13. Day 13: Nightstand Drawers
14. Day 14: DVDs & CDs
15. Day 15: Paperwork
16. Day 16: Craft & Hobbies Supplies
17. Day 17: Cars & Trailers
18. Day 18: Laundry Room
19. Day 19: Under The Beds
20. Day 20: Junk Drawers
21. Day 21: Medicine & First Aid Supplies
22. Day 22: Garden Tools
23. Day 23: Holiday Decorations
24. Day 24: Pet Supplies
25. Day 25: Desk Drawers & Shelves
26. Day 26: Electronics
27. Day 27: Garage
28. Day 28: Storage Spaces
29. Day 29: Fitness Equipment
30. Day 30: Free Day

What To Do With Decluttered Stuff

Filling 30 bags is the ‘challenging’ part of this challenge! Your goal is to eliminate excess clutter and unwanted stuff from your home as quickly as you can.

But what do you do with all that stuff? You have several options.

Donate It

If the items are still in good condition, consider donating them to charity. Many organisations will be grateful for your donations and it can help those in need.

This is my preferred option because it means I can get the bags out of my house as quickly as possible. When you’ve got 30 bags of stuff sitting in your house, that’s not a situation you want to prolong.

Giving away stuff to people you know also falls into this category, such as good quality clothing your children have outgrown that you pass on to a friend or family member with younger kids.

Sell It

For items that are in good condition and have significant value, you can try selling them. Try listing items on online marketplaces, such as Facebook Marketplace.

This is a great way to declutter and make some extra cash at the same time, but do be aware that this can be quite time-consuming and does not always go to plan.

If you do have a lot of unwanted items that may be of value to other people, you could also consider hosting a garage sale. This can be a quick way to get a lot of stuff out of your house in a single morning.

Again, if you have the time and the motivation to do it. Just make sure you’re pricing things to sell and that you advertise it well, otherwise you might be sitting in your garage or on the front lawn with your unwanted items, with no buyers coming to take it off your hands.

Recycle Or Throw Away

If the items cannot be donated or sold, consider recycling them or simply throwing them in the bin!

A lot of outdated technology can be donated, such as phone or battery recycling schemes. This is also a safer way of disposing of these items too.

Involving Family Members

Decluttering should be a team effort! Yeah, I say this from a place of knowing that most of it ends up my job because if I’m not doing it, it’s probably not being done right. Anyone else relate to this? Urgh!

But in saying that, there are certain areas of the home that can absolutely be delegated to other family members.

Clothes, for example, can be decluttered best by the person who would normally be wearing them. They know what they like and what they don’t. They also know what fits and what definitely does not. I still help my kids with doing their clothing, but any other adults in the house can absolutely fill their own bag!

The same goes for hobby supplies and areas that get more use by other household members than you.

I hope you find this 30 bags in 30 days decluttering challenge an effective way to take back control of your home in just one month. You will find many more decluttering resources and tips below to help you love the space you live in! Even if you do share that space with one of those junk-hoarding tweens like I do!