The 2018 We KonDo It! Clean and Cozy Home Decluttering Challenge

I know, I know, everybody’s doing some sort of big “challenge” since it’s the new year, but this is more of an experiment. It’s a challenge to myself and you to make your home into your dream home! Are you ready?

The challenge is to do a one-room overhaul every month. No matter what your current living situation is, whether you rent or own, we can always create a space we love if we give it enough attention - and maybe some tips from Pinterest!

My resolution this year is to get a better clean routine down and create a space that feels like a functional, lived-in, inviting home. So let’s get started!

The Challenge/Experiment

Each month we’ll focus on one room. Here’s what we’ll do:

• We’ll declutter

• We’ll clean

• We’ll decorate

• We’ll learn how to keep it clean and decluttered!

As I tackle a room I’ll post about the problem I’m trying to solve, and you’ll see how I (hopefully) solve it. Maybe you’ve got an amazing system already in place that you can tell me about too!

How Will This Work?

It’s my belief that every problem stems from a design problem. Whether it’s a product design flaw or a “system” design flaw. In other words, us. We are human. We have flaws. But, I think, just like a product design flaw, if we can understand the problem, we can get to the solution where things just work. At least that’s my philosophy.

More brain, less brawn.

If you think about recycling, that was something none of us did years ago. Now it’s pretty much just part of our lives. Why?

Product design + system design. WE recycle. It’s part of our home system.

Yes, we had to be educated about it for the change to happen, but it happened through both products (such as recycling bins, recycling labels, signs), and then us getting into the habit of doing it. If you think about it, the odds are stacked in favor of recycling in most homes. You have bins. You have a pick-up schedule. You have products that tell you if they’re recyclable.

I think we can do this throughout our homes too. We just need to figure out how to design our place to stack the decks in our favor.

The Months Ahead

I’m loosely basing the schedule on the FlyLady’s weekly room focus, but instead, we will deep dive into a month-long focus on these areas:

• January: Kitchen

• February: Entryway

• March: Bathroom

• April: Bedroom

• May: Living Room

January is underway! Are you ready?

If you need some help, look through past posts. Spend 10 minutes right now. Just start. Wherever you are. There's no wrong way to declutter. There's no wrong way to make a space you love.

Post your successes, post your sticky points. Send me questions!

Here’s to 2018!