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Successful Large Family Decluttering Made Unbelievably Simple

March 17, 2018

Large Family Decluttering is something I’m always working on…it’s one of those jobs in the same category as large family cooking, large family laundry, and large family homeschooling. Decluttering is just never done. I’ve trained myself over the years to do a little bit of decluttering each day, the same way I do with my large family cleaning and large family laundry stystems.

However, I LOVE doing one big large family decluttering push right before I do my spring cleaning each year!

This just makes sense. If you are going to be doing a lot of deep cleaning, think about how much easier it is to clean a decluttered space. It takes so much less time, and it’s just a more enjoyable job. I don’t necessarily enjoy cleaning, so I need to make it as easy on myself as possible.

Large Family Decluttering Babysteps

If you have a large family (unless you are an accomplished minimalist) you have a lot of stuff in your house. Anytime you add more people to the equation, there is just more. More love, more fun, more dirt, more food, more laundry, more messes, more stuff!

So this means, as a large family mom, it’s imperative that we take constant action towards our clutter. If we don’t, we’ll have disastrous results…

Think about what happens when you don’t do laundry for a week…

…piles and piles of dirty laundry and children running around nekkid!

Think about what happens when you put off grocery shopping…

*Creative* meals made from pantry staples that no one really enjoys, and then when you make it to the store, you’re the weird one with four carts!

It’s time to start thinking about decluttering in the same way as those other tasks that just must be done a little every day. It will take a little bit of time for you to start seeing and feeling results from decluttering this way.

But remember, large family decluttering is a bit different from decluttering for the average-sized family! You have way more helpers!

I’ve created a 30-Day Large Family Decluttering Challenge to help you get started building the habit of daily decluttering. I initially created this 30-day plan in an effort to prep for spring cleaning. But this challenge can be done anytime you need some extra encouragement towards decluttering.

Start the 30-Day Decluttering Challenge!

Get your house decluttered once and for all...
and build the habits to keep it that way!

You have successfully started the 30 Day Challenge!

Get It Out Of The House

One of the most important steps in your decluttering is getting the clutter out of your house. This seems so obvious, but unless you have a plan for dispersing your clutter, I guarantee you will end up with bags and bags of it either shoved into a corner of your closet, or piled in the back of your van.

I have learned this lesson the hard way, one too many times. Have a daily plan for tossing the trash, and a weekly plan for a Goodwill run. I’m blessed that our Goodwill is on the right side of the road on the way to martial arts class, so it is so easy for me to make a weekly drop.

If your donation drop isn’t in a convenient location, it’s a good idea to brainstorm some alternative drop locations. In my area there are a lot of drop locations located in parking lots around town. It’s basically just a cleaned out dumpster where you can put your bags of donations and then they come pick it up. It’s not 100% ideal because you won’t get a receipt for your efforts.

But if a drop location dumpster will get the clutter out of your home, it is worth it!

I am always tempted to try and first sell any of the clothes or household items that are still in good condition on Ebay or Craigslist. You may be able to successfully accomplish this. For me…it’s a trap.

It takes forever for me to get something listed because I’m not highly motivated to do it. If I were trying to save up a big chunk of money really quickly, I could get it done, but otherwise, there is always something more important or more exciting for me to do. So listing items never gets done.

If selling your items is a temptation for you, then give yourself a very strict time limit. For instance, make an agreement with yourself that if you haven’t listed your items in 7 days, they will immediately be dropped off for donation. And then stick to it!

Large Family Decluttering-Get The Kids Involved

When your kids are involved in decluttering accomplishes two goals.

1. Your home gets decluttered exponentially faster.

2. Your children learn decluttering habits that will hopefully stick with them into adulthood.

I keep decluttering as simple as possible when involving the children, and make my expectations clear. I assign a small number of items that I would like for each of them to get rid of from their room, usually 3-5 items. And then I ask the children to bring me the items.

I always inspect what they want to get rid of first to prevent getting rid of something important. I will then put the items in the appropriate bag, trash or donation.

So when I add up all of the children’s items, in addition to my own items, we can get rid of a lot of stuff without spending a lot of time. For me this works out to 3 items multiplied by 7 children ages 4 and over, plus my own 25 items. We just decluttered 46 items, and it happened in less than 10 minutes! Woohoo!

Large Family Decluttering Challenge

I’d love for you to join me for my 30 Day Large Family Decluttering Challenge! I will walk you through tasks that should only take you 5-10 minutes each day but will give you massive results over the course of the challenge.

Sign up below!

Start the 30-Day Decluttering Challenge!

Get your house decluttered once and for all...
and build the habits to keep it that way!

You have successfully started the 30 Day Challenge!

 

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View more in: Home Logistics 13 Comments

Comments

  1. Becky says

    March 21, 2018 at 1:09 pm

    Alright!!! Let the getting-rid-of begin! I have a big pile to drop off tomorrow, but now I’m inspired to have each of the kids fork over 5 more items today! I confess to bursting out laughing at the comment on stuffing give-aways in the closet or back of the van. How did you know? Is someone spying on me??? Haha! Gotta MOVE ‘EM OUT!
    Looking forward to your declutter challenge! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Ashley Buffa says

      April 2, 2018 at 11:18 am

      Haha, Becky! I love it. We are all creatures of habit, right?

      Reply
  2. Camille says

    March 25, 2018 at 11:35 pm

    Would love to join the challenge!!

    Reply
    • Ashley Buffa says

      April 2, 2018 at 11:17 am

      Awesome! Make sure to sign up in the sign up box (near the red polka dot mug image!)

      Reply
  3. Carol says

    March 28, 2018 at 2:05 am

    I may have 8 (soon to be only 7) fewer than 9 kids but I am always up for decluttering. Great post, let the challenge begin!

    Reply
    • Ashley Buffa says

      April 2, 2018 at 11:17 am

      Yay! So glad you are joining in!

      Reply
  4. Janelle says

    April 22, 2018 at 12:02 am

    You can also go to givebackbox.com to get a free shipping label, schedule a free pick up and get a donation receipt. Print out the label and UPS will pick up your box and deliver it to your local Goodwill. Once it’s received by Goodwill, you get a receipt in your email! It’s so much easier for me than trying to remember to stop at Goodwill (which is WAY out of my way)!

    Reply
    • Ashley Buffa says

      April 22, 2018 at 12:09 am

      Great tip, Janelle! I had not heard of that website!

      Reply
  5. Rachel says

    June 9, 2018 at 4:23 am

    Hi there! I have signed up and received the emails, but I only received up to challenge day 21. I looked in my spam folders and nothing shows up. Are there 30 days of challenges? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Ashley Buffa says

      June 13, 2018 at 8:56 pm

      Hi Rachel! There are a few technical details that I need to take care of to be compliant with new legislation (over in Europe!), and until I do that, I need to wait to send anything else out. I will be resuming the challenge just as soon as I can take care of those details, and you will start receiving those emails again! Thanks for your patience!

      Reply
      • Krystal says

        September 26, 2018 at 11:25 am

        Will the 30 days ever be finished?! helppp 🙁

        Reply
  6. Libby Inglett says

    November 3, 2018 at 1:01 am

    I am so guilty of thinking I need to try and sell the clothes, books and stuff when I declutter… and it almost never leaves the house! IUgh! Even though we only have 3 kids at home now, there is still so much stuff!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Managing A Large Family- Large Family Organization Tips - Large Family Management says:
    December 13, 2018 at 1:05 pm

    […] The first place you need to start is with a big large family decluttering session. Thankfully, I have created a challenge specifically for this! You can take my FREE 30-Day Large Family Decluttering challenge by signing up here. […]

    Reply

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Mother to nine, recovering perfectionist, reaching and growing towards the best version of myself. Read More

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