Download your FREE 2023 October Decluttering Calendar (plus two bonus pages!) to ensure the start of the holiday season is organized, decluttered, and stress-free!
How to Use the Calendar:
When I think about decluttering, I categorize my process into four main categories: paper, digital, home, and time. So, that’s exactly how I’ve organized this calendar. Here’s a quick overview of my October Decluttering Calendar for 2023:
- Week 1: Tackle Paper Clutter
- We’ll start by decluttering those paper piles.
- Week 2: Home Sweet Home
- This week, we’ll focus on a specific area of your home. In October, we are focusing on the Master Bedroom.
- Week 3: Digital Declutter
- Let’s tidy up your digital world. Specifically, this month, we’ll be decluttering and organizing our emails.
- Week 4: Specific Categories
- We’ll dive into specific areas that might be easier to declutter. This is my favorite way to declutter!! Check out my article How to Declutter By Category to see why!
On the weekends, I follow my Sunday planning routine to help organize and make the most of my time each week.
A few reminders for the October Decluttering Calendar:
- Remember, each daily task is designed to take just 15-20 minutes.
- You can always delve deeper if you like, but the goal is to keep it manageable.
- Decluttering and organizing are personal journeys, so make it work for you.
- I recommend reading my article, “Choose Your 15 Minutes a Day,” before you begin to get in the right mindset.
Grab your Free October Decluttering Calendar here:
Tackle Paper Clutter- Week 1
- Day 1: October starts on a Sunday, which I think is the perfect time to organize your week. Download my Sunday Planning packet now to help get you organized and ready to head into October. Read about the 7 Things I Do on Sunday for a more organized week.
- Day 2: Sort through your paper pile. This is a quick 15-minute sort. You are simply sorting into keep, toss, or shred piles.
- Day 3: Take care of any “action items” in your paper pile. For example, if you had to keep a paper bill so you could pay it…PAY IT! 😉 Then, if you can, get rid of that paper.
- Day 4: Take the time to shred the paperwork that has essential information. If you do not have a shredder, may I suggest this one or look into a place in your city with free shredding days.
- Day 5: Take 15 minutes to file away your paperwork. If you have to keep a physical file, then, of course, do it, but I would suggest keeping your files in a digital organization system.
- Day 6: Take 15 minutes to tidy your home office. It can make such a difference with relatively little effort.
- Day 7 & 8: Enjoy the Weekend and Plan your upcoming week!
Declutter your Master Bedroom- Week 2
- Day 9: Wash all the linens in your Master Bedroom.
- Day 10: Take 15 minutes to declutter your closet quickly. Don’t spend too much time thinking about it. Grab and declutter!
- Day 11: Take some time to declutter and organize your jewelry. I know for me, my jewelry starts piling up in the bathroom and on my nightstand. Take this time to put it back into your jewelry organizer or wherever you keep your jewelry.
- Day 12: Relocate items that have traveled to your master bedroom but belong elsewhere in the house.
- Day 13: Take donation items to the donation center.
- Day 14 & 15: Enjoy the Weekend and Plan your upcoming week!
Digital Declutter- Email– Week 3
- Day 16: Each day this week, unsubscribe from 3 email distribution lists. Except this one, of course 😜
- Day 17: Spend 15 minutes deleting emails. See how many you can delete in this time.
- Day 18: If you are finding a certain category of emails that you want to keep, create a folder for those emails. For example, “school” or “coupons.”
- Day 19: Take the time to move the emails you want to keep to the folders you have created.
- Day 20: Continue these action items throughout the week. Can you make it to INBOX ZERO?
- Day 21 & 22: Enjoy the Weekend and Plan your upcoming week!
Declutter By Category (15 minute challenges!)- Week 4
- Day 23: Declutter your purse or personal bag.
- Day 24: Declutter a drawer of your choice- might I suggest the junk drawer?
- Day 25: Declutter your canned goods and consider giving them to an upcoming food drive.
- Day 26: Declutter your blankets- donations centers and pet shelters need blankets this time of year!
- Day 27: Take 15 minutes and declutter worn-out and mismatched socks.
- Day 28 & 29: Enjoy the Weekend and Plan your upcoming week!
Last week before November:
- Day 30: Reflection: What went well this month? What goals do you have for the next month?
- Day 31: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Free bonus calendars:
Ok, so I need to know how this goes for you! Please feel free to visit our Facebook Group to join the conversation. If you know someone who would benefit from this calendar, please share it! Hope to hear from you, and…
8 Responses
Oh, what fun! I love decluttering challenges. Paper piles can get out of hand if you don’t look at them monthly. I like to review my to-be-filed bin and put things away every two weeks. It works well to keep the area organized.
I love that. Yes, I’m afraid after the move here my paper pile REALLY got away from me. But, I know I’ll feel better if I just tackle it rather than ignore the beast!! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment. I appreciate it so much!
What a great list of decluttering suggestions for October! I love how your tips are designed to tackle projects that take only 15-20 minutes each day. As you said, you can always extend the time if desired. However, it’s advantageous to do short bursts of activity. This minimizes burnout, maximizes progress, and keeps motivation high.
How are you doing? Are you feeling more settled after your recent move to Spain?
Hi Linda! We are doing well, adjusting to life here. The weather is so nice now, which is good because I’ve been doing a lot of walking. Thank you for thinking of me, and I agree, if everyone can build in a daily habit of 15/20 mins of clean-up or decluttering I think it can make all the difference in you space and time.
I love this approach; low effort/time but great capacity for results. For people experiencing overwhelm, this is the perfect way to wade in and feel empowered.
I know for me, I have to build decluttering/cleaning into my daily habits or it would never get done! Trying to do a complete overhaul in the middle of our daily routine would not work in our house! Thank you so much for reading and commenting, I really appreciate the feedback. 🥰
Decluttering is overwhelming. Thanks for making it look easy.
Thank you so much! It’s an on-going journey for me for sure. But the more I can declutter and make spaces functional, the more stress free my home and schedule starts to feel. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!