2014 in 2014 - A New Declutter Challenge

 Last year, hundreds of you tackled the 2013 in 2013 Declutter Challenge with me. And the results were astounding. There were readers who decluttered tens of thousands of items from their homes, while others found the numbers less important than the positive impact the process of simplifying had on their life.At the beginning of 2013, I installed some forums here, with the aim of keeping track of each other's progress. But it turns out I have limited time available and (who knew?) running a forum was quite time-intensive. Lots of spammers, you see.I know lots of people are keen to get going with this year's challenge, as I've received a heap of emails over the past few weeks asking about it. I'm almost ready to release the free 2014 in 2014 Decluttering Guidebook, but first wanted to do two things.

Join the Facebook group and get inspired

I still like the idea of a meeting place for all of those participating in the challenge. I think it's really important to keep track of our progress, get help and find motivation when it's needed, as well as simply take a moment to get to know each other. So I've created a Facebook group, open to anyone who is interested in participating.Feel free to join here, and take a minute to say hello and introduce yourself. I'll be popping in and out to say hi and help with any questions you may have. 

Take the 2014 in 2014 Challenge survey

I also want to help you work out where your strengths, weaknesses and trouble spots are before we begin. So I've put together a brief survey for you to print out and complete over the next few days.You can download a copy here.These questions are designed to give you a realistic overview of your current clutter situation. There are no right or wrong answers and no good or bad places to begin. It’s simply important to understand your strengths and weaknesses before starting the 2014 Challenge. Otherwise you may wonder why a particular task is proving difficult for you, only to discover that it’s playing to a weakness of yours.You will need approximately 15-20 minutes to complete this survey. Not only will it help you identify sore points, strengths and weaknesses, but it also gives you a baseline to measure your progress against. We will revisit the questionnaire later in the year, and finish up with a final survey to see just how far you’ve come in 12 months.I know January is nearly half over (I'm a slow-starter, what can I say?) but now that you've settled back into the year is actually a perfect time to start thinking about what 2014 will bring for you and your family.

• Less stress?
• Less debt?
• Less anxiety?
• More time?
• More space?
• More contentment?

Let me know if you plan on taking the challenge this year.In all honesty, I won't be following the list strictly, as I finally feel like we've arrived at the point where it's no longer necessary. But that is after 3 years of solid work to simplify our home and two years of working through the challenge. My mission is to is to create a challenge where, come January 2015, you will be in the same position.So get going on the survey, join the Facebook group, and watch out for the free 2014 in 2014 Challenge Guidebook hitting the blog later in the week.