A 31-day decluttering challenge changed how I see my stuff

Mesha Griffith, a children's book author and mother in Ohio, started a 30-day decluttering challenge after realizing her family had too much stuff. She first tried the exercise from The Minimalists podcast in 2021 with her husband and extended family, clearing one item on day one, two on day two, and so on, and keeping each other accountable over a group text.

She shared the challenge with her Instagram followers in January 2025 and again in December 2025. For the December run she drew a random number each day and had to purge that many items, which gamified the process and helped her post consistently; the videos went viral and people began following along and doing their own challenges.

The exercise changed how she values possessions. Once she started adding up what she was discarding, the day's items amounted to $400 in original cost. She says she's more mindful about new purchases but still battles everyday clutter like paper, tossing expired insurance cards and instruction manuals that can be found online.