Decluttering “One Spot” in Your Home Will Motivate You to Fix Up Your Whole Place in 2026
Apartment Therapy’s January Cure is a free 20-day program that’ll help you refresh your home for the year ahead. Sign up here and get all assignments delivered to your inbox.
Nothing makes me more excited (and determined) to kick start a productive year like Apartment Therapy’s January Cure. Call me biased, but this program offers so much if you’re looking to start off the year by refreshing your home. For starters, it’s completely free to sign up. And once you do, you’ll receive 20 daily assignments that’ll help you get your home (and life) in order for the year ahead.
Ready to get started with me? The first assignment is outlined below and it’s a must-try trick that’ll get you instantly motivated to fix up your whole home in 2026.
January Cure 2026
Get your cleanest and coziest home yet with the January Cure.
Day 1: Declutter one spot in your home (and set up an outbox).
Today’s assignment is simple: You’ll be decluttering just one spot in your home, followed by setting up your outbox to hold all your “maybe” items, aka the things you’re not sure what to do with (you’ll decide what to do with all of those later).
Choose one spot in your home that needs some decluttering (something you feel can be done in one session), such as a basket in your living room that’s been collecting items all week, a junk drawer that’s so stuffed it can barely close, or the chair in your bedroom with clothes piled on top of it.
Once you’ve picked your spot, set aside 15 to 30 minutes dedicated solely to decluttering it. Start by taking everything out or off of that one spot. Then, clean the area. Now, get to sorting. Decide what items need to be tossed, recycled, or moved elsewhere. Finally, put things back to where they belong, throw out any trash, and recycle items.
Then, it’s time to set up your outbox, which serves as the spot where you’ll be putting items you’re not sure about and need more time to decide if you want to keep or get rid of. The outbox doesn’t have to be a traditional box, either. You can use a trash bag, extra storage bin, or an old cardboard box you haven’t gotten around to recycling yet — as long as it can hold all your “maybe” items.
Once you’ve settled on what your outbox will be, you’re going to want to decide where it’ll be placed. You want to pick somewhere that’s easily accessible, like the back of your closet, as you’ll be using it a lot during the Cure program. (And feel free to move it around too, especially from room to room, but if things get too heavy, park it back where it belongs.)
And that’s it! Now, not only is your space a little bit cleaner, but you are also much more organized for what’s to come.
Tell us the one spot you decluttered today and share what you’re using as your outbox in the community forum.
More ways to participate in the January Cure:
- Sign up for email updates.
- Visit the 2026 January Cure page and catch up on assignments.
- Download the January Cure calendar.
- Activate your free membership to talk about all things Cure in our community forum, check off completed tasks, and track your overall January Cure progress!
The Cure Program is a tradition here at Apartment Therapy — it happens every January, April, and September. Click here to learn more about the year-round program and when to sign up.