Mangaluru: The Ohana community has initiated a 30-day decluttering challenge starting this Saturday. Alka, founder and designer of Li’l Ohana, a brand offering natural-dyed, sustainable baby clothing and an assistant professor for BSc fashion design at the Indian Design School, stated that the challenge aims to help participants clear at least 465 items from their homes by deciding what to keep, toss, or donate.
Alka told TOI, “We have 30 people participating in this challenge, and each day they pick a particular number of items to declutter. This initiative promotes sustainable living. It is an effort to motivate each other, alongside fellow sustainability enthusiasts, to create serene and organised spaces. People generally have a lot of things at home and do not know what to do with them. Over 30 days, we will provide tips and give participants a card numbered 1 to 30. Each day, they pick a number and declutter that many items. They can keep the items, donate them, or toss them if they are no longer useful. I am confident that by the end of the month, each participant will have cleared at least 465 items. In the long term, this will lead to much cleaner spaces,” Alka said.
She emphasized that decluttering is a meditative activity, helping people value their space more and adopt a sustainable approach by donating items. Alka also noted the fun aspect of the challenge.
This initial challenge allows participants to declutter general items, but future plans include focusing on specific areas like wardrobes or kitchens. The Ohana community also intends to take up the 333 minimalist fashion challenge, which involves maintaining just 33 items in one’s closet for three months. Alka shared that her interest in sustainability and the positive responses on social media motivated her to launch this campaign. “Decluttering helps a lot. For instance, I can clean my house in 15 minutes because I know that every item has a place, and we need empty spaces in the house to have a stress-free and calm mind, as ‘clutter is a physical manifestation of a cluttered mind,’” she added.
The Ohana community strives to impact local artisans and the environment positively.