Do you often think you’ve not got enough time to declutter? Maybe you believe that to get anywhere, you need to set aside large blocks of time. But you can make a real impact in just 10 minutes. The magic is that frequent short bursts will have a cumulative effect and can achieve great results. So here are six areas of your home that you can successfully tackle in just 10 minutes:
- Clear kitchen counters Cluttered work surfaces make it really difficult to find things, harder to prepare food and can lead you to feel really frustrated about the state of your home. In your 10 minutes, remove everything from the counters that shouldn’t be there. Throw rubbish away, collect up anything that can be recycled and return other items to their rightful homes.
- Clear out a junk drawer It doesn’t have to contain junk! It can contain really handy things that are always within reach. Take everything out so you can see exactly what’s there. Decide what needs to be discarded or removed to another area of the house. Give the drawer a quick wipe out and put back the items you want to stay, storing like with like. You might want to add small containers to keep similar things together and make them easier to see.
- Tidy a kitchen cupboard You don’t have to do the whole cupboard at once, focus on one or two shelves at a time. Take out the foodstuffs, checking use by dates and discarding anything that’s no longer usable. Give the shelves a wipe down. Return items, arranging like with like and placing in ‘use by date’ order, with shorter dates to the front. If possible, consolidate any items that are half empty or duplicated.
Time is like a circus, always packing up and moving away
Ben Hetch
- Tidy the hallway Tripping over shoes and bags isn’t the best welcome into your home! Take 10 minutes to give it a tidy, removing anything that doesn’t belong and making sure the floor is clear. Put loose shoes in their rightful place, clear away bags and find a container to store gloves, scarves and hats. Clear surfaces of paperwork, dog leads and used face masks!
- Tackle bathroom surfaces The bathroom is another area that can work much better with a quick reset. Focus on the floor, sink top, visible surfaces and the shower. Pick up dirty towels and clothes off the floor and put in the laundry basket for washing. Look for rubbish to remove including empty shampoo bottles, toothpaste tubes and toilet roll cores. Return clothing, accessories and any other items that don’t belong to their correct place.
- Sort out cleaning supplies We accumulate many cleaning products over time, often due to over buying because we’ve forgotten what we have. Start by disposing of any rubbish and empty bottles. If any products have passed their use by dates, or look like they have lost effectiveness, dispose of them too. If you have multiples of the same product, organise them together, storing items with the least amount at the front. This will remind you to use them up first and prevent waste.
So decluttering doesn’t have to be overwhelming. I hope these manageable 10 minute tasks will not only get you started, but also keep you going!
0 Responses
Hi Anita,
good to hear from you. Helpful tips as always. You’ll be pleased to know I am mangaing to keep up with most of them! I have bought a new (second hand from charity shop £30!) smaller desk for my study. This was spurred by the need to find room for a cot as my daughter is pregnant again. So as it holds less I have to get rid of some contents. The big problem is the drawer which was full of wires and cables. I gather most people have these. I don’t have enough knowledge to know what I should keep or not. What would you suggest? I got a techy friend to remove things which were definitely useless but he said the others could be needed. I am also resigning from the main job which causes my paper mountain! I am now recovering from the lung problems so the op is coming closer. I don’t know when but a vist beforehand would be great. Very best wishes and thanks for your tips. Vivienne