Clear out the Clutter, 10 Minutes at a Time!
If you have a busy lifestyle, home can be a place to drop your things and go back out. The idea of getting rid of all the clutter that builds up can be overwhelming. Here are some tips for making progress in your home when you only have ten minutes at a time.
Magazines. If you have a pile of magazines that you’re waiting to find the time to read, quickly flip through each one. When you find an article that sounds interesting, tear the pages out and keep them in your purse or coat pocket. They’ll be easy to access on a train or while standing in line. You can then recycle the rest of the magazine without wondering what you missed.
Books. Books can be so hard to let go, but if they’ve been sitting on your shelf unread, they take up a lot of space. Choose five books to let go of. You can drop them in a donation bin at your local library or leave them in the break room at work. You may even have a certain person in mind for one or two of them!
The junk drawer. Every kitchen has at least one. Spend ten minutes emptying out this one drawer and sorting things into piles of what you actually need and what can be recycled or thrown out. Of the things you decide you need, find homes for them other than in the kitchen junk drawer. Having one empty drawer is very satisfying!
Choose 5 things you don’t use but are in good shape. Do you ever use your crock pot and toaster oven? How many empty vases are sitting in a cabinet under the sink? Is there a coat in your closet that doesn’t fit like it used to or you think is out of style? Take a few minutes to post photos of these items on a local tag sale site or find a local chapter of freecycle.org. You can also drop them off at a charity resale store. This will free up precious space in your home without adding to a landfill. It’s environmentally safe and will help others!
Dump out your bag. This could be a briefcase or purse you carry to work and back daily, your gym bag, or a diaper bag for a child. These bags make it easy to carry too much stuff around that you never actually need. Take everything out and decide what you don’t need to be carrying around anymore. Recycle or toss it, and literally take a weight off your shoulders!
You don’t need to set aside a holiday weekend to clean up your home. With just ten minutes a day for a week or two, you will see a real difference in the amount of clutter in your space!