Inside: Learn how to declutter quickly when you only have 10 minutes!
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One of the biggest questions people ask when it comes to clutter in their homes is “How do I get rid of the clutter in my home FAST?”
Simplicity is starting to become more mainstream with Netflix shows like The Minimalism Documentary and The Marie Kondo Tidying Up Show. Many people are recognizing the benefits of decluttering and want to get on board!
The problem I see is that people want
While you could have someone come in your home and help you remove all your stuff for you, the issue I see is that you personally have not actually dealt with the clutter. You haven’t addressed why you were holding on to so much stuff or why you bought so many books you never read or why you had so many black sweaters.
In this scenario, I would guess the clutter will come right back because you haven’t really spent the time to address the underlying issues with the stuff in your home.
I know you came to this post because it talks about decluttering QUICKLY! And I promise I will talk about a quick decluttering method that I use. But, I have to warn you it will still take work and effort and TIME to declutter everything in your home.
But all I’m asking for is 10 minutes per day.
Are you still with me?
Ok, good!
I know the first question you probably have is…
CAN YOU REALLY DECLUTTER QUICKLY IN JUST 10 MINUTES PER DAY?
The decluttering method I am referring to is called “The 10-Minute Declutter.”
The reason I recommend spending 10 minutes per day to declutter is because we are all busy and most of us can’t dedicate a whole day or weekend to declutter everything at once.
And like I mentioned in the intro, decluttering everything at once is difficult to sustain in the long run.
Because you only have 10 minutes, it forces you to move quickly and not think too long about any one item. Plus, it’s only 10 minutes so you don’t get overwhelmed by a much larger project.
When we take this approach of one small step at a time, we can make incredible progress! On the other hand, if we let the overwhelm overcome us, then we might not end up doing anything at all.
And this brings me to the second question you probably have…
WHERE CAN YOU FIND 10 MINUTES IN YOUR DAY TO DECLUTTER?
So, you’re probably thinking, this sounds good. I can do almost anything for just 10 minutes! But WHEN will I actually do this 10-Minute Declutter you speak of?
I get it. We are all busy. But hear me out on this.
We all have an extra 10 minutes in our day.
I bet you mindlessly scroll facebook for longer than 10 minutes per day. I am guilty of this too!
Now, I am not telling you to stop looking at facebook. All I am recomending you to do is take 10 mintues of that 30 and declutter instead.
I am a numbers geek so let’s look at these numbers a little deeper.
10 minutes per day added up over a week is 70 minutes! That’s more than an hour of decluttering!
And if added up over a month, that’s 5 hours of decluttering!
And over a year that’s 60 hours of decluttering!!
Which is pretty amazing when you look at it that way! I bet you can get a TON of decluttering done in just 10 minutes per day.
But, I know what you’re thinking: 10 minutes will go by fast!
This is why you need to have a plan before you even start. Otherwise, you’ll just end up wasting the 10 minutes and you’ll be right back where you began.
Finally, let’s take a look at how I recommend you tackle The 10-Minute Declutter in your home.
HOW TO DECLUTTER QUICKLY IN 10 MINUTES PER DAY
The rest of this post will walk you through my tips for decluttering in just 10 minutes per day while making some HUGE progress on your decluttering goals.
Know Your Why
If you have been around this blog for a while, you know that I love to talk about your WHY. I even started this blog by talking about my big WHY for wanting to declutter and simplify my life.
I encourage you to do the same.
Thinking about and writing down your own reasons for wanting to declutter and simplify will help you articulate what you can GAIN by simplifying your life. By writing it down, it somehow seems like more of a committment to take the necesary steps to simplify. And, finally, knowing your own why will give you a solid foundation to fall back on when the going gets tough.
You can get a worksheet to help you with this step as part of the FREE Decluttering 101 Ebook.
Start Small
10 minutes is all it takes.
Pick one small shelf or one small drawer to start.
Have you heard of Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball concept? Basically, you start with paying off your smallest debt. This gives you confidence and momentum to keep going. If you start with the biggest debt you won’t feel the sense of accomplishment as quickly as you would by paying off the smallest debt first.
This is also a great way to think about clutter! Let’s call it our “clutter snowball.” :)
By starting with the smallest area to declutter, you build up your decluttering muscle and confidence that you can tackle even the big projects as well!
Since you are already in the habit of spending 10 minutes decluttering each day, once you finish one decluttering project, you can take those 10 minutes and apply it to the next clutter project on your list.
Schedule Decluttering Sessions on your Calendar
“What get’s scheduled gets done.”
― Michael Hyatt
Time won’t magically appear for us to declutter our homes, and if I’m being honest here, we probably won’t ever really FEEL like decluttering. Unless you’re Marie Kondo, then maybe you like to declutter. 🙂
For the rest of us, decluttering is simply an activity that will help us get closer to our big why.
That is why adding it to our schedule is so important! If we want to get this done, we need to make it a
Set Your Focus
Know what room, drawer, closet, etc you will be working on during your 10
One way to take the guesswork out of which area to declutter is by using a decluttering checklist. I’d recommend a checklist with step by step directions of how to declutter plus a checklist of areas to tackle to keep you on track and focused.
The FREE Declutter 101 ebook has both types of checklists for you to download and use!
Finish What You Start
It’s important to finish what you start before moving on to the next. Otherwise, you’ll have little messes all over your house and not have any finished projects. This will quickly cause stress and frustration for you and anyone else you live with!
This is especially important in the beginning when you are unsure of the whole decluttering thing. By getting a few decluttering projects under your belt, you’ll have so much more confidence to move on to the more challenging areas.
Don’t start a new project until you finish the current project, even if it takes several 10-minute sessions.
“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started.”
– David Allen
Prepare Your Supplies
Gather any supplies you’ll need before you start:
- 4 boxes: Trash, Donate, Keep, Undecided
- Clear surface
- Cleaning supplies
Also, know where you will take any donations that you accumulate during your decluttering session. Make a plan to drop off donations once a week or schedule a pick-up. This will ensure the items leave your home quickly and do not trickle back into your home.
Use A Timer and Get Moving!
I love the Pomodoro technique! This technique uses 25-minute blocks of time and a 5-minute break. The 10-Minute Declutter uses the same idea, but just working for 10 minutes.
Use a timer on your phone or the microwave. This will encourage you to move quickly and not think too much about any one item.
If you’re unsure about an item, put it in the “Undecided” box and come back to it during another 10-minute session.
If you need some help making decisions about what to keep and what to toss, this is a great post with 20 questions to ask yourself.
I also have a FREE checklist that will help you decide what should get thrown away.
Related Post: 20 Questions To Help You Declutter
Don’t Give Up!
Decluttering can seem overwhelming when you first start.
But, by breaking it down into small 10-minute chunks, you will be able to accomplish so much in a short period of time.
You got this!!
If you would love some additional support to declutter your first 10 areas using the 10-Minute Declutter process, keep reading for a special opportunity!
ARE YOU READY TO DECLUTTER QUICKLY IN ONLY 10 MINUTES PER DAY?
Get on the waitlist for my FREE 10-Minute Declutter Challenge e-mail course!
During this e-mail course, I will walk you through 10 areas you can declutter quickly in 10 minutes or less and then help you set up a decluttering plan to piggyback on your momentum from the challenge.
This is a great challenge for you if you are brand new to decluttering or just need a little refresher!
Click the image below to join the waitlist and be notified as soon as the decluttering challenge is available!
WHAT IS ONE AREA THAT YOU CAN DECLUTTER QUICKLY TODAY IN ONLY 10 MINUTES?
Let me know in the comments below!
