10 Five Minute Decluttering Tips For The Weekend

This week – we have a guest post from Simply Alex Jean! Enjoy!

Decluttering can feel overwhelming so quickly. When I read the word, I immediately think of all the space I’m going to free up, all the joy of clutter being gone I’ll feel and how much more I’m going to enjoy my space. What then think about is all the work that goes into achieving that!

That’s why today I’m sharing 10 five-minute decluttering tips. Setting a timer and decluttering one simple spot can be effective and can help you achieve your decluttering overtime. While the results aren’t instant, they are more manageable especially for when you have a busy household!

Let’s dive into these tips!

Paper Clutter

Paper clutter can build up so quickly, and honest can take over your space in such sneaky ways. It can start with placing mail on a counter, then receipts then important documents to file that you got from an appt. Before you know it, you’ve got a full-blown file of disorganized papers.

So set a timer in your space and tackle that pile. Toss and throw away anything that is junk mail, then move onto creating a shredding pile for things you don’t need anymore and then create a pile for sorting. Now, in the 5 minutes you might not make it through all of these. That’s okay! Do as much as you can in those five minutes, and then return to the pile on a different day for another five minutes. You’ll find that regularly maintaining these papers will overtime become something you can easily do in five minutes!

Fridge

Go to your fridge and set a timer. Now go to the door(s) of your fridge and look at every single product. Toss anything expired or not longer able to be used! As we don’t look at our fridge doors everyday and only when we need a specific item from there this is a space that easily attracts clutter. You’d be surprised what you’ll find there! You might find some old sauces, maybe outdated bread yeast, expired baking products, jars of products that you don’t use anymore.

Once the timer goes off then you can leave that space and return as needed. With doing these five minutes regularly you’ll find overtime there will be very little to remove or declutter as you’ll be reviewing it often.

Bedside Table

Your beside table might be a space where a lot can accumulate. Often, we bring things into our bedroom and put them down beside our bed for use either overnight, when we’re in bed, or for the morning when we wake. It can be easily to not clean that space off or open the drawers to determine what clutter needs removing. Set your time and tackle as much of you beside table as you can in those 5 minutes.

TV Table/Tray Area

Everyone has got a space where their remotes live, likely a scented candle(s), some tissues, coaster(s), a pair of glasses, lip chap…. the list goes on! Those spaces where we can spend our evenings can quickly acquire quite a bit of clutter as we get comfortable and don’t want to put things back most of the time. So set your time and tidy up that space.

Bathroom Counters

This is another easily place odds and ends can build up. I know for myself I try to not put much on the counters, but sometimes on those busier days I throw scrunchies, pins, make up and hair tools on the counter when I’m in a rush. Set your timer for five minutes and use this time to put everything away and toss things that are in excess or not needed.

Medicine Cabinet

Take some time to go through your medicine cabinet and take out any expired or outdated medication. Medication that is expired or you no longer take can pose a hazard in your house for others who live with you. Go through all your medications and take any expired or not in use anymore medications to a pharmacy for proper disposal.

Under the Kitchen Sink

I try so hard to keep under my kitchen sink neat, tidy, and organized but sometimes it gets away from me. Set a timer and organize your items and toss away anything that’s not needed anymore or is unable to be used. It’s easy for junk to accumulate so find it a proper home if it shouldn’t be under your sink.

A section of your wardrobe

Set a timer and tackle a small section of your wardrobe. It can be a sock drawer where you remove socks with holes or without both socks (those lost socks the dryer eats!) or going through your dresses to donate ones you no longer wear or tossing away stained or damaged undershirts. Just tackle a small section and before you know it, you’ll be decluttering your wardrobe over time.

Your Purse/Wallet

Remember when I was mentioning how easily was for paper clutter to build up? Well, your purse/wallet is another great space where this builds up. You also likely have some left over snacks, broken pens, possibly expired medication, broken hair ties and whatever else you threw in there when you were on the go. Set a timer and tackle a section of your purse or wallet to clear out any items that are not needed anymore.

Junk Drawer

Now I don’t have one of these (yet…) as I just moved houses and so everything has its space. At my old apartment I did, and it would become cluttered fast. So, you know what to do, set your timer for 5 minutes and start taking items out and tossing, donating, or organizing where they should be kept. Again, this might be a bigger project than 5 minutes, but tackling it piece by piece you’ll find it won’t be as overwhelming and will become manageable and easy to maintain.

I hope this quick guide was helpful and there’s likely lots of other areas of your living space not on this list, but the same rules apply. Set a timer for 5 minutes and tackle piece by piece. Before you know it, these spaces will be a lot less cluttered, and you’ll be feeling great about your space. Doing this process also starts to build up habits of regularly decluttering which help with maintaining less clutter overall.Thank you to B for having me on her lovely blog! If you’d like to check out my blog and content you can head over to Simply Alex Jean.