Is your life full of clutter and short on time? Find time to get organized with these 15-minute decluttering sweeps to fit your schedule.
Feel like you can’t find time to get organized? Give some of these “quick win” decluttering tasks a try.
Life is busy, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. You may not feel like you have the time to commit to a major organizing project, but don’t let that stop you from getting organized.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, so you can’t expect a major transformation overnight. If you can commit to 15 minutes a day, every day, you will see results sooner than you think.
Below, I’ve listed 15-minute “sweeps” that can be completed in… you guessed it! 15 minutes. These sweeps will help you find time to get organized, without carving out a whole day to do so.
Just remember: it’s about less stuff and regular decluttering. It’s a whole lot easier to keep your space organized when you have less stuff.
15-minute (or less) decluttering tasks to help you find time to get organized
15-minute (or less) kitchen decluttering sweeps
- Fridge Door – Remove all contents from fridge doors. Wipe down shelves. Throw away expired condiments. Put everything back, grouping like items together.
- Kitchen Counters – clear all flat surfaces and counters. Empty sink and run dishwasher. Never underestimate the power of clear kitchen counters and an empty sink.
- Food Storage Containers – toss any mismatched lids and containers. Sort like containers together.
- Drinking Containers – Do you really need all of those promotional plastic cups, travel mugs, water bottles, and mugs? Do a clean sweep and donate what you don’t actually love and use.
- Utensils – Empty utensil drawers or crocks. Wipe down with a cloth. Store most-used in counter-top crock, and less used items in a drawer. Sort like silverware together.
- Recipes + Cookbooks – Sort recipes in file or a binder. Donate any unused cookbooks. Consider going paperless with a few Pinterest boards for most-used recipes.
15-minute (or less) bathroom decluttering sweeps
- Cosmetics – Empty your cosmetics tray or drawer. Wash clean with detergent and a cloth. Replace items, sorting my size and type, throwing away any unnecessary or expired products.
- Linens – Pull out towels and wash cloths. Get rid of anything frayed or torn. Re-fold and stack nicely.
15-minute (or less) closet decluttering sweeps
- Kids Clothes – Go through your child’s closet. Pull too-small sizes and set in a donation or sort into a tub for younger siblings. Set worn or ripped items in the mending pile.
- Socks + Underwear – Match all socks. Pull any worn or torn items. Sort the mismatched sock pile, and get rid of any orphans.
- Random “orphan” Clothes – Walk around each bedroom and bathroom with a basket. Grab any clothing items off the floor to be placed back into the closet or in the hamper.
- Pick a Category – pick one category of clothing – sweaters, t-shirts, underwear – whatever. Go through each item. If you don’t love it and wear it, or if it’s worn or torn, throw it in the donate, mending, or trash pile. Once you’ve purged a category of clothing (and you have all like items together, it’s much easier to put everything back in place in an orderly fashion.
15-minute (or less) decluttering sweeps for paper clutter
- Magazines & Catalogs – Gather all periodicals from around the house into a pile. Set aside current issues that you still want to read. Recycle old magazines. If there is an article you want to save, cut it out. Paper-free option: check to see if the same content is available online and bookmark or PIN it to Pinterest.
- Paper Clutter – Gather all paper clutter in your home in one area. Recycle anything that you do not need to keep. Make separate pile for paperwork “action items” and a pile to be scanned and then thrown away.
- Home Management Documents – Do you have property tax statements, lawn care documents, invoices or bids from handy people, paint samples, etc. lying around? Consider storing them together in a Home Management Binder.
15-minute (or less) decluttering sweeps for other areas of your home
- Whole Level – Walk though your whole house (or a single level of your home) with a laundry basket. Grab any items that do not belong in that room and toss into the basket. Unload any items that do belong in that room as well.
- Computer – Spend 15 minutes sorting computer files, deleting old phone apps and files you no longer need. Or spend 15 minutes deleting and archiving you email inbox.
- Junk Drawer – Empty and wipe down drawer. Spend 15 minutes purging and sorting items into like categories. Then place back into drawer or another area of the house.