Do you get frustrated and stressed when you have clutter everywhere, drawers will barely close and your closet is out of control? Then you get even more stressed when you cannot think of any large time blocks in the near future when you can get to work and actually clean it out? Me too. So here is my plan for how to get organized when I don’t have time.
I have noticed the power of only five to ten minutes in many areas of life. Sometimes this means doing small tasks that can easily be done within that amount of time (folding a load of laundry, replying to some emails, sweeping the floor, jotting down ideas for vacation plans).
But sometimes it also means devoting just five to ten minutes toward a daily task until it’s done. At the beginning, it feels like you will never finish because the task is so huge (like cleaning out your clothes closet), but be patient. When you spend just five to ten minutes on your “get organized” task, as many days as possible, you will be amazed at how quickly you really do get it done. Better yet, you get to enjoy the benefits of a semi-organized or semi-decluttered space along the way!
In this post, I talked about going through your living space and listing all the areas that are causing you stress in some way. For this “get organized” project, you could use that list and methodically go through every area you listed that is messy or cluttered. OR you can just look at the list and identify just ONE area that is causing you the most stress. That will be your first “get organized” task.
When you identify the area, get to work.
1 – First gather some supplies. Here’s what you need:
*Clorox wipes (for wiping down any shelves or dirty areas),
*a feather duster (for wiping off dust),
*one or two containers (for collecting stuff that needs to be recycled/given away or stored in a different area),
*a pad of paper and a pen or pencil (for writing down anything that comes to mind while you are decluttering so that you don’t get sidetracked).
2 – Set a timer for four or eight minutes. (You want to leave one to two minutes at the end of your session for putting away what you pulled out.)
3 – I
*I tend to remove everything from the space I am decluttering. I find that it helps me to actually make a decision as to whether or not to keep the item I pulled out. (Sort of the Marie Kondo Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
technique of asking if that item “sparks joy” in you!) Plus, when I remove everything, I can quickly wipe it down or dust if I need to do that before returning the items I am keeping.
*As you are decluttering and organizing, you might think of items you need for keeping the space organized or you might think of random other things. To keep yourself from getting sidetracked by leaving the space to go put something on your shopping list, just use the paper and pen in your supplies. Jot it down quickly and get back to decluttering.
*Use your containers for getting rid of items that are either no longer useful (they don’t “spark joy”) or that should be stored in another space.
*Keep going until the timer goes off!
*When the timer rings, it’s time to clean up. Now set the the timer for one to two minutes. If you still have stuff out that you have taken off the shelf, just put it back on the shelf. Don’t worry about putting it back in an organized fashion — that will be your work for tomorrow.
*Take a look at anything you wrote on your list. Does something need to be put on your shopping list? Do you need to schedule a trip to Goodwill for donating some items?
*Put your supplies away.
*The next day, schedule your decluttering time and begin again!
As you read this, you might think that you will NEVER get the job done if you go this slowly. But trust me — you will. And every day that you continue to make progress will help you to feel that much more confidence and satisfaction when you see what you have already accomplished. It also gives you motivation to go ahead and get it finished when you have a bigger chunk of time to use. There is no “rule” that you have to only stick to 5 – 10 minutes!
Yes, it will take you longer to get your spaces decluttered with only small bits of time. But think about it this way: at the end of the week, you will have spent 30 – 70 minutes decluttering your spaces. That’s a good chunk of time that you might not have been able to find in your busy schedule otherwise.
Try it out and see for yourself. Let me know how it goes!