In today’s fast-paced world, 10 minutes might not seem like enough time to get anything done. But, 10 minutes is all you need to declutter your home and make it feel fresh again! In this post, we have 20 quick & easy 10 minute decluttering tasks that will transform your home within minutes, literally!
I’m sure you’re here because you’re interested in decluttering your entire house, but you are feeling overwhelmed by the whole decluttering process.
I’m here to tell you that it’s not about how fast you can declutter your home, but how consistent you are at decluttering on a regular basis. It’s a simple habit that pays off in a huge way.
The goal of learning to declutter is not to declutter one time and hope that clutter doesn’t find its way back into your home because it most definitely will.
The goal of decluttering is to learn how you can incorporate the key aspects of decluttering on a daily basis so you can reap all the benefits of decluttering for a very long time.
If you could consistently declutter for 10 minutes a day or even just every few days, you will start to see a difference.
Here are 20 quick and easy 10 minute decluttering tasks you can start doing today that make a world of difference!
We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
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Clear Your Kitchen Counters
Look around at your kitchen counters and if you identify any old food, things you haven’t used in the last 90 days, random junk, things that no longer bring you joy, etc. then toss it!
If there are old appliances you no longer need or use like toasters, blenders, coffee pots, etc., get rid of those too!
Declutter Your Desk Area
We spend a lot of time at our desks especially now that a lot of people are working from home. It’s important to love the area we work at most hours of our day.
Look at your desk and clear it off completely. Only put back the items that make you happy or that are practical and functional. Everything else is either in the wrong place or is no longer useful to you. Get rid of anything that doesn’t fit these categories and don’t forget about any desk drawer!
Declutter All Your Piles of Paper
I’m sure there are piles of paper all around your home. It happens to the best of us and can become out of control very quickly!
Toss out any junk mail and then only leave a pile of paper that needs review like bills, personal mail, packages, etc.
Then read this blog post on how to get rid of your paper clutter FOREVER!
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Clean out Your Junk Drawer 10
Let’s be honest, we all have them, but the only reason they are a hot mess is because we also ignore them.
Do you have one kitchen drawer that’s just full of odds and ends? That junk drawer can get out of control so quickly. Put 10 minutes aside to declutter it today! Here are a few great ideas:
- Throw away expired coupons, letters in envelopes with people’s names on them, broken cords, old batteries, pens you don’t use anymore or anything else that has just been sitting there with no purpose!
Let’s turn that junk drawer into a functional, useful drawer!
Declutter Your Medicine Cabinet
Often times we forget to declutter and organize the small spaces in our homes. One of the most common areas to neglect is your medicine cabinet!
- Go through all items, toss out anything past the expiration dates or things you don’t use anymore like makeup samples.
- PRO TIP: try not to purchase any new makeup/skincare or medicine until you are close to running out of what you already have. That way you have all items on a rotation system and no backup items are cluttering your space.
Clear Your Coffee Table or Dining Room Table
Clear your coffee table by throwing out recyclable materials, decluttering items that no longer spark joy, and finding a new home for things you need to keep. It’s likely there are some papers strewn around your coffee table as well; clear those off too!
It really only take you 5 minutes to declutter this area so pick another one!
Pick One Dresser Drawer to Declutter
Go through your clothes, underwear, socks and other small items in that drawer and weed out anything you no longer want or need. You can donate those items to charity if they are still usable or trash them if not!
Make a plan to tackle one drawer each day or every week to remain consistent until all drawers have been made clutter free!
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Clean Out Your Nightstands
There’s usually a lot of stuff in and on nightstands, so 10 minutes should be enough to get all that junk out. Check under and behind everything for anything you don’t recognize or need anymore: old receipts, expired coupons, hair ties from 2012…anything! Throw it all away.
Nightstands often accumulate the things we just don’t know where to put or just want to shove somewhere quickly. Make sure to add this one to your decluttering checklist on a routine basis!
Declutter One Cabinet in the Kitchen
Pick one cabinet in your kitchen and just focus on that for 10 minutes. Depending on which cabinet you are decluttering try to get rid of expired items, old tools / coffee cups / plates / etc. you no longer use or like, and do a quick wipe down if you have time!
Pick One Pantry Shelf
This task can be one of the hardest just because of the time limit but is often one of the most rewarding. Pick a shelf in your pantry and just focus on that for 10 minutes! We recommend starting with the top shelves, as some of those might have been neglected up until now.
Make sure to always go back and tackle each shelf until the entire pantry is done. This one can definitely be done over a longer stretch of time, but give yourself of goal to tackle the whole thing.
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Use the Trash Bag Method for 10 Minutes
LOVE THIS ONE! Seriously, the trash bag method is such a life-saver and is a fun one for anyone who likes less structure.
Just grab a trash bag and fill it!
This method can be used as you declutter through your home, room by room or even 10 minutes in one area!
Get spontaneous with this one and it wouldn’t hurt to get the family involved. Set a timer and try to fill the bag before the time is up!
Clean Your Fridge
Now, you may not have time to do the entire fridge so you may want to break this one up into decluttering the old stuff and then a separate 10 minute session to actually clean out the drawers and wipe down the inside.
I like decluttering my fridge once a week and then cleaning my fridge every month. It’s typically maintained pretty well during that time so it stays relatively clean and I don’t have to spend a ton of time on cleaning it.
Keeping these as separate tasks allows me to do each one in 10 minutes or less.
Clean Out the Freezer
Exactly how I declutter and clean the fridge, I do the same for my freezer. I remove all the old items or things that we just realize we aren’t going to eat anymore in one session and then clean it out in another session.
I usually go about 2-3 months for a wipe down on the freezer just because it doesn’t get as dirty as the fridge and not as many spills happen in there so less frequent works!
Declutter Your Entryway
If you have a cluttered entryway, it’s time to get rid of the clutter! Throw away old bills or old magazines. Move any shoes and coats out of sight so they don’t pile up as people come in. Clean up the floor area and wipe down the walls if you have time. Walls in any entryway seem to get little cute handprints all over them.
I also try to make time to vacuum my runner rug and water my plants in the entryway if I have time.
Pick One Closet
Now, we don’t need to get crazy and tackle our master bedroom closet in one 10 minute decluttering session. However, we can declutter a linen closet, kid’s closet or hallway closet in 10 minutes.
Declutter old towels, blankets, sheets, pillowcases, cleaning products, laundry items, etc. and organize what’s left!
If you want to tackle a larger closet then do it in chunks of 10 minutes until it’s done.
Clear Your Bathroom Counters & Shower Shelves
Place items that are not currently being used on the countertop of your sink away from view in the medicine cabinet. Clear out any towels, toothbrushes, toiletries or other personal items so they are no longer overflowing on the countertops.
I also quickly peek inside the shower and grab any items left behind that don’t belong or any empty bottles that may be hiding in there.
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We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
Dejunk Kid’s Clothing That’s Too Small
Keeping up with dejunking clothing that is too small for your kids is hard! If we don’t do it regularly, it can become overwhelming and their drawers and closet just get stuffed full.
Make this quick 10 minute decluttering task part of your routine schedule to make sure their drawers aren’t being taken over by clothing they can’t even use.
Declutter Your Pots and Pans
Sometimes we ignore our pots and pans because they are out of sight, out of mind in our kitchen cabinets.
Get rid of any pot or pan that no longer has a matching lid, those you no longer use or any that shouldn’t be used anymore.
Throw away anything that is worn out, cracked, chipped or has lost its nonstick surface (e.g., scratched Teflon).
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Have Your Kids Pick Out 5 Old Toys
Young kids lose interest in things so quickly so having them declutter their toys every few months is the best way to rotate out old items they don’t appreciate anymore and lighten the load at the same time.
Get your kids to pick out five old toys that they no longer play with and donate them or throw them away if they are no longer in good condition. Definitely throw out any broken toys during the same decluttering session.
Clean Out Your Purse and Wallet
Here’s a good one that may be overlooked by us busy moms, but it feels so good once you take the time to actually get done!
Who doesn’t love a nice clean wallet and purse?? Take the time to get rid of everything you’ve been stuffing in there that doesn’t belong including expired credit cards and loyalty cards you never used!
I promise this one is going to make you feel like a new woman!
10-Minute Digital Declutter
Um hello, we can’t just ignore all the digital clutter that exists on our phones and computers! Take just 10 minutes to trash old emails, organize photos, free-up storage on your phone, purge that social media friends list, etc. We all know we have good intentions of trashing all those unread emails, but we never actually get to it. It may not feel like you’re getting a clutter-free home out of this one, but your mental space will definitely be freed up; pinky promise!
10 Minute Decluttering Tasks That Will Change Your Life
If you’re looking for some quick and easy 10 minute decluttering tasks that will make your whole house feel instantly cleaner, this list is exactly what you need. With a little bit of time each day, week, or month, you can have some quick wins and spruce of all the areas of your home.
Which 10 minute decluttering task did you try? Let me know by leaving a comment below!
Also, would you all love to be a part of a declutter challenge? I’ve been thinking of creating a FREE email challenge. Let me know if you’d be interested!
