Decluttering in 5: 20 Decluttering Tasks You Can Do In Five Minutes or Less

    
I used to hate emptying the dishwasher - until one day I decided to time myself and see how long it took to do this dreaded chore. Around five minutes. For some reason, knowing that it only took five minutes removed my mental barrier! It's still not my favorite thing to do in the world, but I don't dread it like I used to do.

Next time you find yourself procrastinating about some unpleasant task, time yourself. See if that knocks down a few of your mental barriers against that task.

My mom mentioned reading an article in her local paper about decluttering tasks you could do in five minutes. So I got to thinking - what are some other dreaded chores that only take a few minutes. Here are a few I came up with:

1. Sweep the bathroom or kitchen floor
2. Mop the bathroom or kitchen floor
3. Dust one room
4. Empty the dishwasher
5. Fold a load of clothes
6. Clean the kitchen counter tops
7. Wipe off the kitchen or dining room table
8. Sort the mail
9. Clean the storm door window
10. Declutter the surface of a coffee table
11. Clean the bathroom sink
12. Clean the kitchen sink
13. Empty the trash
14. Clean off your desk – or a corner of it!
15. Throw away the old food in your fridge
16. Have everyone in the household pick up their items in a common room and take them to their own room
17. Place newspapers in a recycling bag
18. Clean a mirror
19. Clean out a drawer
20. Make a to-do list (relieve your brain of clutter!)

So, if you have a few minutes, you can make your surroundings more pleasant with very little effort! By doing a little at a time, decluttering and cleaning don't have to require enormous chunks of time.

What do you do to declutter in short snatches of time?

More on  decluttering:
The "Do It Now" Mindset
A Dozen Tips for Staying Clutter-Free in 2013
Decluttering Any  Room in 3 Weeks

Want to Sell Your House? Get Organized Now!

       

Kathy Jumper's article contains helpful pointers for getting your house ready to sell, and sell quickly. Here's an excerpt:

""Do you want to put a sign in your yard, or do you want to sell your house?' That's the first question Marcile Sims of Oracle Real Estate in Mobile [Alabama] asks her sellers.

'It's so competitive now, and price is everything,' she said. 'We're having to turn down listings because some sellers are asking crazy prices. They would be wasting their time and everyone else's.'

In today's buyer's market, it's up to the sellers to bring out the best in their homes in order to stand out amidst the glut of inventory, agents said. Translation: Refresh or revive a house before it goes on the market.

The house may not be old, but often it can look worn. Local home inspectors, house stagers and Realtors offer tips for updates that help attract buyers with some curb appeal.

Walk around the house and look at the condition of the all the wood structures, seeking any minor damage that could be repaired prior to the house being put on the market, said James Elder of Elder Home Inspections in Mobile.

'A Realtor will say stand out on the street and look at the house, see what it looks like when somebody pulls up to the house,' he said. 'Are there cosmetic repairs or touchup things that can be done to give the house curb appeal?'

Heating and cooling system should also be maintained on a regular basis. Home inspector Bob Grafe of Daphne said that during a recent inspection, neither of the house's two air conditioners had filters.

'Putting in clean AC filters doesn't cost much money,' he said. 'When I see that they are clean, I know the owners care enough to do the maintenance.'

A big problem ... is water intrusion, Grafe said. When water leaks in, it decays and rots the wood.

'Homeowners should clean out the gutters. They are there to drain water, but when they get full of trash and have trees growing in them, it will start to rot out the wood.'

Leaky faucets, running toilets and those type of interior things are easy to fix, he said. 'The messier the house, the more difficult it is to inspect,' Grafe said. 'Pick up and clean up the house and have it ready to go.'

A house that isn't clean and looks worn out automatically make a potential buyer think upkeep has gone lacking, Sims said. 'Get the carpet cleaned, get rid of the smells and get your air conditioner serviced. If you have a septic tank, get it cleaned and inspected. Any blinds that don't close properly or burned out light bulbs need to be replaced.

'Take all of your pictures down and store them. Get rid of anything that makes the house yours -- they don't want to think of it as yours.' ...

If the house has furniture in it, make sure you declutter, said Angela Blankinchip of Showhomes Mobile/Baldwin. Often it's just a matter of updating the accessories and rearranging the furniture to make the rooms look bigger, she said. ...

'Staging works,' said Blankinchip. ... 'In today's market, everyone wants a model home, and that's usually the one people want to buy.'"

More on getting organized to sell your home:

Realtor: Key to Selling Your Home

Tips for Staging Your Home for Sale

Declutter Any Room in 3 Weeks

National Clutter Awareness Week - Give it 5 or 10

It's National Clutter Awareness Week! As if we needed help being aware of our clutter!

I have been using every available minute to work on my new venture, Mom Audience. When I get busy, my office gets cluttered. I know ... I'm a professional organizer ... it shouldn't be that way. But that's how life is, isn't it?

But it only took me about 10 minutes to declutter my office this morning. Why didn't I do it sooner? It's been bothering me for several days now.

My husband and I have been doing 5 Minute Challenges to keep things under control this week. It's amazing what five minutes can do! It's hard for me to give up even five minutes, but it's worth it. Our trouble areas: the office and the laundry room/pantry/storage room.

I took about 10 minutes earlier this week to look through my closet and rearrange some things. While doing so, I got brutal - I got rid of three tops I don't wear. When I swap out my seasonal clothes, I'll try to be as brutal.

It is motivating that Amvets is coming early next month. I keep a container in which I can deposit unwanted items to donate. Then my decluttering doesn't create clutter!

The less clutter I have, the less time it takes to clean! That motivates me! I've just been in the mood lately to live leaner, get rid of the excess.

If you're motivated (or not!) and want to live leaner, take a few minutes and declutter some messy places. Get the family involved! It is mentally, emotionally, and physcially refreshing to have an uncluttered environment.

If you receive this via email and want to comment, use this link.

More blogs about decluttering:

Decluttering in 5 - 20 Decluttering Tasks You Can Do In Five Minutes or Less

Get Organized Month 2009 - Family Five Minute Challenge

Clutter in Your House or Office Means Clutter in Your Mind

Decluttering in 5 - 20 Decluttering Tasks You Can Do In Five Minutes or Less

I used to hate emptying the dishwasher - until one day I decided to time myself and see how long it took to do this dreaded chore. Around five minutes. For some reason, knowing that it only took five minutes removed my mental barrier! It's still not my favorite thing to do in the world, but I don't dread it like I used to do.

Next time you find yourself procrastinating about some unpleasant task, time yourself. See if that knocks down a few of your mental barriers against that task.

My mom mentioned reading an article in her local paper about decluttering tasks you could do in five minutes. So I got to thinking - what are some other dreaded chores that only take a few minutes. Here are a few I came up with:

1. Sweep the bathroom or kitchen floor
2. Mop the bathroom or kitchen floor
3. Dust one room
4. Empty the dishwasher
5. Fold a load of clothes
6. Clean the kitchen countertops
7. Wipe off the kitchen or dining room table
8. Sort the mail
9. Clean the storm door window
10. Declutter the surface of a coffee table
11. Clean the bathroom sink
12. Clean the kitchen sink
13. Empty the trash
14. Clean off your desk – or a corner of it!
15. Throw away the old food in your fridge
16. Have everyone in the household pick up their items in a common room and take them to their own room
17. Place newspapers in a recycling bag
18. Clean a mirror
19. Clean out a drawer
20. Make a to-do list (relieve your brain of clutter!)

So, if you have a few minutes, you can make your surroundings more pleasant with little effort! By doing a little at a time, decluttering and cleaning don't have to require enormous chunks of time.

What do you do to declutter in short snatches of time?

Related Posts: Decluttering in 10 - Entry Way, Decluttering in Three, Decluttering in 5 - Check out the Shelf Life of Your Spices, Declutter in Five - Decluttering your Bookmarks or Favorites

Decluttering in 5 - Check out the Shelf Life of Your Spices

I heard recently that if you have McCormick spices or herbs (other than black pepper) in the red and white tins, they are more than 15 years old!! So obviously, the decluttering task for the day is to check out your spices and toss those old ones. They can't be very bright after all this time. :-)

Before you toss those spices and herbs, add them to your grocery list so you're not caught without.

Declutter in Five - Decluttering your Bookmarks or Favorites

Here's a decluttering task you can do in five minutes. Look over your bookmarks or favorites. Are you still interested in the ones on your list? If not, delete them. It will make it so much easier the next time you want to find one!