5 Minute Decluttering Tasks You Can Do Anytime

5 Minute Decluttering Tasks You Can Do Anytime
The little things in life tend to take over on most days. We can get up in the morning with good intentions and then the coffee spills, kids get sick, traffic accidents make you late for work and you have to work later to make up for it.
We go from day to day doing what we need to do, but feeling like there isn’t enough time in the day to do all that we need to do or would like to get accomplished.
When thinking of decluttering the piles of mail on the kitchen counter, we tend to exaggerate in our minds how much time it will actually take. “Oh well, if I had an extra hour somewhere, I would take care of that…”
But, my friends! Decluttering doesn’t have to have an entire dedicated hour each day. Now, one could make some serious progress if you could devote that time to decluttering, but an hour typically seems impossible to come up with in light of everyday struggles.
But, you could find 5 minutes right? There are 5 minutes between homework helps in the evening with the kids. 5 minutes to do something while waiting for the oven to pre-heat. 5 minutes when waiting for family members to put shoes on before heading out the door. 5 minutes when your friend calls to chat. And 5 minutes after the kids get in bed.
Those 5 minute chunks can get a lot done, when you use them with purpose.
And if you take advantage of all those 5 minute chunks throughout the day, it’s very likely that by the end of the day, you will have put in an hour worth of decluttering.

But the there is so much clutter! How will I even know what do focus on for 5 minutes?

Don’t worry- I got your back on this one.
5 minutes is a perfect amount of time to focus on small tasks. So I’ve broken them down into super-small tasks that you can focus on and get more decluttering done during your day.
I’ve written them all out below, but better yet: I have a free printable chart here just for you!
Just enter your name and email and it will be sent right to your inbox:


 

When you have 5 minutes in the kitchen

☐ Declutter 10 things from the top of the fridge
☐ Declutter 10 things from the front of the fridge
☐ Declutter 10 things from the side of the fridge
☐ Declutter 10 items from the pantry
☐ Wipe clean the top of the fridge
☐ Wipe clean the front of the fridge
☐ Wipe clean the side of the fridge
☐ Clean the kitchen sink
☐ Scrub the kitchen sink faucet
☐ Wipe clean the stovetop
☐ Wipe clean the stove knobs
☐ Wipe the front of the oven
☐ Wipe the front of 3 cabinets
☐ Put dishes in the dishwasher
☐ Wash and dry a pot by hand
☐ Unload the dishwasher
☐ Sweep the kitchen
☐ Empty the kitchen trash
☐ Toss 5 expired/unused spices
☐ Declutter 5 coffee cups
☐ Remove 3 expired items from the fridge
☐ Declutter 3 reusable containers and/or lids

When you have 5 minutes in the Living/Dining Room

☐ Declutter 10 items from the living room
☐ Declutter 10 items from the dining room
☐ Declutter 10 things from the coffee table
☐ Declutter 10 things from an end table
☐ Declutter 10 things from the entertainment center
☐ Declutter 10 things from a book shelf
☐ Sweep the dining room
☐ Vacuum the living room
☐ Fluff the couch cushions
☐ Stack 20 books on a bookshelf
☐ Wipe the table clean
☐ Sweep the entryway
☐ Hang coats in the closet
☐ Straighten shoe area

When you have 5 minutes in the Bedroom

☐ Declutter 10 things from a dresser top
☐ Declutter 10 items of clothing (socks, underwear, outfits)
☐ Declutter 10 pieces of jewelry
☐ Vacuum a bedroom
☐ Throw away warn out socks or underwear
☐ Make a bed

When you have 5 minutes in the Bathroom

☐ Declutter 10 items from the makeup drawer
☐ Declutter 10 items from the medicine cabinet
☐ Empty the bathroom trash
☐ Sweep the bathroom
☐ Clean the bathroom sink
☐ Scrub the bathroom sink faucet
☐ Swish the toilet
☐ Wipe down the toilet seat
☐ Wipe the outside of the toilet
☐ Wipe the floor around the toilet
☐ Clear off the bathroom counters
☐ Wipe clean the bathroom counters
☐ Scrub the tub faucet
☐ Declutter 5 unused toiletries (lotions, soaps, shampoos)

 When you have 5 minutes in the Laundry Room

☐ Declutter 10 items from the laundry room
☐ Wipe clean the washing machine
☐ Wipe clean the dryer
☐ Sweep the laundry room floor
☐ Pick up dirty laundry in one room
☐ Fold clean laundry
☐ Put clean laundry in drawers

Miscellaneous Areas

☐ Declutter one window sill
☐ Wipe down/dust one window sill
☐ Clean one window
☐ Scrub the lights switches in one room
☐ Take the donate box out to your vehicle
☐ Put spare change in change jar/piggy bank
☐ Gather extra pens and pencils and put in office
☐ Remove trash from the car
☐ Declutter 20 items from the craft bin
☐ File 5 pieces of paper
☐ Throw out any junk mail
☐ Throw out old newspapers
☐ Throw out 5 magazines
☐ Declutter 10 items from the junk drawer
☐ Declutter 10 items from the car
☐ Pick 10 items up off the floor and put them away
More decluttering helps:

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About Rachel Jones

Hi there! I’m Rachel Jones, and I founded Nourishing Minimalism in 2012 at the beginning of my minimalist journey. If you're looking for encouragement in your journey, I created a FREE Facebook Group - feel free to join me there: Nourishing Minimalism Facebook Group and I share videos each week on YouTube

2 Comments

  1. Daikuro @ SimplicityBlogger.com on 02/23/2017 at 2:49 am

    Really great ideas. It is a good habit to declutter something once a day. And if it just take 5 minutes, then we have no reason not to do it.

  2. Dale Whiteside on 05/03/2018 at 9:05 pm

    Thanks for the great tips

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