15-Minute Decluttering Tasks: Quick Fixes for a Tidy Space
In our fast-paced world, finding time for long decluttering sessions can be challenging. Luckily, you don’t need hours to make a significant change! With just 15 minutes, you can tackle small but meaningful decluttering tasks that will help keep your home organized. Here’s a guide to quick and effective 15 minute decluttering tasks that you can easily fit into your busy schedule.
1. Sort Through a Single Drawer
Pick one drawer in your home. Maybe the kitchen junk drawer, a desk drawer, or a bathroom drawer. Empty its contents, discard expired or unused items, and neatly organize the remaining essentials. These clear organizers are perfect for drawers! A tidy drawer can not only make a difference in how cluttered your space feels but also make daily tasks way more efficient.
2. Clear Out a Magazine or Book Pile
Books and magazines can quickly accumulate. Spend 15 minutes sorting through a stack, recycling old magazines, or donating books you no longer need. You’ll free up space and make your reading area look more organized.
3. Organize Your Purse or Backpack
Our bags often become catch-alls for random items. Take 15 minutes to empty your bag, discard old receipts or expired coupons, and sort through the remaining items. Use pouches or small organizers like these to keep things tidy.
4. Declutter Your Desk
Your desk can easily become cluttered with papers, pens, and random office supplies. It can feel overwhelming, but spend 15 minutes sorting through these items and you'll see it was not as bad as it seemed! File important documents, discard unnecessary ones, and organize your supplies into drawers or containers.
5. Clean Out the Fridge
The refrigerator is a prime spot for hidden clutter. In just 15 minutes, check for expired food, clean out spills, and reorganize shelves. This quick task not only declutters but also ensures your food stays fresh and your fridge remains sanitary. Try to make it a weekly habit so it takes no time at all!
6. Declutter a Closet Shelf
Choose one shelf in a closet and sort through its contents. Remove items you no longer use or need, and organize what remains. This quick decluttering task can greatly enhance the functionality of your closet.
7. Organize Your Entryway
The entryway is often the first impression of your home and can quickly become cluttered with shoes, coats, and mail. In 15 minutes, tidy up this area by putting away shoes, sorting mail, and hanging up coats. Adding a small basket for keys or other small items can also help keep things in order.
8. Sort Through a Set of Towels
In the bathroom or linen closet, towels can take up a lot of space. Use 15 minutes to sort through your towels, discarding any that are worn out or stained. Fold and organize the remaining towels neatly.
9. Clean Out Your Car
Your car can accumulate clutter just like your home. Spend 15 minutes removing trash, organizing the glove compartment, and clearing out any items you no longer need. If you have a little extra time, give the seats a quick vacuum to get rid of dirt and/or crumbs.
10. Organize Your Kitchen Utensils
Kitchen drawers can become a tangled mess of utensils. Take 15 minutes to sort through them, remove duplicates or items you rarely use, and organize the remaining utensils in a way that makes them easy to access.
11. Declutter Your Digital Space
Your digital life can be just as cluttered as your physical space. Spend 15 minutes cleaning up your desktop, deleting unnecessary files, or organizing your email inbox. This digital decluttering can improve your productivity and reduce stress. Whew!
12. Sort Through a Basket of Laundry
Laundry baskets can become catch-alls for various items. Spend 15 minutes sorting through the contents, returning items to their proper places, and dealing with any laundry that’s been piling up. Listen to an audiobook or podcast to turn it into a "fun" task!
13. Tidy Up Your Coffee Table
Coffee tables can quickly gather clutter such as magazines, remote controls, and random objects. Use 15 minutes to clear off the table, organizing or discarding items as needed. This will help create a more inviting and calm living space.
14. Organize Your Jewelry
Jewelry can easily become tangled and disorganized if you don't take care of it. In 15 minutes, untangle necklaces, sort earrings, and put your jewelry back in its proper place. Using small containers or organizers, helps keep your jewelry accessible and untangled.
15. Purge Old Greeting Cards and Paperwork
Greeting cards and paperwork can accumulate over time. Take 15 minutes to go through these items, keeping only the ones that are truly meaningful and recycling the rest. This task helps keep sentimental clutter to a minimum.
There you have it! What 15 minute decluttering tasks would you add to the list?
By decluttering in manageable 15-minute tasks, you can maintain an organized home without feeling overwhelmed. Consistent small efforts can lead to big improvements, making your living space more enjoyable and functional.
Will you be heading on the road with your family this summer? Road trips can be a great way to spend time with your loved ones or to get a brief respite from this crazy world. Whatever your reason for the trip, planning is key.
One of the most challenging things for a family road trip is just getting to your destination. Anyone who has taken a trip with kids knows there are constant stops for snacks, bathroom breaks and meltdowns over a toy or blanket that may have fallen beyond their reach. If you prepare for the situations you can control, your trip to your destination will go smoothly (and hopefully with as few stops as possible).
Before you hit the road, be sure to take a look at these cheap road trip hacks. The dollar store or even Amazon are great places to look for inexpensive items that can be used to make your trip run as smooth as possible. Here are some cheap road trip hacks using simple items that will ensure your next road trip adventure is a success.
Shower Caddies
These mesh plastic caddies are great for snacking in the vehicle. Use the compartments to put a juice box or water bottle, bags of snacks, napkins and utensils. Each person in the car should have their own. No more making stops to get everyone their snacks. They can help themselves as you drive. Or even a plastic Shower caddy would be great and more sturdy for meals from the drive thru.
Mesh Pop Up Hamper
These small hampers fold up into a disc so they don’t take up much room in the car. Pop one up to be a catch all for larger toys or put a plastic bag in a small one and place in the back seat with the kids so they can throw their trash in it (and not on the floor).
Elastic Sheet Straps
Elastic sheet straps have little tabs that affix to fabric on each end. Tired of your kid losing their blanket and you have to pull the car over to find it? Do you want them to have a sweatshirt or jacket readily available? Attach one end to their clothes or fabric of their car seat and attach the other end to the blanket or jacket.
Plastic Mattress Protector
Plastic mattress protectors are a must have in your road trip arsenal. You can use them as a picnic table cover in a pinch if you stop to eat at a rest area or park. You can also use them to catch sand and dirt in the trunk or cargo area on gear, clothes or shoes. If your lodging on the way to your trip isn’t up to your usual standards, you can use these mattress protectors to keep you and the sheets separated.
Mesh Bags
Mesh bagsare great for road trips. Most dollar stores sell them in a pack of two or three and they have so many uses. You can tie one to the back of a headrest and put your child's blanket and stuffed animals for easy reach. You can also use mesh bags to air dry wet items or collect dirty laundry.
Accordion Files
Sometimes your car can become a dumping ground on a road trip and before you know it you find yourself looking for everything from sunscreen to bug spray. Accordion files can keep everything in one place. Place the item in a gallon size plastic bag and label the top. This also works for games, coloring sheets, puzzles and other activities for the kids. Empty the pieces into a gallon zipped bag, label and place in each compartment.
Shower Trays with Suction Cups
Are you tired of picking up Legos or small toys and want to keep them together and in arm's reach of your kids? Suction holders can be the perfect solution. Just suction the trays to your kids' window and they have a place to store their favorite things.
Stacking Pill Organizer
When you take a road trip, space can be limited. One way you can save space is by using the stackable pill bottles. Put your eye cream, toothpaste and lotions in them to avoid having to bring larger containers. You can put over the counter medications in them. Or if you like to bring your favorite spices along, you can put them in there too. The possibilities are endless.
Shower Caps
Shower caps are also a great staple to have on hand. If you make stops and your kids get their shoes dirty, you can place them in the shower caps. Or if you don’t want to take their shoes off, place the caps around their shoes. If you stop to have a picnic, you can also use these to snap around a plate to keep the bugs away from your food.
Cupcake Liners
Grab a pack of cupcake liners to help keep cup holders clean! Place cupcake liners in each cup holder, and when they start getting filled with crumbs and dirt, you can replace them in just a few seconds. It will save you so much time not having to wipe your car down. Let alone avoiding possible sticky messes.
Cereal Container
Plastic cereal containers make for surprisingly good garbage cans. They're narrow enough to squeeze into a smaller space, and the lids snap tightly into place. Plus, there will be minimal spillage if it gets knocked over.
Fishing Lure Box/ Small Hardware Storage Box
These small boxes can be used to keep things together in the car during travel, whether it is small parts for crafts, spare change or earbuds to your devices.
Cookie Sheets
No need for any of those fancy car desks for activities! Just grab some cookie sheets! The raised edges keep crayons from rolling off and the metallic surface is great for playing magnetic games and puzzles of all kinds.
Clip-on LED Light
For night driving, you may get distracted by turning the overhead lamps on for the kids to read. The clip-on LED reading light can come in handy. Clip onto seat belts so kids can have a reading light at their disposal. Clip onto your kids if you have to get out of your car at night to stretch your legs or go into a dark rest stop. These are portable and give just enough light for them to read, but not enough that it will distract you from driving.
Do you have any cheap road trip hacks to share? Leave them in the comments below!
Organizing all the closets in your home can seem daunting, but I'm here to tell you that it is possible to whip them into shape in one weekend. Dedicate one weekend to closet organization and you will be so pleased with yourself come Monday morning! There's also no need to order fancy and expensive closet organization systems. It's totally doable to organize closets on a budget, in a weekend! While you may need to enlist a friend to be the objective voice of reason (as to whether to keep or toss something), it can be done!
Start with the clothes closets.
In each clothes closet (bedrooms, entry coat closet etc.), you’ll need to go through the contents and sort each into like piles (clothes, shoes, accessories, etc.). You’ll also want to make a few other piles for items to donate, return to original owner, or toss. Deciding what gets the axe can be hard, and is the most time-consuming part of the whole process. If you just can’t do it, this post I wrote might really help you out!
Next, you’ll want to hang everything by category (tops, bottoms, dresses, etc.). Keep in mind that if you hang everything on the same style of hanger, the clothes will line up evenly, which matters aesthetically, but also keeps clothes wrinkle-free.
Keep all of your shoes in one place, whether that’s a hanging organizeror a shoe rack. Some people use a cubby system, while others use clear plastic boxes. Whatever floats your boat!
Be sure to save room for accessories, hats, gloves, scarves and even jewelry. Use containers to keep them wrangled in one place, or hang hooks on the wall, if room allows. Your perfect solution to organize closets on a budget might be found at the dollar store!
Move onto the bathroom linen closet.
This is a closet that I highly recommend you take the time to sort, toss and donate from. It’s typically a tight space, so why waste precious real estate on expired medicines and cosmetics, or threadbare linens?
Once you have the items you are going to keep, designate a first aid container and label it so that anyone visiting your home can access these items if needed.
Keep cosmetics together and group them into containers based on what they are (This includes bath, body, and hair products.) Purchase an over cabinet door hair dryer & styling tools organizer to keep your tools off the counter.
Fold all of your linens as similarly as possible and as compactly as possible. I like to roll our towels.
Next, tackle the kids’ closets.
You’ll handle these the way you handled the other clothes closets with a few additions.
Stack any games or puzzles that live in the closet by size and put any other toys that would normally end up in there inside of containers on the top shelf.
Depending on the size of the closet, you can put a large, plastic tote on the bottom for outgrown items that you plan to hand down to another child, or you could set up a cubby shelf for toy, book, shoe or accessory storage.
Finally, organize that pantry!
Sort the items into categories and set aside foods you intend to donate. Check the dates on everything. You have to make sure all food, including spices, are still good. To really get on top of your pantry organization game, use matching containers (either labeled or clear) to house cereal, pasta, rice, flour, sugar, coffee and other items of this nature. If you have workout supplements, baby items or pet supplies, be sure to separate them into different spaces.
Now exhale! While your house may still have clutter to handle, you can focus on those areas another weekend. It's totally possible to organize closets on a budget in a weekend! The main take aways are: declutter first, then group like items together. There may not even be a need to purchase any supplies to organize! You've got this!
Here's a GREAT printable planner from The Confident Mom! It's a printable 2024 weekly household planner! If you are looking for help with getting household tasks completed, check out this planner and support a Mom working from home!
The Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner breaks down household tasks into manageable daily and weekly bite-size pieces, utilizing smaller increments of time to keep the tasks from becoming too large and overwhelming. Most of the items can be easily completed in 3 to 30 minutes, and you can select appropriate items to delegate to family members (after all, even with the household planner, you still can’t be “super mom”).
No stone is left unturned because the household planner has a variety of suggested tasks staggered at appropriate intervals and includes everything from meal planning to items often forgotten such as checking your credit report to school shopping. Taking care of yourself should also be a priority, so there’s even “you” time on the list! You’ll be able to efficiently keep up with the tasks that can often be forgotten and feel prepared each morning with a realistic “to-do” list.
Don’t like one of the suggested tasks already filled out for you? Then simply digitally edit the file to remove or add your own task to create your own completely customized list.
I love decluttering. Not only do I love the feeling of having more breathing space in my home, but I always find decluttering to be a wake up call to my spending habits. It helps me realize just how much money I'm "throwing away" on things I end up not using or liking in the end. Ugh!
If you want to enjoy a more peaceful home and keep more money in your pocket (because you've realized how much you're wasting!), then I've got the perfect list for you! 31 things you can declutter this year. Choose a few or choose all 31 and get to work! Maybe in the end, your list will hold more than these 31 items with all the momentum you're getting!
Even if you choose just a few things off this list it will feel so good to lighten up! Most of these things are items none of us need but we hang onto “just in case” and feel panicked at the thought of letting them go. In my experience, it's not often that I have needed something I decluttered. These days, it is so easy to reacquire that needed item by borrowing or repurchasing.
31 things to declutter:
Out of date makeup- It’s just unsafe for your skin and eyes. Toss it out and treat yourself to a new lipstick or eyeshadow!
VHS tapes- If you are still clinging to VHS it’s time to let it go, it’s not coming back.
Old cell phones- Many electronics stores or phone companies have boxes for recycling cell phones and batteries.
Non working electronics- If you haven’t dropped off the stereo or DVD player to be fixed and have no immediate plans to do so, just get rid of it.
Old stretched out bras- Keep those comfy old jogging pants but stretched out bras are not doing you any favors.
Plastic bags- While it is handy saving your grocery store bags for other uses, we all wind up with an excess of them that we just don’t need. Toss them in the recycling.
Ragged towels and washcloths- If they can be upcycled for cleaning rags, cut them up into small pieces and find a new home for them. Otherwise get them out of there.
Clothes that don’t fit- Clothes more than one size too small/too big should be donated or sold.
Unused or duplicate kitchen utensils- 6 wooden spoons? 3 meat mallets? Unopened egg poacher? Clean it all out of those drawers!
Books- If you have read it and won’t read it again or you didn't like it then it’s time to clean off your shelves and nightstand.
Single Earrings- If it has been in the jewelry box for a year with no mate, chances are it will always be a single, go ahead and set it free.
Single Socks- When you are all caught up on your laundry go through your odd sock basket and match up, get rid of any without mates.
Unloved toys- Donate or toss toys as needed. After the holidays kids have an excess and this is a great time to declutter.
Unused sports equipment- Ice skates from lessons two years ago that have never been picked up again? Donate them. Too small hockey gear? Sell it!
Items that don't belong to you- If you have a spot that houses casserole dishes, borrowed books, etc. waiting to be returned to friends and family that you borrowed from, go ahead and return it all asap!
Paperwork- Junk mail, old bills, or other out of date filing. Grab an inexpensive paper shredder or toss them in the fire.
Odd storage containers- You know that cabinet with plastic bowls that have no lids or lids that have no bottoms? Get in there and toss out mismatched pieces.
Old linens- While towels may be cut down and used for rags in the garage, other items like sheets that either don't fit or won't be used on current beds, excess comforters (keep one spare) etc., can be decluttered.
Blurry photos- If you have a box full of family photos through the years remove and toss the really bad ones, if that is the only one you have for an event you might keep it but otherwise just keep the best of the best.
Ink Cartridges- If you have a stockpile of old empty ink cartridges you can find somewhere local to recycle or many places like Staples let you use them for credit towards new ones.
Freezer items- Freezer burnt, well past their date, inedible or unappealing food should be tossed!
Dried up pens- Take 5 minutes to go through your various pens, test them all on paper quick and throw out the ones that are dried up or leaking.
Manuals- I used to be one that kept every single manual/instruction book for every piece of equipment i owned, I had a drawer full of them and rarely ever needed to look at them. Then I realized that I could find them on the manufacturer's website should I ever need them and I tossed those suckers out!
Spare change- Unless you are saving up for something really big, It’s time to grab that change jar, clean out couch cushions, get that pile on the dryer and turn it all in. Treat yourself to a mani/pedi or add the cash to your savings account!
Craft supplies- Take an afternoon to go through them and donate items you won’t use in the next couple of months to a Children’s program or somewhere else that could use them.
Paint- Do you have a garage shelf full of paint that you keep just in case? If it's just for touch ups pour some into a small mason jar with a lid to make it last. Otherwise dispose of it properly.
Personal care items- Old perfumes, lotions, and shampoo bottles with 1/2” left in the bottom-get them out of the bathroom for good.
Cards- Open your wallet or purse and declutter customer loyalty, rewards cards, empty gift cards and the like.
Pet toys- Toys that are shredded, dirty, and unplayed with should be tossed, just like kids toys they need to be decluttered and occasionally replaced.
Boxes- Do you have a big collection of boxes somewhere, either packaging or packing boxes for another just in case? Clear them out and make room.
Any other things to declutter that you would add to the list? Did you get any good ideas for a starting place?
If your summer is anything like ours, (late nights, slow mornings, unscheduled days), then the thought of school starting again is probably exciting, but might stress you out a bit. Going from no schedule to a structured day can be tough at the beginning.
Because I find the adjustment tough myself, I have come up with a Back to School Action Plan that I hope you will find useful as well! The plan covers three areas: shopping, meals and organization. By tackling these three things I know our mornings are going to run smoother and we're going to save quite a bit of money!
Let's get started with the back to school tips and tricks, shall we?
Back to School Shopping Tips:
Since the first year my oldest started going to school, we have implemented a tradition of going on a date together to get her school items. We both really look forward to spending some quality time together and I think the one on one dates we do is an investment into our future relationship. That being said, we don't start our date day without a plan.
It can be so easy to walk into a store and buy whatever is on sale or super cute. But lets avoid that this year because quite frankly, it will be overwhelming to know how much money you actually spent on clothing that wasn't actually needed and now has to be laundered. Ugh.
So, this is what we do here:
Inventory Clothes: This may sound overwhelming, but it literally took us less than 10 minutes. I simply pulled out every single item of clothing (including socks and underwear!) and asked her to say Yes or No to each item. If she said No, that item either got donated or put into the bin for her younger sister one day.
With everything that was a Yes, I took a mental inventory of what she needed. I discovered that all she needs is a pair of indoor shoes and a sweater. That's it! I also purchase one (on sale) outfit for her first day of school and a "special" accessory.
School Supplies: This is the first year that we have to purchase school supplies since previously everything was included in the school fees for kindergarten and grade 1. Cost is more of a concern for me so, my thoughts for this is to shop the dollar store, home and maybe even Staples when they have a good sale going.
If time is more of a concern for you, try doing all your school supply shopping online at Walmart, Staples or even Amazon. Pick it up in store when your order is ready or have it shipped to your door!
Back to School Meal Planning Tips:
Meals can be a big stress inducer for me so that's why this year I have a plan for school day breakfasts, lunches and dinners. I even made some printables for you to use!
Breakfast: My kids never know what they want to eat each morning so this year I will decide for them by creating a menu. Every day of the week will be the same thing all year long. For example, Mondays I will serve muffins and fruit. Tuesdays will be pancakes or waffles. Wednesdays will be toast and fruit. And so on.
Lunch: This year, my girls and I are going to sit down to brainstorm all the items that they would like eating in their school lunch. I'm going to divide it up into categories:
Dinner: If I don't have a dinner plan, dinner will either be take out or grilled cheese and tomato soup! 😛 And neither of those are healthy or good for the budget on a regular basis.
Morning Routines: Rushed, hectic mornings are not my favourite. Admittedly, they happen way more often then I would like.
However, both of my kids still find having a morning routine written down really helpful. To help them along, I've made up a list of these steps I need them to follow:
Get Up
Get Dressed
Eat Breakfast
Pack lunch (I like to do this while they are eating, but they can put it in their backpacks.)
Brush teeth & hair
Backpack & Shoes on
Out the door
Set out outfits for the week: One thing I found super helpful last year was putting aside 7 outfits for each day of the week. This made getting dressed every morning so easy. My oldest tends to shut down when she has to decide so this has helped her tons.
Labels: With all the money that is spent on school items, it's not a good feeling when something goes missing! Make it easier to find important and favourite items with labels. We love the labels from Mabel's Labels so that's where I ordered ours from.
I'd love to know your back to school tips and tricks. Leave them below in the comments!
