Oh no! Company is coming in 30 minutes and my house is a mess! I need to clean up my home, and quick. Roze to the rescue with tons of tips to declutter your home with these handy-dandy tips.
Clutter can pile up quickly in many areas of our homes and it can be overwhelming to deal with. I spent many years trying to figure out how to prevent it, and how to keep my home presentable most of the time.
When it’s broken down into small tasks it’s easy to declutter your home. It doesn’t have to be done all at once and the good news is that with only five minutes (300 seconds) you can get an area cleaned up and decluttered in time for company.
Below is a room-by-room guide to decluttering most areas of your home. The basic idea is to pick a small area, clear it out, clean it and return it to the way it’s meant to be.
Use boxes labeled ‘Donate’, ‘Toss’, and ‘Keep’ to sort items as you go. I think these labels are pretty self-explanatory. The ‘keep’ box can be used to throw in things that don’t belong in the room you’re in and can be sorted out later or put away on your way past the room where it belongs.
So let’s get to the meat of this article and help you declutter your home just 5 minutes at a time.
Kitchen
• Pantry cupboard – Throw out expired food and donate anything good that you just aren’t going to use. I buy stuff all the time because it’s a good sale and we might like it but in the end, we don’t try it and it ends up going to the community cupboard.
• Under sink cupboard – Sort cleaning supplies and eliminate duplicates if you can by pouring them into one bottle (exact same products only! No chemistry experiments!) Wipe the inside and organize contents.
• Junk Drawer – Get rid of all the true junk like loose rubber bands, paper clips, screws, take-out menus you never use, half pencils, dead pens, etc. Wipe out the drawer and organize what’s left. I use drawer organizers or simply cut the bottom 2 inches off cereal boxes to use as organizers.
• The counter, table, or wherever you toss your mail – Sort the mail into what’s important and what’s not. Toss the not important pile. The important stuff needs to have a home until it’s dealt with and filed.
• Fridge drawers – Throw out any spoiled food, wipe out and fill with good food. Easy-peasy!
• Fridge door(s) – Toss expired products, wipe the shelf, and return good products. Boom!
• Freezer – Check dates on frozen food and compost what’s too old. Organize the rest after cleaning inside freezer.
• Countertop – Remove everything that doesn’t belong and set it aside to put away. Clean the whole countertop. Organize those things that belong such as coffee maker, toaster, blender, or whatever you use often. Having the counter cleared and looking nice really improves the appearance of your kitchen and can make you wonder if you really need to declutter your home entirely. But yes, there’s more to a tidy home than a tidy kitchen.
• Utensil drawer(s) – Toss all those gadgets and utensils you thought would be great but never used. Don’t think about it, just toss (into donate box if you like). Wash the inside. If your drawer doesn’t already have organizers try my cereal box method and tidy that jumbled mess up.
Bedroom
• Closet floor – Pull out everything from the floor and put away where it belongs. Sweep or vacuum closet floor. Return items that belong there.
• Closet shelf – Take everything down and determine if it should be there. Can you throw out or donate anything? Wipe the shelf and return items that belong.
• Closet hangers – Organize the clothing on hangers. Remove all that are too small, worn out, or unwanted. Toss or donate as appropriate.
• Nightstand – Remove everything from the surface, wipe it down and return only the items that belong such as lamp and alarm clock. If nightstand has a drawer or cupboard in it tidy these as well and wipe them out before returning items in an organized manner.
• Floor – Pick up laundry, toys, books, etc. And put in proper places. Sweep or vacuum.
• Top of dresser – Clear off and wipe down. Return only items that belong. Maybe add something decorative like a vase of flowers or your favorite framed photo.
• Dresser drawers – Sort clothing, toss stained, holey, and odd socks as well as damaged clothes. Donate clothes that are too small or unwanted. Organize clothing into drawers as you like.
• Under bed – Remove everything from under bed and put where it belongs. Sweep or vacuum.
• Toy-box – Throw out broken toys and those with missing pieces. Donate things your child no longer plays with and put the rest back.
• Shelf – Organize books or toys that go on a shelf. As with the rest of the room donate or throw out items that are broken or aren’t used or wanted.
Livingroom
• Coffee table – Get rid of the pile of magazines and newspapers or put them away neatly where they belong. Clear off any dishes or food. Remove anything that doesn’t belong and wipe clean.
• End tables – Clear off, wipe and return only what belongs.
• TV stand/electronics – Dust TV and other devices, organize cords, sort out old DVDs, games, etc. and remove anything that shouldn’t be there.
• Bookshelf – Remove and donate books you have read or no longer want. Organize the rest and dust.
• Remove any furniture that isn’t being used or is broken. Take down unloved art, knickknacks, and pictures.
*This room can be really quick and makes an impression if company shows up unexpectedly. If you don’t have much time to declutter your home start here and you can lead your guests right in with pride.
Bathroom
• Under sink – Empty cupboard and wipe it clean. Toss items you don’t need or want. Organize cleaning supplies, toiletries, or whatever you keep there.
• Medicine cabinet – Dispose of expired medications and products. Wipe cabinet clean and return and organize the items that belong there
• Drawers – Like other drawers; empty, wipe clean, dispose of unneeded and unwanted items and organize what’s left.
• Linen closet – Pull out worn towels, sheets, etc. to cut up for rags or throw out. Empty and clean shelves one at a time while organizing contents like-with-like.
• Shower/tub – Dispose of excess toothpaste tubes, old deodorants, bottles of shampoo, body wash, etc. Keep only the ones you like and use. Organize so items are easily reached from where they are used.
Entry/Porch
• Closet shelf – Clear off shelf and sort seasonal items. Store off-season items in boxes or baskets on shelf and current season items come out for use to be stored where appropriate.
• Closet hangers – Again sort out seasonal items and store those not needed at this time of year. Maybe that means just moving them to the back; whatever you choose. Donate items too small or unwanted and throw out what isn’t even good enough to donate.
• Closet floor – Empty items off floor and sweep or vacuum. Sort items into keep, donate or toss. Return ‘keep’ items to closet.
• Shoes – Maybe this is what is on the floor of your closet or maybe you keep a pair of shoes for each person on the mat by the door. Regardless, sort them out, donate or toss what’s not needed or wanted, and organize what’s left.
• Table/shelf – Many people have a small table or shelf near their main door for dropping mail, keys, change, etc. Clean the surface and keep only items here that belong. This can become cluttered very quickly so it needs to be checked often.
Misc.
• Desk – sort paper mess and throw out junk paper. Organize drawers to easily find what you need. Keep only items you use daily on the surface. Dust and/or wipe clean.
• Laundry area – Clear off surfaces and wipe clean. Get rid of empty laundry jugs, old dryer sheets, etc. Keep one of each product you use regularly and store or get rid of the rest.
• Purse or backpack – My method for this is to completely empty the bag and return only items I use regularly or need to carry with me such as driver’s license, health card, etc. Dispose of the bundle of receipts and grocery lists that have accumulated as well as any garbage. Any remaining items either belong somewhere else or go in the garbage.
Of course, this list is not all-inclusive and you aren’t going to do all these in one go. Try setting aside 15 minutes a day, all at once or in 5-minute increments, and tackle three areas per day. In no time you will declutter your home and have it looking picture perfect.
No more fear of company dropping in and no stress of trying to declutter your home all at once. You could even recruit your husband and kids to declutter your home even faster. Give them one small area and even 10-15 minutes to clear the mess and make it look nice.
Now that you have a list it’s time to put in your 300 seconds of hard labor. Where will you declutter first?
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