Why not tidy up your entire house in 15 minutes? It’s virtually impossible, but you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish in a short amount of time. “Once you get into the habit of doing 15-minute tasks, you’ll find that it doesn’t take that long to get things done. Then you’ll keep it up and get more done because you know it doesn’t take long.” “It’s that long,” says Shantae Duckworth, professional organizer and founder of Shantae-ize Your Space.
I spoke to three professional organizers and asked them what they’d like to get done if they had just 15 minutes. Their answers may change your perspective and motivate you to organize, right this moment.
Shantae Duckworth is a professional organizer and founder of Shantae-ize Your Space. Janelle Cohen is a professional organizer and author of The Folding Book. Sam Lund is an interior designer and founder of Simply Sam
Collect surface clutter
Fifteen minutes is enough time to get rid of all the clutter on surfaces around your home, like the empty water bottle on your coffee table or the opened mail collecting dust on your kitchen countertop. . Janelle Cohen, professional organizer and author of The Folding Book, recommends walking around your home with a basket and picking up all the miscellaneous items that are out of place. “Then, put everything you grabbed in the basket in its correct place. Small clutter tends to pile up, but taking just 15 minutes to fix small piles before they become big piles can streamline your home. It makes cleanup easier and faster.”
Complete three small 5-minute tasks
Sam Lund, an interior designer and professional organizer at Simply Sam, says he has three spaces that each take five minutes to declutter. Start with your makeup bag or drawer. “Throw away items that are expired or that you simply don’t use.”
After that, she recommends tackling the sock drawer. “You don’t get the second sock back,” she says. Finally, evaluate the often-neglected pen drawer. “Actually, you only use one or two of your favorites, so grab all the pens you never use.” Bonus: Empty your pen drawer frees up space for more important items. will be secured.
Organize just one area of your kitchen
There’s no way to clean and reorganize your entire kitchen in 15 minutes, but you can start. “The kitchen is a very large, huge area, but if you take 15 (minutes) to clean out your junk drawer, that’s much more reasonable and achievable. Not only will you have a better chance of getting the area clean, but it will also motivate you to keep cleaning,” says Duckworth.
Or you can organize your refrigerator shelves and pantry shelves one by one in 15 minutes. With 15 minutes of your time, you’ll have a clean fridge and pantry by the end of the week without any major cleaning.
fold a lot of laundry
Do you have a large amount of laundry that has been left out for a day or two? Duckworth said folding it is a simple process that can be done in 15 minutes. Additionally, sorting gives you the opportunity to organize socks that are no longer matched or underwear that needs to be replaced.
clean the medicine cabinet
From eye drops that expired three years ago to a nearly empty tube of anti-itch cream, there are always things in our medicine cabinets that need to be thrown out. “These are all quick decision items because the medicine cabinet is a small space and usually has things that need to be thrown away,” Duckworth says.
When you’re done, make a list of essential items that need to be replaced, such as bandages, or order a new first aid kit.
Do digital decluttering
Want to declutter but don’t feel like getting off the couch? Why not try digital organization on your phone, tablet, or laptop? There are two approaches to this. Whether it’s organizing your email inbox or organizing your photos and videos.
It’s unlikely you’ll reach “inbox zero” or accidentally delete all your selfies in 15 minutes, but it’s a great start. Duckworth suggests taking note of the number of emails you start with and the number of emails that end after 15 minutes. “You’d be surprised by the numbers,” she says.