A common reason some of my new organized clients say that they haven’t gotten organized is because they don’t have the time. While doing a deep declutter and reorganization of an entire home can take a long time, there are some organizing tasks that can be done in short bursts of time, in just 10 minutes or less, to get you rolling and keep up momentum. While staying organized is a daily process, here are some things you can do that might take 10 minutes, depending on how much stuff you have.
Ten Minute Chores
Make the beds.
Gather up trash from a room or an entire house.
Empty the kitchen sink.
Put away the dishes.
Empty the fridge and/or pantry of spoiled and expired food.
Pick up the toys in a playroom.
Gather up dirty laundry and bring it to the laundry room.
Fold and put away one laundry basket full of clothing.
Break down empty cardboard boxes to be recycled.
Ten Minute Decluttering Tasks
Sort through a pile of mail and toss or recycle the junk mail.
Shred some old mail or paperwork.
Start filing away some important mail or paperwork.
Organize the contents of one file folder in a file cabinet.
Empty out the trash and remove clutter from your car.
Declutter your purse or wallet.
Pick one small drawer in a dresser or kitchen and declutter it.
Declutter a small flat surface – for example, your bedside table, a bathroom counter, the top of your home desk, the top of your kitchen table or dining room table.
Start decluttering your email inbox.
Pull a handful of clothing pieces out of your closet that you will no longer wear, and put those in a bag or box for donations. (Move that bag or box to your car once it is full, so you can drop it off when you’re near the charity of your choice).
Ten Minute Errands
Make a weekly meal plan and grocery list.
Pay a few bills.
Gather up items you want to return to stores, and put those in your car.
Ten Minute Time Management Tasks
Update your to-do list for the day or week, use a paper or digital calendar to plan when to get things done.
Schedule an appointment with a doctor, a dentist, etc.
Contact a company about a bill or financial issue.
While ten minutes alone will not be enough to get and stay organized, if you can find small pockets of time to work on these small tasks, you’ll begin to feel better organized! If you’d like further guidance and assistance from a Certified Professional Organizer, On Task Organizing offers virtual organizing sessions over Zoom or in-person organizing sessions in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. Please contact me to learn more about On Task Organizing’s services.
Great ideas!! Love 10 minute tasks that make you feel accomplished. :-)
Thanks for commenting, Laura! Yes, doing these short tasks can give you a quick feeling of accomplishment.
I love 10-minute organizing tasks. It is so satisfying.
Thanks for commenting, Sabrina. It is so satisfying to complete small tasks like these.
These are all fabulous, though I suspect “Contact a company about a bill or financial issue” is the one that probably can’t be solved in 10 minutes, especially if it involves a cable or cellular phone company!
But the rest? It’s amazing how 10 minutes can make you feel mighty. Everyone in my state gets a new license plate this year upon registration renewal. I renewed about two weeks before I had to, meaning I’ve had my new plate for two weeks. Two rainy, cold, soggy weeks, where I kept avoiding the task. But on Sunday, I carried a screwdriver out to my car, undid the plate and holder from the car, cleaned it all up with an auto wipe, put the new plate in the holder and got the whole thing back in the car…and clocked at at exactly ten minutes. Whoohoo!
Thanks for commenting, Julie! I’m glad you were able to do that 10 minute task of putting in your new plate! You are right that some phone calls about bills may take longer than 10 minutes, it depends on the company. I think setting aside 45 minutes to an hour to deal with big companies like cable or cell phone companies is probably the way to go.