10 things you can declutter with only a few minutes spare

When it comes to decluttering, if you’ve only got a small chunk of free time it can be overwhelming knowing where to start. If you’ve visited my blog before, you’ll know that recently I’ve been on a mission to simplify our home, clear things out and reduce the amount of clutter we’re storing in our small house.

I’ve been hunting out the best storage solutions for each room, adopting simple habits to keep things tidy, and regularly decluttering the amount of stuff we’ve got.

For decluttering though, I find breaking things down into small manageable chunks makes me much more likely to make progress.

You might remember a few years ago I challenged myself to declutter one cupboard a week in an attempt to clear out and tidy up my messy kitchen. This is an approach that really worked well for me, and is something I’ve tried to continue on.



While I don’t always have the free time to keep up with that commitment, I do try to regularly sort out all my cupboards/drawers/storage spaces - and clever storage systems can make this much quicker and easier, even if I only have a few minutes spare here and there.

So here’s some ideas for 10 things you can instantly declutter, even if you’ve only got a few minutes spare:

Old mugs

I promise you don’t need all the mugs currently in your cupboards! I try to only keep a couple of favourite mugs each, with another couple spare for visitors.

Odd socks

Have a dig through the sock drawers and pull out any that are missing their pair. I then put them to one side for a couple of days, just to make sure the other one doesn’t turn up in the washing. If it doesn't show up, that solo sock has got to go!




Coats

I’m terrible for holding onto clothes that I haven’t worn in a while, especially coats and jackets. But recently I've been trying a new approach: if I haven’t worn something at all in the last season, it needs to go

Out of date food

A really easy one, pull out your dried foods and check if there’s anything out of date that can go. This is the type of thing you can do in a few minutes, while waiting for dinner to cook

Books

Have a root through that pile of books next to your bed and be realistic about what you’re going to read again. Anything you don’t want pop to your nearest charity shop, or there might be a book swap locally




Old towels

Have a look through your bath and hand towel stash, and donate any that are past their best to a clothing bank

Kids clothes

Something I try to do quite regularly, as we don’t have a lot of clothes storage so I need to keep on top of overflowing drawers. Choose one drawer or section, pull it all out and get rid of anything that doesn’t fit or is past your best



Hats/gloves/scarves

The type of item we've all got multiples of! Have a look through your collection and get rid of any you don’t need, perhaps keep only one pair of gloves, hat and scarf per person?


Appliances you don’t use

You can bet we’ve all got a bread, soup or waffle maker that we don’t really use anymore and is taking up valuable space in our kitchen cupboards. For me it’s the old favourite sandwich toaster, it takes up a lot of space and only gets used a couple of times a year so it’s got to go


Unused gym equipment

You’ve probably got at least one item sitting in the garage or cupboard that you realistically won’t use again. Think weights, yoga mat, exercise balls, for example.



Don’t forget anything you no longer want (and in good condition!) will usually be warmly received by your local charity shop or clothing bank. If not, you can always pop on a selling site to make a few extra pennies, or recycle.


Thanks for reading,

Sam Xx