Clutter is like a weed. It starts out small and unnoticed, then creeps into every corner of your home. Before you know it, it seems like a giant job to get rid of it.
But there’s no need to stress. Any big job can be broken into smaller tasks. In fact, the designers at Houzz call it “quickie clutter clearing.”
“Instead of waiting for that mythical perfect storm of ample time, energy and motivation to appear (spoiler alert — it’s not coming), why not take the reins and decide to make progress, one tiny project at a time?” Houzz suggest.
They offer these 5 organizing projects that can be done in 15 minutes or less:
Tupperware drawer: So many lids, so many containers—and none that ever seem to match! Pull everything out of the drawer and match lids to containers. Throw out the singles. Then restack everything into the drawer. If you have items that won’t fit comfortably in the space, don’t cram them in; give them away.
Container with utensils that sits by the stove: Do you really use all 50 of those spatulas and wooden spoons? This space should be reserved, says Houzz, for “true essentials.” Remove everything from the container and pick out the items you use most frequently. Put those items back in the container and either get rid of the others or find another place for them.
Pen cup: Let’s take stock: Do all the pens in that cup even work? Take out the pens, one by one, and scribble on a piece of paper. Throw out pens that don’t work and put a reasonable amount of those that do back in the cup. “If you have 5 million pens and pencils…set them aside to donate. Many school districts and some nonprofit organizations are happy to receive donations of office supplies in good condition,” suggests Houzz.
Sock drawer: Like Tupperware without lids, socks lose their mates, creating an eternal mystery: Where do all those mates go? We can’t answer that, but we can say that a sock without a mate isn’t very useful. Take all the socks out of the drawer, match up mates, then throw away the singles.
Dish towel drawer: Stained and holey dish towels aren’t good for the psyche. Remove them from your dish towel drawer and repurpose them as rags. If you don’t have room for them on the rag shelf, throw them out rather than switch the clutter from one spot to the next.