The Ten Minute Decluttering Game

Ten Minute Decluttering Game

Years ago, I'd set the timer for one hour and everyone who lived with me set to work. We cleaned like crazy, threw dirty clothes into the washer (sorted, of course), dusted, vacuumed and put things back where they belonged. Crazy music was blaring and we often danced a merry jig after finishing a job. Once the timer rang, we walked through the whole living area, enjoying the transformation. Then we settled in for some serious family fun.

If you don’t want to spend an hour playing this De-Clutter-Game, just set the timer for 10 minutes and organize/clean or sort out for that length of time. If you do this in the morning and evening, your place is going to look marvelous and you will be doubly rewarded with a lovely sense of peace.

Here’s why 10 Minute 'Transformations' work: 

It is much easier to contemplate cleaning/organizing/decluttering for 10 minutes rather than to face the seemingly impossible task of completely organizing the kitchen or basement, as an example.

Here are a few tips to make this 10-minute cleaning whirl work for you. Do one, or a few, 10-minute declutters every day in addition to your regular chores, and you'll feel like your home is actually getting cleaner, rather than merely maintaining the status quo. The 10-minute declutter can also help you out when things are getting messier than normal and you want to get back to standard.

Ten Minute Projects Are Do-able

Working for only ten minutes seems achievable and easy. By breaking those daunting projects into smaller parts you avoid feeling snowed under. Avoidance of important tasks may seem like the easiest path but there is always a consequence for that choice.

Ten Minute Projects Bring Focus

Sometimes I fail to work on projects because I am distracted by other things. Taking ten minutes to focus on only one task helps me to get more done. (Writing down the steps calms me.) I usually end up spending more quality time because I am concentrating on that one area rather than trying to accomplish several things at once.

Ten Minute Projects Destroy Procrastination

Most people procrastinate because projects seem too big or too hard or too time-consuming to take on. By just doing something on the project, it helps break procrastination’s hold and get some momentum going. We are much more likely to spend time on it later because the hardest part has been broken through: getting started.

Is there an area in your life in which you have been procrastinating? Is there something that you know has to be done, but you stay busy doing other activities so you don’t have to face it?  That is the project to get started on this week.

10 Minute De-Clutter Guidelines

1. Find 3 large boxes or laundry baskets. (You can also use paper grocery bags or plastic garbage bags) Label them “GIVE AWAY”, “THROW AWAY” and “PUT AWAY”.

2. Commit to 10 minutes a day. Every morning or afternoon for the next  weeks, spend 10 minutes in one room filling those boxes with the clutter that you see. Choose a more public room first like your living room, entry way or kitchen.

3. Immediately disperse the items. At the end of your ten minutes, put the “THROW AWAY” items into the trash immediately; take the “PUT AWAY” items to the rooms where they belong; and store the “GIVE AWAY” box in a closet until the next day. On your next errand day or on Saturday morning take the give away items to Good Will or Salvation Army (no going through the box again before you donate it!).

Got 10 minutes? Go for it!!