Easy Decluttering Tasks You Can Do in 10 Minutes a Day

Does a lack of time and energy keep you from decluttering at all? I get it, but ignoring it isn’t going to make the clutter go away. You’re going to have to deal with it at some point. Try this list of decluttering tasks you can do in just 10 minutes a day!

You still don’t believe me, and that’s ok, but promise me you’ll at least give it a try.

You don’t have to declutter everything at once or sacrifice large blocks of time to remove the clutter from your home.

Sure, it’s super satisfying to complete a long decluttering session from start to finish and see the completely transformed space at the end. For most of us, that’s just not possible.

Start in one room and pick a few of the 10-minute decluttering tasks below. Any time you have 10 minutes to spare, select another task until you’ve decluttered that entire room.

How do you declutter when overwhelmed?

Clutter can be overwhelming, and overwhelm can be paralyzing. That’s just a reality.

You might be working two jobs, raising children, working on a college degree, or have physical limitations that make it really easy to surrender to that overwhelm.

Before you do, just remember that saying ‘Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day’. Your home didn’t get cluttered overnight, and you’re not likely going to declutter it overnight, but it’s not hopeless.

The best way to declutter when you’re overwhelmed is to do it in manageable chunks of one task at a time, and that’s exactly what these easy decluttering tasks will help you do.

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Easy Decluttering Tasks

You really can declutter your entire home in just 10 minutes a day, and here’s a list of 10 minute decluttering tasks to help you get that done.

1. Unclog the Entry Way

The first room you walk into when you enter your home is an easy drop zone. It becomes the dumping area for shoes, coats, umbrellas, backpacks and lots of other miscellaneous items.

Clear out any garbage. Collect mail or paper piles and move them to the appropriate place.

Sort out all remaining entryway clutter by making a pile for each person. Have each person collect their pile, or move it to their room.

If you have a specific closet that holds all of the shoes and coats, sort your piles that way.

Move any remaining clutter to its appropriate place.

2. Clear Off a Kitchen Counter

The kitchen is one of the most used rooms in our homes. It’s where some families spend most of their time.

It’s also a natural dump zone for all kinds of random stuff.

Between the open cereal boxes, empty chili cans, dirty dishes, stacks of mail, your husband’s pocket contents, and the kid’s homework, the kitchen can become a cluttered mess pretty quickly.

Clearing off just one countertop can instantly make your kitchen look cleaner.

Grab all of the garbage and recycle and place it in the appropriate receptacle. Put any dirty dishes in the sink or dishwasher, then put away all food, spices, or clean dishes.

Collect things that belong in a different room and move them to that room.

All you should have left is the stuff that actually belongs on that counter. If it still looks cluttered, it’s time to reassess how often you use each thing and if you really need it out on the counter.

3. Clean a Refrigerator Shelf

Refrigerators can get pretty messy. Especially if you have a big family that goes through a lot of groceries.

All of those groceries make it really easy for stuff to hide out and be forgotten in the back.

Start by tossing any leftovers that are more than a couple of days old.

Take a quick look at Use By dates on all condiments and toss any that are expired, then move similar items so they’re grouped together. Combine any open duplicates you find.

Check your crisper drawers for fruits or vegetables that have gone bad.

Go through the deli drawer and toss any expired lunch meat or moldy cheese.

4. Declutter a Cabinet or Pantry Shelf

You know, that place your canned foods go to hide for years and years.

I find it easiest to just remove everything from one shelf, check the expiration dates, and toss the foods that are expired.

Also toss any open packages that have likely gone stale. Donate any foods that are still good but your family will never eat.

When you start putting stuff away, group similar items so you can easily see how much you have of each item.

5. Clean Out a Kitchen Drawer

Besides holding utensils and kitchen tools, kitchen drawers typically become a catch-all for all of the stuff we don’t know what to do with.

Start with a kitchen drawer you rarely open and I bet you’ll find a few things you didn’t even know you had.

Most of the stuff in the drawer probably hasn’t been used in years.

Empty the drawer out on a counter, wipe it out, and separate out anything you don’t use.

Throw away any broken items. Separate out all of the things you’re willing to get rid of.

Put back only the things you use and that belong in that drawer.

6. Declutter Your Kitchen Linens

Pull out your hand towels, dish rags, aprons, and pot holders.

Discard any that are stained, torn, or burnt.

Survey what you have left and see if there are any more you’d like to get rid of. Only keep what you’ll actually use.

7. Condense Cookbooks & Recipe Cards

If you’re anything like me, you’ve collected a lot of cookbooks over the years, and constantly rip yummy recipes out of magazines. Even if you’ll probably never make them.

Pull out your recipe collection and see if there are any cookbooks you don’t really use. Set them aside for donation.

Quickly sort through loose recipes and decide if you’ll really ever make them or not. If not, toss them in the trash and move on.

Replace any recipe books or cards you’re keeping.

8. Clean out Under a Sink

Whether it’s the kitchen or bathroom, under the sink can become a catchall.

Take everything out and go through it to decide what you want to keep.

Get rid of any cleaning supplies you no longer use. Toss any products that have expired.

Move stuff that doesn’t belong there to where it does belong.

9. Empty Out a Junk Drawer

Oh, the proverbial junk drawer. That one drawer (if there’s actually only one) that everybody tucks everything in. I know you have one so don’t deny it.

Empty that drawer out and throw half of it away without even thinking about it. Keep the batteries, keys, notepads, and a few pens, but it’s probably safe to toss the rest.

Want to declutter your kitchen in one fell swoop? Here’s a step by step process to walk you decluttering your entire kitchen.

10. Clear Off a Table

Living room, family room, regardless of what you call it, it’s the next room most families tend to gather in. It’s also where they leave a lot of stuff.

Coffee tables, dining room tables, end tables, and other flat surfaces are easy places to ‘set and forget’ things, and they can become cluttered very quickly.

Clear any unnecessary items off of the tops of the table, throw away all old magazines and papers, and remove any decor items you no longer love.

If there are any drawers, empty them out and throw most of it way. Keep only the items that you really need in that drawer.

Move everything that doesn’t belong, into the room it actually belongs in.

11. Declutter a Section of the Entertainment Center

Go through your entertainment center or tv cabinet area.

Declutter and toss the cords and cables you don’t recognize or need.

Get rid of old remotes and video games that nobody uses anymore.

Not sure what to do with it all? Read how I get rid of the clutter that I’m ready to let go of.

12. Downsize Your Movie/CD/DVD Collection

I used to buy tons of CD’s and DVD’s, but now everything is streaming or available online.

Sort through your movie, and music collections and remove any you don’t watch or listen to anymore.

Nursing homes love these donations.

13. Clear Off a Bathroom Counter

Here’s another clutter hot spot, the bathroom counter.

The stuff that collects on a bathroom counter is different in every home. Some are just a collection of everyday hygiene items, and others it’s a dump zone for pocket contents.

Regardless what has collected on your bathroom counters, throw away all of the empty toothpaste tubes and any other obvious trash.

Get rid of empty, expired, and ‘don’t like’ cosmetics and toiletries.

Put all of the makeup and hair accessories in their appropriate place.

Relocate anything that doesn’t belong there.

14. Declutter the Medicine Cabinet

A lot of homes don’t have medicine cabinets, but if yours does, I bet it’s stuffed full.

Throw away empty toothpaste tubes and any other empty containers.

Check everything for expiration dates and toss anything that has expired. Pay special attention to eye drops since most people don’t use them every day.

Discard any expired or no longer needed medications including cold medications and topical creams and rubs.

*** Pro Tip: Don’t store your medications in the bathroom. The heat and moisture can ruin the medication.

Remove anything that doesn’t actually belong in the bathroom.

Want to get the whole bathroom done at once, check out the step by step process to declutter your bathroom.

15. Condense the Shower Products

Most showers are small enough as it is, but add a bunch of empty or half full products, and it becomes a Jenga game of chance.

Go through all of your shower products and combine half-full products. Throw away any empty containers, and toss products you no longer like.

Toss all abandoned soap bar remnants, and discard dull razors. Throw out worn out sponges and loofahs.

Relocate anything that doesn’t belong in the shower.

16. Declutter Your Bathroom Linens

Go through your bath towels, hand towels and washcloths.

Remove any that are discolored, torn, tattered or worn out. They can be donated to your local animal shelter.

17. Clear Off the Top of a Dresser

Sort through all of those jewelry pieces, perfume bottles, and miscellaneous items that have been piling up on you dresser.

Throw away empty or broken items, and donate stuff you no longer use.

Put dirty clothes in the laundry hamper, and clean clothes in their appropriate place.

18. Declutter a Dresser Drawer

Remove everything from one dresser drawer and lay it all on the bed.

Throw any damaged items in the trash, and donate anything you don’t wear or doesn’t fit.

Put the rest back in the drawer.

19. Clear Off the Top of a Night Stand

Take the dirty dishes to the kitchen and throw away the tissue remnants.

Pare down the pile of books to the one you’re currently reading, and throw out any old magazines.

20. Clean Out Your Sock Drawer

The dreaded sock drawer.

Grab a garbage can and dump the entire contents out on a towel on the bed.

Spread those stinkers out so you can see them all.

Now it’s time to rip off the bandaid. Throw away any singles right now! Don’t even think about it, just toss them.

While your at it, toss out any with obvious stains or holes.

Put the rest back in the drawer.

21. Downsize Your Shoe Collection

Gather all of your shoes into one place and sort them by shoe type.

Toss any that are torn or worn out.

Sort out any that you no longer like, don’t fit, or you just don’t need. These can be given away, or donated.

22. Clean Out a Night Stand Drawer

Do you even know what’s in that drawer?

I suggest grabbing a garbage can and laying a bath towel on your bed.

Dump the entire drawer and throw away the obvious garbage, then start putting things you need back in the drawer.

Put the rest away where it belongs, in a donation box, or in the trash.

23. Declutter a Desk Drawer

Clear out one drawer in your desk.

Throw away any trash. Test and discard any pens that don’t work.

Toss loose change in a change jar. Throw out any scrap papers that are laying around.

Sort and store paperclips and pin tacks in the appropriate place.

24. Clear Out the Laundry Supplies

If you’re like most people, you like to try out the newest laundry supplies and fragrances, and that can lead to a lot of half used bottles and boxes.

Separate out the ones you don’t like and won’t use. Ask around to see if a friend or neighbor wants them, or just toss them.

Combine any half used bottles of the stuff you do like.

25. Declutter Your Purse

Dump your purse out on the counter and pull out any obvious garbage.

Throw away old lotion, lipstick, and mascara containers. File receipts as needed.

Start putting stuff you need back in your purse.

Put away or throw away anything that’s left over.

26. Go Through Your Jewelry Box

Jewelry boxes can really be an out of sight out of mind spot.

The last time I went through my jewelry box, I found cheap jewelry pieces I wore in high school many, many years ago.

Go through your jewelry pieces and pull out any that you no longer wear.

Sort out any broken pieces and either toss them or send them to the jewelers for repair.

27. Declutter a Book Case Shelf

We can accumulate a lot of books without even realizing it, especially if you have the room to store them.

Go through your books and see if there are any you don’t think you’ll ever read or that you’re willing to donate.

28. Downsize Your Childs Toys

Dump everything out of one toy storage area and toss any broken pieces.

Sort out the toys that are no longer played with and donate them.

29. Declutter Board Games

My family used to play all sorts of board games. We used to buy a new one every year for our Christmas Party.

30 years later, that’s quite a collection of board games. Problem is, there are a few favorites we play all the time, but the rest just sit in the closet taking up space.

Sort through your board game closet and pull out the ones nobody plays anymore. Check with family to see if anybody wants them, then donate the rest.

Throw out any games or puzzles that you know are missing pieces.

Clear Your Clutter with Easy Decluttering Tasks You Can Do Quickly

Now that you have a good list of 10 minute decluttering tasks, strive to complete at least one a day.

If you find yourself with an extra 10 minutes to spare, pick another task and you’ll have a clutter-free home in no time.

You’ll be shocked how much of a difference you can make in a few 10 minute sessions each day.