A Guide to Organizing Your Home in 15 Minutes a Day

We often feel a pang of guilt or two for not finding a weekend or even an afternoon to organize the house. The workspace gets messier by the day and the kitchen cabinets gradually start to cry out for better storage solutions. But don’t get fooled by those TikTok hyper-lapse clips or DIY videos on YouTube! Because tidying up everything, even a single room, isn’t possible in one heroic swoop! Instead, professionals suggest opting for a bite-sized organizing approach, which is much more realistic and easier. Here’s an expert guide to getting the job done:

Take One Drawer at a Time

Drawers are always the favorite spots to store junk, as they successfully keep it away from eyesight. So, the first step to organizing the house is to target the drawers. But go slow! When the kids are busy with homework, take 15 min to declutter the junk drawer by tossing the unnecessary items and keeping the tidbits where they belong. Then, when the dinner is simmering, tackle your sock drawer.

Plan and Prioritize the Bigger Spots

After tidying up a few small but essential spots, move to the bigger ones. To save yourself from feeling overwhelmed, especially when there are too many areas to tackle, break down each one into further specific mini zones. Then, prioritize the plan of action to organize them according to your lifestyle needs. For example, take two to three attempts to organize your bathroom by first targeting the overstuffed linen closet, then chucking out the expired toiletries, and so on.

When in Doubt, Just Declutter

Depending on your schedule and mindset, devising a perfect storage plan for a specific space can be completely dreamy or daunting! Either way, a quick good old declutter can save your day. You can organize a drawer, cabinet, or closet, just in five minutes, by weeding out the items you no longer need or use. Focusing on smaller goals like throwing out expired medicine, and disposing of old almost-empty skin products, makes it easier to organize the useful remains.

Set a Timer, Literally

Trust us, setting a timer can be helpful at any moment you’re feeling overloaded or overwhelmed with any work. It helps you to focus on one goal at a time and helps to avoid distractions. For instance, when you’re organizing one zone on a set timer, you won’t have time to think about the messed-up closet while sorting out the kitchen containers, and vice-versa. In this way, targeting smaller zones and speeding up the process also gets easier.