50 Things To Declutter in 10 Minutes or Less!

Hey everybody, welcome back to my channel and if you are new here, then welcome. My name is Mia Danielle and I chat all about holistic and clutter-free spaces. So if that's something you're into, be sure to click subscribe and turn on those notifications. I release new videos every Tuesday. I know that one of the biggest barriers to actually making changes that you want to make inside of your home is finding the time to declutter or, you know, feeling less overwhelmed as you go through the process of decluttering. And a lot of that comes down to just finding bite-sized tasks to do. There are so many things that you can do in 10 minutes or less. So today, to help jog your brain, I'm going to go ahead and share 50 items that you can declutter in 10 minutes or less. You can snag my free checklist to go ahead and dive headfirst into decluttering in a deeper way. I'll be sure to leave that for you down in the description. Let's go ahead and dive in. Number one is bags. We collect a lot of different kinds of bags. You may even collect bags in the kitchen, bags in your closet, bags in your kids' rooms, backpacks. And so if you take just 10 minutes to go through your home and collect all of the bags that are not currently in use or that currently just have trash and random junk shoved in them, that will save you some space right there. Number two is anything that can be consolidated, no matter what it is. So if you have two bottles of ibuprofen that are going to expire around the same time, you can consolidate those into one bottle. And the more things that you can consolidate, the higher the percentage of space saving you're making. So it's a great way to be able to immediately see the results of your efforts. Number three is pillows. Pillows take up a lot of space. Pillows that just have the lumpy insides or that are really discolored and yellow and orange and nobody wants to sleep on them anymore. Now, if you're talking about throw pillows, those have a great resale value. I do have another video on how to responsibly discard your things. So I recommend that you check that one out once you've watched this video. Number four is any fragrances that you don't like. This could be a new room spray that you've tried, the unwanted leftovers of an essential oils bundle, or even just stinky candles. Number five is to quickly go through the kitchen utensils drawers. Not necessarily all of the kitchen utensil drawers, but maybe just the primary one where you keep the forks and spoons and knives, you know, looking for the ones that nobody ever reaches for because they have the bent prongs or they've been like ground up in the disposal one too many times. Number six is the jewelry box. Now, this isn't the time to go through all of the heirloom sentimental jewelry and make big decisions, but you might be able to just scan through, find earrings that don't have a matching partner or find missing pieces or just jewelry that you don't really wear anymore that you could easily donate to somebody who might. Number seven is leftovers in the fridge. Now, I know that it can be a big undertaking, especially depending on the state of your refrigerator, to clean out or declutter the entire refrigerator. But it can usually be pretty quick to just scrounge through, find a few items that are left over from a previous meal that you're not using anymore, or maybe even a bottle of sauce that you used for teriyaki chicken that's almost empty that you're not going to use again. Number eight is mail. So sorting through the mail and getting rid of the things that you're not going to want to keep, maybe just sorting the things that you're going to need to go through into little piles without going through the process of tending to them right now can be done really quickly. Number nine is mugs or cups. Again, this is not the time to go through and make sure that everything is in sets and set it up unless you want to. It can be a really quick process to just go through the cups and the mugs and pull out the things that you're not going to want to use anymore. Those are really quick donation items. Toiletries. Those things can usually be sifted through pretty quickly and just select the things that you are actually going to use, like maybe fingernail clippers, tweezers, q-tips, things that are regularly going to be used, and everything that is not selected is then by default thrown away. If you want more information on how to minimize your stuff by selecting, then I recommend you check out this video on the only two ways to minimize your things. Number 11 is the surface of your bedside table. You know, the thing that you look over at every morning when you wake up. Those places can really easily collect things. They collect the books that we read, nightlights that we're using, our technology and chargers and glasses and just all of the things that you happen to use while you're in bed at night or in the morning can very easily be collected on the bedside table, but it takes 10 minutes or less to declutter that space and make your room feel more visually spacious again. The entryway. Now for me, the entryway is just a shoe rack, so it's pretty easy for us to go through, arrange the shoes, and put away the ones that we don't need. This section is usually not overrun by things, and at very least, if you do have a very involved entryway or mudroom or something that is a lot more collective, then you can at least clear off the surface of the entryway, and that will make a big difference in the immediate visual clutter that people see when they walk in the space. Number 13 is the coat closet. If you don't have a coat closet, then just the jackets and coats in general. Those can be pretty quickly gone through and make great donations or can even be sold. Number 14 is a medicine cabinet. Now, you may use your medicine cabinet different ways, but what I love about medicine cabinets is that they are very limited on space. You can pretty quickly go through the medicine cabinet, arrange it, and make things much quicker of a process whenever you're getting ready. Books. Now, this may not mean going through your entire library of books or the books that you've been collecting that are your favorites, but you probably have an idea of what your one-read books are. The ones that you weren't crazy about or the ones that just you really only need to read it once or kids' books that have been outgrown in age or are now getting bent and broken and missing the cover. Number 16 is expired foods. Now, this can be in the fridge, but it can also be in the pantry or the spice rack or the seasoning cabinets. So, anywhere where you keep expired foods, the great thing about that is you don't have to think too much about it unless it just recently expired and it's something that you're not super worried about it spoiling or going bad. For the most part, if it's expired, then it's a really quick decision to go ahead and throw it out. Number 17 is the dining table. Now, I know that a lot of people store a lot of stuff on their dining table, and that's one of my things that I really try to help people to work on to get the dining table clean because it can really make a big difference in just the visual clutter of a space. But in general, you know, clearing off the dining table doesn't take very long. Number 18 is shoes. So, shoes that don't fit, shoes that you're not using, shoes that are overworn. Number 19 is a single drawer. It doesn't take very long to go through a single drawer. And now, I wouldn't say to go through like the biggest dresser drawer that you have that may be deep and have like 50 items of clothes in it. But, you know, usually we have a small drawer in the bathroom or in the kitchen or even the bedside table. And just going through those can make a big difference. And just imagine if you took that one 10-minute task and did that every day. Eventually, every drawer in your home would be totally decluttered. Number 20 is bathroom surfaces. Whether you have shelves or a really long vanity or a sink or a bathtub with a big ledge that collects all of the bottles of shampoo and conditioner, it at least doesn't take very long to clear the surfaces of a bathroom. So, you should be able to pretty quickly go through and remove the items that either aren't being used or that need to be relocated from the surfaces of the bathroom in a fairly quick fashion. Number 21 is cleaning supplies. And you can think beyond the chemicals here, although that's definitely something to consider if you have cleaning supplies that are basically empty that now you have duplicates or triplicates of underneath your sink. But also things like dish rags that have fallen apart and are now stringy and disintegrating or dish scrubbers that have really clogged up that nobody wants to use anymore. There are a lot of cleaning supplies that we use that we don't really take the time to go back and reevaluate. So, that can be a pretty quick process going through and removing the cleaning items that you're no longer using or that have been overused. Number 22 is a purse or wallet. Just removing the old receipts, you know, pulling any crumbs or empty gum wrappers out of the bottom of your purse. Maybe some of the credit cards that you have are no longer active because you've received a newer one and you still have the old one in your wallet. Number 23 is extra bedding. Now, maybe you want to keep one extra set of linens or a comforter or things like that for your bed or for each room in the house. But extra, extra bedding may be an easy, quick-grab thing for you to let go of. Maybe you only have one king-size bed and you have five different sets of sheets that fit on that bed. I know that maybe people like to have an extra set of reading glasses or an extra set of prescription glasses in case something happens to their new ones. But there are some cases where the glasses are so scratched that you're not going to use them again or they're not going to be able to be used again. Number 25, hair products. You can even go through and see if all of the hair products are still usable or if maybe they've turned into sticky, clogged-up sprayers that you aren't actually going to be able to use anymore. Number 26, stationery. Maybe stationery that had dates on it that have already come and gone that you're not going to be able to use or pieces that went with a certain invitation for a party that you're no longer needing. Number 27, medications. Consolidating the things that can safely be consolidated like different boxes of Band-Aids, Tylenol that expires around the same time. And there may also be specific types of medical things that just are not going to be needed at all anymore. Number 28, bathroom linens. Try to think of how much time you've spent washing things like towels and washcloths. Number 29, small office supplies. And this does include pens. You might find that you're constantly reaching for a pen that's out of ink. Now's a great time to just go through all of them in one big fell swoop and get down to the pens that actually work and that you like the way that they write. Wherever you collect your receipts and coupons, the coupons do eventually expire and you may be disheartened to see how many have already or long since expired, but it doesn't take very long to go through them and to clear out that space. Number 31 is board games and puzzles. You know the puzzles that you've already solved enough times that you're not going to do it again, or the board games that you or your family don't tend to reach for. The ones that everybody turns their nose up to. Somebody else may really dig that board game. Number 32 is video game supplies. And I was initially going to say video games, but then I started thinking, you know, you collect things like controllers and some of the controllers over the years might stop working or have one of the buttons that gets stuck. Number 33 is the spice rack, which I think is pretty self-explanatory. You know, looking for the things that you still use or the things that may have been long since expired. And then 34 is sauces. So I know that in my cabinet, we have all of the spices and one side of the cabinet. And then on the other side, we have a shelf that has all of the sauces like the Worcestershire, the Tabasco, the olive oil, the syrup. Those things can take up a lot of space, especially things like cooking oil, which can sometimes be consolidated. If you have two giant things of canola oil doesn't have to take a lot of time, but it can save you a lot of space. Number 35 is greeting cards, holiday cards, things that you don't want to keep and hold on to inside of something like a memory box, which is what we use. Occasionally, it's nice to go through and clear those out and make some space again for the ones that you're not really wanting to hold on to. Number 36 is facial products. And eventually it's great to just go through and sort the ones that you like, the ones that you're not going to use. And it doesn't take very long to go through and just sift through to see what you've got. Number 37 is nail polish. This is something else that can take up a lot of space if you've been collecting it for years. I think the easiest way to go through nail polish is to pull out the ones that you know you love the color of and are going to want to use again, and then just get rid of the rest. Cracked planters, especially the ones that have dead plants still in them. Those things can be let go of pretty quickly and pretty easily. Number 39 is pans, especially the ones that are really scratched up that have the Teflon that's coming out in bits in your food. It's really unhealthy. I recommend getting some sturdier pans. You know, sometimes we have things that come with remote controls, and then that remote control stops working or it dies and we buy a new one, or we get a new product, but we never get rid of the old remote control. And for some reason, these remote controls can just collect in drawers and stuff. Number 41 is pet supplies. We have a little bag full of Charlie's belongings, her harness, her leash, her shoes for when we're going out somewhere really muddy, different sweaters for if we're going camping and it's really cold, all of the dog things. And then, of course, she has her bin of toys. And it's not so much, it's not like a kid's room, right, where you have an entire closet and an entire room full of stuff. So it doesn't take very long to go through the stuff that your pets have collected or that you've collected for your pets over time. Number 42 is pajamas. And really, you only need probably two, maybe three, since I'm a big pajama lover. It can be a really quick thing to go through and to declutter and can make a lot of space for yourself. Number 43, old notebooks and planners, especially planners, because they have the dates on them that obviously you won't be able to use anymore once those dates have passed. Number 44 is coffee and tea supplies. Obviously, the coffee and tea supplies that you're not actively using or won't be using, it seems like those are some of the things that we can collect a lot of and, you know, maybe even try new things. And then it turns out that you don't really like the new thing that you were trying when it comes to your coffee or tea. It happens. Number 45 is small exercise equipment that didn't work out or that you're not using. Some of them are really odd shaped and can take up a lot of space in our closets or on the bedroom floor. Number 46 is extra boxes and bins. This could be actual Amazon boxes or boxes that, you know, can just be recycled. You can even donate those to people who might really be needing boxes. I've posted things like that for free on OfferUp and Craigslist before, right after a big move, and people were happy to come and take them away for me for free. We're on the final stretch here. Number 47 is hats. Pretty simple. If you have a variety of hats, which hats are you actually using? Are you even a hat person? That's a question that only you can answer. Number 48 is blankets. There are a variety of reasons why you could collect different blankets that you no longer like or use anymore. But going through the blankets doesn't have to be a time consuming process and it can save you quite a bit of space. Number 49 is old CDs. This can be fun to go through also. It can be really nostalgic to go through some of the old CDs. And number 50 is your car. This is not meaning to go through a full detail. Obviously that would take more time, but really just to get the trash out of the car, pull up next to a dumpster or up next to a car wash and swoop all of the stuff out and into the trash doesn't take very long at all. I would say it takes significantly less than 10 minutes, depending of course on the state of your vehicle. So those are 50 things that you can declutter in 10 minutes or less. And I would love to know if you have any other ideas to add to this list. Be sure to share those down in the comments. If you like this video, be sure to give it a thumbs up and I will chat with you next week.