Time Blocking Tips To Conquer Your Decluttering Projects

Oct 17

Organizing the Pantry in 10 Minute Blocks

By Jonda Beattie How Long Will it Take to Organize X

Each October I deep clean and reorganize my kitchen. I know the holidays are right around the corner and I want my kitchen completely decluttered and ready for the extra cooking and food preparation that I do for the holidays. The first place I like to focus on is the pantry. Today I’m talking about organizing the pantry in 10 minute blocks so that it’s not overwhelming. If I can do it you can, too. The kitchen is one room that requires daily upkeep and maintenance but despite that daily care there comes a time to go beyond the wiping down…

Sep 19

How to Create a Home Inventory

By Jonda Beattie How Long Will it Take to Organize X

September is Natural Preparedness Month. Earlier this month I wrote about survival tips for surviving a disaster. Now, I am going to focus on a plan to have in place for your home if your home is destroyed or partly destroyed by a disaster. To make this plan complete you will create a home inventory. Very few people could sit down and create a complete list of everything in their home if it was destroyed. I have a friend whose home was partially destroyed by a fire and by water damage from trying to control the fire. The home was…

Aug 08

Organizing in 10 Minute Blocks: The Laundry Room Shelf

By Jonda Beattie How Long Will it Take to Organize X

Once a year I deep clean and reorganize my laundry room. Part of the process is to take a hard look to see what I am storing on my laundry room shelf. It’s a scary thought, I know, but since I only do it once a year, I can handle it! The maintenance during the year is mainly keeping the floor clean and restocking supplies. Now it has been a full year since I worked in this area beyond maintenance, and it is time to re-evaluate the space. I have open shelving in my laundry room, and it is a…

Jul 18

teaching kids responsibility making a bed

5 Fun 10 Minute Tasks for Teaching Kids Responsibility at Home

By Diane Quintana How Long Will it Take to Organize X

There’s always lots to do to take care of your home. Involving your kids in some tasks is a great way to begin teaching kids responsibility at home. It also builds your child’s self-esteem and will help to the complete your list of household tasks. There are a several things to do as you give your kids tasks. Tell them about the task Explain how to complete the task Show them how to do the task Then walk away and let them do it These are very important points to remember. If you follow your kid around supervising them as…

Jun 06

Organize Under the Vanity in Just 10 Minutes

By Jonda Beattie How Long Will it Take to Organize X

You wake up early in the morning and stumble into the bathroom. With one eye open you realize that there is just one sheet of paper left on the toilet paper roll. OK, you can reach the cabinet under the vanity where there is always an extra roll stashed. You grope around and can’t find it – meanwhile knocking some items on the floor. This is not going to be one of your better days. Follow these 4 steps to declutter under the vanity This will be the day to declutter and organize your under the vanity space. The day…

May 23

How to Organize Your Handbag or Purse in 10 Minutes or Less

By Diane Quintana How Long Will it Take to Organize X

Is your handbag, purse, tote or whatever you are using to carry around your stuff like a deep, dark cavern? You know, a place where anything and everything can hide? It’s hard to find what you’re looking for in a bag that’s full of everything. Do you sometimes feel like your keys, phone, wallet, credit cards, checkbook, or sunglasses are lost because they are hard to find quickly in your bag? My mother used to call my handbag, my suitcase, because it was big and could hold just about anything. The point is that if just about anything can fit…

Apr 13

Organizing in 10 Minute Blocks: Chest of Drawers

By Jonda Beattie How Long Will it Take to Organize X

Springtime is a good time to organize your chest of drawers. Seasons are changing and some things you have been wearing all winter are either ready to be retired or rotated. People use their chest of drawers for different purposes. A lot of it depends on what other clothes storage options you have. It really doesn’t matter what you store in your drawers as long as you have a plan. Each drawer should have a purpose. Storing like items together makes it easier to put items away and easier to find items. Here's an example Let me use my chest…

Mar 16

Organizing in 10 Minute Blocks: Coat Closet

By Jonda Beattie How Long Will it Take to Organize X, How to Declutter: Use Simple Strategies

Coat closets, if you are lucky enough to have one, can become a dumping ground for items without an immediate home. You can shut the door and put it all out of sight – at least until you open it to hang a guest’s coat. Since the closet is used for guests’ coats as well as your own stuff, it should be tidy, functional, and well organized. My Coat Closet My coat closet holds coats, jackets, sweaters, a couple of tablecloths, and a bag of bags on the rod. The shelf holds hats, gloves, lint cleaner, a flashlight, and a…

Feb 16

Organizing in 10 Minute Blocks: Chest of Drawers

By Jonda Beattie How Long Will it Take to Organize X

You can accomplish more than you think in just ten minutes. In fact, Diane Quintana and I recommend using ten-minute blocks of time to take care of many routine household tasks. Today my 10-minute task is the top of my chest of drawers. The chest of drawers in the picture is in my spare bedroom. The door to this room is always open so as I walk down the hall, I see this chest of drawers every day. The “stuff” that has gathered here has appeared within the last month. There’s no question where it came from and now it…

Jan 19

Organizing in 10 Minute Blocks: Desk

By Jonda Beattie How Long Will it Take to Organize X

Keeping my office desk clear is a constant challenge. Ideally it should be cleared every evening when I shut down. Sometimes, I feel so used up that I just walk away from it. I do make a real effort to clear it on Friday before I leave the office but even then, once in a great while I am just too exhausted. Where does the clutter come from? It is important for me to understand how I let this happen. When I look at the desk, I see a lot of items that were taken out of my rolling work…

How Long Will it Take to Organize X

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