In a recent survey of my social media audience, over 75% said one of the hardest parts of decluttering was finding the TIME. Even though they wanted to declutter their homes and get organized, they found it difficult to find time in their busy schedules to actually make it happen.

Easy Solutions to Overcome Time Constraints for a Clutter-Free Life

Their overwhelming response challenged me to generate some easy-to-implement ideas to help overcome the “not enough time” obstacle that prevented them from enjoying the peace and calm of a clutter-free life. 

Perhaps you know someone whose home is always guest-ready. It’s neat, organized, and free of clutter. Have you ever asked them how they do it when you know they are just as busy as you are?

Chances are they have developed a few of their own productivity hacks and daily micro habits that work for them.

Somehow, they seem to “magically” fit little bits of decluttering and organizing into their already busy schedule.

The Reality Is So, It’s Not Magic

The reality is we all have the same 24 hours in our day and…

The reality is that anyone who really wants to declutter their home and get organized can also “find time” in those same 24 hours to achieve the same results by simply managing their time better.

How To “Find Time” In Your Busy Schedule to Declutter

1.    “I have 5 to 10 minutes. What can I declutter?”

Rather than saying, I don’t have time, start saying, I have 5 to 10 minutes or 20 to 30 minutes, what can I Declutter And organize within that timeframe?

2.    “I have pockets of waste of time I could use to declutter.”

Rather than wasting those 5 to 10 minutes or 20 to 30 minutes on mindless and unproductive tasks like scrolling on social media, make better use of those small pockets of time throughout the day to tackle a pre-selected micro-decluttering project.

3.    “I have a plan for my micro decluttering projects.”

Rather than getting stuck on being overwhelmed by not knowing where to start when you do have a few spare minutes, create a plan of pre-selected micro decluttering projects, so you don’t waste time thinking about it because you already know what area you will be decluttering.

                 “Found time.”

Here are a few examples of how to find time in your day to complete micro-decluttering projects

5–10-minute pockets of time

  • Waiting for the coffee to brew.
  • Before your morning shower.
  • Before you go to bed.

Micro decluttering projects that could be completed during these 5 to 10 minutes

  • Get rid of duplicate cooking utensils.
  • Declutter and donate unused towels.
  • Declutter and organize the top of your nightstand.

20-to-30-minute pockets of time

  • Waiting for dinner to come out of the oven.
  • In between Zoom calls.
  • Waiting for kids to come home from school.

Micro, decluttering projects that could be done 30-minute pocket time

40-60 pockets of time

  • Spouse is working on taxes.
  • Kids are playing outside.
  • Kids or grandkids are napping.

Micro decluttering projects that can be accomplished within that 40-to-60-minute timeframe

  • Declutter and organize a file cabinet.
  • Declutter and organize garage shelves.
  • Declutter and organize a guest room closet.

These are just a few ideas for finding time throughout the day to consistently accomplish small wins, which over time become big wins. Don’t allow your busy schedule to become your go-to excuse for not having time to declutter and get organized. 

Using small pockets of time to declutter is motivating because it gives you a sense of control and accomplishment, knowing it will eventually get done… And that’s OK! 

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