Welcome to the 30-Day Organize-athon!
In today’s 5 minutes we’re going to express-declutter your living area.
Take a deep breath, and imagine inhaling a sense of clarity, freedom and order. Then get started!
Day 1: Declutter Your Living and/or Entertainment Area
Step 1: Grab a large garbage bag.
Step 2: Quickly make your way around your living and/or entertainment area, tossing these items into the bag as you go:
- Magazines other than the current month’s
- Newspapers other than today’s
- Knick-knacks – unless you really love them
- Tatty coasters
- DVDs no-one watches any more
- CDs no-one listens to any more
- Games no-one plays any more
- Remotes and technology no-one uses any more (including old game consoles)
- Food
- Books you’ve read and won’t re-read, or will never read
- Videos, cassettes, computer floppies, camera film – any storage device for which you no longer have hardware
- Framed photos – unless they’re genuinely special to you
- Tatty cardigans, socks and other apparel strewn around the furniture
- ‘Displayed’ items on shelves that collect dust but hold no meaning for you
- Dead potted plants
- Threadbare or stained cushions, throws, rugs, etc
- Anything else that isn’t loved and/or used regularly.
Step 3: Put your bag by the door or take it straight out to the car. (Take it to the tip as soon as you can.)
Step 4: If there’s something genuinely valuable in there, and you’d lose sleep over tossing it, then you can put it into a separate charity store bag. But if it’s junk, just let it go. If it doubt, don’t over-analyze – toss it.
And you’re done!
Got an Extra 5 Minutes?
- Return items that don’t belong in the living area to the proper place – the kids’ bedrooms, the office, the kitchen, etc.
- Straighten the coffee table and wipe it down.
- Neaten remotes, DVDs, and anything else that lives in the living room.
- Fluff up the cushions.
Now doesn’t that feel more like a ‘living’ room?
The 30-Day Organize-athon Mantra
Move fast. Don’t overthink. Let it go!
Leave Your Comment Below…
Please leave a comment below to say you’ve completed today’s task.
And I’ll see you back here tomorrow!
Did 5 minutes, then 5 minutes more. Still more to do, but it was a great start!
Done, it was however already the cleanest part of the house but I am not done today.
Done. Well, I went over. At first I thought, this room is ok, and threw out a dead ivy plant I’d been trying to revive for weeks. Then, argh, the stack of receipts beside the computer I’d been saving because I’ll need some for taxes. That’s what took the extra 10 mins, the majority were not deductible, just clutter. Maybe that will motivate me to go get the taxes done, too. Thanks.
I’m done.
Phew! I could not believe that I had collected so much junk over the years thinking that I would someday need it. Good riddance!
Did my 5 mins in the Lvg Rm — mostly kid’s stuff so I dumped it on their beds to be put away this evening (which will require 5 mins of me ensuring it happens but that’s OK). Spent another 5 in the kitchen and now off to work out. Feels good!
All done 🙂
will do it tonight when i get home from work
Done!
done! feels good!
Done. This part was easy.
That was easy…Done!
Not nearly as hard as I expected…. took 20 min
Already the cleanest room in the house! Can’t wait to start the real work!
I have done today’s challenge. I have cleared off the coffee table and wped it down, clean the slate by the fireplace fluffed the cushions and pillows on the couch, and put the trash bag by the door to take out to the trash can on my way to pick up my daughter from school! 🙂
Done – sorta cheated on this on. Just repainted the living room, so did a major declutter before moving anything back in. But it is done none the less. Yippee one day closer to an organized life!!!
Done! 🙂
I set the timer, with HUGE bag in hand…when the bag got too heavy, (who knew paper weighed so much!) the timer had already finished, so I reset the timer and did the second 5 minutes with my roomies stuff. Since I can’t throw that away, I put it in his room for him to deal with. 🙂 That got the coffee table cleaned up, but there is a lot more to do. 🙁
Soo……..I will be repeating this at least two times today…one section at a time. It feels good to have gotten a start! Thanks.
That was wonderful. Funny that you telling me to just let it go would give me such a sense of freedom. My living room looks GREAT.
Done. Yea!!