Discover how a decluttering burst can work with your time and energy to help you clear clutter, whether you have five minutes or two hours.
Decluttering bursts are brief, defined periods of time where you focus your decluttering efforts.
Working for short bursts of time is perfect if you’re busy and can’t block off half or a whole day for cluttering clearing, you have physical health issues that drain your energy, or you have ADHD or another condition that makes it difficult to focus.
Decluttering with a time limit is also helpful if you find the prospect of decluttering overwhelming, which has you stuck. A series of five-minute sessions, even if you eliminate one or a few items each time can help build your confidence with decluttering, so you feel more comfortable working longer and sorting through more items.
Bursts work best for non-emotional items (possibly the junk drawer, bed linens and towels, office supplies, kitchen gadgets, paper, sock drawer, pantry, refrigerator, cleaning supplies … but can also include books, clothing, hobby supplies, depending upon what types of items you struggle with).
You can do one burst during the day, one-to-three bursts spaced throughout the day, or a string of brief decluttering sessions (with breaks in between) when you have more time on some days.
Decluttering bursts offer a lot of flexibility.
How Much Time Is Required for a Decluttering Burst?
A decluttering burst can be anywhere from five minutes to two hours long, depending upon your ability to focus and your level of physical energy.
Also, what you are decluttering will also play a factor. Some possessions will require more thought to make your decisions.
To determine your tolerance for decluttering a group of items, start with a fifteen-minute burst. Determine where you’re going to start and what you’ll do next if you happen to work quickly. In most cases, you’ll be able to work on a Little Space, such as a drawer, shelf, or small flat surface, in a small block of time.
Next, make certain you have a trash bag or barrel nearby (or a recycling bin, if you know you’re dealing with recyclables). You’ll also want a box for collecting items you can give away or donate.
Set a timer for fifteen minutes.
Empty the contents of the Little Space.
Remove the trash. As you identify items that you can donate, put them in the box.
Group similar types of items together and determine if this is the best place to store these things (this is where you’d look for the item when you needed it).
Return what you want to keep in this space.
What can you call this space, based on the items stored here? Avoid words like “miscellaneous” which doesn’t give you a clear image of this space’s purpose. Naming this space, “sock drawer,” “cleaning supply cabinet,” etc. will help you to both find items as well as to put them away.
If the timer goes off before you finish, pause to assess what you’ve learned that can help you improve your process the next time. For example,
There were a lot of small things in the space that took a lot more time to sort through than you thought.
You got distracted by the items – flipping through photos instead of setting them aside or reading the table of contents of nonfiction books.
You found yourself calling up memories of items, even things that you wouldn’t consider sentimental. You felt the need to remember why you purchased something that you rarely or never used.
These aren’t failures. Fifteen minutes isn’t a lot of time. It will work in some cases but not in others.
Any changes you make to your process can be small. For example, instead of expecting yourself to sort through all the books on a shelf in 15 minutes, you give yourself time to look through each book, knowing that you’ll get through 10 or 12 books.
Or you may decide that you’d rather make faster decisions. You’ll check the copyright date and donate any book that you haven’t read in 10 years.
Give Yourself Effective Breaks
When your timer goes off, stop. Give yourself a break, particularly if you plan to do additional, brief decluttering sessions. Even a short pause, doing something else, can reinvigorate you both mentally and physically.
Acknowledge what you just accomplished.
Get a drink of water.
Use the bathroom.
Run cold water over the insides of your wrists or splash some water on your face.
Check your phone for any important notifications. Delay addressing anything that isn’t urgent.
Take a five-minute walk outside even if in your yard or around your driveway or parking lot.
Look out a window (nature is calming).
Watch a short, funny video.
Don’t use this time to do more work. (Although I suppose that carrying a trash bag outside could count as a walk.) You are breaking from the decision-making process so that you’ll feel less drained.
Why You Can Keep Decluttering in Short Blocks of Time
While you can use decluttering bursts to get a sense of how much time you need to sort through the spaces in your home, repeatedly setting a timer for short periods of time can keep you focused.
Maybe you choose to declutter for thirty minutes before you take a break. Determine where you’ll work for your decluttering session, set your timer, and work in that area.
You can use the countdown on the timer to keep you moving through the task. But also, when the alarm sounds, it reminds you to pause and consider if you’ve veered off the task that was your intention for this time block.
For example, maybe you find yourself zigzagging through your home because as you started your decluttering session you found something that belonged in another room. But once you got to that space you started to straighten items there. Maybe you even end up going into another room with other items.
By the time your timer goes off, you realize that you didn’t finish your intended task because you distracted yourself with other tasks. Acknowledging this tendency and set your time for ten or fifteen minutes. And keep this countdown visible.
This can help you stay focused. You decide to put misplaced items in a laundry basket to distribute throughout the house during its own session. You don’t wander to other rooms where you’ll get distracted by the tasks in those spaces.
Each time you complete a task, give yourself credit for what you’ve accomplished. This can be a quick, “Good job!” or “Progress!”
Frequently acknowledging that you’re getting things done can keep you motivated.
The Benefits of Short Decluttering Sessions
Clearing the clutter in short sessions offers multiple benefits:
You avoid burning out. Each time you give yourself a break you provide yourself with the opportunity to assess if you are still working effectively. If you realize that you’re slowing down or allowing in more distractions, that’s a sign that it’s time to clean up and plan to do more decluttering on another day.
You avoid decision fatigue. Your ability to make decisions wears down a bit with each decision you make (even non-decluttering decisions like what you’re going to eat or wear). Decluttering is condensed decision-making and if you find yourself struggling to think, it’s time for a break.
You maintain your energy. Giving yourself set breaks can remind you to drink water, have a snack, use the bathroom, stretch, go outside for a moment, or whatever else will help you to feel rejuvenated. None of these things take much time, but without planning a break, it’s all too easy to keep pushing yourself into exhaustion.
You stay motivated. Each time you complete a burst; you are acknowledging that you’re making progress. When you assign yourself a project like, ‘declutter the bedroom,’ you might not feel like you’re accomplishing anything for quite a while. However, small tasks become a series of one win after another.
Quick Win
Pick a small spot in your home … one shelf within a cabinet, an end table, etc. and then set a timer for five minutes. Empty the space, tossing obvious trash and placing anything that you could donate in a box.
Do you feel that you need more time to sort through this space? Can you plan another decluttering burst now or do you need to wait until later? If later, link your clutter clearing to another activity you’ll be doing near this space. For example, while waiting for the coffee to be brewed, you’ll return to shelf in your kitchen cabinet.
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