10 quick decluttering jobs to tackle in 5 minutes or less

Many of us strive to have a clutter free home, but finding the time to declutter can feel overwhelming. Luckily, there are some quick decluttering jobs that you can do in 5 minutes or less, that will significantly reduce the clutter in in your home.
Here are 10 decluttering jobs that take 5 minutes or less that you can start decluttering today, that will make a huge impact on how you feel in your home.
You don’t have to do them all in one day, in fact doing just 1 or 2 each day, or as often as you can, will make your home feel clutter free no time.
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Start with a drawer
Starting small is a great way to get into a decluttering mindset, and get the motivation you need to start decluttering larger areas of your home.
One way to start small is by decluttering a junk drawer, which you can do by throwing away pens that don’t work, disposing of paperwork you don’t need, storing batteries somewhere safe, and throwing out, or storing odds and ends you still need.
Once you’ve decluttered a junk drawer, purchase some drawer organisers to help you better organise the items left in it, which will also help to avoid clutter re-entering the drawer in the future.
Tackle a kitchen cupboard
We spend a lot of time in our kitchens, making them one area of our homes that can get cluttered fast.
You won’t be able to declutter your entire kitchen in 5 minutes, but you can declutter a kitchen cupboard in that time by:
- Throwing out expired food and spices
- Donating duplicate items
- Donating items you have too many of such as cups, mugs, bowls, plates
- Throwing out chipped items
- Throwing out stained food containers, or containers missing lids or bases
Fridge and freezer declutter
Another area in your kitchen you can declutter in 5 minutes or less is your fridge and freezer, where you can throw out expired sauces, condiments, food that’s gone bad, and food with freezer burn.
Once done, you can wipe away spills, and organise your fridge with fridge organisers, which will help to keep your fridge tidy, and help to reduce food wastage, because they allow you to easily see the food you need to consume before it goes bad.
Here’s a decluttering checklist with even more ideas on how to declutter your kitchen.
Surfaces in your laundry
The laundry is a location where clutter can unexpectantly pile up.
Some ways that you can declutter your laundry include clearing away items stored on top of your washer and dryer, putting detergents in containers the storing them away, and dealing with laundry piles.

Declutter medicines
Another area often on decluttering checklists, is decluttering medicines.
Decluttering medicines is a quick decluttering project that involves throwing away empty containers, throwing away expired products, and disposing of medicines that you no longer use.
Bedside table clear up
Another decluttering job that takes 5 minutes or less is clearing off your bedside table.
You can do this by throwing out paperwork, putting away chargers and unread books, and clearing away empty cups.
Decluttering items from your bedside table will turn your bedroom into the relaxing, calm space you need for a better night’s sleep.
Fast wardrobe declutter
Decluttering your whole wardrobe will take longer than 5 minutes, but tackling one shelf, or one drawer, is something that will take 5 minutes or less.
To make the most of a 5 minute wardrobe shelf or drawer declutter, be ruthless in getting rid of any clothes that don’t’ fit, that you don’t wear, or that you’ve never worn.
With each item you’ve decided to remove from your wardrobe shelf or drawer, donate it if it’s still wearable, or throw it out if it’s damaged beyond repair.
Declutter kid’s toys
It may be tempting to declutter your kid’s room if that’s where the majority of their toys live, but that will take longer than 5 minutes.
Instead, focussing on just decluttering their toys is a decluttering project that will take 5 minutes or less.
You can do this by donating toys that are no longer played with, then putting the remainder away in space saving toy storage solutions.
You may also like to implement a toy rotation system, so there’s less toys that can clutter your home.

Deal with paperwork piles
Paperwork can pile up in different areas of your home, such as your office, kitchen, dining room, and coffee table.
Here are some ways you can quickly declutter paperwork.
- Throw away receipts, bills, and business cards that aren’t needed, file the rest
- Throw out brochures, junk mail, expired gift cards, expired coupons, used notebooks, magazines, newsletters, and newspapers
- File away manuals for products you still have, throw out the rest
- Flatten packaging and recycle it
- Put stationery away
Use storage containers
After you’ve done some of these decluttering jobs, you may be able to use any storage containers that you have in storage.
If you can’t, declutter any excess storage containers that you have by donating them, so you can free up valuable storage space in your home.
5 minute decluttering jobs – a recap
There are plenty of decluttering jobs that you can do in 5 minutes or less, which allows you to fit decluttering into a busy day.
Tackling small areas like a drawer, kitchen cupboard, or a shelf or drawer in your wardrobe, will make a huge difference to the amount of clutter in your home.
Disposing of expired medication, tackling paperwork, or storing toys away, can also reduce clutter in your home, making your home feel calmer.
By doing just one or two quick decluttering projects as often as you can, you’ll soon notice your home feeling lighter, more organised, and a lot calmer.
What’s a quick decluttering job you do when you have a few minutes to spare?
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