7 Ways to Find Time to Declutter Your Home
One question I hear often is, “How can I find time to declutter my home?”
It’s a question I asked six years ago when I embraced a minimalist lifestyle. And, now, it’s one of my favorites to answer.
Why?
Because decluttering your home is one of the best time investments you can make.
The return on your investment is phenomenal. Invest a bit of time up front in decluttering your home, and soon you’ll have fewer stuff-related to-dos, resulting in more free time in your daily life.
Studies show that decluttering reduces the amount of time spent on housework by 40 percent in the average home.
Let that stat sink in for a minute. That’s almost half the number of housework-dedicated minutes of your life.
If you spend ten hours a week cleaning, organizing, and maintaining things, you could gain back four of those hours simply by having less stuff to manage. What would you do with four extra hours a week? (An extra sixteen hours a month; an extra 208 hours [8.5 days] a year.)
Anything you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t had the time! Connect with your kids, take up a new hobby, spend more time with friends, read books, exercise, cook—it’s all waiting for you once your living environment contains less.
Here are seven ways to find time to declutter your home:
1. Reduce your distractions
If you’re like most Americans, time spent scrolling social media and watching TV takes up several hours of your day. (On average, TV alone claims three hours.)
Each day, could you use one of those hours decluttering your home instead? I’m guessing so. You might miss your favorite reality show, but remember, time invested in decluttering now means much more time for other stuff later.
Keep time spent on your phone to a minimum by deleting your social media apps for a while or by keeping your phone somewhere you can hear it ring but not see it.
2. Schedule it
Find time to declutter your home by scheduling weekly or biweekly decluttering appointments with yourself, then show up for them—on time and ready to simplify. If you have children, hire a sitter or ask family or friends to help with childcare, just like you would for a real appointment.
If you work full time, consider scheduling a fifteen-minute morning or afternoon decluttering work break. Or schedule a decluttering lunch where you either actually declutter or write out a decluttering plan for that day/week. Could you squeeze in some decluttering while listening to a training or meeting?
3. Get up earlier or stay up later
For those of you with small kids, finding time to declutter your home while they are sleeping is a great option. If you’re a morning person, get up an hour early. If staying up late is more your thing, do that. Or do a bit of both.
While I’m not one to overlook the importance of sleep, sacrificing a little here and there can go a long way toward decluttering your home.
If you set a timer and spend 15 minutes each morning (or evening) decluttering, that’s 7.5 hours a month and 90 hours a year. Small, consistent efforts lead to big changes.
4. Think outside the box
One of my favorite ways to find time to declutter during our initial purge was by playing hide-and-go-seek with our daughters. I’d put one donate bag and one trash bag on the kitchen table.
When it was my turn to seek, I’d take an extra-long time finding them and would slowly work my way through a kitchen cabinet or a closet during the game. I still like to play this game for maintenance decluttering (it’s a great way to clear countertops during the day).
5. Designate decluttering weekends
Commit large chunks of your weekends (or whatever days you’re off work) to decluttering your home. You could even use a day or two of vacation time and make it a long weekend.
If you have small kids, you can declutter while your spouse spends quality time with them. Or if your kids are a bit older, you can involve them in the decluttering work. You can still mix in leisure time, like sorting through the contents of a junk drawer while listening to your favorite podcast.
6. Let go of a commitment
Temporarily withdraw from one of your regular commitments. Maybe pause your volunteering at your child’s school, stop attending an optional meeting, or postpone a regular get-together with a friend.
The fewer commitments you have for this season, the more time you’ll have to declutter your home and minimize your possessions.
7. Watch for windows of time during the day
Enter each day ready to watch for free moments that you can use to declutter your home. Maybe your kids are playing well together after breakfast. Tackle a drawer of clothes. Or maybe you have free time during their nap time. Go through a shelf in the hall closet.
Keep decluttering at the top of your mind, and take action when the moment is right.
In conclusion
J.R.R. Tolkien said, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
Decluttering your home is one use of your time that, before long, actually gives you more time. Owning less stuff means less time spent caring for it. Desiring less stuff means less time spent shopping for it, returning it, and thinking about it. Less time spent on your stuff means more free time to spend on what truly matters.
If you’re looking for a home reset this spring, consider what you can de-own. Then, plan to find time to declutter your home, and make it happen.
Any time dedicated to decluttering today will soon deliver more peace and free time in your life, every day.
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Julia Ubbenga is a freelance journalist. Her online projects on minimalism, simplicity, and intentional living have reached over 50 million people worldwide. Julia also practices what she preaches in her Kansas City home where she lives with her husband and their five children. You can also find her on Instagram and Facebook.
P.S. You can now find my new book Declutter Your Heart and Your Home: How a Minimalist Life Yields Maximum Joy on Amazon!