In my last blog, Ten Minute Tip Takes Less Than Two Minutes to Read, I shared how taking tiny nibbles – setting a timer for just 10 minutes at a time – can help you take big bites out of your clutter, piles and piles of other piles.
I said, “Choose on one little piece of your messy, unhelpful, time-sucking, money-wasting, confidence-crushing universe and go at it!” A bunch of you replied, “Well that’s awesome, Jen, but the mess looks so big, where do I take that first bite?”
Sooooooooo… I did a Tucson Morning Blend segment about it AND created this Big List of Small Bites to get you started.
You can think of it as a Professional Organizer’s tapas menu. Pick one, turn on your favorite tunes, poor a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, and set your timer. I promise that emptying one small plate at a time will leave you hungry for the next but feeling happy and satisfied when you’re done.
Schedule it! Put it on your calendar so you can do your 10 minutes and then get back to the rest of your life.
Set Up Your System! Nibble, stop and go back to it easily each time. Remind yourself how here.
Set Your Timer! Use a fun dingy kitchen timer, your phone or use the time to catch up on your favorite business or inspirational podcast.
Keep It Simple! Use your 10 minutes only to remove stuff, because clearing space now makes it easier to rearrange and organize it all later.
TASTY LITTLE NIBBLES Morning Blend segment
- One Shelf or One Drawer: Clothes, kitchen, bathroom
- Junk Drawer: if you no longer own the car, you can get rid of the key for it
- Papers: Start nibbling away by sorting into Toss, Recycle, Shred and File boxes
- File Drawers: just pull the outdated stuff one file or one drawer at a time, using same Toss, Recycle, Shred boxes
- One Book Shelf: personal library or work-related
- Home or Office, of course: like that awful shelf above your desk you haven’t dusted in months or years because it’s covered with the conference lanyards and the funny-shaped rock from your vacation
- Refrigerator: weekly left-over dump and never-used condiments purge
- Pantry: check those expiration dates and dump the thing you bought for that one recipe you you’ll never make again. More on food expiration here, here and here.
- Kitchen Utensils & Stuffs: tell me again how many whisks you need
- Linens & Towels: if you can see through them, if you have 4 sets for each bed, if you only one left from the set – move to rags bag or give to an animal shelter – they need them, you don’t
- Medications & First Aid Kit: medicines go bad so check those expiry dates
- The Car: glove box, under seats, door pockets, trunk or cargo zone
Technology: Instead of 10 minutes on Facebook, spend 10 minutes on your computer or phone dumping emails, files and photos
Get Kids Involved In Cleaning Up: toys, game cabinet, stuffed animals, monthly school papers
BONUS – LIFE LONG HABIT Morning Blend segment
Once you’re clear, you can make 10 minutes a day habit to keep it that way or catch up when you’ve gotten behind. If you need help, give me a call and we’ll whip up some tasty tidbits together!
With love from your personal quicker picker upper, Jennifer
Click this pretty little ticket to schedule our free phone call together!
