How To Declutter Your Overwhelming House in 30 Minutes a Day

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Your use of these links is greatly appreciated!

It’s hard to get motivated to do things you really don’t want to do …like declutter your overwhelming house. 

The process of decluttering, in itself, is overwhelming. Right?

Here’s a helpful mindset hack: Decluttering and organizing are not the same

Decluttering is the process of removing anything you aren’t using or don’t want (aka clutter). As I like to put it, decluttering is the process of deciding what you’ll keep and then removing the rest.

On the other hand, organizing is about arranging or making a system. 

Why do I think this helps? Separating the two actions means you only have to focus on one at a time. Just as I recommend breaking a space into smaller, bite-sized pieces, you can break down the process of getting organized as well. It makes it a little less overwhelming.

Speaking of breaking it into smaller pieces, let’s do exactly that to declutter your overwhelming house in just 30 minutes a day.

Step 01. Schedule time

The most difficult thing is making time to declutter. But if it’s important to you, you can make it a priority.

One way you can make time is to set up theme days, discussed in detail here, with one day set aside as a Decluttering theme day. 

Another idea is to make decluttering part of your morning rhythm so that you take advantage of the prime hours of your day.

For any scheduling technique you use, block out 30 minutes specifically for decluttering.

Step 02. Make a plan

If you’re only organizing for 30 minutes a day, you need to go in with a plan. Decide which space you’ll tackle and break it into smaller pieces, such as a drawer, shelf, or corner of the room.

If you’re not sure where you should start decluttering, get the free Where To Start Decluttering Guide that will help you create a plan to get started.

Once the space is broken down, write down exactly where you’ll declutter and organize on your schedule.

Step 03. Prepare

So that you can jump right in and set up a staging area before your scheduled time. This would include separate bags or bins for:

• Relocate ( items you keep but don’t belong in that space)
• Trash
• Recycle
• Donate
• Sell (optional)

In addition to your staging area, create a pre-game ritual to be completed before starting to declutter. This technique is discussed more deeply in this article, but know that many successful people use a pre-game ritual to get “in the zone.”(James Clear mentions some of these people in this article.)

Step 04. Declutter

Now that you’re prepared, it’s time to declutter! Set your 30-minute timer and use the following steps:

• Begin by taking everything out of the area you’re decluttering.
• Sort the items. 
  • Start by removing any items that are obviously trash. 
  • Next, look for items you want to keep, sorting by what will stay there and what will be relocated. 
  • Then, sort everything else into the right bins or bags in your staging area.
• With your final sorting, sort the keep items by similarity.
• Finish by cleaning the physical area the items were removed from.

Step 05. Organize

Once your items are pared down, it’s time to put them back. Since you’re decluttering in only 30 minutes, you won’t have time to go shopping for organizing products. Instead, use what you have on hand to sort similar items together.

As I said earlier, decluttering and organizing are not the same thing. In order to efficiently and effectively organize a space, I like to use a newly decluttered space for a bit to determine the best type of organizer that would work. Giving it time enables me to make a better decision about what will actually keep my space organized.

You can declutter your overwhelming house in 30 minutes a day using these 5 steps:

• Schedule time: use themed days and time blocking.
• Make a plan: break out the space into smaller pieces to work on in 30-minute increments.
• Prepare: decide what you’ll do with excess clutter and create a “pre-game ritual.”
• Declutter: take action and start!
• Organize: arrange your items by similarity and test the decluttered space.

Download the free Where To Start Decluttering Guide to help you break out your space into smaller pieces so you can declutter your overwhelming house in 30 minutes a day.