It might seem like the whole world is losing their minds Marie Kondo-ing their homes, but not everyone can afford to spend days and weeks decluttering.
Got 5 minutes in the morning? That's more our style.
Image: 1. Take the rubbish out when you leave
Sure, you're in a routine of taking the bins out when they need it, but what about the smaller rubbish that builds up that leads to decluttering being necessary in the first place? If you're leaving the house, make a point of taking some of yesterday's junk mail, or some food that's expired in the fridge, or a few bits from that pile you keep meaning to tackle. It won't add much more work to your morning - you're leaving the house anyway. No excuses!
2. Clean out your fridge... while the kettle boils
Speaking of expired food, do yourself a favour and don't leave cleaning out your fridge as a once a week, or once a month job. Pop old leftovers or expired food in the bin while you're waiting for your morning kettle to boil. You might be useless to everyone else before you've had your coffee, but decluttering your fridge as you go will be useful to you in the long run.
Image: 3. Clean out your wardrobe... while you get dressed
Similarly, while you're deciding what to wear for the day, get a little extra use out of your morning minutes by dumping (ideally into a charity bag if suitable) anything you see and you know you won't wear again. There's no rule that says you have to wait until your annual spring clean - make some closet space for yourself right now. If you don't think you'll stick to that without some structure, make it a challenge to remove one single item every morning for a week or two. One item! You can practically do that while you're still sleeping, we reckon.
4. Declutter your coffee table
Or your side table, or bedside locker, or wherever it is you end up with that dreaded build-up of 'stuff'. You could have a gorgeously styled coffee table, but instead you've got a pile of bits and pieces you put down as you were passing by and never got back to - before you pick up your phone to scroll through your feeds in the morning, take two or three minutes to just throw away yesterday's newspaper and put the TV remote back where it came from, but your whole room will look neater once you do.
Image: From Barbara's real home tour - an Insta-ready rented home5. Make your bed
We know, we know, we're not your mom so you don't need us telling you to make the bed, but listen up. This isn't technically going to be decluttering your space, but in practice, it will be visually decluttering for the room, and you'll thank us once you're in the habit, we promise! Your whole room instantly looks neater and tidier once the bed is made, and if you're the kind of person who drops stuff on the end of the bed like stray clothes, it will encourage you to put them away before they develop into a big pile that needs sorting.
