Organizing can feel like massive undertaking, which is probably why a lot of us tend to put it off (and probably more than once, at that!) But organizing doesn’t have to span your entire house — in fact, if you break up your organizing into quick and easy tasks, you can accomplish a lot in surprisingly little time!
In order to help shift the way we think about organizing, I’ve put together a big list of mini organizing tasks you can do in under 5 minutes. Even the busiest of us can find ourselves with 5 minutes to spare from time to time, and using those minutes to get a little more organized can be time well spent!
Related: 9 Quick Ways To Organize When You Have No Time
The next time you’re waiting for someone to get out of the shower, or have a few minutes before you need to leave for work, tackle one of the easy organization ideas in this list. If you put in a little bit of effort every day, you won’t need to carve out time for those never-ending organizing marathons!
24 Easy Organization Ideas That Only Take 5 Minutes
1. Make Your Bed
Straighten out the sheets, fluff those pillows, and smooth out your duvet. It takes about 30 seconds, and it makes a huge different in how clean and organized your bedroom feels!
2. Pick Up Clothes
Go around the room (or around the house, if you’re feeling ambitious) and pick up all the clothes off the floor. Put them in your hamper if they’re dirty, or hang them up if they’re still pretty clean.
3. Put Laundry Away
Take a few minutes to put your clean, folded laundry in the drawers and closets where it belongs.
4. Put Shoes Away
Take the mountain of shoes in the entryway or laundry room and put them away. This used to be a huge, annoying issue at our house, so I instituted a limit of “one pair of shoes per person in the mud room” rule. That has helped quite a bit!
5. Corral The Remotes
Does anyone else seem to have a million remote controls floating around their living room? Spend a few minutes gathering them all together and placing them in a pretty box, bin, or tray. (And make sure to inform your family so they know where to put the remotes back when they’re done with them!)
6. Find A Home For Clutter
Take a moment to identify a problem area where messes and clutter often accumulate, then put something in place to help control the mess. For instance, if throw blankets always end up strew across your living room, put a basket somewhere nearby where you can stack the blankets at the end of the night.
7. Establish A Donation Area
Set aside an area or container in your house for items that you want to donate. It can be a shelf, a box, or a corner of a closet. It’ll help encourage everyone to help with your decluttering efforts, and it’ll keep the clutter hidden until you’re ready to make the trip to Goodwill.
8. Organize Your Cords
Have an unsightly mess of cords around your desk? Grab some velcro, zip ties, rubber bands, or Command hooks and sort that mess out. It only takes a few minutes, and you’ll feel so much better once it’s done!
9. Store A Collection
Do you have a stash of candles, water bottles, board games, or other items just sitting around somewhere? Find a place to keep them organized, like an over-the-door organizer, a dedicated shelf, or a storage container.
10. Declutter Your Desk
Take a few minutes and get rid of some of the clutter on or around your desk. Put pens and pencils in a pen cup, recycle unneeded paper, and straighten up stacks of books or papers.
11. Hang Up Hooks
Need more places to hang stuff like scarves, purses, or cords? Take some time to hang up a few adhesive hooks! They’re easy to install and will definitely help control the clutter around your house.
Related: 21 Ways To Organize Your Life With Removable Hooks
12. Clean Out Your Fridge
Take out anything in your fridge that is expired, past its prime, or smelling less than fresh. The main culprits are usually produce and leftovers, so check those first!
13. Toss Out Stale Food
Go through your pantry and toss out anything that’s stale or past its expiration date.
14. Clear Out A Junk Drawer
If you have a junk drawer in your house, take a few minutes to empty it out. Group like items together, and toss out anything you don’t need or recognize. Corral similar items together in small plastic containers or drawer organizers before putting them back in the drawer.
15. Clear Out Unused Mugs
If you have a kitchen cupboard that’s full to bursting of mugs, travel mugs, or other drink cups, take a minute to clear some of them out. Start with anything you haven’t used in the last 6 months, then adjust your limit if necessary. Set them aside in a box to donate when you have the time.
16. Organize Food Containers
Organize your collection of food storage containers! Make sure there’s a lid for every container, and set aside borrowed containers to return to their owners. Before placing your containers back in the cupboard or drawer, stack them up by size to make them as space-efficient as possible.
Related: 5 Easy And Affordable Ways To Organize All Your Food Storage Containers
17. Label Your Waste Bins
If you’re always getting your trash bins or recycling bins mixed up, take a few minutes to label them. You can use paper labels or a label maker, then post the labels where they’re plainly visible. Not only will the labels help you, but it will help guests and other family members too!
18. Clear Out Cosmetics
Go through all your cosmetics, toiletries, and other personal care items. Toss out anything you don’t use anymore, and anything that’s past its expiration date.
19. Organize Your Wallet Or Purse
Dump out the contents of your wallet or purse. Toss out any garbage, old receipts, and empty chapstick tubes. Put away any random items that have found their way in too. Once you’ve cleared out all the junk, put the important stuff back in an organized fashion.
20. Rearrange Your Closet
Rearrange the clothes in your closet using a more organized system. I like to put like with like, so I hang all my skirts together, my sweaters together, etc. But if you like to hang by color or occasion, that’s perfectly fine! Use whatever system makes the most sense to you.
21. Organize Your Jewelry
Use trays to keep your jewelry organized, or hang it from an organizer or hanger. Anything that gets it up off your counter or dresser!
22. Reduce Paper Clutter
It seems like there are always piles of mail, bills, and other stray papers lying around the house. Piles like these can make any house feel cluttered! Sort through the stacks and keep anything crucial. The rest can be shredded and recycled.
Related: How To Organize Paperwork: The One Simple System I Live By
23. Clear Out Coupons
If you have a place that you store coupons and other offers, go through it. Toss out any expired ones, then put the remaining coupons in an organizer of some sort. Stick it in your glove compartment in your car for safe keeping. You’ll be more likely to remember to use the coupons in the future if you keep them there!
24. Recycle Junk Mail
Take all of your old newspapers, junk mail, flyers, etc. and put them in your recycling bin.
Want More Easy Home Organization Tips?
What quick organizing tasks would you add to this list?
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