28 Ways to Organize in 10 Minutes or Less | Family Economics

By Trisha

I often find that I can squeeze in a 10 minute organizing project if I am proactive with a list of ideas reminding me of the areas and things in my home and life that can be organized quickly. Do you need a few ideas on how to best use that extra 10 minutes when waiting for dinner to come out of the oven, or for your children to arrive home from school? Here is my list of 28 ways to organize in 10 minutes or less:

1.    Take inventory of your bathroom supplies: shampoo, soap bars, razors, toilet paper, floss, mouthwash, toothpaste, etc. Make a list of what you're getting low on so that you can stock up during your next shopping trip.

2.    Clean out your makeup and dispose of old and unwanted products. Wipe down each item and place back in container or drawer.

3.    Clean out your children’s dresser clothing drawers – placing outgrown clothes in a giveaway/donation box.

4.    Clean out your children’s school backpacks, sport tote bags etc. Have your children assist you so that they learn the process for future organizing times.

5.    Create a place for your children’s school and activity papers with the Kid Binder – click here for full instructions.

6.    Clean out your purse and/or wallet. Empty it completely and remove unneeded items and only put back in items you need or use regularly.

7.    Place an over the door shoe holder on the inside of your closet door to store scarves, hats, belts, gloves, sunglasses and other accessories.

8.    Change the sheets and pillowcases on each bed.

9.    Lay out both your clothes and your children’s clothes for the next day.

10.    Clean out your non-matching socks and find all matches, then dispose of remaining socks.

11.    Make a list of all the books you want to read over the next year so you are prepared to buy them at discounted prices on halfbooks.com or check out at the library.

12.    Make a list of all the movies you would like to see – adding them into your by-mail movie rental queue.

13.    Clean out your pile of magazines. Place the outdated magazines in the recycle bin.

14.    Unsubscribe from email lists you no longer are interested in – blog updates, retail store emails various organizations and businesses that send you daily or weekly email updates.

15.    Clean out the junk drawer – sort and reorganize into drawer trays. Dispose of items you no longer need.

16.    Give your car a quick interior clean – remove all garbage, items that do not belong and wipe down the dashboard and doors with an interior cleaner and cloth.

17.    Create a master menu list – write out all of the meals your family enjoys so when it’s time to make a weekly or monthly menu you can look at this list for ideas.

18.    Inventory your baking supplies from sugar to chocolate chips. Add to your grocery list the items you are running low on.

19.    Chop up your vegetables for tonight’s salad.

20.    Clean out your cookbooks. Donate the cookbooks you no longer use or have never even searched in for a recipe.

21.    Clean out your coupon holder disposing of all expired or no longer needed coupons. File any coupons that have been sitting in a pile waiting to be filed.

22.    Clean out your freezer – empty it completely out then return the items that you know you will use in the future in an organized fashion, grouping all the vegetables, meats, etc. together. Take note of the possible meals you have the ingredients for in your freezer and also be sure to add to your grocery list the items you are running low on.

23.    Clean out your fridge – empty it completely out, wipe it out and then return the items in an organized fashion. Be sure to add to your grocery list the items you are running low on.

24.    Make DIY snack bags for the week. Filling snack or sandwich size Ziploc® Brand bags with snacks such as chips, nuts, crackers, dry cereal, etc.  

25.    Create a snack attack bin. Click here for complete how-to instructions.

26.    Clean off your coffee and side tables in your living room and/or family room of clutter that belongs elsewhere in your house.

27.    Take inventory of your cleaning supplies and add the items you are running low on to your shopping list.

28.    Find 10 items in your house that you no longer need and place them in a box or bag to donate to your local thrift store or charity.

What can you organize in 10 minutes or less?