Your First 10-Minute Decluttering Session
September 3, 2026
These tips will set you up for success in your first 10-minute decluttering session:
1) Begin with an area that doesn’t have an emotional tug.
Start somewhere easy, like your spice cabinet. There’s something about starting small and easy. It gets you a quick win with very little resistance and kickstarts your momentum. Plus, it feels great.
2) Take photos before and after you sort.
It may not seem like a big deal at first, but these photos will track your progress. You can look back later and feel good about your work.
3) Set a timer.
For the spice cabinet, I recommend 10 minutes for two reasons: First, it’s just 10 minutes. If you feel some anxiety, remind yourself it’s just 10 minutes. Take a breath and start.
Second, you control how long you will sort. That changes the goal from “finish the entire cabinet” to “sort for 10 minutes.”
When the time is up, you may feel good about stopping or decide to keep going. Knowing you have options puts you in the driver’s seat, and that’s an empowering part of the process.
4) Separate items into four containers.
I encourage a four-container method: one for garbage, one for donating, one for keeping, and one for those things you may not be ready to deal with in this session. The point is to pick one item up, put it in a container, and keep going until every item is touched or the timer goes off.
5) Look for what’s obvious.
For the spice cabinet, look for items that have expired, items you don’t like, or those you’ll never use. Look for duplicates. Be honest with yourself and let go of what you don’t want or need.
6) Deal with the containers now.
When the timer goes off, throw the garbage away, and put your donation bag in the car. Get them out of the house now. If the donation bag isn’t full yet, you can add to it another day.
7) Put items you're not sure about somewhere else.
Remove them from your spice cabinet and enjoy the freed-up space. Place the bag or box in a holding place. This isn’t to clutter up another area, but to get them out of sight. By putting them in a temporary place, you can enjoy your newly decluttered space now and come back to them later.
8) Place the items you want to keep back on the shelf.
Wipe down the containers and arrange them on the shelf.
9) Step back and enjoy your work!
Take an after photo of your successful decluttering session. Give yourself a minute to notice how good this feels.
Now, keep your momentum up.
As you go, you’ll find some things easy to sort, while others make you pause. That can happen for a few reasons. You may be tired, or those decluttering muscles may need time to develop. Or perhaps you’ve found some sticky clutter. The post Have You Heard of Sticky Clutter? may be helpful.
There may be another reason, too, and it may have nothing to do with what you’re sorting.
The steps laid out in this 10-minute session may sound simple—and they are. But if you’re like me, I still put off doing them. And honestly, sometimes THAT bothered me more than the actual task that needed attention.
So I ask myself:
What’s really going on?
What do I need?
What can help me right now?
When I hit a wall like this, I realize I’m trying to push through when I’m really just tired. Or maybe I don’t know where to start. Or making another decision is impossible with everything else I have going on right now.
So in my own decluttering journey, I’m learning this: there’s a whole lot more to this than deciding what to keep and what to let go.
I also found that there’s something powerful about doing this with someone else. You can work through challenges, share progress, and celebrate the wins. That made a huge difference for me.
That might be worth thinking about the next time you look at a stack of something and think, I really should deal with that.
Clearing the Way This Week:
Start someplace small, like your spice cabinet. Give yourself ten minutes. And notice what happens.
I'm learning to be more intentional with both my thoughts and my things as we prepare for retirement and a major move. I'm sharing what I learn here on Clearing the Way—and I hope you'll find something helpful as you clear your own way forward. If you'd like to follow along, I'd love to have you join me.
Continue Reading