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Want to declutter a room but too overwhelmed to start? What if I told you it’s only going to take 20 minutes? Yes, you heard that right. 20 cute minutes on the clock. 20 minutes and your space will be free of a huge amount of clutter, and your mind free from all the stress piling up. Sounds tempting? Then read on and I’ll show you how exactly you can declutter any room in 20 minutes flat.
You might think this sounds magical. I did, too. Until I did it. That’s when I saw what a simple block of time can do.
Now I’m not claiming you’ll be able to let go of all your deep clutter in 20 minutes. Some things will challenge you. Some things will be hard to let go of. That’s okay.
The idea is to let go of the maximum amount of clutter in the time you set. And you’ll be surprised to see how much you’ll be able to declutter from any room at the end of just 20 minutes.
The Ground Rules
Before you begin the room declutter process, it’s important to understand a few fundamentals.
These will hold you in good stead during the declutter process and maximize results, while keeping your spirits high.
The Timer is Sacrosanct
Once your timer beeps at the end of 20 minutes, you’re done. Drop what you were doing.
You may not be done. You may want to keep going. Resist the urge.
You don’t have to tire yourself to the bone every time you set out to declutter a room.
Accept the progress you’ve made and applaud yourself for actually taking time out for your home and mental health.
If you feel you need more time, do the 20 minute declutter again, tomorrow. This will help you reserve your energy and help you honor your progress with grace.
If It Makes You Stop & Think, Move On
While sorting and going through things in your room, there will be stuff that makes you pause.
Stuff that you’re not ready to throw just yet. Stuff that belongs in some other room. Even stuff that you’re confused about.
Every time something is making you think for more than 10 seconds, let it be and move on.
You don’t have to make a decision on it right away, so you can take that pressure off of yourself.
The focus in this declutter process is to junk things that you don’t have to think about.
Start with The Messiest Area
Where you start decluttering can make a huge difference to the outcome.
That chair with the huge pile of clothes. That drawer full of years of junk. Start with the area that’s bothering you the most.
This will have the biggest impact. Plus, it’ll make you feel great when you’re done.
Have a Flow in Mind
In your head, keep a general idea of how you want to cover the room.
Left to right, front to back, top to bottom, hardest to easiest – whatever works for you.
The idea is to keep focussed on the path you chart so you don’t waste time thinking about what to do next and distractions are to the minimum.
Focus On Decluttering Only
To get the most out of these 20 minutes, focus only on decluttering. Not on organizing and re-housing things.
Organizing is best done when your space is free of clutter. Once that is done, you can block another chunk of time you organize stuff and relocate things in the house.
Set The Mood
Put on your favorite music, or a podcast.
Make sure you’re well fed and hydrated before you begin.
The Process
You know the rules. You’ve set the mood. Now it’s time for action.
You’ve got this.
It’s only 20 minutes, after all.
Grab Bags
Keep 3-4 trash bags with you at the ready.
You’ll need it for trash and for collecting stuff you want to give away or relocate.
Set a Timer
Simple enough. Use your phone, a clock, whatever.
20 minutes. Ready, set, go.
Wave 1: Don’t Think, Just Trash
Go through the room in a wave, starting from the messiest area. Keep junking stuff you definitely know as trash into your bag.
Go into drawers, open up cabinets, sort through closets.
Empty bottles, paper clutter, torn clothes you won’t use – anything that is clearly trash.
The key here is this: Don’t think, just junk.
If you’re spending too much time thinking if you want to junk something, move past it to the next thing. Just don’t lose the momentum.
Wave 2: Trash Some More
Once you’ve covered the room one time, try to do a quick second wave to trash stuff.
It will be harder this time. But again, don’t spend too much time thinking.
Even if you can junk two more items in this wave, it’s enough.
Every single thing counts.
Wave 3: Donate & Relocate
Now you may or may not have time left over for this. If you don’t, that’s okay – just do 20 minutes another day.
If you do have time left over, grab two more bags, go through the room again and pick out stuff you want to donate as well as stuff that belongs somewhere else in your home.
Keep them separated in the two bags.
Be sure to take action on these within a time you set. Could be a week, could be a month.
But do set a time, else all you separated will just sit in your home as more junk.
So there you have it. A simple, straightforward way to declutter any room in 20 minutes.
If you’re looking for more declutter challenges to get inspired, check out my review of the popular declutter challenges of 2024.
If you’re just getting started on the declutter journey, you may want to start with my step-by-step guide to declutter your entire home.
Having trouble letting go of stuff from your home? I’ve also done a deep dive into the psychology of mess and how you can make the mental shift to left go of stuff.
