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Clear One Surface
Forget the whole house. Choose one table, shelf or counter, and leave the rest for another day.
Decluttering advice tends to arrive at the scale of a whole house, which is why so many of us read it and then do nothing. There's a much smaller version: clear one surface and keep it clear.
It could be the kitchen counter by the door, your bedside table or one end of the dining table. Choose the one that you see the most, the one that greets you with a little sigh each morning.
How to do it
- Take everything off the surface. All of it.
- Wipe it down. This takes twenty seconds, and it feels surprisingly good.
- Put back only what you use there regularly.
- Find a home for the rest, or put it in a box to sort at the weekend.
Most surfaces take under fifteen minutes. If it takes longer, you picked too big a surface, so choose half of it.
Keeping it clear
Clutter usually lands where things have no other place to go. If mail keeps gathering on the counter, the counter isn't the problem. A small tray or basket gives it somewhere to be. Then spend a minute each evening putting the surface back the way you left it.
Why bother with just one?
You will see it every day, and each time it's a small sign that something in your life is looked after. Sometimes that spreads, and you find yourself clearing the shelf next to it. If it doesn't, you still have one calm place to set down your coffee.
That's plenty for this week.