It’s summer! The sun, the water, the shade of a leafy tree and the smell of a BBQ–it’s all calling your name.

But, wait…

You say you need to get organized. Your kitchen, your closet, your papers from the last three months–all need organizing.

It’s a dilemma. Spending time outside means you’re not organizing inside.

I’m a Professional Organizer and even I don’t want to spend much time organizing when it’s 85 degrees and sunny!

The solution for the summer (as well as the other three seasons)?

Get organized in 5 minutes.

No, I’m not crazy. It IS possible to get organized in 5 minutes. You’re not going to organize your entire closet or kitchen in 5 minutes but there are teeny-tiny tasks that you can complete that will move you one step forward towards your organizing goals. And, I’ve said it a bunch of times–it’s those baby steps that will motivate you and keep your eye on the organizing prize.

Here are 10 ways you can get organized in 5 minutes:

Declutter your wallet

A bulging wallet isn’t always a sign of wealth–it can sometimes be a sign of a wallet in need of decluttering! Cash, receipts, business cards, and random scraps of paper multiply like bunnies in between clean-outs. Take 5 minutes to make space in your wallet for money to flow into it!

Create a home for an item that doesn’t have one

We’re always bringing new items into our homes whether it’s children’s artwork, a plant, a picture frame, or a new piece of technology. If the item will be sticking around for a while (or permanently), it’s going to need a place to ‘live.’ Spend 5 minutes thinking of the best ‘home’ for the item and place it in that spot.

Create a file for a new document

Papers also need ‘homes!’ Perhaps you opened a new bank account or you just received your child’s school directory. Those papers need to live somewhere (not your dining room table!). Take 5 minutes to label a file folder, place the papers inside, and store it in a spot that guarantees you’ll always be able to find it.

Delete blurry or duplicate photos from your phone

I was telling my kids the other day about how cameras used to use something called film and you could only take either 24 or 36 shots at a time. And then we had to pay to develop the whole roll regardless of what the pictures could potentially look like. And you had to carry an extra roll of film in case you ran out of shots (and flash cubes, but that’s a whole other story…).

It’s so easy to take multiple pictures of the same thing on our phones. But, that takes up precious space on our little hand-held computers. Ever spend time waiting in a line for 5 minutes? Waiting for the water on the stove to boil? Waiting for the laundry to stop spinning? All of these scenarios and many other 5-minute pockets of time are perfect for deleting blurry and duplicate photos on your phone.

Plan one meal

Does this scenario resonate with you? You come home from work or school or from taking your kids to activities and discover you have nothing in your pantry that comes close to resembling a meal. Taking 5 minutes to plan one meal in advance will save you hours in the supermarket and at the stove, put money back in your wallet, and time back in your day. You won’t feel ‘hangry’ and it may even help trim your waistline, too…

Toss expired food from your fridge, cabinets, or pantry

While you’re planning that one meal, take another 5 minutes to dispose of food that has expired or that resembles a science experiment. Sort through and purge one shelf at a time. Check expiration dates and if you’re brave enough, give leftovers the ‘sniff test.’ By doing this for 5 minutes at a time, you’ll stay on top of your food inventory and keep your refrigerator fresh and clean. Best time to do this? The night before your garbage collection.

Unsubscribe to emails from businesses/organizations you no longer make purchases from/donations to

Imagine if all of those unsolicited emails you receive daily were actual physical pieces of mail. You would have one clogged up mailbox and a whole lot of recycling to do! Get organized in 5 minutes by unsubscribing from unwanted email solicitations. It may take a few days for the ‘unsubscribe’ to take effect but those 5 minutes will have been worth it when you’re no longer using your time to sort through so many ‘junk’ emails.

Test pens and markers

Is your junk drawer overflowing with pens, highlighters, and markers? If so, spend 5 minutes finding out if they still work. This is an ideal job for kids! Give them a pad of paper and a bunch of pens and markers and have them scribble and sort–anything that still works stays and anything that is out of ink or isn’t writing as well as it should gets thrown out or recycled.

Create your to-do list for the next day

Take 5 minutes to write out your next day ‘to-do’ list before you turn in for the night. This technique has multiple benefits. It will help you sleep well–you’ll wake up knowing exactly what needs to be done. It gives your brain an opportunity to think about what needs to be accomplished and places that information elsewhere when you write it down (using paper or tech). Now you can use those morning hours to plan and prioritize your tasks instead of spending time wondering what you should be doing next.

Make your bed

It’s one of the first chores of the day and the first accomplishment of the day. It starts your morning off in a calm and organized fashion.  No need to make your bed look picture perfect. Cover the bed with your blanket/comforter, smooth it out, and tidy up your pillows. Unless you sleep restlessly it should take you less than 5 minutes to make your bed. If you have a partner, split the task with them–it will take even less time!
5 minutes making your bed = Time.Well.Spent.

You CAN get organized in 5 minutes!

What 5 minute organizing task will you accomplish today?

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Do you ever watch TED Talks? I love watching them

If I get to watch at least one a day I’m a happy camper. I watch them while I’m cooking, while I’m on the treadmill, and while I’m eating lunch at my computer. If I don’t have the time, I use one of my favorite apps, Pocket to store them until I have a free 20 minutes to watch.

TED began as a conference in California in 1984–five years before the birth of the World Wide Web. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design.  It’s mission is to spread knowledge and since it’s inception, TED Talks have had attracted over a billion views online–there’s a lot more knowledgeable people in this world thanks to TED!

With all my TED Talk watching, I was curious as to whether there were any talks on the topic of Organizing. Well–there are! No one is sorting through papers or an overstuffed garage on stage, but the talks I’ve selected are based on an ‘organizing’ theme. Carve out time in your day to watch them–you may learn something new just like I did…

Jessi Arrington: Wearing Nothing New

In my opinion, Jessi is one brave woman. She packed seven pair of underwear for her trip to Los Angeles to do her TED Talk. My heart is palpitating just thinking about it. When she got off the plane with her very tiny suitcase, she went shopping for clothes at local thrift stores in order to “reduce the impact of her wardrobe on the environment and her wallet.” I don’t expect you to watch this and then travel light, but listening to what she has to say, might cause you to take a good look at the clothes in your closet.

Laura Vanderkam: How To Gain Control of Your Free Time

Laura Vanderkam writes about Time Management. She says, “Time is highly elastic. We cannot make more time but time will stretch to accommodate what we choose to put into it.” Basically–it’s all about priorities. Your priorities. Your schedule and your choices. Watch and listen to her and think about how you use your time…

Tim Urban: Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator

Do you procrastinate often?  Whether you do or not, you’re going to get a good laugh out of this funny TED Talk. You might even see a bit of yourself in Tim Urban. Think about what you might be procrastinating on and watch out for the ‘monkey.’

*BONUS* Yes–I said ‘3’ in the title but this one is short–only around 5 minutes long: Mundano: Pimp My…Trash Cart?.

The unsung heroes of the organizing world are garbage men. They take away what we no longer want in our lives and are not always highly regarded for their work. Watch how one artist in Brazil took the work of Catadores, people who collect recycling, and transformed their work into an art form to be celebrated and appreciated by their communities.

Which Ted Talk resonated with you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

SaveSave

For most of us, recycling is part of our everyday lives. We gather paper, plastic and glass and reap the health, environmental and economic benefits to recycling.

But, recycling isn’t just about putting your newspapers and tin cans at the curb. You can recycle much more than that–just walk into your local Best Buy.

I wandered in to Best Buy one day to buy a gift card for my nephew and upon entering the store, I saw this…

I couldn’t believe all of the items they took for recycling!

-Plastic Bags
-Wires, Cables and Cords
-Gift Cards
-CD’s, DVD’s and their Cases
-Ink and Toner Cartridges
-Rechargeable Batteries

I started thinking about all of the items in my home I could place in this recycle bin. I took the above photo as a reminder (and for this blog post), looked through my home and came upon a few items I could ‘donate’ to the recycle bin. I placed the bag of items in my car and a few days later they were living in my local Best Buy’s recycling bin.

I later learned that Best Buy recycles more than just what you can put in the bin. They take back TVs, mobile phones, video games and other electronics. To read more about other items Best Buy recycles, go to their recycle page. You’ll be shocked at the variety of items you’ll be able to recycle at their store. There are many good resources for recycling on that page, too.

Time to look through your attic, basement, closets and garage–bring your unwanted electronics to Best Buy for a little e-Spring Cleaning!