15 Organizing Projects That Will Make You Feel Accomplished in Just 10 Minutes

There are few house projects more intimidating than standing in front of a closet that’s turned into a heap of clothes or staring down a utility closet that might have suitcases hidden somewhere behind wrapping paper, coats, and half-finished DIY projects. The idea of organizing the most disorganized corners of your home can send you into a spiral. But that’s when you should take a deep breath and, instead, tackle a project that will take just minutes to complete and leave you feeling accomplished and productive.

"People generally think of delving into large projects that take many, many hours, but there are plenty of smaller projects that can be tackled when you only have 10 or so minutes to spare," says Jan Arkwright, owner of Before & After Organizing by Jan LLC. "Small, continuous progress can make a difference!"

Ready to get started? Here are 15 organizing projects that will get your home tidy in just 10 minutes.

File Paperwork 

"When mail arrives, having a filing system that allows you to sort through it quickly prevents it from building up and being scattered all over your home," says Laura Price, Founder of The Home Organisation. She suggests having three upright magazine files near your entryway that you can use for a quick 10-minute (or less!) filing each day. "Label them with 'To Action,' 'To File,' and 'To Shred,' Price says. "When mail comes in, you can immediately place it in the right file and keep track of the next step."

Do a Quick Car Clean Out

Our cars can quickly become as disorganized as our homes, especially when we’re in a hurry. The glove compartment becomes a dumping ground for Chick-fil-A sauce packets, and each and every pocket is filled with random papers and pamphlets. Luckily, it’s a small space, so it shouldn’t take long to tackle. "Discard any garbage, go through the glove compartment, and sort trunk items," Arkwright says. "Restock supplies such as paper towels, tissues, pen/paper, mints, or anything else you like to keep on hand in your car."

Fill a Quick 'Tidy Box'

"Pick one or two rooms. Simply go around putting any items that aren’t in their proper place into a box or bag. Simultaneously, remove easy-to-spot items that you would like to discard or donate. Next time you have 10 minutes, pick another room,” says Arkwright. Each day, you can start in another room, and within a week or so, you should be done with the entire house.

Dump Out Your Purse

"Especially for those people who don’t change bags often, pocketbooks can become a traveling junk drawer," says Arkwright. She suggests starting by dumping everything out, then discarding any old receipts, expired lipsticks, and anything else that might be hiding at the bottom. "Make sure you restock tissues, lip balm, a pen, and mints," Arkwright says.

Go Through Your Spice Rack

The spice rack can be one of the biggest offenders of expired kitchen items, but it’s also one of the easiest kitchen organizing tasks. Take 10 minutes to go through yours, seeing which spices are still good and which need to be replaced. If you decant your spices, use this time to refill canisters and see which ones you need to buy new back-stock for.

Check the Fridge

Whether you love to cook or have a big family, the refrigerator can be one of the biggest offenders when it comes to old items piling up. And, despite believing hot sauce never goes bad, most items do have an expiration date. "Take 10 minutes a week to go through your fridge, checking for anything that needs to be thrown out," Price says. "It’ll keep your shelves clear, making everything more visible and speed up your shopping lists." Plus, you won’t end up with four jars of dijon mustard hiding at the back of your shelves (not that we know from experience!).

Choose a Drawer for Rapid-Fire Organizing

Breaking down organizing into short bursts makes it feel achievable, so breaking it down into even smaller spaces also helps eliminate the intimidation of getting started. "Choose part of a drawer or shelf and set yourself a 10-minute timer. Quickly go through it, pulling out any items you no longer need and could donate, recycle, or throw away," says Price. Within a week, you’ll make your way through an entire room.

Tidy Up Your Food Storage Containers

When you’re unloading the dishwasher in a hurry, it doesn’t take long for food storage containers and their lids to lose each other. Before you know it, you have approximately zero matching sets. "Set your timer for 10 minutes and lay out all your food storage containers to find matching sets. Discard everything that has no match or is broken or badly stained," says Catherine Hamilton-Cooper, professional organizer at Declutterbird. To prevent the mess from coming back, she recommends storing lids vertically and stacking the containers in size order. 

Unsubscribe from Emails

"Spend 10 minutes unsubscribing from all the email newsletters and promotions that you never read," says Lauren Saltman, professional organizer and owner at Living Simplified LLC. Once you realize how quick it is to hit "unsubscribe," you’ll wonder why you wasted so much time deleting emails every day.

Clean Your Makeup Brushes and Toss Old Makeup

"Clean your makeup brushes and throw away expired makeup," says Saltman. Makeup brushes need to be cleaned regularly, but how often does it happen? Fortunately, it’s a task that doesn’t take long. You can knock it out in just a few minutes and then spend the rest of your 10 minutes going through your makeup to find old items that need to be tossed.

Clear Off the Nightstand

It doesn’t take long for a nightstand to pile up with everything from the to-be-read pile to hair ties to phone chargers and jewelry. But, since it’s a small space, it also doesn’t take long to clear off. Arkwright suggests discarding or relocating everything but the few minimal items that actually have to be there. Then, do a quick dusting to reduce allergens. Decluttering isn’t the only benefit, though. "Studies have shown that reducing bedroom clutter helps improve sleep and decrease anxiety," Arkwright says.

Take Stock of Supplies

If you like to keep extra paper and food supplies on hand, then a quick 10-minute stock check is all you need to stay on top of your inventory. Arkwright explains that she often sees clients purchase large quantities of paper goods, like toilet paper and tissue, or food staples, like canned items or pasta, and they forget that they have them in storage. They’ll end up rebuying the items over and over. "Extras are typically stored in out-of-daily sight areas such as basements and garages," she says. "Take 10 minutes and sort items together to make it easier to see what you have. Get rid of any expired food and restock your main area from these extras."

Go Through Your Bookshelves

First, Saltman says, "gather books from around the house and return them to the bookshelves so you have them all in one place." Then, go through your bookshelves to see which books can be passed on to a new home. Saltman suggests cookbooks and children’s books as two good places to start. Decide which ones you want to keep, which can be given to a friend, and which should be donated.

Find Lost Mates

If you have a drawer full of socks without their mates, it’s time to turn on a podcast and spend 10 minutes trying to match long-lost footwear. "Take a few minutes to put the pile of odd socks in front of you and match up the sock mates," says Saltman. "For the lone rangers left behind, it might be time to finally say goodbye to them."

Organize Your Phone

"When we are waiting for an appointment or have 10 minutes to spare, the automatic go-to is scrolling social media or checking emails. Instead, use this time to declutter your phone," says Arkwright. Use a few minutes to delete unused apps that are just cluttering your home screen. Delete duplicate photos (and all those accidental photos!). Use albums like screenshots and videos to find images that are no longer needed or take up too much room. Organize like photos into albums to make finding those photos later on easier. Delete old voicemails, large text message chains, and out-of-date contacts.