There are times when our homes can suddenly become overwhelming. Except it didn’t happen so suddenly. Piles of papers, a mountain of who-knows-what in the entry way, strewn plastic toys that seem to magically appear from the floorboards. Let’s rally the troops and do a 30 minute purge to put the overwhelm to bed.
A 30 Minute Purge will not get us a completely clutter free and organized home. What is that anyways? It will, however, give us some breathing room both physically and mentally and could give us the motivation we need to keep going.
If you’re playing the Mins Game with me this month, a 30 Minute Purge is just the thing to do September 20-30 when we are decluttering more than just a few items. Here is one way to do a 30 Minute Purge.
30 Minute Purge
Gather supplies.
Grab three trash bags or boxes. The boxes or sacks can be labeled trash, donate, and relocate. That’s all you need to do a 30 minute purge. The only other thing you may want is some ear buds and your favorite podcast or playlist.
Choose to focus on one room or the whole house
Decide now if you want to focus on one trouble area or do a whole house walk through. One room will you get you a lot of bang for your buck and a whole house walk through will give your home a surface level declutter. Both are good, neither is wrong.
One Room 30 Minute Purge
If you are focusing on one room get to that room, set a timer for 30 minutes, and begin. Because we only have 30 minutes, we will not be taking everything out or touching every item in the space. Simply find things in the space that can be trashed, donated, or need to go to another room. Place that stuff in the correct trash bag or box.
Make a pact with yourself that you will make ruthless decisions and not let yourself feel guilty for items you need to give away or trash because you spent money on them or someone gave them to you. This is your home and you deserve to have a calm and peaceful space. This 30 Minute Purge is guilt free.
If you have time left after decluttering, group like items together and give your stuff a home. When our things have homes, they are easier to find and use. Some people call this organization. When we have only what we need and use and have it in a home easy to find, our lives become a bit simpler.
Whole House 30 Minute Purge
Maybe your entire house is driving you batty and you need to remove some of the surface level clutter. Set a timer, take one trash bag and begin in your kitchen or living room. Start with surfaces and throw anything in the bag that isn’t serving you or your family. Make quick decisions as you move through the spaces and clear clutter and trash. Walk through the rest of your house, clearing clutter and trash in bedrooms, bathrooms, and other shared spaces.
Be sure to ask other members of your family if it’s okay to get rid of their stuff. Or better yet, give your kids a grocery sack and have them declutter 10 things in their rooms.
When the timer goes off, sort your trash bag. Throw trash away, put things to be donated in your trunk, and take other items back to their homes.
Pat yourself on the back.
30 minutes spent purging is time well spent. Reward yourself with an iced coffee, a walk around the block, or (my favorite) closing your eyes for 5 minutes. Let’s celebrate the 30 minute purge we completed to make our homes cozy and comfortable for us and our people.
Tell me: Will you do a 30 Minute Purge?