Stuck indoors because of the haze and suffering from cabin fever? I sympathise!

But take it as an opportunity to de-clutter your home and reclaim your sanity by keeping yourself busy while regaining control over your space. I have come up with a list of categories of items that shouldn’t take you more than 15 to 20 minutes to de-clutter or organise.

1. Food that has expired in your fridge. If you have 45 to 60 minutes, do an overhaul of your fridge.  Read my post on how to organise your fridge for tips.
2. Food that has expired in your pantry
3. Plastic food containers. You may want to recycle the ones without lids but are still in good condition into storage organisers for other items.
4. Expired medicine
5. Make-up. If you have 5 more minutes, take this opportunity to wash your brushes.
6. Old newspapers and magazines. You will need to go around your home as they are likely to be scattered around.
7. Clothes. You have 2 choices:
   1. Progress by category e.g. shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, lingerie, exercise outfits, belts, scarfs, etc.
   2. Progress by storage mode i.e. clothes that are on hangers, then on shelves, and finally inside drawers. Tackle one shelf or one drawer at a time!
8. Jewelry
9. Handbags
10. Shoes
11. Purse / Wallet
12. Bedlinen
13. Cables, adaptors, etc.
14. Travel guides
15. Cookbooks
16. Recipes
17. Paper piles on your desk, then on any other flat surfaces
18. Stationery including pens, scissors, staplers, notebooks, etc.
19. Spam folder. If you can afford the time, unsubscribe from social media mailing lists, while going through your emails, if they are no longer of interest to you.
20. Inbox folder. Same comment as above.

Break down these categories even further based on the amount of stuff you own in each of them so that you can manage the de-cluttering in 15 to 20 minutes. The list above is far from being exhaustive, but it should get you started. I haven’t included here categories of items that are more emotional in nature and as result take more time to de-clutter such as memorabilia, kids’ schoolwork and artwork etc. Keep it for another time, focus on the easy stuff first.
Ask yourself the following questions to help you de-clutter:

1. Is it something I use regularly?
2. How many do I have and how many do I need?
3. If it is not working, can it be fixed?
4. Is it something I really love?
5. Am I keeping it out of guilt because it was expensive?
6. Am I keeping it out of obligation because it is sentimental?
7. Am I keeping it out of the fear I might need it in the future?
8. If I lost it in a flood or a fire, would I replace it?
9. Is it worth the space it is taking in my home?
10. Is it more trouble to care for it than I care about it?

It is important that you dispose of the items you have decided to let go of as quickly as possible. You don’t want to start a pile of clutter elsewhere or start rummaging in your cast-away pile and putting them back in your closets. Also give yourself a deadline to sell or to get the items that need it repaired or altered. If you haven’t done what you were supposed to do by then, it means it’s probably time to let them go.

Ready to stretch yourself with a bit of organising? What about the following tasks?

1. Plan your meals for the following week.
2. Create a standard shopping list on online grocery platforms e.g. RedMart, Cold Storage, FairPrice.
3. Create a “launching pad” where everything that your child needs for school is gathered including schoolwork, diary, lunch box,  or canteen coupons or money, cap, laptop, change of clothes for PE, music instrument, things for after-school activities, etc. That will avoid you going frantically around your home in the morning to gather what’s needed!
4. Allocate a box for stuff you won’t want to keep and find it a place. Whenever you come across an item you no longer use, need or love, put it in there instead of back in your closets. When the box is full, get rid of it.
5. Organise your passwords. Consolidate them in a password protected spreadsheet or use password manager apps such as KeePass, SplashID, or PasswordSafe.

Hopefully the end of the haze will come before you have exhausted this list. But if you do exhaust it, let me know and we will take it to the next stage!  Good luck with the haze and happy de-cluttering!