Can You Organize in Less Than 30 Minutes?

I think many of us have a predisposed notion that organizing a room – or even a drawer – has to be a huge, drawn out task that stretches on for days. I’m here to set the record straight. Organizing isn’t always that bad.

Let’s look at two spaces in my home that I’ve organized this year. I always take a before and after picture so that I can see my progress and track how much time it took.

Here’s the before shot of my kitchen utility drawer. It always looked messy and there wasn’t a clear spot for everything, so things were put away randomly. Ugh.

I followed my tried and true organizing method:

• Get rid of clutter – I had a pile for trash and a pile for things that needed to be relocated.
• Give everything a place – I sorted the items and put them in bins by type
• Leave room to grow

25 minutes later, I was done! Here’s the result:

What a difference 25 minutes makes! I did this project over two months ago, and the drawer still looks like this today.

Let’s look at another spot in my house – the shelving above my washing machine. This one is tricky because the contents here change often, depending on how many overflow paper and pantry goods I have on hand.

Here’s the before:

Yikes. I followed the same steps as before, and in less than TEN MINUTES, I had this result:

Do you have a space that needs just a few minutes of organization? Drawers and closets that are high traffic will require more frequent touch-ups, just like my laundry shelves.

I will say this – the projects I’ve shared in this post were easier because I’m working in a space that already has an organizational system. There are bins and a general idea of the kinds of items that belong in those spaces.

If you’re new to home organization, head over to my organization index. You’ll find my best tips for setting up the perfect system that works for you, for almost every space in your home!

This is a task that illustrates Proverbs 14:23 – there is profit in hard work!