This mini decluttering challenge is the perfect way to jump-start your home organization goals. If you want to declutter but don’t know where to start, getting one space cleared and cleaned can be very satisfying.
I’ve been writing about simplifying life since 2010, and getting rid of clutter is an ongoing process for our family. When our house feels clean and organized, it makes a huge difference in our daily lives.
“Calm house, calm life” is one of my favorite decluttering quotes. A peaceful, comfortable, tidy home can feel like an oasis and a place of restoration in the midst of life’s many challenges.
Organizing an entire house can seem like a daunting task, but tidying up one space at a time can be a catalyst that helps us experience the joy of uncluttered spaces.
13 Simple Decluttering Projects
Here are some ideas for decluttering fast by tackling a single, manageable space. Some of these are 15 minute tasks, and others may take a little longer.
- Spice cabinet
- Dishtowel drawer
- One bookshelf
- Kitchen counter
- Games and Puzzles
- Medicine cabinet
- Coat closet
- Underwear drawer
- Tupperware or container collection
- Junk drawer
- The cabinet under the kitchen sink
- Linen closet
- Vase collection
Clearing and Organizing a Cabinet
Let me share my own experience with #13 on the list, trying to rein in the chaos of a cabinet stuffed full of vases.
I love fresh flowers, and often have a few posies in a vase or jar to brighten the kitchen where I work.
Recently I tried to find a vase in the crowded laundry room cabinet. Everything was so jammed in I could hardly move the items, and I saw my overflowing collection with new, critical eyes.
Do we really need quite so many containers to hold flowers? I wondered.
To face the question truthfully, I removed every vase from the depths of the cabinet and arranged them on the kitchen table.
I was somewhat astounded to discover 25 vessels.
Faced with the vases, I was also confronted with the two opposing sides of my domestic personality. The happy simple living side of me is, most of the time, truly content to whittle down possessions, enjoy orderly spaces, and keep just a few things that I really enjoy.
But the Martha Stewart side of me loves having many, many choices of domestic goods in every color, size and shape.
25 vases? Maybe I’ll need them in case I want to get creative and make pretty arrangements:
- A red vase for Christmas and Valentine’s Day
- A tiny bud vase for little flowers
- A pale green vase for January days that need a dash of spring color
- A large vase for those times when men arrive bearing unexpected bouquets (hmm, why is that one so dusty?)
- A curvy vase in case I want to force hyacinth bulbs someday (although it hasn’t happened in 20 years)
- A round orange vase that belonged to my dad
Twenty-five vases is too many, though, so I steeled myself and ignored my inner Martha.
To thin the vase collection, here’s what I did:
- Eliminated the duplicates.
- Waved goodbye to the plain, cheap vases.
- Let go of the ones I never use.
To some minimalists this might not seem extraordinary, but I did get rid of almost half of the collection. Thirteen vases made the final cut.
It only took fifteen minutes to send a dozen vases to the curb, which is a figure of speech because I actually drove to the box to the ARC drop-off center before I could change my mind.
I wiped down the shelves of the cabinet while it was empty (something Martha Stewart probably does once a week). Then I replaced the vases.
The best part of all? The once-overstuffed cabinet now has room—glorious, spacious breathing room.
Whenever I open that cabinet now, it’s like taking a deep breath. Peace washes over me, and I can easily find a vase. I want that feeling in so many other spaces of our home!
The Challenge
How about you? Would you like to declutter a small space this week?
If you do, be sure to drop a comment below about your project. I always love hearing from you!
Save for Later
If you use Pinterest to save ideas, here’s a handy pin:
This article was originally posted on July 14, 2013, and has been updated with new photos and information.
Eliza Cross is the creator of Happy Simple Living, where she shares ideas to help busy people simplify cooking, gardening, holidays, home, and money. She is also the award-winning author of 17 cookbooks, including Small Bites and 101 Things To Do With Bacon.
This is the perfect post for me to comment on. I used to have this many vases but no longer. I have a couple large flower gardens and give bouquets when I visit friends. Now just the other day I was planning on a Goodwill trip to get a couple vases as I now only have 3….a bud vase, a large one, and a medium one. None left to give away.
Weeded our out when we moved 2 years ago. Actually, can’t use them anyhow. Our cats eat the indoor flowers 🙂
Just started reading your blog, love it. I have one big vase, for unexpected bouquets hehe, and jam jars which get renewed with every jar of jam. Mainly because I’ve not many fresh flowers to choose from unless I pay a fortune 🙁
Alas, my Martha-wannabe genes greatly outnumber any minimalist genes, BUT, I love those little budvases – I keep a stash (buy cheapos at garage sales) so that I can bring a little bouquet from my garden to ailing friends…a practice I hope long to continue.
Oh I love that orange ball one, glad you kept that! vases are one of the things I am very bad about collecting. I really need to cull mine I think as I don’t have flowers inside much anymore. I prefer to open the windows and look out at the garden.
That’s a lot of vases – can you send some over? Some of them are really nice. We never seem to have suitable containers for the rare flowers…..:-(
I had to smile at your “Inner Martha” wording because that’s exactly what I call my inner domestic diva. Unfortunately, between two kids, a full time job and a husband that needs lots of alone time to be happy, she doesn’t get to come out and play very often. But she did help me figure out what to do with some lovely vases I have but never use – fill them with sea shells and put them on display. Now I get to look at two lovely things every day.
When I went through my last apartment I got rid of all but 2 vases, then after seeing I never used them, pulling out jelly jars and other glass jars I save and use for storing foods in I donated the last two. Love the open space you found after clearing out the cabinet.
The flowers is all I care about they are beautiful
Good job on pairing down the vases. I don’t have a huge amount of vases (yet, my GF just moved in so I see them coming very quickly lol) But I do have a huge amount of random cups and glasses. I need to sort those out and get rid of a bunch.