Why Setting A Timer Will Be Your Best Strategy Against Clutter

Getting on top of your clutter can be many things: empowering, exhilarating, overwhelming, and seamlessly endless. No matter the scale with which you are trying to declutter your life, having a system before you begin will be your best bet at success. There are lots of strategies for decluttering your home and sorting through your possessions, but one ridiculously simple trick can help you truly get a head start on things: setting a timer.

Setting a timer while you declutter a space has many benefits, including preventing procrastination by providing you with sufficient motivation to accomplish a lot in a short period of time and setting a limit to avoid overdoing yourself or burning out. Another benefit of this trick is that you can use whatever timer you have to pull it off, be that your phone's timer, a kitchen timer, or a stopwatch. With timed organization sessions, you'll be efficient, and your home will be decluttered in no time.

Using a timer to declutter is pretty self-explanatory: You'll need a timer of some kind, as well as a room or area that needs to be decluttered. Begin by taking a loose inventory of how much there is to declutter in your home and then reflect on how long you think it should reasonably take you to sort through. The key to making the most of this tactic is to not give yourself either too much or too little time for the area to be cleared out.

If you allow yourself excessive time to declutter a space, you run the risk of stalling out on items that are harder to part with; alternately, if you don't give yourself enough time, chances are that you might be stressed for the entire decluttering session and not as effective. It's also important to note that using a timer to help you declutter isn't a science, so you'll need to play around with the time and see what works for you. You'll want to "know thyself" before embarking on this approach, too: Some people operate well under pressure, whereas others need a slower pace to make much progress.

Now that you have your timer and your spaces to declutter, it's time to determine how you'll use it to its full potential. Some people enjoy staying on top of their clutter by working at it regularly, whether that is daily, weekly, or some other consistent schedule. In this case, you can accomplish quick and easy decluttering in less than 10 minutes a day, which is an excellent amount of time to manage excess possessions. You can also work in smaller time chunks: Five minutes to declutter your junk drawer or your bathroom vanity — even a little time can go a long way.

If you're more of a "declutter rarely" type person, setting your timer for a longer period of time (but not too long so that your momentum dries up) can be a good call. Finally, whenever you do begin to declutter, make sure to set yourself up for success. Grab a few boxes or bags (one for trash, one for donations, and one for returning items to their rightful place), so you can easily designate where things should end up. While decluttering might not be everyone's idea of a good time, adding a timer to the mix can move things right along.