We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
Are you enjoying our minimalist challenge posts? We’ve completed our first 10 days in the 10 For 10 minimalist challenge. How’d you do? Were you able to stay in the moment and limit yourself to just one minute?
Let’s move along in our challenge. Our next segment is: Evenings! 10 tasks you can complete in 10 minutes in the evenings. Continue these tasks for the next 10 days and keep you mind on the present moment. Remember, we’re limiting each task to one one minute! It’s sometimes difficult to limit ourselves to just one minute when cleaning, but remember – we’re doing these tasks for the next 10 days. 
10 For 10 – Segment Two: Evenings
1. Sort through your mail: Do you have a huge pile of mail sitting on your dining table or counter that you contribute to daily? Take a minute today and sort through the mail you brought in or sort through the mail you’ve been pushing off. Recycle what you no longer need.
2. Pick up your shoes, keys, purse, etc.: Many times we rush in the door and immediately drop our belongings on the nearest surface. Take a minute today and declutter this area – pick everything up and put them where they belong.
3. Put the toys & gadgets away: For children, take a minute and help them put away their toys. For adults, take a minute and put away your own gadgets and toys.
4 & 5. Quick wipedown of surfaces: Take a minute and quickly wipe down surfaces. You can break this task up into two tasks and focus on two surfaces, for example the kitchen counters and bathroom counters. In the morning we did a quick decluttering, in the evening let’s keep it that way.
6. Declutter expired or empty food container: While you’re cooking dinner tonight, take a minute and quickly declutter the fridge or pantry. Get rid of expired or empty food containers.
7. Declutter work items from your bedroom: The bedroom is our sanctuary. Avoid bringing any work related items into this space. Remove any work items from your sanctuary, including computers, business documents, etc.
Side note: If you do not have a separate office/bedroom space then make one. Take a minute and hang a curtain or build a barrier, then remove everything from the “sanctuary” side and place it in the “work” side.
8. Pick up laundry: We’re taking a cue from our morning exercises and repeating this one in the evening as well. If you have dirty (or clean) clothes thrown about, take a minute to quickly pick them up. Don’t spend more than a minute here – we’ll keep going again tomorrow. Try to donate one or two clothing items you no longer need.
9. Declutter any trash: Another task we’re borrowing from the morning, but it only makes sense. Toss the trash! Trash is one of the leading contributors to clutter, so take a minute and declutter any trash, including empty bottles, newspapers, receipts, food containers, etc.
10. Cleanup paperwork: All paperwork. Yours & your kids. Get into the habit of filing your business documents at the end of the night, and help your children get into the habit of putting away their homework. Take one minute and begin this task this evening.
Keep It Up!
The key to seeing results is to make sure you’re not cluttering up what you’ve accomplished every morning later in the day. Spending a minute each morning on these little tasks will help to cement them in your mind – try to stay aware of these throughout the day. This will also be a great experience for living more mindfully and staying aware of your actions throughout the day. Sounds like a win-win in my book!
10 For 10 – What Is It?
For part one, we’re going to tackle 10 decluttering tasks you can complete in the morning – all tasks can be completed (together) in under 10 minutes! Give about a minute for each task – these are not elaborate tasks, but as you do them everyday for 10 days the time spent will add up – soon you’ll be doing them in 30 seconds or less!
We’re limiting the time to each task to ONE MINUTE only. Often times we become overwhelmed with the amount we need to do to declutter and organize. Don’t stress!! You’ll be surprised by how much you can accomplish in a minute – and by limiting the time we spend on each task, we can also limit the stress and anxiety tied to decluttering and organizing. Remember, we’ll be doing these tasks over the next 10 days (and you may even keep going longer, if you choose) so there’s plenty of time here.
View the previous segment here: 10 For 10 – Mornings
Join the discussion on Facebook!
Blessings & happiness,
Aly
For tips on how to begin your decluttering journey, you can Start Here, or snag a copy of the 30 Day Challenge (our Minimalism and Decluttering eBook).
Purchase Your Copy on.... Amazon | Nook | Smashwords | MIS Store
Subscribe to our RSS feed to receive our updates regularly. Find us on Facebook or Twitter to connect with us and with others.
