Welcome to the latest 10-minute tidy. Today, I'm showing you what ten minutes of decluttering looks like by decluttering the aftermath of our Christmas decorating. Our Christmas decoration storage bins, and Christmas gift boxes had taken over our dining room. It was time to get everything cleaned up so we could enjoy our Christmas tree!
I started doing the 10-minute tidy years ago when I moved into a new apartment and realized that my stuff didn't fit into my apartment. That was over eleven years ago. Now I'm married, I have kids, and I still rely on the 10-minute tidy to keep our house under control. Here's a post I wrote about the benefits of decluttering for 10 minutes at a time.
I decided to do today's 10-minute tidy in the dining room because I had such good intentions for cleaning up all of this craziness much sooner. It just didn't happen.
We had put up our Christmas decorations and I had started to collect the Christmas gifts I'd ordered online on our dining room table. I was waiting until naptime to get everything put away and open up the gift boxes.
We live in Washington state, and during this time of year, it rains. A lot. There had been a break in the rain, so we decided to go outside for a while to play and burn off some energy.
Then, one of our sons fell off his bike. Instead of having naptime that day, we ended up spending time at the hospital so he could get stitches. When we got home, I was not interested in cleaning up Christmas stuff. It was all about taking care of my baby and helping him feel better {as it should be!}.
The next day, I was planning on working on the mess while my sons were at preschool. We were about to head out, when our other son started throwing up.
We stayed home from school that day, and I was in full baby-care-mode.
And then, I got busy. And then, I procrastinated. A few more days passed, and our dining room/living room was still looking like an episode of hoarders.
So, of course, I had to get myself into gear and do a good 10-Minute Tidy! Here's the before and after pictures:
Before and After the 10-Minute Tidy
Now, we can actually walk into this room and enjoy our Christmas tree. Even though there was a lot of stuff in the room, most of the work was just putting storage bins back into our garage, and throwing a few boxes in the car so I could take them to be recycled.
Related: How to Do a Reset Week After Christmas
Want To Do Your Own 10-Minute Tidy?
The 10-minute tidy is great because anyone can do it, and if you take before and after photos, you can see your progress. Even if everything's not perfectly organized and clean, we're still moving forward!
If you'd like to share your before and after pics, check out our Organizing Moms Community Facebook page. It's a closed group, and it's filled with supportive moms who want to get organized.
What areas in your home could use a 10-minute tidy?
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