Some parts of my house are neat, some are not — like the cabinet under my kitchen sink. A few months ago, when it was so stuffed I couldn’t close the doors, I finally decided to do something about it. Then I realized the sink was leaking and all the paper towels, boxes, bottles and rags underneath had congealed into a big square loaf.
This happens more often than you might think, said Melissa Dilkes Pateras, organizational expert and author of “A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home.” However, it would have saved me a lot of grief if I had cleaned out when my cupboards started to swell.
Preparing to declutter can be daunting, but small jobs can make a big difference, said Amelia Pleasant Kennedy, a Decluttering specialist in Detroit.
“I call them rest sprints,” he said, adding that they can build momentum to tackle bigger problems.
I asked experts for three projects you can do in less than 30 minutes.
Leave the mystery chargers and cables behind
Many of us, Father said, have a dusty box or bag of mysterious cables, chargers, remote controls and reusable batteries. We have no idea what they are for, but we are afraid to throw them out.
It’s time to throw away the dumpster, said Pateras, who is known to her 1.6 million TikTok followers as “Laundry Lesbian.” Separate chargers, batteries and phones into piles. “Think of all the things in your house that have cables or chargers and try them,” he said. If nothing fits, he said, they leave. “You don’t need the foldable Razr phone charger,” he said.
To dispose of e-waste, contact your city’s sanitation department or search websites such as Call2Recycle, Earth911 or GreenCitizen. Stores like Best Buy offer electronics recycling programs.
And if one day you find you really need that discarded cable, Kennedy said, it’s usually easy to find a replacement.
Clean the clutter from your car
Kennedy discovered that even the most dedicated winners can have a different attitude when it comes to their car.
Father agreed: “Some people will say, ‘My car is my only place where I can do anything, it’s my nesting place. So I have wraps everywhere. I have bills. I have my requirement for blood tests.’
To start, Kennedy said, bring a garbage bag, wet wipes, glass cleaner and a dry cloth out to the car.
Check the doors, cup holder, center console, glove box, under the front seats, rear car seat pockets and trunk. Throw away anything that’s outdated or doesn’t belong, Kennedy said, like old cards or fast food toys that your kids played with for two seconds. “There’s a joke in the organizing community that we keep donations in our car that you want to drop off, and then we leave them there for a year,” Kennedy said.
If you have reusable shopping bags in your trunk, Pateras said, “the rule of thumb is to have the ones you use for your longest shopping trip.
And if you haven’t used something in months and it’s not for an emergency, Kennedy said, return it to its proper place at home. (A first-aid kit can stay in the car, Kennedy said, but off-season sports gear doesn’t need to be with you year-round.)
Dig under the kitchen sink
Shira Gill, organizational expert and author of “Minimalista,” calls this area the “push and stake zone.” “Even if you’re the only one who sees it,” he said, “clean it up as a treat for yourself.”
First, said the Father, take all the things out from under the sink. Then wipe down surfaces and get rid of expired products and worn items like sponges and cracked rubber gloves.
Throw away special cleaning products that you haven’t used in at least a year, like this grout cleaner, Gill said. (The American Cleaning Institute provides guidelines for safe disposal). Gill also puts her dishwasher containers in a container like a Mason jar, she said, “which takes up less space and looks nicer.”
Kennedy recommends getting a box for your cleaning products. Stock it with multi-purpose cleaners that will lighten your load, and some microfiber towels, she said.
I finally cut out the loaf under my sink and now that area is clean and tidy (and dry). My new motto: No push, no stacks.
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