How the plan works
Categories, not whole rooms
Each area is split into categories that each take a rough 10 to 15 minutes, so a day's job has a clear end. Untick a category you've already sorted, and add your own with its minutes.
Your days, your minutes
Pick 1 to 30 days (7 to start with) and 10, 15 or 30 minutes a day. Categories go into the days in order: one a day, or two when both fit in your minutes. If there are more categories than days, the plan lists what still needs a day, so you can add days or come back to them.
Keep, donate or bin?
Every day of the plan asks the same question about each item you pick up. Make three piles, decide once per item, and take the donate and bin piles out of the room when the day's job is done.
Decluttering checklist by area
The areas and categories the plan starts from, with rough minutes each. On paper, take one or two a day.
Wardrobe · 1 hr
- ☐ Tops · 15 min
- ☐ Trousers and skirts · 15 min
- ☐ Shoes · 10 min
- ☐ Coats and jackets · 10 min
- ☐ Bags and accessories · 10 min
Kitchen · 55 min
- ☐ Mugs and glasses · 10 min
- ☐ Containers and lids · 10 min
- ☐ The utensil drawer · 10 min
- ☐ Small appliances · 15 min
- ☐ Cookbooks · 10 min
Bathroom · 45 min
- ☐ Old toiletries · 10 min
- ☐ Towels · 10 min
- ☐ Hair tools and accessories · 10 min
- ☐ Under the sink · 15 min
Living room · 45 min
- ☐ Books · 15 min
- ☐ Games and films · 10 min
- ☐ Cables and chargers · 10 min
- ☐ Decorations · 10 min
Desk and papers · 45 min
- ☐ Loose papers · 15 min
- ☐ Old mail · 10 min
- ☐ Pens and stationery · 10 min
- ☐ Manuals and warranties · 10 min
Entry · 40 min
- ☐ Shoes by the door · 10 min
- ☐ Coats on the hooks · 10 min
- ☐ The keys drawer · 10 min
- ☐ Bags and umbrellas · 10 min
Once it's clear
With less in the way, a house cleaning checklist gets the rooms clean in the time you have, and a cleaning schedule keeps them that way. To make a small daily tidy stick, tie it to something you already do with a habit stack.
More free home tools
- Cleaning schedule: daily and weekly jobs over your week, monthly jobs over 4 weeks.
- House cleaning checklist: one session, room by room, that fits the time you have.
- Chore chart for adults: weekly chores shared between the adults at home.
What happens to what you type
Rooms, chores and names stay in this browser while the page is open. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere: your list lives on the sheet you print or the image you save. Close the page and it's gone.
If you need help now
These tools are for everyday habits. They are not a crisis service. If you are struggling or don't feel safe, you can contact:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US): call or text 988, or chat online. Free and confidential, 24/7.
Emergency services (911)
US: call 911 if you or someone you know is in immediate harm or danger.
Samaritans
Samaritans (UK and Ireland): call 116 123, free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Emergency services (999 or A&E) · NHS 111, mental health option
England (NHS): call 999 or go to A&E now if someone's life is at risk or you do not feel you can keep yourself or someone else safe. If you need urgent help for your mental health, call 111 and choose the mental health option; NHS 111 online is available in England only, and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own services.
Elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
Sources
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988lifeline.org
- Contact Us. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988lifeline.org
- Contact a Samaritan. Samaritans. samaritans.org
- Where to get urgent help for mental health. NHS. nhs.uk
- Get help for your symptoms. NHS 111. 111.nhs.uk
- When to use NHS 111 online or call 111. NHS. nhs.uk