The 10-10 Decluttering Method Makes Kitchen Organization Quick And Easy

If you're anything like me, you get overwhelmed at the thought of organizing your kitchen. But let me introduce you to the 10-10 method: an organization strategy where one dedicates 10 minutes to getting rid of 10 unused or unwanted items in the home. Designed to make gradual progress in organizing a cluttered space, this approach is ... well, approachable for people who are daunted by the chaos of organizing crowded areas. By decluttering 10 items a day, you could get rid of 100 items in 10 days — and in less than two hours nevertheless. The ease of spending only 10 minutes a day doing this increases the chances of you actually doing it (let's get a show of hands for people who try to dedicate a full day toward cleaning and don't end up doing it, please!).

While the intention of this technique is based in organization, this method also instills the notion that small steps can lead to big changes. Through creating clear goals and strict guidelines, the 10-10 method gives its users a visual representation of their progress and establishes attainable habits. You can focus on small areas of your kitchen during each 10-minute session — for instance, only remove things from your kitchen counters — to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Loving the idea of this practice, I decided to do it myself. My kitchen pantry was filled with so many random foods that have been sitting in there for who knows how long, so that's where I decided to make my first 10-10 zone. To say the result was wild would be the understatement of the century! Read below for my experience using the 10-10 method as well as some tips you can use yourself.

I decided to use a timer to ensure I was following the rule to the nth degree — unproud perfectionist over here — and set it for exactly 10 minutes. I turned my phone on "Do Not Disturb" to shift my focus solely on decluttering rather than the bursts of notifications I receive. I was shocked to see all of the useless boxes, cans, and snacks jumbled throughout my pantry. I discarded several expired goods as well as items with nutrition facts that frightened me, and I actually went a little overboard and got rid of 13 items. While I recommend following the guidelines of the method and only discarding 10 items from your zone of choice, using this technique provided me clarity of what I continually choose to put into my body. Now, when I go grocery shopping, I intend to be more mindful about only purchasing the right pantry staples for quick meals and focusing more on the nutritional value of the foods I buy.

Deciding to only concentrate on my kitchen pantry, a smaller space, was effective for me because it made the task seem less overwhelming. My goal is to complete the larger project of organizing my entire kitchen to make the most of the space, but decreasing the area of focus increases the task's achievability. As I plan to continue this practice, I believe it would be beneficial to track the progression of the decluttering. Keeping a list of the progress you've made seems like a wonderful visual reminder of what you've accomplished. In my book, the 10-10 method is a 10 out of 10 idea!