Where does it go? Free printables · Decluttering

Fifteen-minute challenge cards

The short answer

Fourteen cards, one spot each: the kitchen drawer, the bathroom cupboard, the handbag, the junk drawer, the fridge door, the kids' toy box and eight more. Each card says what done looks like, gives three steps to tick, and names where the leaving bag goes. Set fifteen minutes, pick a card, stop when it rings.

Cut along the boxes if you like. Cards on the fridge get done; lists in a drawer do not.

Or print from the browser: Ctrl+P on Windows, ⌘P on a Mac. Only the sheet prints.

What is on the sheet?

01 The kitchen bench

Done looks like: Bare, wiped, and only the kettle and what you used this week back on it.

Everything off the bench onto the table, including the things that live there.
Wipe it while it is empty. This is the only time it will be.
Put back what you used this week. Anything else goes in a box for later, not back on the bench.

Bag goes to: Kitchenware and glass

02 The kitchen drawer

Done looks like: Cutlery in the tray, tools you use standing up, and the drawer closes first go.

Empty it onto a towel, tray and all.
Duplicates go: keep the best peeler, egg flip and can opener, not all four.
Wipe the drawer, put the tray back, then only what you used this month.

Bag goes to: Kitchenware

03 The junk drawer

Done looks like: It closes without a fight and you can name what is in it.

Tip it onto a towel so you have to finish.
Dead pens, dried glue, old chargers, mystery keys and single screws go.
Group what survives: batteries together, cables together, the rest in one tray.

Bag goes to: Loose batteries · Old chargers and cables

04 The fridge door and top shelf

Done looks like: Nothing past its date, and only the sauces you will use this month.

One shelf at a time, everything out.
Anything past its date goes. Empty jars and bottles get a rinse for the recycling bin.
Wipe the shelf, put back what is left, then the next shelf if time allows.

Bag goes to: Drink containers · Jars

05 The medicine shelf

Done looks like: Nothing expired, nothing you cannot name.

Check the date on every box, bottle and blister pack.
Expired or unnamed goes in a bag for the pharmacy, not the bin.
Put the rest back with the labels facing out.

Bag goes to: Medicines

06 The bathroom cupboard

Done looks like: One of each thing you use, nothing expired, and you can see the back.

Everything out onto the vanity.
Expired sunscreen, old toothbrushes, hotel toiletries and bottles you stopped liking go. Expired medicines go in a bag for the pharmacy.
Wipe the shelf and put back one of each: the open one, not the spare.

Bag goes to: Medicines

07 The bedside drawer

Done looks like: A charger, a book you are reading, and the thing you actually reach for at night.

Empty it onto the bed.
Finished books, old receipts, dead earbuds and the hand cream you never liked go.
Put back only what you reached for this month.

Bag goes to: Books · Receipts and paper

08 Shoes by the door

Done looks like: One pair per person by the door. The rest are in a wardrobe.

Line every pair up along the hall.
Dead soles, outgrown sizes and the pair nobody has worn since winter go.
Everyone carries their own to their room. One pair each stays.

Bag goes to: Shoes

09 That chair

Done looks like: You can sit on it.

Three piles on the bed: wear again, wash, goes.
Hang the first pile now. Basket the second.
Bag the third and take it to the car before you sit down.

Bag goes to: Clothes

10 The hall table

Done looks like: Keys, one bowl, nothing else.

Open every envelope. Three piles: act on it, file it, recycle it.
Flyers and catalogues straight to the recycling bin.
Keys in the bowl. The act-on-it pile goes to the desk, not back on the table.

Bag goes to: Paperwork

11 The car

Done looks like: Nothing on the floor and room in the boot for the shopping.

A bin bag through every footwell and door pocket.
Drink containers into their own bag for the refund.
Jackets, shoes and the sports gear back inside the house, to their rooms, not the hall.

Bag goes to: Drink containers

12 Handbag or backpack

Done looks like: You can find your keys without looking.

Tip it out completely, pockets included.
Receipts to the paper pile or the bin, wrappers to the bin, loose medicines back to the shelf.
Put back what you used this week, each thing to its own pocket.

Bag goes to: Receipts

13 The desk

Done looks like: A clear surface and one tray.

Every cable matched to a device it still charges. Orphans go.
Dead pens, dry highlighters and the fourth notebook go.
All paper into one tray. Sorting it is another fifteen minutes, not this one.

Bag goes to: Cables and old devices · Paper

14 The kids' floor, with them

Done looks like: Floor visible, every toy in the tub it belongs to.

Two tubs: keep, and pass on. They choose, you hold the tubs.
Broken goes. Missing pieces go in one bag by the door for a week, then go too.
Stop when the timer goes, even if a corner is left. That is tomorrow's corner.

Bag goes to: Toys and kids' gear

The same fourteen, with the method and what usually goes wrong: fifteen-minute challenges. The timer.

wheredoesitgo.au/printablesEverything has somewhere to go.Free to print and share at home

Where do the bags go afterwards?

Op shop, refund, drop-off or bin: Where does it go? answers it by state. The other sheets are on the printables page.