Top 14+ ways to sort your life out – and do the chores you’ve been putting off

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by clutter, chores and mess but tackling the things we’ve been avoiding is a massive relief and restores a feeling of being in control. We asked the experts how to restore order when you’re short on time. (Photo: Getty Images/E+)

1) Tackle the bathroom first

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

It’s easy to be pragmatic about bathroom drawers or kitchen cupboards because they have less emotional baggage than other personal items says Ingrid Jansen, home organiser and co-founder of The Declutter Hub. Identify empty pots and bottles, plastic storage tubs without lids, or duplicate pans and bin or donate them. This builds the “decluttering muscle” and you can move on to harder rooms, like the garage or spare bedroom full of things with sentimental meaning. (Photo: Witthaya Prasongsin/Getty)

2) Be realistic

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

Break down a big task into small, manageable tasks: tackle one cupboard, one drawer or even part of the wardrobe each evening before the television goes on. “Don’t do a whole room, it’s far too overwhelming,” says Jansen, co-author of Reset Your Home. Find a place for everything and if you don’t wear or use it then throw or give it away. (Photo: CSA-Images/Getty/Vetta)

3) Reward yourself

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

Promise yourself a coffee, a walk or another short-term win to look forward to after doing something you’ve been putting off. Find a way to make the task itself more enjoyable too. Lisa Coe, founder of Happy Space Organised by Lisa, listens to a podcast when she does her chores. “It feels enjoyable while I’m doing a task I don’t enjoy. It’s making sure there’s that reward there,” the 41-year-old from Nottingham, says. (Photo: iprogressman/Getty/iStockphoto)

4) Make a list

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

It’s a cliche but there is nothing like a list to focus the mind. Cher Casey, known as The Mindful Organiser, suggests splitting the list into micro tasks, with an estimated time you think each one will take. That way you can allocate tasks based on available time. So, when you have 30 minutes, you choose the task you have time for. It’s always satisfying to check it off at the end. She also lists things as priorities, like bills that need paying. (Photo: Melinda Podor/Getty/Moment RF)

5) Turn the television off

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

Focus on the task at hand and you will get it done more quickly. Cleaning requires brain power, says Jansen, and it’s important to be in the right mindset with no distractions. “Don’t put the television on, the adverts can be super distracting and you can see people talking out of the corner of your eye.” (Photo: Christina Reichl Photography/Getty/Moment RF)

6) Use timers and take photos

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

If you’ve been putting something off using a timer can help suggests Heather Martin, founder of The Organising Experts. Set it for 25 minutes and when it goes off take a five minute break. This keeps the distractions at bay. “Having a timer keeps people on task and focused.” She also suggests taking photographs of the drawer or cupboard at the start of the 30 minutes and again at the end so you can see the progress you have made. (Photo: sorbetto/Getty/Digital Vision Vectors)

7) Change your mindset

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

If you call something a “chore” Casey says that automatically makes you not want to do it. Renaming it as self-care or “making life easier” can change that which helps reduce the cycle of procrastination and the feeling of being overwhelmed. (Photo: Mary Long/Getty)

8) Preparation is key

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

Make sure you have everything you need; a bag for donations, a bag for rubbish, a hoover and cleaning products. That way you avoid getting distracted and abandoning the task, says Jansen. (Photo: Peter Dazeley/Getty/The Image Bank RF)

9) Just 10 minutes

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

Allocate 10 minutes for the daily resets like washing up, loading or unloading the dishwasher, taking the recycling out or feeding a pet and make it non-negotiable. “Don’t leave the kitchen before those jobs are done and the counters wiped – you’re doing your future self a favour,” says Jansen. When something is done for 21 days consecutively, you’re creating a micro-habit and then a permanent habit. (Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty)

10) Sort your wardrobe

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

Jansen recommends starting small: pyjamas one day, the next underwear and socks. “Make sure you’ve got a flat surface like a bed or the floor, put all your clothes down and make decisions.” Ask: are these clothes something you really want in your life? Have I worn this? Has it got holes in? Do I have duplicates? Once you’ve decided what to keep, Martin folds everything away so it’s visible so nothing is forgotten about and never worn. (Photo: Getty/iStockphoto)

11) Create a filing system

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

Open the post daily and sort it into recycling, shredding or filing. You don’t need to pay a bill immediately but it helps to create a system. Martin uses labels. Coe’s system revolves around the hallway, leaving everything – like keys – she needs to leave the house with by the door. In summer, that includes sunscreen and sunglasses, and in the winter her umbrella and hat which saves time looking for things in the morning. (Photo: Oleg Breslavtsev/Getty/Moment RF)

12) Teach children to clear up after themselves

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

Cleaning up after more than one person is double the work. Teaching kids to clean up after themselves is teaching them a life skill – and reducing your own load, says Jansen. “Make sure they have a bin and a laundry basket they can reach and show them how to clear up.” As they get older, show them how to use the washing machine and fold clothes. (Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty)

13) Bulk delete emails

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

Jansen recommends keeping work and personal email separate. The key to not having a stressful inbox is unsubscribing. The start is the hardest part because the initial clearout can take some time: bulk deleting emails from a specific company is helpful. Jansen suggests carving out 30 minutes every Sunday evening to sift through the inbox, then doing it for a few minutes everyday afterwards. (Photo: Tetiana Lazunova/Getty/iStockphoto)

14) Use the sandwich method

1) Tackle the bathroom first, 2) Be realistic, 3) Reward yourself, 4) Make a list, 5) Turn the television off, 6) Use timers and take photos, 7) Change your mindset, 8) Preparation is key, 9) Just 10 minutes, 10) Sort your wardrobe, 11) Create a filing system, 12) Teach children to clear up after themselves, 13) Bulk delete emails, 14) Use the sandwich method

If you’re putting something off, Martin recommends introducing the sandwich method. You start with a task you despise (which could be folding the laundry), then a chore you like more, and finish with another bad one. Or flip it with two easier tasks and a bad one in the middle. (Photo: Anthony Devlin/PA)

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