I was thinking back on my article about micro-exercising and wondered what else this principle could be applied to. Then I realised that another thing I struggled to do was to tidy up, and hey presto, micro-tidying.
What Is Micro-Tidying
Micro-tidying, also sometimes referred to as micro-decluttering, is cleaning and decluttering tasks that are short in length (bite-sized). Each micro-tidying session should last between 5-15 minutes, either over a series of days or, if we’re feeling particularly motivated, on the same day (IKEA, n.d.).
Micro-tidying is partly a decluttering method that focuses on making small, manageable changes to our living space. Instead of tackling a massive cleaning project all at once, we break it down into tiny, easily achievable tasks and spread them out.
Simply put, micro-tidying is about fitting small, but consistent, tidying efforts into our daily lives to help us stay on top of our cleaning and decluttering (Cullum-Green, 2024). This will help us avoid feeling overwhelmed by having these much easier bite-sized tasks to manage.
The Benefits Of Micro-Tidying
Deep-cleaning our home is a time-consuming task that doesn’t leave us satisfied for long because things don’t seem to stay clean for long. This is why I’ve suggested micro-tidying as an option to help with this. Micro-tidying is a simple time-management skill to learn (Paltsev, 2024).
The benefits of micro-tidying, if you weren’t already aware, are that it’s fairly low effort, isn’t very stressful, and shouldn’t cause any anxiety (Poplin, 2025).
This is because we don’t have to give up an entire day doing chores, as we die a little inside as we succumb to the mind-numbing boredom and lack of joy that chores give us. Well, maybe not for everyone. Some people like chores and tidying.
So instead of losing a day to choose, micro-tidying is about breaking tasks down into small chunks to devour. Fit these small chunks into our schedule, and we’ll create brief cleaning sessions that’ll turn doing chores into a manageable 10 minutes here and there (Paltsev, 2024).
The best thing about micro-tidying is that it allows us to receive almost instant gratification because the tasks are so quick to complete (Cullum-Green, 2024). And crossing that item off our to-do list is always pretty rewarding as an achievement. It can also be an effective method to get kids to do more cleaning.
How To Do Micro-Tidying
Picking our micro-tidying method
Before we dive headfirst into our micro-tidying, it can be an idea to figure out the method we’re going to use for our bite-sized tidying sessions (Paltsev, 2024). Do we want to use a timer method, such as setting a time for 5-10 minutes and then stopping? Or, would we rather pick a single task, such as sorting out our wardrobe or cleaning out two shelves from our chest of drawers?
Another option might be to create a to-do list of our chores and put them in order of priority or how easy they are to do. Then, we just need to fit them into our schedule and work through them.
Once we have our space in good order, it can then be worthwhile to work out a micro-tidying maintenance plan. Consistency can help with turning this into a habit, such as dusting on the first Monday of the month, vacuuming on the first Friday of the month, etc.
Two-minute rule
Another approach we might want to consider is the two-minute rule. This is where, if a task takes less than two minutes, we do it immediately. This could be putting dishes in the dishwasher, hanging up a coat, or throwing away some rubbish.
Bite-sized chores
The essence of micro-tidying is to keep the activity at a micro level. Thus, create small cleaning sessions such as looking through your fridge to get rid of out-of-date food, relocating out-of-place items, or decluttering a drawer or shelf (Clean Mama, 2025).
Focus
It can be useful to focus our micro-tidying on areas that are frequently used or most likely to get dirty, such as bathrooms and kitchen counters (Cullum-Green, 2024).
Quick wins
Remember to acknowledge your small accomplishments when engaging in micro-tidying, as that can help boost motivation and make a noticeable difference.
Start small
To help us get into micro-tidying, it can be a good idea to start small and gradually expand our efforts. ‘Go big or go home’ mentalities often set us up to fail when it comes to trying out something new.
Decluttering
Incorporate decluttering into our micro-tidying, and don’t be afraid to get rid of items we don’t need. It’s so easy to hold on to things because we feel we’ll find a use for them one day, but that day rarely comes.
Summary
Micro-tidying is a simple yet effective way to help keep our homes cleaner and maintain a sense of order. By making small, consistent efforts, we can create a more organised and enjoyable living space. To help us get there, experiment with different methods and find what suits us best. What works for one person might not work for the next person.
As always, leave your feedback in the comments section below. Also, please share your experiences with micro-tidying and spring cleaning in the comments section below. Don’t forget, if you want to stay up-to-date with my blog, you can sign up for my newsletter below. Alternatively, click the red bell icon in the bottom right corner to get push notifications for new articles.
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References
Clean Mama. (2025, February). 25 micro decluttering tasks to do in minutes. Clean Mama. Retrieved from https://cleanmama.com/25-micro-decluttering-tasks-to-do-in-minutes.
Cullum-Green, B. (2024, January). Experts Love the “Micro-Decluttering” Method — It’s So Easy And Makes Such a Big Difference to Your Home. Livingetc. Retrieved from https://www.livingetc.com/advice/what-is-micro-decluttering.
IKEA. (n.d.). The Art of the Micro-Tidy. IKEA. Retrieved from https://www.ikea.com/au/en/ideas/the-art-of-the-micro-tidy-pubfefff480.
Paltsev, L. (2024, May). Micro-Cleaning: the simple technique that will improve the tidiness of your home. House Digest. Retrieved from https://www.housedigest.com/1571694/what-is-micro-cleaning-how-does-it-help-dread-chores.
Poplin, J. (2025, March). 8 super small habits that will keep your home neat & tidy. The Simplicity Habit. https://www.thesimplicityhabit.com/small-habits-that-will-keep-your-home-neat-tidy.
