When Bobby Berk talks, we listen. The beloved interior designer began his award-winning career at the age of 15, when he dropped out of school and moved to New York. There, he worked for various home-furnishings companies before landing a job at Portico, where he climbed the ladder from store manager to buyer to creative director.
He’s since launched his own firm, which is currently designing 45 homes simultaneously; written his first book, Right at Home; and starred as one of the ‘Fab Five’ experts on Queer Eye, for which he took home his first Emmy.
All of which is to say: Bobby Berk knows a thing or two about managing spaces – and more specifically, the clutter that tends to accumulate in them. So when he shares home organisation tips on his website – especially ones he promises are quick and easy – we pay attention.
In his latest post, Berk shared three of the simplest hacks to help declutter your space. Even better? Each takes less than 10 minutes. Keep reading to discover three quick ways to give your home a spring refresh.
When something enters your home, give it a home
We’re all guilty of buying something new and then leaving it sitting on the kitchen counter for a week (okay, a month). But Bobby’s first trick is to immediately find a permanent spot for anything new you bring into the house.
And it’s not just new purchases. When you get mail, immediately recycle the junk and file away anything important in a set drawer. Another big one? Delivery boxes. Breaking them down and putting them straight in the recycling is so much more satisfying than dodging cardboard towers for weeks.
Do a ‘flyby’ pick up
A flyby pickup is a five-minute daily slot where you walk through your space and tidy anything that’s out of place. Lots of people find the few minutes after putting the kids to bed ideal – then they can relax for the evening with a clean space and a clear mind.
For five minutes, gather and organise stray toys, clothes, and school stuff that’s been flung around during the day. You’ll find it much more manageable to stay on top of messes daily than to spend a cumulative hour every week tackling it all at once.
Fix the function for one area
This quick hack is about finding one specific part of your home that could be working better and dedicating 10 minutes to sorting it out.
A good example? Your messy chargers drawer (yes, we all have one). Pull everything out, toss or donate what you don’t need, and then place the rest back in a more functional way, with the things you use most near the front.
Whenever you have a spare 10 minutes, focus on a different small area. Keep going for a few weeks and eventually, you’ll find you’ve worked your way through your entire home.
