Declutter Pens And Pencils {15 Minute Mission}

Today's decluttering mission is to declutter pencils and pens.


You can do this mission as part of the larger organizational challenge to organize your home office.

Obviously, don't get rid of the pencils and pens you own, but I know I'm a bit of a pen collector, and I often accumulate too many.

Get rid of any that don't work, or have run out of ink, or if, referring to pencils, they're too beat up, chewed up, or short as to not be useful anymore.

Start at your desk in your home office, but expand your search to anywhere in your home where you keep some of these writing instruments.

Also, I tend to accumulate pens in my purse, so I periodically have to take out a few so it's not ridiculous in there. You know your own spot that has way too many pens.

Take the time while you're decluttering to also put pens or pencils in spots that you always seem to need one, but for some reason there aren't any.

Prime example, make sure you've got one near the phone, next to a small pad of paper, so everyone can take a message if necessary!

Tell me in the comments how many you decluttered, where you never can find one in your home, but wish you kept a few, and/or where you tend to accumulate way too many of them.

Below you can see some pictures from other readers who've already taken this challenge, showing both the pens and pencils they decluttered and also how they organized the pens and pencils they had left.

Photo courtesy of Jess Pac

Results From This Declutter 365 Mission From Readers

Lots of readers have done this quick mission and sent in photos of their results. Above a reader, Kelly, sent in a collage of before and after shots. She explained, "I tossed loads of pens that no longer work and organized the rest. Wow! It took a while, and a think that I need to avoid office supply stores."



Regina sent in the photo above, showing her before and after results, saying, "It's the little things. Thank you Taylor for giving us these 15 minute missions. I set my timer and voila. 😍 This makes me happy since it gets to be a mess after the kids dig around."



Above is the before and after results Brandy got when she did this mission!



This photo is from Windy, who said, "My office organizing is taking a long time but will be done well in the end. I have separated paper from other and now writing utensils from other office supplies. I know I decluttered pens and pencils about a year ago getting ready to move. How is it that after the move I have a 12"x"15"x8" box of writing utensils even after every reasonably placed pencil cup has a few of each needed item?"



Finally, this last photo is from a reader, Holly, who said, "Pens, pencils and erasers going to a middle school."

Keep The Pencils & Pens You've Got Left Handy

Once you've gotten rid of all the writing implements that no longer work or the just excess amount if you had too many, make sure you think about where you'll put the rest.

Finding a pen or pencil when you need it may not seem like a big thing, and in the grand scheme of things it really isn't, but not worrying about it, wasting time searching, can just make you feel better.

And since it's really simple, why not?

The photo above was provided by a reader, Kylie, who said, "I have all my stuff and my daughter's all in one area. I did this for her the other day."

In addition, here's another photo submitted by Jackie, who explained she uses mason jars to organize pens and pencils on her son's desk.

There are lots of ways you can organize writing utensils around your home. For more ideas check out these 3 ideas for how to organize school supplies to help you keep them ready for use!

Want To Do More Decluttering Missions? Get Started With Declutter 365 Today!

Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.

The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!

Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.

Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.

In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.

If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!

Get This Home Office & Technology Decluttering Checklist + 32 Other Decluttering Checklists For Your Home

Right now you're decluttering home office and technology items around your home, and there can be a lot of these types of items.

Get your 1 page home office and technology decluttering checklist, plus 32 other decluttering checklists, to help you declutter your entire home here.

I've done the hard work of breaking down these tasks into smaller more manageable steps for you, so you don't get overwhelmed or worry you're forgetting a task, and you can go at the pace you want, whether that's fast or slow.

In addition, you can tackle these decluttering tasks in whatever order you want when you use these checklists!

You might want to next declutter other home office supplies, using the instructions from this mission article.



In addition, if you found a lot of markers and crayons, along with those pens and pencils, you might want to also do the mission to declutter kids' arts and craft supplies.




Bottom mission photo courtesy of a reader, Teresa

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Getting Clutter Free 15 Minutes At A Time Hall Of Fame

Getting Rid Of Home Office & Technology Clutter Hall Of Fame

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