When you have a spare 10 minutes, what do you do? Grab a snack? Check your email? Put your feet up and catch your breath? There’s nothing wrong with any of those options, but don’t think that you can’t really accomplish anything with just 10 minutes. 

Ten minutes gives you plenty of time to tackle some things around your place. In fact, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you can get done. Here are some ideas the next time you have 10 minutes to spare.

• Shred Unneeded Papers: Gather up any papers, bills, etc. that you no longer need and shred them. This task will help you protect your privacy and data, so if you don’t have a paper shredder, you may want to pick one up.
• File Papers: You probably have a stack of papers that you need, but they may be sitting in a pile. File them, so they are organized and easy to find for easy reference.
• Sort Your Email: People are usually in one of two camps when it comes to email: Those who read and then file or delete right away or those who let the emails just stay in their inbox. If you have a tendency to allow the emails to stay in your inbox, use 10 minutes to create folders and get your inbox down to a reasonable number.
• Organize the Junk Drawer: Everyone seems to have one, and while they are a catch-all for just about everything that doesn’t seem to have a specific home, the junk drawer doesn’t need to be a mess. Group like things together and place them back in the drawer for future use.
• Clean Out Purse or Backpack: This is a great task for 10 minutes. Just dump the contents of your purse or backpack and get rid of unneeded things.
• Sew a Button or Mend a Piece of Clothing: Do you have a shirt you’re not wearing because it’s missing a button or, perhaps, you need to throw a few stitches in the hem of a skirt? You can do those things in 10 minutes and then put the items back in your closet to wear.
• Make an Appointment: Ten minutes is probably all the time you need to schedule an appointment or two with your doctor or dentist.
• Vacuum a Room: You don’t need to try and vacuum your entire home in 10 minutes, but hit a room or two – especially the rooms where you spend the majority of your time.
• Clean Your Microwave: This is an often neglected task, but ten minutes is all it takes to get your microwave clean.
• Organize the Refrigerator: Ten minutes isn’t enough time to clean your frig from top to bottom, but it is enough time to organize it. Quickly move like things together, throw out things that you don’t want, and make a list of things you need.
• Unload the Dishwasher: Have the clean dishes been sitting in the dishwasher for a bit? Unload them.
• Put Away Your Laundry: If you have clean laundry, but find that you’re just grabbing things from the clean pile, use your time to put it away.
• Pick Up the Toys: Grab all the toys and return them to the kids’ rooms. If you don’t want to do this task, set a timer for 10 minutes and let the kids do it!
• Call Someone You Haven’t Spoken to for a While: When was the last time you spoke with your mom or grandfather? Give them a call and brighten their day!

Ten minutes is not a long time, but it is enough time to get something done. The next time you’ve got a few minutes, tackle one of these tasks and feel like you’ve accomplished something!