It can be hard to know where to start when decluttering. There are so many rooms and areas you could begin with and it can seem overwhelming when starting out. When we are so focused on bringing new things into our home we can forget the importance of removing the items that are no longer useful to us and could be taking up valuable space in our home.
Do you open your kitchen utensil drawer only to become flustered trying to find the one thing you actually need?
Have you accumulated twenty mugs in the cups cupboard and seem to forever have endless ones to wash?
Is your linen closet overflowing so closing it is a struggle to open and close?
Downsizing our excess stuff can allow us to reduce stress in our lives and make some of our chores less bothersome. We are limited to the space we have in our homes so if your cupboards and shelves are overflowing with stuff it might be time to start clearing some of it out.
Here is a list of 101 Things To Declutter In Your Home Right Now that will give you a place to start your decluttering journey by area and hopefully the start to a less cluttered, more simplified life.
To make life easier I have included a Printable Decluttering Checklist for you. Simply click this link or the one at the bottom of this page & sign up to grab your free printable in seconds!
101 Things To Declutter In Your Home Right Now
Kitchen
1. Duplicate utensils.
2. Excess kitchen knives.
3. Excess cleaning supplies.
4. Cutlery.
5. Plates.
6. Cups and mugs.
7. Bakeware.
8. Single purpose appliances such as doughnut makers, popcorn makers etc.
9. Restaurant menus.
10. Excess vases.
11. Pots and Pans.
12. Tupperware with missing lids.
13. Expired medicine.
14. Unwanted cookbooks.
Fridge/Freezer
15. Expired condiments in your fridge.
16. Uneaten leftovers.
17. Unwanted drinks.
18. Frozen meats with freezer burn.
19. Food that you don’t plan on eating due to a change of diet etc.
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Pantry
20. Expired food in your pantry.
21. Unwanted alcohol.
22. Expired spices or any you don’t use.
23. Any food you don’t plan on eating.
Bathroom
24. Shampoos and conditioners. Avoid buying separate ones for each person unless necessary. Try and stick to the same brand so you don’t end up with multiple bottles going unused cluttering up your cupboard.
25. Old or unused Makeup. What makeup do you currently use, is there something you haven’t touched in the past year? Do you have ten different eye shadow pallets when a few would be enough? Makeup has a limited shelf life and should be used up in 1-2 years for most products. See this link for details on expiration dates of makeup.
26. Beauty products. Limit beauty products to what you need and avoid buying more until you’ve used up what you have.
27. Lotions and leave-in conditioners. If you don’t plan to use it give it to someone who will or toss it.
28. Decor. Remove excess decor from the bathroom and countertops. The less you have, the less you have to move when cleaning. Have a few nice decorative pieces and clear the rest.
29. Hair accessories.
30. Old razors.
Manchester
31. Towels, face washers and hand towels.
32. Quilt covers. How many quilt covers do you have? Assess what ones you still love and donate the rest. Ideally, you need one to use and one spare for when the other one is in the wash.
33. Blankets.
34. Pillows.
35. Bath mats.
36. Spare curtains that are no longer in fashion or have been sitting in the linen closet for years.
Master Bedroom
37. Perfumes or fragrances you don’t like.
38. Bedroom decor you no longer love.
39. The stuff under your bed.
40. The bedroom TV. Do you really need that eyesore in your bedroom sanctuary?
41. Books on your nightstand that you aren’t currently reading.
42. Anything that doesn’t belong in your bedroom (for us more often than not it’s guitars :p).
Wardrobe
43. Shoes that you don’t enjoy wearing.
44. Worn belts.
45. Ties that you no longer like.
46. Handbags that are no longer your style or worn.
47. Jewellery/Accessories that you no longer like or wear.
48. Clothing that you haven’t worn in the past 6-12 months. Use the backwards hanger method to establish what you do and don’t wear.
49. Socks that are missing a pair or have holes in them.
50. Underwear that is uncomfortable or has seen better days.
51. Old pyjamas that have had their time.
Laundry
52. Reduce your wardrobe.
53. Excess laundry baskets or hampers (once your laundry is reduced).
54. That random stuff that you find in pockets. Have a catch-all container or box to collate items found in pockets. Empty this regularly.
55. Cleaning supplies you no longer need.
56. Laundry products you tried and didn’t use again.
Kids Play Rooms/Bedrooms
57. Books.
58. Unwanted Toys.
59. Stuffed Animals.
60. Games or puzzles with missing pieces.
61. Kids art. To make room for new artworks to be displayed scan the image or take a photo of it and create it into scrapbooks or store them digitally.
62. Old unwanted electronic games.
63. Dried out texters and pens.
Garage/Shed
64. Old paint cans or other chemicals you no longer need.
65. Car oil or parts for cars you no longer have.
66. Cardboard boxes that have passed their warranty period.
67. Any broken gardening tools that you haven’t got around to fixing.
68. Things you haven’t used in the past year.
69. Scrap building supplies you won’t need.
Living Areas
70. Excess decor cluttering up your living spaces.
71. Excess furniture that is being unused.
72. Extra lounges when they are mostly empty.
73. Artwork or photos you no longer love.
74. Excess or drab cushions.
75. Rugs that don’t go with your colour scheme.
76. Excessive photo frames. Keep a few on display but don’t go overboard.
Entertainment/Media
77. CDs you no longer listen to.
78. DVDs you won’t watch again.
79. VHS.
80. Excess TVs.
81. Unused Gaming Consoles.
82. Games you haven’t played since finishing.
83. Old mobile phones and phone chargers. These can be dropped off at the local library or Mobile Muster collection points.
84. Old cameras.
85. Your DVD or VCR if you don’t use them.
86. Old laptops you no longer use.
Sentimental Items
87. Old cards. Scan them and save them digitally.
88. Bad quality or blurry photos or people that you no longer want in your life.
89. Other photos taking up space in large bulky photo albums. Consider making your prints into a photo book or displaying them in a digital photo frame and backing them up digitally.
90. Sentimental items that you have no connection to. Take a photo of the item if that makes it easier to let go.
91. Jewellery you don’t love. Find someone in your family who will love it or get it melted down into something special.
Home Office/Paper
92. Books you no longer read or reference.
93. Magazines. Cut out what you need and put them in a folder and recycle the rest.
94. Old bank or credit card statements. These can all be accessed online.
95. Utility bills. Get these emailed to you and reduce some of the paper coming into your home each month.
96. Old receipts. Scan them as they come in on your phone and recycle them or keep them in one file.
97. Excess notebooks/pads. Keep a few or put them in areas where they will be useful like your handbag or car.
98. Stationery from your uni days, that you no longer need.
99. Your printer (if you don’t use it).
100. Excess pens. Test what works and bin the rest or any you don’t like using.
101. Manuals for electrical goods.
Don’t forget to grab your Decluttering Checklist to get you started below.
Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash
How many of the 101 items did you manage to declutter? Please leave a comment below with your number!
Linsey
April 17, 2017 at 10:28 pmMy local library frequently withdraw books from their shelves & sell them for $1-$2. Great save if you like to hold a paper copy
minimisewithme@gmail.com
April 18, 2017 at 2:07 amThanks for sharing, Linsey! I’ve also found some great bargains at local charity shops! Or you can always have a read and share set up with friends especially if you find a great read and you want to have someone to talk to about it 🙂