Today I want to give you some tips and ideas on things to declutter from your home. If you have a lot of “stuff” that you’re not really using, chances are it’s also taking up some of your mental energy, whether you realize it or not.
Having a clean and minimalist home, filled only with the things you love – and actually USE – is truly mentally freeing. That’s why I truly believe in a monthly or quarterly decluttering process, where you get rid of things that are no longer serving you. But if you have a lot of things, starting this process can be difficult.
One fact of life is that change is constant, it happens anyway – whether we care or not. However, one of the hardest steps one can take in life is making a conscious effort to bring about change.
That’s exactly how difficult it is to change things in your home – it’s often a hard nut to crack open. The average person would feel very overwhelmed when about to start the whole process of decluttering. Starting up is usually the most difficult part.
The job to be done seems bulky at first. And hence, a common question people ask at that point is; where do I even start from? Well, despite all odds, the good news is; it gets easier once you get started!
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Why Is It Important To Declutter?
When you have lots of clutter in or around your home, you will feel like you’re in a mess. You’ll feel unsettled and in fact, choked up.
Clutter is not just the dirt in your home, it also includes those many unimportant items you keep stocking up on. So yep, that’s partly why you feel very uncomfortable. If you really want to live conveniently, then you need to create more space in your life.
Things To Declutter
Yeah! Let’s get down to business. I’ll be outlining things to declutter right now in order to create the much-needed space in your life. Most of the stuff I will mention (which you have to do away with) are quite negligible. So, it won’t be too difficult to dispose of them.
A good way to start is by getting rid of the things you can easily forget. But then, this whole process might get tricky at times – because some of the items you MUST discard might seem important to you, even when they really aren’t!
So, look at the bigger picture and decide if you REALLY need all those things: Aren’t those books damaged? Can you really repair them? Aren’t those clothes worn out? Is there any need to keep them? And have you actually USED those items in the last 6 months?
As a matter of fact, once you don’t see yourself using any of those items in the next 6-12 months, then you should dump them – they’re no longer serving you.
Also, be sure to read my post on how to declutter your home fast if you want to get it over and done with quickly.
With that said, here are some things to declutter right now:
1. THE BATHROOM
One of the easiest places to start eliminating clutter is the bathroom. It is apparently one of the smallest rooms in your home, so it is easier to start from there. And you will see the result of your decluttering endeavor almost immediately.
Another reason it is preferable to start from the bathroom is that you can easily find certain sentimental items there – which of course are not actually useful to you.
Some of the things to declutter from your bathroom are:
- Old nail polish that are either dried up or that you haven’t used in a year
- Personal care items (like; lotion, face wash, mascara tubes, eye shadow, etc.) that are empty or almost empty
- Makeup items you no longer use. Or those makeup kits that are too old to be kept
- Old perfumes you no longer use. Or their empty containers/bottles
- All duplicate gadgets including; toothbrushes, hairbrushes, tweezers, makeup brushes, nail clippers, etc.
- Expired drugs (dispose of them properly, or better still, take them to your local pharmaceutical shop for proper disposal)
- Bath toys that are old and look faded
- Old, ripped, stained, or worn-out towels
And so many other unnecessary items!
2. THE KITCHEN
Another good place you’ve got to declutter in your home is the kitchen. As you already know, lots of vital activities take place in the kitchen. You cook in the kitchen and sometimes, you even prefer to eat there. You also do the dishes in the kitchen and store lots of items right there.
As a matter of fact, there is hardly a day that passes without you visiting the kitchen for one reason or the other.
Hence, it is very important to declutter your kitchen if you really want to enjoy any time you spend there.
Some things to declutter from your kitchen include:
- Expired food or spoiled food that is occupying your pantry, refrigerator, or freezer
- Any food you do not like (and won’t probably eat any time soon) that is occupying your pantry or refrigerator). Dispose of them appropriately to create more space for something useful.
- Expired spices
- Burnt food
- Sauces and old condiments
- Cooking equipment or gadgets you haven’t used in the past 12 months!
- Any gadget that requires much more work to clean and maintain than the relief it offers you in doing a particular work
- Cracked plates, bottles, and bowels
- Dusty plates that you’ve kept for so long without using
- Chipped glasses and mugs
- Mugs you have not used in the past year
- Plastic lids without containers and/or plastic containers without lids
- Any duplicate bake-ware or cookware
- Containers that are damaged, stained, or warped
- Duplicate cooking/baking utensils
- Water bottles you’ve not used once
- Pots and pans that are worn-out or totally damaged
- Bake-ware or cookware that is cracked or broken
- Special dishes that you’ve stocked in the freezer for so long
- Special dishes you no longer like that are occupying your freezer
- Dishcloths or tea towels that are stained, torn, worn-out, damaged, or that you no longer use
- Rusty can openers or other cooking utensils that are rusty
And in fact, any other thing you no longer need in or around the kitchen.
3. THE WARDROBE
Clothing is one of the basic necessities of human existence. Your clothes affect you directly – especially when it comes to your social life. So, it’s important to pay close attention to your wardrobe and jettison all the clothes that might be taking up space.
Sure, it’s not easy to declutter your wardrobe. This is because you can easily attach sentiments to the clothes you wear. You will most likely feel like you need every single outfit in your wardrobe (no matter how bad they look)… Probably because you spent your hard-earned money to acquire them.
But that shouldn’t deter you from doing the needful. You will definitely feel good after creating the needed space.
Here are a number of things to declutter from your wardrobe:
- Old undies that are either worn out or torn
- Uncomfortable underwear
- Old or damaged bras
- Torn or worn-out socks or socks with multiple holes
- Worn-out bathing suits
- Clothes with holes or so many tears that cannot be amended
- Deeply stained clothes
- Outfits that no longer match your body size (let’s face it, you don’t need those!)
- Clothes that make you feel very uncomfortable
- Clothes that make you feel or look bad
- Outfits that have lost their stretch and/or shape over time
- Clothes you keep trying on but never end up wearing
- Clothes that are not special, yet you haven’t worn them in the past 12 months
- Shoes that hurt your feet too much
- Shoes that are undersized and too tight
- Old shoes with holes
- Shoes that you’ve not worn in the past year
- Any single-legged shoe (like, come on now)
- Medicated eyeglasses that are not in line with your current prescription
- Pieces of jewelry that are either broken or totally damaged – and are irreparable or you don’t feel like repairing them.
- Single earrings
- Old earrings you no longer wear
- Any other clothes, jewelry, or shoes you no longer use or you simply don’t like that are occupying your wardrobe.
4. LINEN CLOSET
A linen closet is obviously small. So, once you get that space decluttered, you will be able to see the result immediately. And of course, you’ll love every bit of extra space you create in there.
Just so you know, you can choose not to waste those old, worn-out linen (even after removing them from your home). They can be used to provide shelter for animals!
These are some of the things you should consider discarding from your linen closet:
- Any worn-out linen
- Sets of sheets you don’t like and will never use
- Extra linen you’ve not used for a very long time
- Those pillows you’ve not used in over a year
- Blankets you don’t like: either because of their awkward colors or because you’ve gotten a better one
- Deeply stained blankets and pillows that can’t be washed clean
And so on.
5. ELECTRONICS AND RELATED APPLIANCES
In the world today, there is hardly a home without an electronic gadget. In fact, they’re arguably the commonest items you’d find in most houses and apartments: televisions, computers, DVD Players… name them!
For that reason, it’s quite easy to clutter your home with some of these appliances that are seemingly useful but are actually needless.
Therefore, you have to pay attention to all that electronic clutter around your home.
- Get rid of any old computers (after you’ve copied all important data from them and after removing the hard drive). You can either give them away to those who might need them or better still sell them (if possible).
- Do away with all old HDMI and USB cables you’ve upgraded or replaced. There is really no need to keep them around.
- Scrap your damaged televisions (or the old ones that are no longer in use).
- Discard all other electronic devices that you’ve upgraded (that still consume important space in your home).
6. THE LIBRARY
Another place that can easily get cluttered is your home library. If you’re an eclectic reader, there’s every tendency that your library will get too stuffed up at some point.
That’s why it is very vital to assess your library from time to time. Examine your bookshelf and find out if there are books that are no longer needed.
You can donate some of the books (that are still in good condition) to your community library. This will ensure the books are easily accessible if there is any need for you to read them again.
So, here are some things to declutter from your library:
- Books you’ve stocked up in your bookshelf for more than 2 years without any desire to read them
- Books you’ve read but won’t likely read again
- Old, torn, worn-out textbooks
- Books you started reading but along the line, you found them very boring – and you don’t intend to continue
- Old books that no longer match your age
- Books that contain outdated information or knowledge
7. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
Everything cannot fit into a particular category – there are so many other items to declutter!
- Old receipts that are no longer useful
- Expired cards like; credit cards, store reward cards, membership cards, identity cards, etc.
- Keys you no longer use
- Old magazines
- Take out menus or other manuals that can easily be found online
- Junk mails
- Old coupons
- Spoiled pens
- Damaged toys
- Ugly decorations
- Throw pillows that are too old or worn-out… or maybe you no longer like them
- Board games with some missing pieces
- Unimportant photos
- Worn-out or broken furniture
- Old DVDs you’ve never watched or don’t plan to watch soon
- Old VHS tapes you no longer have the device to play them on
And basically, all things you really don’t need!
Things To Declutter – Final Tips:
Decluttering your home might be a bit tasking, but then it is necessary if you really want to live an organized life.
Fortunately, there are certain ways to make the process a lot easier.
- First, ensure you take it one step at a time. Don’t try to declutter every room in just one day.
- Put on your favourite music to make the process quite enjoyable.
- Finally, declutter your kids’ rooms when they’re out. Because it becomes more difficult to discard any needless toy when they are around – it suddenly becomes their favourite.
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