Inside: If you want to declutter, but are having a hard time getting started, try starting with this list of super easy things to declutter.
There’s nothing like Christmas to get me in the decluttering mood.
But this year, it feels different.
Things feel more uncertain than ever in the United States looking ahead to 2025, and I have no idea whether prices will skyrocket as predicted (because: tariffs) or only go up incrementally.
While we are far from our low income days, I can feel my old “hold onto everything” tendencies kicking back in.
Watching Leave the World Behind last night also didn’t help – it’s making me want to go out and buy ALL my favorite shows on DVD, but I digress.
I’m guessing I’m not alone – with the fears part.
So when I think about what decluttering advice to give this year, I hesitate to tell you to be totally ruthless.
…except for the items on this list.
I made this “no brainer” list of things to get rid of with future uncertainties in mind. It’s full of things that definitely need to be 1) thrown out or 2) given away.
Decluttering regret is real. If fear of getting rid of stuff you’ll one day wish you hadn’t is what’s stopping you from decluttering, then start with this list!
You won’t regret a thing – promise.
Well…you might regret throwing away that single sock when the other one turns up in six months, but just toss the other one when you find it – it’ll be ok.
You Might Also Like: 8 Tips for Decluttering on a Low Income (from a Mom Who’s Been There)
A Minimalist’s List of Easy Things to Declutter (Throw Away or Give Away Without Regret)
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If you’re reluctant to declutter, but know you need to, start with this list.
You won’t regret throwing away or giving away anything on this list.
First, get a large black trash bag and a large cardboard box for donations. Then get to work!
1. Expired Food
With few exceptions, food that is past its expiration date needs to be thrown away.
If you are wondering whether something is still good past the date on the can or box, you can look up the CDC’s recommendations.
2. Freezer-burned Food
No one wants to eat freezer-burned food, and keeping it prevents you from storing food that you will eat.
Throw it away, and commit to making wiser meal planning decisions in the future.
3. Expired or Unused Spices
Spices are difficult enough to find if you only keep what you use regularly. Toss the ones that are expired and get rid of the ones you never use.
If you’re uncertain whether or not you need underused spices, set them aside in a different place with the date on the cap. If you don’t use them in 3-6 months, you can safely toss them.
You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to find the right spices! Cooking just got a little less frustrating.
Related: 5 Easy Steps to Create a Minimalist Pantry You Love
4. Old Oils
Oils aren’t something we think about often enough, and the assumption is they don’t go bad before the expiration date.
I just learned that oil should be used up in no more than 3-4 months after opening.
Toss old oils, and when you open a new bottle, write the date with a sharpie on the outside.
Side Note: normally I’m a “buy in bulk” type of shopper, but I’ve started buying smaller bottles of oil when it’s on sale as opposed to the gigantic ones at big box stores.
5. Food You’re Never Going to Eat
Slightly different from expired or stale food, this is food you have cluttering up your precious kitchen cabinet space, but you know deep down your family are never going to actually eat.
Probably the result of an impulse buy or being hungry while grocery shopping, this food is better off with someone who will actually use it.
Or if it’s partially used up, throw it away and commit to not buying that particular item again.
6. Stale Crackers and Snacks
Crackers and snacks might not technically be expired, but if they’re stale, most likely no one is going to eat them. Toss them!
7. Tired, Full of Holes, Stained Dish Towels
If you have stained dish towels with holes that have seen better days, it’s time to replace them.
You have a few options for old ones:
- Add to your “for spills and gross messes” towel stash
- Tear up as rags for cleaning
- Throw them away
8. Greeting Cards You Never Send
Do you have a drawer full of greeting cards, but you only send a few a year?
Purge your collection by at least half, and give them away. OR commit to send them this week to someone you love.
9. Gifts You Don’t Want
Anything you receive that you don’t want and is not sentimental can immediately go into the donate bin.
Related: What to Do With Unwanted Gifts – A Thoughtful Guide
10. Warped Tupperware & Old Takeout Containers
Years ago, I switched the majority of our plastic Tupperware collection over to a simple set of clear pyrex dishes.
Warped Tupperware or old takeout containers aren’t the best for storing food (healthy is debatable). Throw them away.
11. Tupperware Lids with No Matches
Lids with no matching Tupperware? Go through your entire Tupperware drawer and match everything up. Do a quick fridge and cabinet check.
Still no matches? They’re clutter. Toss them.
12. Pot Lids without Matches
Just like the Tupperware, pot lids that don’t fit any of the pots you currently own are just clutter you can live without.
You can donate these.
13. Potholders You Never Use
If your drawers are overflowing with potholders and trivets, choose 3-5 to keep that you love and use regularly. Donate the rest.
14. Aprons You Don’t Wear
You probably only need one apron, maybe two if you bake and cook every day, all day. Donate the rest of your stash.
15. China You Never Use
This one can be tricky. Do you ever use your china? We use ours semi-regularly, so we kept it in addition to a small set of regular dishes.
If you haven’t used it since the day you received it as a wedding present? It’s time to give it away or sell it, if you still have a full set.
16. Placemats or Tablecloths You Never Use
To me, these are just one more thing to clean – and you still need to wipe down the table, anyways.
Unless they truly bring you joy and you use them regularly (or even semi-regularly), donate them to someone who will love them and use them.
17. Old Makeup and/or Makeup You Never Use
This one is a little bit personal preference. Technically speaking, opened makeup should be tossed after six months.
Personally, I only use makeup 2-3 days a week. I have a sealed bottle of tinted moisturizer that I’m perfectly fine keeping well past six months and past the expiration date to use it up.
Use your judgment. Toss what you never use.
18. Fridge Magnets
I resisted decluttering the front and side of the refrigerator for a long time. But one day, I was cleaning the fridge and took everything off of it.
What a difference!
Just like clear surfaces make rooms feel truly clutter-free, so does a clear refrigerator door.
If you were using those magnets for organization or calendar reminders, create a simple command center in another location, instead.
19. Kitchen Duplicates (Within Reason)
We have five kids: I have duplicates of a few things like peelers, pancake flippers, cookie sheets, baking trays and serving spoons because we need and use them.
But ice cream scoops? Can openers? 8×8 pans? We only need one. You probably only need one, too.
Related: 7 Minimalist Rules You Don’t Need to Follow (That I Break)
20. Unused Kitchen Utensils/Gadgets/Bakeware
Do you have an immersion blender but you never make soup? What about an apple corer/slicer but you always reach for a regular old knife, instead?
Do you never ever bake cakes or donuts? Give away your cake and donut pans.
They’re taking up valuable kitchen real estate. Donate them, so someone else can use them.
21. Damaged Nonstick Pans
Once nonstick pans have been damaged, they really are unsafe for use. The nonstick chemicals can leach into your food.
Trash them.
22. Never/Rarely Used Kitchen Appliances
A few Christmases ago, we were given a food processor to test some homemade salsa recipes.
Other appliances we tried, like our blender, didn’t yield great results, and for a month or two, we were thrilled with the food processor. We used it every single week.
But eventually our salsa obsession faded, and the processor sat unused in a kitchen cabinet…for two years.
I never used it for anything else except salsa because it was a pain to clean, and I could do the same task, albeit slower, with a blender that could easily be put in the dishwasher.
We sold it two months ago and haven’t regretted it. Give it away or sell it to someone who can actually use it.
23. Cookbooks You Never Reference
Go through your cookbook collection, which ones do you actually use? Do you only have one go-to recipe in 3-4 of them?
Copy or upload that one recipe to your computer, and donate them to your local library if they are in good condition.
We ditched cookbooks a long time ago and keep a single family recipe binder with our most used recipes, instead.
24. Dishes/Cups with Chips
I used to hold onto dishes with minor chips, but as I mentioned earlier, I learned that once the seal on dishes is broken, they can collect bacteria.
Dishes and cups are fairly easy to replace at thrift stores, or Target if you prefer.
Throw them away, and if it leaves you without the number of dishes or glasses you need – doubtful, but possible – replace them.
25. Old Mattresses
We stored an old mattress for a long time, and it was used and abused by our kids before we moved it into storage.
If you have one in good condition that you aren’t using, you can easily give it away for free or a small cost. Otherwise, schedule a trash pick-up and get that gross thing out of your house/shed!
26. Takeout Menus
The majority of takeout menus are accessible online. Even if they aren’t, how often do you really branch out from your typical order?
You can safely recycle these.
27. Cleaning Supplies You Don’t Use
When you look under your kitchen sink or bathroom sink, is it full of unused or half-used cleaning supplies? Mine was, too.
I’ve since narrowed down to a few tried and true “minimalist” cleaning products for most of my cleaning needs.
Consolidate what you will use. Throw away things you haven’t used in months.
Related: The Only Minimalist Cleaning Supplies You Will Ever Need
28. Broken Toys
Unless you are extremely handy and the toy was a quality toy worth fixing, you most likely are not going to fix broken toys.
Let your kids take apart the toys before you throw them away if you want to (mine had a blast doing this!). But then, let them go.
29. Toys & Board Games that Are No Longer Played With OR Your Child Wants to Get Rid Of
This is a tricky one, depending on the toy.
Certain toys are worth keeping as part of your toy rotation, even if your kids aren’t currently playing with them. With a good toy rotation system, old toys are given new life!
If you’ve tried to rotate them and they still don’t get any playtime, or you’ve flat-out asked your kids if they want to keep the items and the answer is “no” from everyone, it’s time for them to find a new home with kids who will enjoy them.
(My almost 13-year-old told me he was done with his stuffed animal this year. It was tough for me to get rid of, but I just threw it out today.)
Related: 7 Rules for Decluttering Toys (Cut Down on Decision Fatigue!)
30. Worn-out Markers/Broken Crayons
This should be an easy one! As with the pens, just sit down and test your marker stash. With crayons, every kid I know skips straight over the broken ones and goes for the whole ones.
Throw away the markers that are running out and the crayons that are broken.
31. Single Socks
Create a bin for all single socks. Keep them for a month.
If that sock hasn’t showed up after a month, it’s not happening, friend. Toss it.
32. Expired Car Seats
Do you have car seats in your basement, waiting for the next kid, that are past their expiration date? While I am a big fan of reuse, your child’s safety is more important than saving money.
If you need a new one soon, certain retailers take back old car seats in exchange for a discount on a new one.
If you don’t need it yet, throw it away.
33. Diapers in Sizes Your Kids Have Outgrown
It seems economical to hang onto those last 10-15 diapers leftover once your child moves up to the next diaper size…until you forget you have them with the next kid two years later.
Give them to someone who can use them NOW, not two years from now.
34. Clothes You Don’t Wear
If you haven’t worn a clothing item in a year, you’re probably not going to. A year covers all seasonal clothing.
If you’re still uncertain, start a bin for clothes you think you’re done with. After 3-6 months, you know you can safely donate them.
Related: 7 Effective Ways to Minimize Your Wardrobe & Take Back Your Closet
35. Clothes Your Children Have Outgrown (With No Sibling to Pass Them To)
If your child has outgrown clothing items and they don’t have siblings to hand them down to, it’s time to let them go.
36. Excess or Destroyed Towels
We keep a small stash of old towels for big spills or tracked in snow/rain. We also have two bath towels per person.
My point is that you don’t need to go crazy decluttering your towels, but if you have twenty towels for four people? You can afford to get rid of some.
37. Sheets in Bed Sizes You No Longer Own
We used to have a full-sized bed, and long after we got rid of the bed, we kept the sheets.
For a while, we used them on our kids’ twin beds and just tucked them in, which was a frugal option that worked for a long time.Now we can afford to replace them.
You can find places to donate old sheets HERE.
38. Expired Medications
Expired medications are at best ineffective and at worst, flat out dangerous.
If they are prescription medications and there is no drug take-back program near you, the internet says you should mix them in a ziploc bag with coffee grounds or kitty litter, seal and then throw them away.
Make sure to use a sharpie to get rid of your personal information on prescription bottles.
39. Supplements You Don’t Take
Do you love collecting supplements or were you ever in a season where you were trying every possible thing to feel better? These can be hard to part with because they can be SO expensive.
But if you aren’t using them, they’re clutter, and keeping them won’t help you recoup the cost.
Keep what you still use. Throw the rest away.
40. Free Samples
Free samples can possibly make good travel items…possibly.
Most of the time, they just sit in your bathroom and kitchen cabinets, unused and cluttering up your space.
Throw them away, and vow not to take anymore. A polite “no, thank you” or “not today, thanks” is all it takes (This is from someone who hates saying “no” to anyone, even the sample people!).
41. Old Medicine Cups/Dispensers
We had soooo many medicine cups and dispensers from Children’s Tylenol and ibuprofen.
You really only need to keep a few of each on hand in case you lose one or it breaks. Toss the rest.
42. Books Your Kids Have Outgrown
Do you have picture books and your kids no longer read picture books? Or early readers when your kids have more onto Harry Potter and Percy Jackson?
Time to donate the non-sentimental outgrown books.
43. Never Used Toiletries (Opened & Unopened)
If you know you won’t use them and they are unopened, you can give them to friends or family or donate them to local men’s and women’s homeschool shelters.
If they are opened and various degrees of used, either commit right then and there to use them up before you buy anything else OR throw them away.
Commit to avoiding random toiletry purchases in the future. Only buy what you know you will use and love.
44. Bath Mats That Never Dry
If you have a bath mat that holds in water and never lets it go, it’s time for a new one. Throw it away, and get a new one.
IKEA has cheap bath mats that are amazing, by the way.
45. Old Toothbrushes
Keep one or two for cleaning purposes. Toss the rest.
46. Old Nail Polish
Opened nail polish should be tossed after two years. Unopened? If you haven’t opened it in a year, why are you keeping it?
Determine what you will really use. Keep those; give away unopened bottles and toss the opened ones you know you won’t use.
47. Hair Products/Appliances You Never Use
Just like toiletries, hair products and appliances accumulate without us even realizing it.
If you own a curling iron, for example, do you actually use it? Or do you always reach for hot rollers, instead?
Did you give up on that old brand of mousse a long time ago, but held on to the half-empty bottle?
Give away the curling iron. Throw away the mousse. Make room for what you use and love.
48. Broken/Unused Hair Accessories
Throw away anything that’s broken, or you haven’t used a long time.
If you want to save hair ties, you can remove any hair that is stuck to them, and then boil them to return their elasticity. Who knew?
49. Bath Toys That Are Disgusting OR Your Kids Have Outgrown
Bath toys that are years old.
If they are mold-free, you can close the holes with a glue gun. You also may just need a total bath toy overhaul.
50. Ink for Printers You No Longer Own
Definitely clutter! Just toss it: donating it won’t help it reach the one person who has that printer.
51. Multiple Boxes of Envelopes
How many letters do you really send? How many bills do you still pay via snail mail?
You probably only need one box of envelopes at a time, and even that one box won’t be used in a year.
52. Binders/Folders You Don’t Use
Donate them directly to a school or teacher you know to get them to students who need them.
53. Old Textbooks
Why are you hanging onto old textbooks? Do you really need them for reference?
Amazon and other websites offer buyback programs. Use them.
54. Craft Supplies You Don’t Use
This one can be a little harder because craft supplies are oh, so expensive. I used to be a scrapbooker once upon a time: letting go of all those expensive stamps was tough.
But I did it, and I’m so glad I did!
It took me hours to create ONE scrapbook page. And I didn’t even love the finished product.
If you haven’t used the supplies in a couple years, you probably aren’t going to. Try selling them first – or straight up giving them away – on Facebook Marketplace.
55. Broken/Used Up Pens and Markers
These are super easy. Grab that piece of paper, test some pens and throw away the ones that don’t work anymore!
56. Surplus Pens/Pencils
If they don’t fit in their assigned slot in your drawer, you have too many.
Put them in a Ziploc bag and donate them to a library, school or doctor’s office (thrift stores will throw them away).
57. Disposable Cameras/Old Film
If you haven’t developed these in years, you probably aren’t going to. Either commit to developing them, or throw them away.
If you haven’t missed the memories by now, you probably won’t a year from now.
58. Expired Insurance & Membership Cards
Are these still sitting in your wallet or on your desk? Cut them up and throw them away.
59. Expired Gift Certificates
In your decluttering, have you come across gift certificates you lost or forgot to use?
As sad as it is (I’d be crying, too!), you need to throw them away.
Let the sadness drive you to declutter and get organized, so this doesn’t happen again.
60. Gift Cards with No Value
Unless it’s a Starbucks card you registered and are holding onto for the annual free birthday drink (a worth cause, for sure), old gift cards with no value can be cut up and thrown away.
61. Random Scraps with Addresses
Enter the addresses/phone numbers into your phone or address book. Trash the scraps.
62. Key Tags for Stores You Don’t Frequent
Most stores have a “store card” available at the check-out counter for out of town visitors. You can ask to use that card, too.
Toss the ones you never use.
Do your best to avoid signing up for store cards of cards you don’t frequent. Not only do they clutter up your wallet and key chain, they often clutter up your e-mail inbox as well (much harder to declutter!).
63. Unnecessary & Unsafe Power Cords
Do you ever look through your box of power cords and wonder what half of them go to? Check them all against various appliances in your house.
If they don’t have matches, they can be trashed. Any cords with exposed wires can be thrown away as well.
64. Keys with No Known Purpose
Anyone else’s “junk drawer” have random keys that you have NO IDEA what they unlock? I’m pretty sure we all do.
Make sure to think this one through very carefully lest you inadvertently throw away the key to a storage unit or random lock box in the middle of decluttering fever (I might have done something like this once…).
If you’ve gone over them multiple times, labeled the ones you do know, and there are still keys leftover, toss them.
65. Coupons You Will Never Use (or Expired Coupons)
I used to be an extreme couponer. I know what it’s like to clip every single coupon that you know will make for an amazing deal.
But then we were stuck with so.much.food (and toothpaste) that we just didn’t use.
Unless this is your way of giving – donating all that free/discounted stuff to foodbanks – stop keeping and clipping coupons you won’t use.Recycle them.
66. Old Receipts
There are so many apps these days that allow you to upload receipts and store them digitally. Take advantage of technology and reduce clutter!
Some receipts are necessary to hang onto for a set amount of time, like for tax purposes.
Most of them for everyday purchases can be recycled right away, depending on how you handle money tracking and budgeting.
67. Last Year’s Christmas Cards
Unless you have a specific purpose for these cards (like crafting), let them go.
68. Old Calendars
These are NOT serving a purpose in your life. Recycle them ASAP.
69. Excess Plastic Grocery Bags
Once upon a time, I had a HUGE stash of plastic grocery bags, more than I ever needed for the trash cans in my house or anything else.
When you have more than you need or will use, they take up SO much space.
You can recycle these at your local grocery store. Whether or not they actually get recycled…I’m not sure.
(Note to Self: commit to bringing reusable grocery bags to the store in 2025.)
70. Old Chargers
Do you have old chargers without the electronics to go with them? It’s time to get rid of them.
71. Product Manuals (With a Huge Caveat)
The same goes for product manuals for the average item in your home. Almost every company offers product manuals directly on their websites.
Caveat: It’s safe to toss these EXCEPT for older home appliances that cannot be found online.
72. Broken & Glitchy Headphones
When headphones stop working properly and you’ve already replaced them, why are they sitting in a drawer in your house?! Toss them.
73. Old Cell Phones/iPods
Keeping one working cell phone as a back-up can be a smart idea. More than one? You most likely don’t need it.
Old iPods and extremely slow computers are very unlikely to come in handy.
There are several programs that take back old electronics. You could also reach out to your network to see if anyone could use an extra cell phone.
74. Shoes You Don’t Wear
If you haven’t worn them in a year and especially if they are uncomfortable or if you end up swapping them out for another pair at the last minute, give them away.
They could end up being someone else’s favorite shoes!
75. Old Bridesmaid Dresses/Groomsman Attire
There has only been one bridesmaid in the history of my time as a bridesmaid that I actually loved the dress and wanted to wear it again.
…unfortunately, I was seven months pregnant when I was in that particular wedding.
I kept the dress, but never go around to having it adjusted. It literally sat in my closet for YEARS.
When I started decluttering, I realized that I was never going to and had very few occasions to wear it in the first place.
Only keep the ones you will actually wear for formal occasions (if you even have cause to attend them).
76. T-shirts You Don’t Love
Do you get t-shirts for every company or non-profit event? You might have quite the collection.
Go through them and get rid of the ones you don’t love or wear (or that have logos for companies/organizations you hate).
You could transition them to sleepwear or use them to stuff poufs like THIS one in your house.
77. Socks with Holes
Maybe you feel like you need to keep socks with holes because you can’t afford new ones? I get that.
But even still, most people have far more socks than they actually need.
Ditch the socks with holes, and get into a laundry routine that works to keep you in clean socks as often as you need them.
78. Clothes You Won’t Mend
It’s so easy to tell yourself that you’ll fix a piece of formerly loved clothing. But ask yourself, “Have I fixed clothes before? Am I really going to do this?”
If you are, great! Now do it…like, tonight.
If you aren’t, it’s just clutter. Mourn the loss of your favorite pair of pants, and get rid of them.
79. Duplicate Outerwear
Do you have multiple winter coats, but only wear one?
Keep one for fancier occasions and one for every day. Donate the rest.
80. Knick-Knacks You Hate
A myth about minimalists is that we don’t have any knick-knacks. That’s not always true.
We just only keep the ones we absolutely love or have extreme sentimental value and are worth our time to clean.
Decide which ones you truly love. Keep those and donate the rest.
81. Books You No Longer Read, but Have on Kindle
If you have both a physical copy of a book and the kindle copy and you’ve already read it once or twice?
It’s time to give it away, unless it is one of those, “I’d want these five books on a desert island if I had nothing else to do for years” kind of books.
I love physical books, I do (kindle will never replace them fully for me), but I’ve found more and more than I only re-read a handful.
82. Broken Children’s Books
Children’s books aren’t always made to stand up to the abuses of childhood. If the book is missing pages or the binding is barely holding it together, recycle it.
You can either buy a brand new copy or get that title from the library when you want it.
(If it’s super sentimental
Related: How to Declutter Books and Still Raise Readers
83. Magazines You Are Done Reading
If you want to remember an idea, tear out the few pages and keep them in a home binder. Better yet, take a picture with your phone.
Magazines can be recycled, given to a magazine-loving friend, donated to local offices, used for children’s crafts or visions boards.
84. Ratty Old Throw Blankets
Throw blankets can get pretty old and ratty after 4-5 seasons.
You can usually donate old throw blankets and pillows to animal shelters.
85. Planters You Don’t Use
If you have extra planters lying around and you don’t love to propagate plants or garden, put them up on Facebook marketplace for free.
Someone who loves those activities will come get them!
86. Used Up Candles
I just learned that candles shouldn’t be burned when less than ½ and inch layer of wax remains in the jar, or two inches in a stand-alone candle.
They’re dangerous: recycle them.
87. Candles in Scents You Don’t Like
If you didn’t love it the first time you burned it, or it gave you headache, you probably aren’t going to use it again. You’ll stick with the candles you love.
Give it away, or throw it away.
88. Movies You Never Watch
If you haven’t watched it in 6-12 months and it’s not a seasonal movie, give it away.
You might want to watch it again one day, but that’s what libraries, thrift stores and streaming services are for.
If you really think you want to keep DVDs, get a case that can hold a ton and ditch the cases. Your collection will take up a lot less space.
89. Accidental Purchases
Are there items you’ve purchased accidentally but were unable to return? Things that stores allowed you to keep for free that were delivered incorrectly?
Give them as gifts or donate them if you don’t need them.
90. Unused or Broken Seasonal Décor
Pay attention to what you use during the holidays. If you aren’t using it (especially if it’s broken), why are you keeping it? If, year after year, it sits in the bottom of the storage bin, it’s time to let it go.
Keep only what you love for a more enjoyable holiday – and more enjoyable after holiday clean-up.
91. Extra Vases
Unless you buy two bouquets of flowers a week, or are the frequent recipient of flowers, you don’t need more than one vase.
Choose your favorite one (o.k. maybe two) to keep. Put the rest in the “donate” box.
92. Empty Frames You Never Hung
If you haven’t gone to the effort to print photos by now and hang them, the picture frames will most likely keep sitting right where they are: in storage.
Hang the few you really love (it might motivate you to order those pictures), and give away the rest so other people can use them.
93. Board Games with Multiple Missing Pieces
The occasional missing piece for a board game is usually replaceable with another board game piece. But multiple crucial pieces? Time to recycle it.
Unless it is a rare strategy game, most board games can be replaced at thrift stores. We have a couple reliable thrift stores in our area that consistently carry common, awesome board games.
Either shop first and combine the two sets for a used board game in the best possible condition, or recycle your current one in very bad condition and write it down on your “to look for at the thrift store” list.
94. Incomplete Decks of Cards
No one wants to play cards with an incomplete set. Recycle them ASAP.
95. Puzzles with Missing Pieces
Have you ever slaved away at a puzzle for hours only to miss that moment of putting in that last piece? So freaking frustrating, right?
It’s time to throw them away.
96. Broken Bins or Baskets
If you have storage bins and baskets that are broken beyond use, throw them away.
You can replace these fairly inexpensively at thrift stores or Target.
But after this decluttering session, you might not need to replace them at all! Wait and see.
97. Duffle Bags or Suitcases with Broken Zippers
If they don’t close, they won’t keep your stuff safe when you travel.
Throw them away and invest in a new set as soon as possible or necessary.
98. Appliance Boxes
Is your basement filled with the boxes your appliances came in? Recycle them.
If you’re keeping them just in case you move or sell them, both of these can be done without the boxes. I’ve done it.
99. Extra Gift Bags
If you don’t give gifts regularly, keeping every gift bag from every gift you’ve ever received in order to use it later on, it’s clutter.
Set a container limit for your gift bags and donate whatever doesn’t fit. We have one bin for gift bag supplies.
Related: 21 Minimalist Habits That Will Keep Your Home Clutter-Free for Good
100. Unusable Wrapping Paper
Do you have rolls of wrapping paper lying around that have barely any usable paper left on them? Surely not enough to wrap the average present.
Recycle the paper, and only buy more paper when you truly need it.
101. Duplicate Tools
Just last week, we purchased a bench from IKEA. It came with yet another little tool to tighten bolts.
I’m ashamed to say we have about 15 of these in a Ziploc bag in our toolbox.
Sell or give away (or throw away as with the IKEA tools) what you don’t need.
102. Broken Appliances or Electronics You Won’t Fix
Notice a “broken” theme? If you aren’t going to fix them, they are clutter. Period.
Throw them away, or even better, give them to someone who will fix them.
103. Returns
Anything you need to return, but haven’t and the return window is still open, return them this week!
Related: 7 Reasons You Can’t Throw Things Away (& How to Make It Easier)
Start Decluttering with the Easy Stuff, and You’ll Build Momentum for the Challenging Stuff
Whether or not you choose to declutter beyond this list is up to you.
Personally, I’ve found decluttering to be SO freeing and SO helpful for managing my that I became a minimalist and never looked back.
Having recently been diagnosed with ADHD, it makes a lot of sense why minimalism has made such a huge difference in my life. IYKYK.
The less stuff I have, the less stuff I have to maintain and organize and keep track of.
Even if you simply stop bringing things into your home that you don’t need, life with less stuff is worth it.
Hopefully this list jump starts your decluttering journey, and you’re able to makeover your home this year.
Happy decluttering!
Read Next: 7 Best Marie Kondo Tips That Are Pure Genius
Did I miss any super easy things to get rid of? Share them in the comments!
