100 easy things to declutter right now

Inside: 100 things to declutter right now to help you get your home clearer

Deciding to start your decluttering journey will be the best decision you ever make. Honestly. Being surrounded by mess all of the time has serious effects on your mental health and with the added dust that gathers in amongst it all, it is always a good idea to ditch the stuff!

It isn’t easy, with finding the time to dedicate to the cause and sentimentality pulling at your heartstrings to make you keep things, you need to stay focused and determined.

Why should you declutter your home?

We are constantly growing as people, finding new hobbies, new styles of clothes, new tastes in decor. We are terrible for holding onto material goods ‘just in case’ or simply because we can’t bear to part with them.

When you factor in children, the amount of ‘stuff’ you accumulate seems to increase tenfold. Constantly growing out of clothes, shoes, toys – it all adds up and needs somewhere to go.

Of course, even as you try and get rid of things you have people gifting you more and more for birthdays and Christmas. And the more children you have the worse it gets. TV ads constantly telling us we need the latest thing – it is hard not to get sucked into it all.

Effects on mental health

Clutter can affect your anxiety levels, sleep patterns, and ability to focus on everyday tasks. It can also make you less productive, making you turn to avoidance strategies such as snacking and watching tv.

We are all guilty of it, aren’t we? We have a long list of things to do but we go to the kitchen and fetch a snack before sitting down and binge-watching our favourite series instead. And yet we al complain of never having enough time to get things done.

Imagine this, if you had less stuff then you’d have less to tidy and therefore more time to do the things you really want to do.

Your house should be a haven, a place that makes you happy and calm, somewhere to relax and enjoy with the people you love.

What does clutter mean?

verb
cover or fill (something) with an untidy collection of things.
“the room was cluttered with his bric-a-brac”

noun
a collection of things lying about in an untidy state.
“the attic is full of clutter”

In other words, it is the collection of stuff that you surround yourself with to create an untidy state.

“Clutter is not just the stuff on your floor – it’s anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living”

– Peter Walsh

The process of decluttering is deciding what items are unnecessary in your home, that make the house untidy and add to the overwhelm that you feel when you walk into a room.

What is the best way to start decluttering?

Making the decision to get started is the hardest part. And the sooner you start the better – research says that the longer you wait to declutter the harder it becomes to get rid of the things you own. Over 50’s are much more likely to struggle with getting rid of their possessions and will also be more likely to feel dissatisfied with their lives.

The thing to do is to choose an area to start with and not move on until you are completely satisfied with the results.

Good practices for decluttering

The best way to get rid of stuff is to look at each object individually. When you pick up an object, you need to really look at it objectively and ask yourself whether you love it or whether you’ve used it in the past year.

More often than not, the answer will be no for each and that is why it has been at the bottom of that pile of junk. I’ve created an easy to use flow chart to help you with this process. To help you decide whether to keep, discard or donate each item.

Only keep items you love or that are useful. Discard anything that would be of no use to anyone and donate the rest. There are so many ways of giving things away these days – from selling sites, to charity shops to local swap groups.

How to declutter sentimental things

It is really hard to get rid of things that you’ve held onto for reasons personal to you. Whether they are clothes you wore in happier days, gifts that were given by loved ones or anything else that invokes a happy feeling.

But unless those items are being used or enjoyed regularly they are actually just added to the pile of ‘stuff’ that you accumulate over the years.

You have to be honest with yourself and remind yourself of this:

“Sometimes freeing the object and creating space will give you more joy than holding onto the object itself”

The memories created by the object can’t be taken away from you, so let someone else have the joy of owning it rather than hoarding it in a cupboard for nobody to enjoy at all.

And I can tell you thing, once you start letting go of items the process becomes so much easier and you feel liberated. You also come to realise that things aren’t what matter, the memories and people are the most important thing of all.

100 things to declutter right now

Not sure where to start? I’ve compiled a handy decluttering checklist of things to get rid of right now.

1. Old electronic cables and chargers

2. Old mobile phones

3. DVDs that nobody watches anymore

4. CDs that nobody listens to anymore

5. Puzzles / games that nobody plays

6. Excess recipe books

7. Takeout menus you never use

8. Old bills – time to go paperless!

9. Kids’ artwork – take a photo instead and only keep the favourites.

10. Broken / unused makeup

11. Dried up or unwanted nail varnish

12. Old perfume / unwanted perfume

13. Excess toiletries you will never use

14. Mouldy bath toys

15. Old sunscreens

16. Old medicines that have expired

17. Cleaning products you will never use

18. Gift wrap you will never use

19. Excess stationery

20. Used up gift cards and unwanted loyalty cards

21. Excess reusable bags

22. Unwanted handbags

23. Uncomfortable shoes and shoes you’ve not worn in the past year.

24. Socks and tights with holes in them

25. Underwear that has seen better days

26. Ill-fitting bras

27. Clothes that don’t make you feel good

28. Best clothes that realistically you won’t wear again

29. Hats, gloves and scarves you no longer wear

30. Coats and jackets you don’t wear anymore

31. Swimming costumes you won’t wear again.

32. Excess sunglasses

33. Glasses that no longer fit your prescription

34. Broken jewellery / single earrings

35. Costume jewellery you no longer wear

36. Mismatched/ broken hangers

37. Outgrown kids clothes

38. Pjs you never wear or that don’t fit well

39. Excess hair bobbles and clips

40. Broken toys

41. Finished / unwanted colouring books

42. Dried up pens / glue

43. Excess colouring pencils

44. Damaged books

45. Toys that are no longer used

46. Fake plants that look tired

47. Broken crockery

48. Excess plates and bowls

49. Excess water bottles

50. Unused utensils

51. Scratched pots and pans

52. Expired food

53. Old cushions

54. Birthday and Christmas cards that mean nothing. And be ruthless with those that do.

55. Excess mugs and glasswear

56. Excess Tupperware

57. Excess teatowels

58. Unused kitchen appliances

59. Blunt knives

60. Serving dishes that never get used

61. Old placemats, napkins and tablecloths

62. Fridge magnets

63. Books you won’t read again

64. Magazines

65. Old textbooks

66. Decor that adds nothing to the space

67. Holiday decor that doesn’t get used

68. Christmas decorations

69. Old rugs that you won’t use again

70. Old towels

71. Hobby supplies you no longer use

72. Candles that have burned down

73. Unwanted gifts you won’t repurpose

74. Exercise equipment you won’t use again

75. Chewed dog toys

76. Unused tools and hardware

77. Old paint you won’t use again.

78. Bedding that is never used

79. Sheets that are worn or discoloured

80. Lumpy pillows

81. Old receipts

82. Old keys

83. Manuals

84. Spare buttons

85. Anything you just don’t like anymore

86. Boxes from items you’ve bought

87. Memorabilia that isn’t lovingly displayed

88. Email subscriptions you no longer want (unsubscribe at the bottom)

89. TV shows / movies you’ve recorded on your tv box

90. Files you no longer need on your computer

91. Photos you are hoarding on your hardrive – delete the excesses

92. Old contacts on your phone

93. Dead plants

94. Garden furniture / decor that is broken or unwanted

95. Rusted garden tools

96. Old plastic plant pots

97. Children’s play equipment that they don’t use anymore

98. Anything waiting to leave the house

99. Anything you just don’t want anymore

100. Anything in the car that isn’t vital

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All of these things are relatively easy to go to right now and start to sort through. You just need to dedicate the time to get the work done.

It is not an easy task to start and at times can become overwhelming, but it is such a worthwhile job and will get easier as you go along. Just keep reminding yourself of the end goal – to have a clear and stress-free environment in which to live in.