Declutter Challenge: 10 Things in Your Home to Get Rid of Today

Clothes You Haven’t Worn in Years

Open your wardrobe and be honest with yourself. If you haven’t worn something in the last year or two — and there isn’t a specific reason you’re saving it — it may be time to let it go.

This includes clothes that no longer fit, items you’re keeping for a hypothetical future occasion and pieces that don’t make you feel good. Your wardrobe should work for your current life, not the life you might’ve lived five years ago. Donate anything in good condition and recycle textiles that are too damaged to wear.

Expired Toiletries and Beauty Products

Bathrooms are surprisingly good at hiding clutter. Take a look through your cupboards and drawers, and you may find half-used lotions, dried-up mascara, old sunscreen, expired medication, and skincare products you tried once and never touched again.

Check expiration dates where available and discard anything that’s no longer safe or usable. Be sure to dispose of medications according to local guidelines rather than simply throwing them in the trash. You’ll probably be amazed at how much space you reclaim.

Mugs You Never Use

How many mugs do you actually need? Most households have a collection of promotional mugs, chipped mugs, mismatched mugs and novelty mugs that sit at the back of the cupboard year after year. Keep your favorites and the amount you realistically use when entertaining, then donate the rest if they’re still in good condition.

Old Paperwork

Paper clutter has a way of multiplying. Receipts, instruction manuals, expired warranties, school papers, old bills and mystery documents can quickly fill drawers and countertops.

Sort your paperwork into three categories: keep, shred and recycle. Important documents should be stored securely, while anything you no longer need can go.

Consider scanning documents you want to keep for reference. This is one of the most practical things to declutter because it can immediately make desks, drawers and home offices feel more organized.

Broken or Unused Electronics

Broken headphones, outdated phones or phone chargers, mystery cables, unused remote controls, and electronics that have been sitting in a drawer for years are all worth reviewing. Keep only what belongs to a device you currently own and use.

Keep in mind that electronics shouldn’t go in your regular household garbage. Look for an appropriate e-waste recycling option in your area to dispose of them safely and correctly.

Kitchen Gadgets That Make Life More Complicated

You may have bought that avocado slicer with good intentions. The specialty egg cooker probably seemed useful at the time, too.

However, if a kitchen gadget takes up space and rarely earns its place on the counter or in a cupboard, it may be time to donate it. Multipurpose tools are often more valuable than drawers packed with single-use gadgets.

As you declutter, ask yourself if you would buy the same items again today. If the answer is no, you probably don’t need to keep it.

Random “Just in Case” Items

This category can include almost anything, including old jars, packaging, spare buttons, mystery keys, damaged decorations, empty boxes and items you saved because they might be useful one day.

Some things are worth keeping for emergencies or future projects, but if you’ve moved the same item from cupboard to cupboard without using it, that’s usually a sign that it’s time to let go of it.

When tackling these particular things to declutter, try setting a realistic rule. If you haven’t used it in a certain amount of time and can’t identify a specific, likely use for it, consider letting it go. It can also help to schedule one to three hours of decluttering each week, giving you a routine for keeping clutter from building up again.

Gifts You Feel Guilty About Getting Rid Of

A gift shouldn’t become a permanent storage obligation. You may appreciate the person who gave you something while also recognizing that the item doesn’t suit your home, lifestyle or taste. Keeping something purely out of guilt doesn’t make the gift more meaningful.

If the item is useful and in good condition, donate it so someone else can enjoy it. The relationship or memory can remain even after the object is gone.

Books You Know You’ll Never Read Again

Books can be sentimental, decorative and deeply personal, so there’s no need to get rid of the entire collection, but take a closer look at books you didn’t enjoy, textbooks you’ll never use again or novels you’ve been meaning to read for 10 years.

Keep the books you love and genuinely want to revisit. Donate or sell the rest. Creating space on a bookshelf can also give your favorite books the attention they deserve.

Duplicate Household Items

Duplicates can accumulate without you even noticing. You may have five pairs of scissors, three can openers, several measuring tapes or enough cleaning supplies to last years.

There’s nothing wrong with having a backup of something you genuinely use. The problem is keeping duplicates simply because you forgot you already owned them.

Gather similar items together before deciding what stays. Seeing everything in one place makes it much easier to identify the excess.