Decluttering is one of the most important steps to making your home organized, which is why it’s often one of the first steps toward deep cleaning. They say a cluttered house leads to a cluttered mind, and that’s very much true.
So I figured decluttering your home would be a great way to kickstart the year!
Think about it: we unavoidably accumulate so much stuff in our homes that a thorough decluttering makes perfect sense – at least once a year. This is the perfect time to go through all the stuff we have stored collecting dust, or just standing in the way and get rid of it all. This frees a lot of space for the new stuff you might actually use, and even better, there are tons of things you can get rid of in your home.
It feels like removing all the unnecessary stuff off of a heavy backpack. Your home will feel lighter, more spacious, and allow for more versatile solutions.
But enough chatter, let’s get to it.
There are many different ways to approach this project, but the best way is to go room by room. It will probably take some time to get through everything, but by doing it on a room-by-room basis, you will always feel like you’re making progress. Once it’s all done, your home will be primed for a deep cleaning!
So, let’s start with the hardest room… the kitchen!
Kitchen
There is a lot to cover here. The kitchen is one of the most high-traffic areas in the house, and maybe because of that, it can accumulate all sorts of clutter really quickly. Let’s cleanse the kitchen before we move on to another room – it will take some time, but the good news is that it only gets easier from here!
Here’s a decluttering guide for the kitchen:
- Spices. It’s hard to use all the spices before they get old and lose their taste. Get rid of the old ones, clean the containers and get new ones later, but this time, only keep the ones you actually use.
- Cutlery. Quite often you’ll lose some cutlery (not sure how, I think gnomes take them) and end up with mismatched sets.
- Old pans. Trust me, old pans are terrible. I know we can get attached to them, but let’s keep things practical – old pans are simply not efficient, especially after you’ve gotten used to non-stick options.
- Old or single-purpose appliances. Kitchens are filled with single-purpose appliances that, similar to what the name suggests, we use maybe once a year, if ever.
- Plastic containers. These things are super useful, but there’s no point keeping old sets or those that you can never find the lid for.
- Bottles. Useful for keeping water and other beverages on the fridge, but you don’t need many of these.
- Food boxes. It’s common to forget food boxes inside cabinets if it’s something you don’t need very often. Inspect your cabinets and remove anything that’s empty or old.
- Condiments. Happens quite often that condiments don’t get used before they get old in the fridge or straight up expire.
- Mugs. You probably have too many mugs. Unless you’re literally a collector, there’s no reason to keep all of them – though feel free to store them away if you get a lot as gifts. Just remove them from the cabinets where they take a lot of space!
Living room
The living room is a place to relax and mingle, and despite this, it can still have some clutter. Not nearly as much as the kitchen though, so you should be able to clear this room pretty quickly.
- Product manuals. It’s likely you have a few manuals in your media rack. Why do we keep them? I have no idea.
- Old batteries. TV remotes are usually the culprits of old batteries. Luckily they last a long time, but we often put them inside a drawer and forget to properly dispose of them.
- Box of cables. You know the one. “Well, I don’t need this cable right now but I’ll keep it in this box in case I do! We never do. It’s 2021, you don’t need RCA cables.
- Toys. Children tend to leave toys scattered around, some may even hide under the couch. Find them and create a proper place for them.
Bedroom
The bedroom should be the most relaxing room in the house, but like any room, it’s easy to let things get out of control when it comes to clutter. In fact, bedrooms are prone to accumulate clutter over the years in the form of clothes and bedsheets.
- Wire hangers. You probably don’t need as many as you have – especially the broken ones.
- Old clothing. There’s a lot to unpack here. Clothing can get old and ugly, or become too big or too small since you got it. It’s time to part ways with these pieces and make room for your newer ones.
- Lone socks. I don’t know where they go either, but there’s little point in keeping a single sock when you haven’t seen the other pair for months.
- Old shoes. I know, I know… it’s hard getting rid of shoes, but it must be done. In fact, if you have some you’re not planning on using but that are still in good condition, consider donating them.
- Bedding and old towels: a great way to get rid of these ones is to donate them to local animal shelters.
Bathroom
The bathroom is often one of the smallest rooms in the house with few exceptions. Because of that, letting it succumb to clutter makes for a ghastly sight. Luckily there isn’t a lot to go through here, but if you keep towels in the bathroom do check on those too.
- Old makeup. I don’t know anyone who has ever used all their makeup before it got old. Lose the clutter and only keep the ones you’re currently using.
- Shampoo bottles. These always stick around more than necessary, don’t they?
- Expired medication. Medication tends to be situational, leading to a lot of packs expiring before they’re over.
- Toothbrush. Dentists recommend replacing toothbrushes every three months, but we often keep them for way longer. If yours is starting to show its age, repurpose it for something like grout cleaning and throw it away. Time to get a new one!
Honorable mentions
These are just some important things to declutter that I couldn’t fit into a particular room, so I figured I’d dump them all in this category.
- Air filters. Not so much a declutter, but it’s crucial to ensure your air filters are in good condition. Old with the old, in with the new.
- That one drawer full of stuff. Yeah, I know you know what I mean. I have one too. But jokes aside, even that drawer needs to be cleaned. Throw away any receipts, expired coupons, candy wraps, the whole thing.
- Notebooks and journals. Maybe you’re guilty of buying too many notebooks (like me), or maybe not. If you do, you surely have more than you need. It’s time to either get rid of some of them or put them to good use.
- Subscription services. This is not a physical thing, meaning it won’t take up any space in your home… but they do in your budget. I don’t mind subscription services because some can be very useful for quality of life or entertainment, but consider checking how much you’re spending on them this year. Subscription services like to make you feel like you can’t live without them, but you totally can. There’s no problem subscribing to something purely for entertainment (like Netflix or Spotify), but keep only what you really need!
I hope this project helps in starting this year as neatly as possible!
Also, keep in mind: you can always hire house cleaning pros in your area. Get free quotes today and kickstart your decluttering process!
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