23 Things You Can Get Rid of Right Now to Declutter Your House

Fast and Easy Tips to Declutter Your House

If you’re feeling the urge to declutter your home and live with less, then take a look at this quick list that will give you ideas for things you can get rid of fast!

I recently heard this quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: “Someday is never.” Don’t keep anything you’ll plan to use someday. This is where clutter begins. This is where storage begins. And this is where overwhelm sets in.

We don’t need to live with stuff that we’re not using. Our houses are for living… not for storing!

Imagine this. You open a closet and the only things in there are the things you use on a daily/monthly basis. Nothing to wade through, nothing to store. That’s the goal here, friend!

Decluttering Your Kitchen

Kitchen & Pantry Items to Donate or Throw Away

Disposable plates, napkin, and cutlery. We got in the habit of saving extra cutlery that we got from restaurants, but we never ever actually used them. Are you actually using this stuff? If the situation arose where you would use it, what would you actually do? We use our real silverware, so my husband took all our excess stuff to his work.

Mustard, ketchup, and mayo packets. Come on now, this is literally clutter. If you need to take condiments to go, squeeze it into a tiny container.

Utensils not used in the past 6 months. If you haven’t used it in the past 6 months, it’s not important enough to keep. Plus, I bet can find a work-around to accomplish the same task without that utensil.

Expired food. This is a given. If it’s past expiration, throw it away. I don’t care if it’s “still good” — you’re not using it.

Almost-empty containers you haven’t touched in a month. You know the guilty culprit: CHIPS! No one wants the little chip pieces that are left, yet no one wants to bear the guilt of throwing them away. Make a decision today!

Bowls, plates, mixing bowls, and pans not used in the past 6 months. You have your favorites. You always use your favorites. If it’s not a favorite, you don’t need it. Adios!

Find some of my favorite kitchen minimalism tips here.

Decluttering the Junk Drawer

Items to Throw Away in the Junk Drawer

Extra pens (you do not need more than 10 pens). Excess pins are just clutter. If you actually lose ALL your pens, I bet you can find more free pens – that’s how you got them all in the first place, right?!

Extra notepads. Do you ever use all of your notepads at once?!? Trust me, you can get by with one notepad until it runs out. You’ll feel super proud of yourself, too.

Dunno-if-they-work batteries. Here’s the deal: I don’t think it’s worth your time or sanity to figure out which batteries work and which ones are dead. Just throw them away and when you need a new pack, put all the working ones in their own bag or container.

I also shared some kitchen organization ideas here!

Decluttering Your Bathroom

Bathroom Items to Donate or Throw Away

Sample/Travel-sized products. We were in a bad habit of saving these. “I’ll use them on our next vacation!” But nope, I always wanted to buy new travel-sized containers from the store so I had a full one. So, I tossed them.

Old make-up. If you haven’t used a make-up product in the past 6 months, start using it now or throw it away.

Not-being-used soaps. Tried a shampoo you didn’t like? A body wash that didn’t smell very good? Throw it away!

Not-being-used lotions. Are you guilty of hoarding lotions?? Girl, throw ’em away!! They be clutterin’!

Excess toothbrushes. I got in the habit of saving all the toothbrushes I was given at dental cleanings, then I had 10 unopened toothbrushes. I donated them (along with 10+ sample toothpastes!) to a local refuge center.

Find out how I re-organized my bathroom closet here!

Decluttering Your Closet

Closet Items to Throw Away or Donate

Clothes you haven’t worn this season or last season. If an entire season went by and you didn’t wear a piece of clothing, it’s time to say goodbye.

Hair accessories you aren’t wearing now. If you aren’t wearing it now, you’re not going to wear it. Remember, someday is never.

Jewelry. If it doesn’t bring you joy when you hold it, it’s okay to get rid of it – even if it was a gift. If it has value, try selling it or taking it to a pawn shop.

Old underwear and socks. Girlfriend, take a minute and throw ’em away. You don’t deserve to still be wearing those.

I shared my first big closet purge here!

Decluttering Household Stuff

Blankets & bedding. This week I realized I had over 20 blankets and only 3 people living in my house. I got rid of all but 6 blankets (besides what’s currently being used). Remember, if something gets dirty, you can wash it and use it the next day – crazy, right?! LOL.

Decor you don’t love. It’s okay to not have every surface covered with decor. In fact, it’s liberating! If your decor is feeling… heavy, try undecorating a surface and see if it feels better.

Unused furniture. If you have furniture that’s serving no purpose and just taking up space, donate it, friend!

Cords and keys. If you don’t know what they’re for, you don’t need them. Someday is never!

Decluttering Kids Toys

While you have toddlers, it’s a good idea to declutter their toys every 3-4 months. If you plan on having more kids, pack away anything they’re not still actively playing with.

This is incredibly important because kids can easily suffer decision fatigue. When there are too many toy options, they won’t want to play with any of it.

My 17-month-old always plays better when his toys are put away and he has to get them out, instead of them already being all over the floor.

So if your kid hasn’t been actively playing with a toy in the past month or two, pack it away. When they’re bored with their current toys, swap them out for ones that are packed away!

We have all of Griffin’s toys in this chest. The drawers easily pull out so he can get out the toys he wants to play with by himself!

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