Over time, it’s easy to forget to declutter certain items in the home. Some areas are easily overlooked, but don’t actually take that long to declutter. If you’ve got 15 minutes, here are 32 things to declutter right now.
1 | Socks
Of all the things to declutter right now, socks are a good place to start since you might wear them daily (or at least see them daily when you get ready in the morning). Throw out the mismatched pairs, socks with holes, or socks that have seen better days. Then, bask in the glory of your freshly decluttered socks.
2 | Jewelry
This is a quick-win, depending on how much jewelry you have. Go through your jewelry and get rid of any broken items or items that have pieces missing. If you lose the backs to the earrings, you can pick up a box full of earring backs at Target. It will breathe new life into your jewelry collection and make the process of finding what you need so much easier!
3 | Old Cleaning Supplies
It’s easy to forget about cleaning supplies. Declutter the old or expired ones. Don’t forget to throw them away responsibly! Cleaning supplies can be dropped off at a Hazardous Waste Recycling Center.
4 | Old Sunscreen
One time I used an old bottle of sunblock when I was at the beach and got an incredibly bad sunburn. It was actually sun poisoning. I’d never heard of it before that experience. Lesson learned the hard way. I now buy brand new sunscreen at the start of every summer.
5 | Old Pots & Pans
Teflon, yum! …or not…who wants to eat Teflon? After all, it’s composed of a chemical known as PFAS that stays in your bloodstream for like, forever. Yuk! Get rid of pots and pans that are an annoyance to clean or a source of Teflon in your food.
READ ALSO: How to Declutter Your Home Fast with Reverse Decluttering
6 | Expired Medicine
When it comes to things to declutter right now, expired medicine has to be on this list because it’s easy to forget. Old prescription medicine and expired over-the-counter products can be chucked immediately! Just be sure to dispose of them safely.
7 | Old Prescription Glasses/Contacts
If you don’t wear contacts or glasses, then this step isn’t relevant for you. But if you do, old prescription glasses and contact supplies are things to declutter right now. Of course, you most likely kept them to have on hand in case your current pair of glasses broke or to make sure the prescription was correct. Yet, if your collection is mounting, it’s worthwhile to declutter. Maybe just keep 1 back-up pair of glasses and declutter the rest.
8 | Expired Make-Up
Make-up doesn’t last forever. You can easily declutter expired make-up right now! You can also let go of make-up products that didn’t work for you, gifts you didn’t like, or samples you didn’t use.
9 | Old Nail Polish
Over time, nail polish can become dry and crusty. It might not go on as well. Go through your nail polish collection and declutter and old nail polish. You might even end up realizing that you don’t need that much nail polish. Minimizing your collection to just your favorites or go-to’s will simplify your life.
10 | Old Pet Supplies
Expired pet food, old toys, old bedding, and other pet supplies can be decluttered right now.
11 | Old Paint
Paint cans that are nearly empty, paint cans that were left by a previous tenant, or paint cans that are expired can all be decluttered today. Like electronics and cleaning supplies, paint should be taken to a Hazardous Waste Recycling center.
12 | Old Lawn Care Products
If your lawn requires regular maintenance, take stock of what lawn care supplies you need consistently. Declutter what’s no longer needed as well as what’s expired. Then, keep all the lawn care supplies in one place. You could even make a list of these items and write down when they expire.
13 | Baking Supplies
Depending on how often you bake, you may have forgotten what baking supplies are in your cupboard. Things like vanilla extract, icing, and cake decorating supplies can expire. It’s good to take stock of what baking supplies have expired and toss them.
14 | Spices
Along the same lines, spices expire as well. If you bought a set of spices and have some that were hardly used, they could have expired. Check the expiration dates on your spices and declutter those which are no longer good.
15 | Car
Your car (or cars) is a quick and easy spot to declutter right now. Go through and clean out the glovebox, center console, and trunk of excess stuff.
16 | Purse
An everyday item like a purse is a clutter hotspot. Declutter your purse to streamline your day. If you’re a mom of little ones, don’t forget to clean out your diaper bag!
17 | Old Electronics
Old electronics like phones, tablets, computers, cords, chargers, and other electronic accessories are certainly things to declutter right now. Be sure to dispose of them appropriately. Much like cleaning supplies, these can be taken to a Hazardous Waste Recycling Center. Don’t forget to do a factory reset so your personal information is wiped out!
18 | Sunglasses
Unless you wear prescription sunglasses, then you may have a lot of extra sunglasses lying around your house. You can declutter these right now. Keep your favorite 1 (or 2) pairs and let go of the rest.
19 | Hats
Do you collect hats? If so, create a wall or a space in your home to display them. If not, there’s no need to hoard them as if you were a collector. Keep the favorites and declutter the rest.
READ ALSO: How to Declutter Your Home: An Ultimate Guide
20 | Pens, Pencils, Highlighters
What is it about this category that causes them to multiply so quickly? Pens, pencils, and highlighters can easily take up more space than they need to. Throw out the ones that are broken or dried out.
21 | Manuals
Paper manuals you’ve kept just in case are among the things to declutter right now. Pretty much everything is online. You can quickly find the PDF versions of manuals with a Google search. Let ‘em go.
22 | Fast Food Condiment Packets
This is an easy decluttering task of all the things to declutter right now! Throw out the fast food condiment packets. Go ahead. If you haven’t used them by now you most likely won’t anytime soon.
23 | Remote Controls
If you’ve got quite the assortment of remote controls, go ahead and label the ones that are currently used with the name of the item it’s used for. Then, declutter the old ones.
24 | Souvenirs
If you haven’t displayed them or curated them or used them by now then you won’t ever. Unless you set a date and make it happen. Make that shadowbox. Make that album. If not, declutter it.
READ ALSO: Declutter Sentimental Items by Conquering 5 Common Roadblocks
25 | Random Paper Clutter
Random paper clutter such as junk mail, old magazines, fast food menus, old coupons, and receipts are all things to declutter right now.
26 | Email Inbox
This could take quite a while, but it doesn’t need to. Simply identify the emails you need to delete, search by the name or subject line, then bulk delete. Unsubscribe from emails you no longer wish to receive.
27 | Tax Returns Older than 7 Years
Sure, tax returns seem like something important to hang onto – and we should – but not ones older than 7 years.
28 | Old Luggage
When was the last time you inspected your luggage or spare bags like backpacks and duffle bags? If it’s been a while, you may want to spend 15 minutes decluttering your luggage and bags.
29 | Greeting Cards
I find myself keeping greeting cards simply because it seems cold-hearted to immediately throw them in the trash. However, over time greeting cards accumulate and just become clutter. Go ahead and declutter your greeting cards.
30 | Sheets
Declutter mismatched bed sheets and sheets with stains or holes and you’ll immediately have more space in your linen closet.
31 | Towels
Similar to bed sheets, towels can be forgotten but need to be decluttered. It’s a quick task that shouldn’t take long. Start by getting rid of the towels with rips, tears, holes, or stains. Then, match them up by color and type. If you have too many, pare them down – it helps to reduce the laundry load.
32 | Winter Accessories
Accessories like hats, scarves, gloves, and mittens only take 15 minutes to declutter and are always needed at women’s shelters, homeless shelters, or church donation centers.
READ ALSO: What Else Can I Declutter? 15 Uncommon Things to Declutter
Ready to Tackle the Clutter?
Now that you’ve read this list of 32 things to declutter right now, are you ready to tackle the clutter? Just start with decluttering 1 of these things within a 15-minute time frame. If you have more time and energy, then tackle another one. Before you know it, you’ll have more space in your home.
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