41 Easy Things to Declutter Today for a Clutter-Free Home

Do you have too much stuff? Does it feel like all the clutter is closing in on you? Do you need some help figuring out where to start? I got you covered! Here’s my go to list of easy to declutter items. Generally these things are not sentimental or emotional, so they are great items to start with for a fast and easy decluttering session to get your home more manageable right now.

Declutter These Things Today

1. Old magazines

You might think you’re going to reread them or finally cook that gourmet recipe, but if it’s been a year and you’ve never even cracked them open, I think it’s safe to say they’ve become clutter.

2. Books – I get it, books are hard to part with. If you have some favorites, keep them! I have dozens of favorite books. They’re like old friends and I find their presence comforting. I do reread some of them too! When I talk about decluttering books, I’m really talking about the books that are just taking up space, the ones you never ever look at, and they’re starting to make your house smell funny because that’s what old books do eventually….yeah, let go of those books.

I’ve also had a few books that I simply didn’t want to finish. Most of the time I can push through because at some point I become invested enough to finish it. Occasionally, however, there’s one so terrible that I decide life is too short to make myself finish a truly bad book. If, like me, you have had this happen, just let it go. If it wasn’t interesting enough to finish last year, it’s not interesting enough to finish now either.

3. Knick knacks

It might be time to declutter knick knacks collecting dust that don’t have any particular special meaning. My mother-in-law, upon learning that zebras were my favorite animal, started buying them for me for every occasion. She didn’t know what else to buy me so she defaulted to knick knacks. I didn’t dislike them, but I didn’t love them either.

One day while I was dusting a few dozen zebras, I said to myself, “you know what? I’m tired of taking care of these things that I don’t love!” I kept a couple that I did love and drove the rest to a local charity. Guess what, I’ve never regretted it. Nor have I given them a second thought….well, until just now as I told you that story.

4. Old remote controls for electronics that are long gone. And while you’re at it, declutter the old electronics as well! We used to keep our old cable boxes FOREVER. Why? I have no idea. One day, I asked my husband why we had three old cable boxes sitting on the top shelf of a closet. He replied that he honestly didn’t know why he kept them, so we got rid of them! What about that old Boom Box in your spare room? Or the first laptop you every purchased that’s taking up a lot of space in the bottom of your desk drawer? Here is some information about safely and securely disposing of your old computers and other electronics.

5. DVDs you haven’t glanced at in years. Today is the day my friend! Pretend like you’re Elsa and start singing, “LET IT GO!!!!! LET IT GO!!!!!”, at the top of your lungs and put those DVDs into the Donate Box!

6. Pillows – Do you maybe have a few too many pillows on your couch? If a small child could get lost in the pillows on your couch, you might have too many throw pillows. That’s how I gauge it anyway.

7. Pet toys that your pets are no longer interested in or are mostly destroyed.

8. Junky little toys the kids don’t care about and no one will miss. March those little toys straight to the Donate Box and never give them another thought. Larger toys are fair game for decluttering as well, but definitely go for the easy things to get rid of first.

9. Dusty wreaths, silk flower arrangements, plastic fruit or fake plants that have seen better days. Chances are these items have actually just melded into the background and you don’t even notice them anymore. We often become blind to our own clutter simply because we’re so used to it being there.

10. Pots and pans you don’t use. Do you have those two weird pots that came with the set you bought? You’re not going to magically just start using them if you haven’t used them yet. It’s okay to break up the set and declutter those bad boys!

11. Duplicate baking dishes – How many things can you actually bake at once?

12. Cooking utensils – Do you have 6 spatulas? Hmmmm, can you survive with only 3? Excuse me for a second while I go put a couple of spatulas into the Donate Box.

13. Unused serving pieces – I’m sure they are gorgeous…. but if you never use them, they never get seen anyway.

14. Small appliances that never see the light of day. I know you spent good money on them and they were going to change your cooking life. But now that reality has settled in and you know you’re not going to use them, go ahead and let them go.

15. Expired food and food you’re never going to eat. I know it’s weird throwing away food, but if it’s been in your pantry for 5 years and you haven’t gotten to it, it’s safe to say you’re probably never going to get to it. It’s far better to start fresh in your pantry and keep your inventory more manageable.

16. Bottles of lotions and toiletries that you’re trying to use up that last little drop, but you never actually do because you don’t have time to smash it against your hand for 5 minutes, hoping for a tiny streak of lotion. I give you permission to throw it away.

17. Weird cleaning supplies that just didn’t live up to their promises. Oh how I’ve fallen for this….so many times…..an embarrassing number of times. Even the ones that had excellent reviews didn’t make my shower clean with no effort. Rude! They all take some effort, that’s the reality folks; if something is dirty it will take work to clean it. You might as well stick to the tried and true cleaners that you know work. Bonus points if they’re not full of chemicals that burn your lungs as you’re using them!

18. Trial sizes of shampoos and conditioners that you don’t use, don’t care about using, or haven’t used up within a reasonable amount of time.

19. Old towels. I know you want to save them and use them for rags, and by all means, if you NEED rags then do that. But if you already have a stuffed rag bag, consider that it might be time to move on to newer fresher towels and get rid of the old ones.

20. Sheets – Now this is a tough one…or is it. Does anyone in your house even still have a twin bed? If not….you know what I’m about to say, don’t you? Get rid of the sets that don’t fit any beds in your house. Also, if you have 5 sets of sheets for your one king-sized bed, ask yourself why? Did you not like a couple of sets so you got new ones? If so, get rid of the ones you don’t like. Then there are the 7 sets for the two full-sized beds. Perhaps, one spare set for each bed is enough?

21. That stack of papers on the corner of your desk that’s growing into your very own leaning tower of Pisa…I’ve got news for you, most of it is probably trash by now. Look through it and let me know!

22. Any clothing that has stains or holes or is missing buttons (I heard that! Are you actually going to sew buttons back on?) If you haven’t reattached the button on it yet, you’re probably not going to in the future. I’m not trying to tell you what to do here, but I often see people getting their Fantasy Self confused with their Real Self. Let go of Fantasy You. That You is putting a lot of pressure on Real You!

23. Underwear that you wouldn’t be caught dead in. You know the ones: the stretched out ,faded, possibly ripped ones, that resemble underwear but are actually no longer able to function in their original role. Say good-bye to those and be glad their gone!

24. Whatever is in or on your nightstand that has accumulated and somehow become one with your nightstand. You probably don’t even notice it anymore. Well, it’s time to take notice! If it has a thick layer of dust on it, it’s not something you use.

25. Old rugs and kitchen mats. If they’re ugly, or a tripping hazard, let them go. Maybe you just realized how much small scatter rugs contribute to visual clutter while doing nothing productive. I do have a bathmat at each tub/shower and a bathmat in front of our sinks so that we have something to drip on after showers, but that’s it for small rugs.

26. Single lonely socks. If you enjoy mismatched socks, by all means, keep them and go crazy! But if you have to search for 5 minutes for one matched pair, it’s probably time to toss those unpaired socks. Socks with holes obviously need to be shown to the door as well.

27. Mugs-You know you have way too many mugs. I declutter mine regularly and I still have too many mugs!

28. Holiday decorations – What do ya say, are you ready to get rid of that Styrofoam pumpkin that has huge chunks missing from it or the Christmas decorations that just don’t make the cut year after year. You don’t want to display them but for some reason, you don’t get rid of them? I say, the time has come! You don’t like them enough to put them out and you only actually think about them when you unearth them every holiday. Begone ugly decorations!

29. Cookbooks – Look, I’m right there with you on this one. I have too many cookbooks and I’ve made about 5 recipes from each one, but for some reason these are difficult to part with. My Fantasy Self wants to cook all the things! But my very Real Self makes the same 20 recipes.

30. Food Storage Containers – Get rid of the ones with missing lids at least. Try to only keep enough for a few meal preps or leftovers. Declutter the excess that makes it difficult to get to the ones you actually use.

31. Games you no longer play. It’s true, we evolve and our interests change. We find and enjoy new games and some just go by the wayside. Maybe a friend’s family would enjoy the ones you and your family have outgrown?

32. Refrigerator magnets and whatever they’re holding up (most likely a Christmas photo of your best friend’s 9-year-old kid who graduated from college three years ago).

33. Makeup in colors that just didn’t work for you. They will not become colors you like just by keeping them. It’s unfortunate it didn’t work for you, but it’s okay to pitch it if you’re never going to wear it.

34. Nail polish that’s old and no longer usable.

35. Craft supplies that you purchased, full of hope that you would create that totally awesome macrame plant hanger, but then you got home, got busy with life. There that stuff still sits in the corner…..mocking you…..reminding you that you never finished it……or possibly never even started it. You don’t have to take that from your craft supplies! Give them away or if they’re really sassing you, just throw them out!

36. Home decor you switched out a while ago. You know you’re never going to use it again. Even if it comes back in style, you’re over it.

37. Screwdrivers…..because you somehow have 23 of them. You only need a few, really, I promise. If you have a party and invite 15 of your friends over to screw in screws all at the same time, and you still have screwdrivers leftover, you might have too many.

38. Costume jewelry you no longer wear. I admit this was a tough one for me but after looking at the same pieces over and over for YEARS, I finally realized I just didn’t like them or they didn’t go with any of my clothes.

39. Vases that came with flowers that you were given. How many of these do you actually need? Are you ever going to need 5 at once, if not fill one or two with flowers and give them to your best friends.

40. Coloring books -Did you buy grown-up coloring books thinking that you would spend many happy hours relaxing and coloring gorgeous pictures with all those beautiful colored pencils? And then did you decide after three pages that it just wasn’t your jam? Go ahead and give them to someone who actually does enjoy coloring.

41. Exercise equipment – Use what you like and declutter the rest. Keeping these things around won’t make you use them or enjoy them. Pare down to the things you use and like and get the rest out of your workout space.

Hopefully this list helps you! I made it to try to give you some easy options if you don’t know where to start decluttering, or need some inspiration for your next decluttering session. If any of these areas are difficult for you or you find yourself getting hung up, just move on to a different area. Honestly, if you stick to decluttering the easier things first, you’ll build up your decluttering skills for the harder projects later, and you’ll still get rid of a ton of stuff!