Over on my Instagram page, I have been decluttering all month. In fact, I hosted a whole month challenge. So many people got involved and ended up decluttering almost 500 items from their home in just one month!
The results and benefits people have seen in their own homes was mind blowing, it was pure joy to watch.
Part of the challenge included hints and tips from me, telling you where to head to next to declutter. I started easy and built up to some more of the difficult spaces. That is the trick really when it comes to decluttering. Starting easy.
If you are new to decluttering and feel overwhelmed by the thought of letting go of your belongings and where to even start, read on.
Below are 10 things to declutter today. 10 things that are easy to ease you in to your declutter groove.
- Out of date food
We all have out of date food. I declutter for a living and I can guarantee no matter how much I declutter, I can usually find something out of date in the cupboard. It is like they hide when they see me coming. It is a great non-emotional place to start. Out of date food is of no use to you so set yourself a challenge to remove even just a carrier bag full from your home.
- Empty cosmetics tubes, pots etc
Every Christmas and birthday, out come the cosmetic sets. We may use some of them but a lot may remain un-used and you have no intention of ever using them. Did you know that cosmetics also have a use by date. On the back of the packaging there is a little tub with how long you should keep the item once opened (usually 6M, 12M etc) – this means it is an easy way to release the guilt and remove from your home if they are out of date.
- Broken items
If it has been in your home for over a month broken, let’s face it you aren’t going to fix it. Let it go. It is useless to you broken so why are you keeping it? It isn’t adding any value and if it was something you used regularly before then you would have got it fixed by now. Even worse, if you have already replaced the item, then there really is no reason to keep the broken thing.
- Clothes with holes in/ don’t fit
There is nothing wrong with keeping the odd pair of goal jeans or that really special baby grow that your child came home from the hospital from, however, if it doesn’t fit, ultimately those clothes are of no use to you. Children’s clothes will never fit again especially if they are your youngest child and as for you, even if you do hit your goal of fitting into those jeans (we all know the ones) then realistically will you actually go back to those old clothes or will you want to buy something new to celebrate, that fits the style you now have as your body shape could have completely changed.
- Old notebooks, diaries and planners now out of date
Do you really need 2012’s calendar? Do you need a notebook full of your old food shopping lists with no spare pages? Probably not. They are of no use to you anymore. It is a quick and easy win to create some space in your home.
- Old paperwork no longer needed
You do not need to keep bills, payslips, warranties etc forever. Easy place to start, any utility bills that relate to an old address… they won’t be needed ever again. Your payslips from your part time shop job as a teenager… when is anyone going to ask for a copy of those (unless that is in your recent past of course) and no one needs to know that Specsavers sent you a reminder 2 years ago that it was time for your check-up. If you can’t find a reason why anyone would ever need a copy of it, it can go. Failing that, if you are worried, you can now digitise your records for most things. Think about the space in your home now if all the paper in your home was now on the computer.
- Pens, paint etc no longer working
Dried out paint pots, pens with no more ink, craft sets all used up other than the spare bits at the bottom of the pack. I mean I get it, it is easy to shove back in the drawer and forget they exist but what a waste of space, why add the clutter to your life? I really cannot think of one reason to keep any of those things. Feel free to message me and prove me wrong of course.
- Go through the junk drawer
The dreaded junk drawer hides a lot of sins. All the things you found on the side that you had no other home for, the things you know belong to another thing but not quite sure what that thing is. Keep it safe in the junk drawer and I am sure we will figure it out. Except you don’t. Empty it all out onto the side and categorise. I bet the biggest category will be rubbish and the next biggest will be things that actually belong somewhere else.
- Medicine cabinet
As with food, medicine has an expiry date. With any luck, your medicine and first aid stash isn’t used that often and therefore you will likely never have noticed that the antibacterial wipes expired over 5 years ago. It is a quick and easy win if you need something to declutter with no guilt attached. You wouldn’t want to risk adding a cream or wipe out of date onto a cut and worse still, ingest a tablet or syrup made to make you feel better that potentially could do the opposite.
- Bed sheets no longer in a set
Last but not least is your linen cupboard/ chest. Somehow, it always happens but pillowcases disappear, sheets get ruined and you end up with miss-matched sets that you never use as you prefer to use the sets still intact. Declutter the odd sets and donate for rags, use and painting sheets or recycle. There is no need for them to be making a mess of your linen if you know you will never put them on your bed again.
I hope this has been helped give you some inspiration of where to start your declutter journey.
As I said earlier, the trick is to start small and start in areas of your home that you feel less emotionally attached to.
If you would like some more declutter and organising tips, motivation and support, head on over to my Instagram page or you can download my free guides here.
The Organised Co. 