Decluttering Checklist: 75 Things to Purge From Your Home
We’ve all got clutter. And, if you’re moving like me it can be especially frustrating to deal with! So, l’m sharing my decluttering checklist of what you can purge from your house before a move. Not moving? No problem – I bet you’ll still be glad to get rid of these things!
We have less than three weeks until our big move (!!) and I am deep in decluttering mode. I set a challenge for myself to try to purge at least 50 things from our house each week leading up to the move, and it’s made a huge difference. The fewer things you have to actually move to a new house, the easier your life will be, you know?!
So, let’s talk about the things that almost everyone can get rid of, whether it’s time to move or not. It’s stuff we all probably have laying around that we just plain do not need. Some of them are really obvious and some are things you might not think of. But, I think almost all of them are things we often forget to purge. They’re the things that are forgotten for years in the back of our cabinet, and the things that move from house to house with us because we were too lazy to get rid of them.
NO MORE! Let’s tackle the chaos and get the house purged, shall we?!
Decluttering Checklist: 75 Things to Purge From Your Home
If you want to go room-by-room, just check out the table of contents below to jump to a specific space in the house!
Kitchen
Let’s kick things off in the kitchen, which is one of the easiest spots for me to declutter. I find that over time we just tend to accumulate a lot of chaos in there! There isn’t much I love more than a good deep clean in the kitchen, so this is easily one of the most satisfying spaces to declutter.
- Expired food and spices from the pantry and refrigerator
- All those sauce packets you’ve been collecting.
- Old / torn dish towels
- Appliances you no longer use
- Food storage containers without lids
- Expired coupons from the junk drawer
- Mugs that you never touch (we all know you have like 3 favorites)
- Duplicate bottle openers (we all seem to have more than we need, don’t we?)
- Magnets you don’t actively use and love
- Those nasty old kitchen gloves (get some fresh ones!)
- One-job tools you don’t use (garlic presses, avocado slicers, etc)
- Mismatched utensils
- Pots and pans you aren’t actively and regularly using
- Extra water bottles (you really don’t need 100 of them)
- Chipped or cracked plates and bowls
- Takeout menus you never reference (it’s all online now!)
- Extra coffee scoops and measuring spoons
- Old cookbooks you never use
- Duplicate kitchen gadgets (do you really need three whisks?)
- Excess grocery bags stuffed under the sink
- Reusable shopping bags you never remember to take (raising my hand here)
- Old placemats or tablecloths that don’t match your style
- Freezer-burned food you’ll never eat
Bedrooms
Next up, your bedrooms! Some of the things on the list below might not actually be stored in your bedroom – everyone is a little different. But, as you go through the decluttering process you’ll likely come across most of the things on this list, wherever they happen to be stored.
- Old sheets
- Clothes that don’t fit (or that you don’t wear)
- Aaaaall those mismatched socks. Just throw them in the trash. It’ll feel amazing, promise.
- All of those underwear with holes or that you hate. YOU KNOW YOU HAVE SOME.
- Old blankets shoved in the back of the closet.
- Broken or mismatched hangers
- Shoes that hurt your feet (if they’re painful, you won’t wear them)
- Old or broken belts
- Formal wear you haven’t worn in years
- Random buttons you’ve been hoarding “just in case”
- That pile of gift bags from past birthdays you’ll never reuse
- Old journals or planners from years ago
- Old wallets or purses collecting dust
Bathrooms
From toiletries to hygiene products to old towels, there is always a lot to declutter in the bathroom. I find that my vanity quickly gets to be one of the most chaotic spots in our entire house!
- Jewelry and accessories you never wear (make like Elsa and let it gooooo)
- Towels and other linens with holes or stains
- Toiletries that you thought you’d use but you hate (we’ve all got them)
- Expired medications
- Dried up (or ugly!) nail polish
- Cleaning supplies that you don’t use
- Old, stained washcloths
- Brushes and combs that are broken/unused
- Old loofahs or shower poufs (you should replace these regularly!)
- Expired sunscreen and skincare products
- Sample-sized hotel toiletries you never use
- Half-used chapsticks you don’t like
- Those free makeup bags from gift-with-purchase promos. All of them.
- Stretched-out or broken hair ties
Living Room
Your main living space is like the hub of your home and, because of that, it can definitely gather some clutter over time. Here are a few things you might have tucked into corners and drawers that you might want to let go of.
- Toys that are broken or don’t get played with
- Decor that you don’t absolutely love (this applies to every room!)
- Any outdated technology and old electronics. Do you still have a collection of CDs or DVDs? Do you use them at least weekly? I’m side-eying you if not.
- Throw pillows that are flat, have holes or stains, or that you don’t like.
- Books you don’t plan to re-read
- Plants you don’t want to take care of anymore.
- Those remote controls that you don’t even know what they go to (I can’t be the only one with these?!)
- Candle jars with barely any wax left
Closets, etc.
- Dried out pens and markers
- Appliance and electronic manuals. You don’t need them, I swear.
- Old magazines (unless you actually use them for crafts, not just say you will)
- Puzzles with missing pieces
- All the paper clutter – old bills, old newspapers, etc. (see my tips organizing papers here)
- Chargers and cables that you don’t know what they belong to
- All of the paper clips, scraps of paper, and junk in the bottom of your desk drawers
- Seasonal items you haven’t pulled out in more than a year.
- That stash of drawer organizers, baskets, and bins that you swore you’d use but are just piled up on shelves.
- That old broken laundry hamper
- The board games your kids haven’t played in more than 6 months
- Unused keychains cluttering up drawers
- Those freebies you got at conferences or events and never used
- Business cards you collected but never referenced again
Garage / Backyard
- Those old broken planters you side-eye every time you walk past them.
- Unused exercise equipment (if you haven’t used that treadmill in the last 5 years, you won’t use it now)
- Any gardening tools, soil, or fertilizers that you don’t regularly use.
Printable Decluttering Checklist
If you want a printable version of the checklist, here’s a simple one that you can tape up to the fridge to keep you on track! Just click here to download the free printable decluttering checklist!
What To Do With What You’ve Decluttered
So, you’ve gone through the decluttering checklist and found everything that you need to purge. What next?!
I like to create piles of things as I work. If something is clean and in good condition, I set it aside for donation. We donate to various local places, but Goodwill is always an option if you aren’t sure where to start. Some things may make a great gift for someone you know (especially toys or clothes in good condition), and some can be sold on Facebook marketplace.
As you go through your fridge and pantry items, you might find things that haven’t hit their expiration dates but you just know your family won’t eat them. Gather those food items up and take them to a local food pantry or shelter!
Anything that can’t be donated or sold can generally just be tossed into trash or recycling. But, be sure to do your research about how to dispose of chemicals and things from your medicine cabinet that can’t just be thrown away.
Such a great list! I could get rid of at least 25 candles alone. I am hanging on to a few that I love, though. With a candle warmer, it doesn’t matter how little wax is left, it can be used a bit longer.