15 Items to Declutter For a Simple Home & Living Space
Are you tired of old clutter making your home a mess?
Have you been trying to declutter but don’t know which items to target?
If you’re feeling bogged down by excess clutter in your home, it’s time to make a change and learn which items to remove for a simple home and living space!
In this post, we’ll cover 15 items you should declutter to keep your home simple!
Related Posts:
- 5 No-Nonsense Decluttering Tips for Hoarders
- Decluttering and Minimalism: How Decluttering Can Reduce Stress And Improve Your Life
- 6 Simple Ways To Begin Living A Minimalist Lifestyle
15 Items to Declutter For a Simple Home & Living Space
1. Old Cable Remotes
One of the most common items that seems to magically build up in people’s homes is old cable remotes.
Oftentimes you may have switched from Verizon to Comcast to Direct TV and back again…
This has left many old remotes sometimes from the same company!
In my family home, I can count around 4-5 remotes from Comcast and Verizon alone!
Getting rid of this item will reduce the amount of unnecessary clutter occupying your drawers and counter space.
2. Old Cells Phones
With all of the Apple releases each year, many of us have tons of old phones lying around!
Even if you don’t upgrade your phone every year, there’s a good chance you have a few old cell phones cluttering up your living space.
Do yourself a favor and donate it to your kids, or family, or simply trash it!
Note: Sell it if you think it still has value
3. Unused Hangers
This item is a subtle one!
This is something that you think you need but really don’t…
You’re probably thinking you’ll need them for clothes in the future…
This may be true, however, if you have a very large excess of hangers that create more clutter than it should, it may be time to get rid of them!
4. Unused/Old Decorations
Old decor is one of those items that can make complete sense to keep because it’s typically something that will probably be needed down the road…
However, when it comes to old decorations that are unused and simply outdated, it’s time to make a decision!
If you know you haven’t used certain decor items in years, just move on and let them go!
5. Old Curtains
Old curtains are another decor item that can take up space in closets and tend to sit around unused for a while.
Ensure you know which curtains are essential for your home and remove any others.
6. Old Bed Sets
Depending on the number of bedrooms you have, extra bed sets will definitely be needed!
However, if you have old unused bed sets lying around month after month, year after year, then it’s time to consider getting rid of them.
7. Old Unwanted Birthday Cards
Birthday cards are one of those items that are great when it’s your birthday, but after years can really clutter up your home!
Let me be clear, there are special birthday cards with real sentimental value that many of you place on bureaus and important places…
The type of birthday cards to get rid of are the type that you may have had for years and never used as decor around the house.
This can be one of the easiest items to declutter in your home and clear off a lot of counter space.
8. Bills & Other Unnecesary Paper Clutter
In addition to birthday cards, paper clutter like bills and receipts can clutter up your office and surfaces…
Ensure you have a small shredder for your home office.
This will enable you to remove paper clutter with sensitive info in a timely fashion.
Otherwise, make sure to devote time to going through your old documents and paper clutter that has been around for years.
Tip: Set a quick timer for 10 minutes if you’re having trouble getting started. Once your timer is up you can end your decluttering session unless you want to continue.
9. Large Unused Furniture
This is a no-brainer, but can be very hard to get rid of for obvious reasons…
Here are some common ways to remove large furniture:
- Bulk trash
- Giving away to family
- Selling on various online marketplaces like Facebook
The main trouble with large furniture is the fact that they take up so much space and can take more than one person to move out of your house…
Don’t be overwhelmed with large items like this!
Take your time and understand that decluttering these items won’t happen overnight!
10. Old/Unused Notebooks
Along with paper, old notebooks can start to pile up from work, school, kids, etc.
There’s nothing wrong with notebooks if they have a purpose or will be used in the future, however, if your notebooks in question have been used and serve no purpose, just go ahead and trash them.
11. Old School Supplies
These items kinda fall into the same category as notebooks and paper, however, there are tons of other school supplies like binders, pencil cases, and folders that can take up space in your office.
Take some time to go through which supplies you’ll need and get rid of what you don’t.
12. Old/Broken Electronics
This is another common item that gets sidelined in your closet or drawers.
Old electronics pile up like:
- Loose wires
- Old Tv cables
- Outdated chargers
- Old/broken earbuds
These old items need to be identified and thrown away!
There’s definitely a good amount of electronics and wires that can still be used…
Just ensure they aren’t outdated and still work.
13. Excess Cookware & Appliances
As you cook each week and use your kitchen, take note of which appliances you use regularly and the ones that you need.
If you find there are appliances that you don’t use regularly, pause and ask yourself if it’s something that you’ll use down the road…
If not, you may want to consider removing it.
If it’s tough to find the kitchen appliances that you don’t need, consider creating a list and deciding if you really need each item.
Kitchens are interesting because there are tons of items that are needed but sit around unused for months, so be careful and don’t be in a hurry to remove too much from your kitchen.
14. Unneeded Books
Unfortunately, books are another source of household clutter.
Especially if most of your home library has already been read through…
It’s a shame because physical books are so much better than digital but they also take up so much more space.
Consider trying out digital versions of new books that you want and determine which older books in your library aren’t worth keeping.
15. Broken/Unneeded Jewelry
Most of the time jewelry isn’t used, but this is okay because different jewelry works for different occasions…
Identify jewelry that you no longer use or that may be broken…
Even better if there are pieces of jewelry that you find you rarely ever use or need anymore.
There are many different ways to get rid of unneeded jewelry:
- Passing down to family
- Selling
- Trashing if broken
Jewelry can be sentimental in some cases…
When you have jewelry like this, ensure you always keep special pieces that mean the most to you, otherwise declutter any jewelry that’s broken or sitting around collecting dust.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to decluttering old/unused items, it’s important to take your time and do so in separate sessions…
I wouldn’t recommend trying to declutter all of your unneeded books and your large furniture on the same day!
Plan out different days to tackle specific items, and you’ll make much more progress without getting burnt out.
Good Luck!
