Declutter Like a Pro: 15 Things to Toss From Your Home Right Now

Decluttering is not for the faint-hearted, especially if you’re a sensitive person, but once you get the ball rolling and work your decluttering muscle, decluttering and tidying up your home gets easier and easier.

The best way to build up your decluttering muscle is to start with the low-hanging fruit that doesn’t require much decision-making; getting rid of the obvious garbage and things you don’t need and don’t love will provide the same dopamine hit as the bigger and more emotional decluttering projects in your home.

The following items are quick and easy to declutter, they won’t take much thought or decision-making and will give you back valuable space in your home in fifteen minutes or less. Here are 15 things you can declutter right now:

Mismatched Tupperware and takeout containers are some of the lowest barriers to entry when you want to get the ball rolling and start decluttering. 

Get rid of anything that you can’t match, anything that is stained beyond help, and any cheap takeout containers you know you won’t use.

Clothing can be tricky when decluttering — but clothing that has holes, stains, or damage beyond repair is objectively ready to leave your closet. You can also move onto clothing that doesn’t fit or isn’t your style anymore, or you can leave it for later in your decluttering journey if you think it’ll slow you down.

Receipts and other paper garbage can easily accumulate in your handbag, wallet, or backpack. Go through your bags and quickly toss old receipts you know you don’t need (which is probably all of them) as well as tissues, old bus tickets, and any other obvious paper garbage.

Why do restaurants feel the need to send a paper menu with every delivery? If we’ve already placed an order, chances are pretty good that we already have a menu kicking around somewhere, right? Go through your kitchen and junk drawers, round up all the takeout menus you know you don’t need, and place them in the recycling immediately.

Most people are guilty of holding onto product manuals in the unlikely event that they’ll need to repair or troubleshoot their household items and gear. But did you know that most product manuals are easy to pull up from a quick Google search? Better yet — there’s probably a better explainer for how to solve your issue on YouTube.

Go through your medicine cabinet and cosmetics drawers and scan for anything that you either haven’t used in six months or is expired. Expired cosmetics and medicine aren’t necessarily dangerous but it’s better not to chance it. If you’ve noticed something you use regularly has expired, you might want to toss it and purchase a new one.

Towels with holes or bleach stains can go immediately — likewise for bed linens with holes, stains, or obvious signs of use. You can toss these into the trash or check to see if your local animal shelter accepts unwanted linens for bed liners.

Reusable grocery bags are well-intended but unfortunately, most of us have a collection of dozens that we’ll never use. Release the guilt of throwing out something that’s supposed to be environmentally friendly and instead try to commit to keeping a few bags in the car at all times so you don’t have to bring any new ones home.

The number of expired condiments and spices in your kitchen will likely surprise you. Open up your fridge and look at what’s sitting in the door shelving area. What condiments do you use regularly — and which ones do you shuffle past to get to the ones you actually use? Consider tossing anything you haven’t used in the past few months and then check the expiration dates of anything else that remains. The freed-up real estate will make it easier to get to the items you actually use and you won’t accidentally pull something out that expired years ago. Then, take inventory of the spices in your cabinets and toss anything that is past its prime.

We’ve all been guilty of holding onto old iPhones, tablets, and other gear that seems like it should have some inherent value. Unfortunately, most old tech has been rendered useless and likely won’t even turn on anymore. Apple has a recycling program for old products to ensure your tech gets recycled safely and it might get you a couple of hundred dollars off your next purchase depending on the age and state of your old gear.

Holding onto novelty kitchen tools just in case you might need them one day is the easiest way to ensure your kitchen stays cluttered and chaotic forever. Do you really need that waffle maker or microwavable egg-making tool? If you haven’t used it in the past few months then the answer is probably no. Clearing out these items will result in valuable shelving space in your kitchen that’ll make accessing the things you do use, not to mention cleaning up, so much easier.

We’re not saying you need to donate every book in your library or recycle all your magazines — but it’s worth scanning your books and magazines to see the titles that don’t speak to you or that you know you won’t read again. A curated bookshelf filled with books you love and books on your immediate to-read list will give you much more joy than a collection of random titles that don’t mean anything to you.

A great decluttering ethos is that you shouldn’t let your possessions bully you — and if you’re holding onto unused fitness gear and equipment only to feel guilty about not using it, it’s time to let it go. That also goes for ratty yoga mats, old running shoes, and any other gear that is past its prime and not functional anymore.

How do we end up with dozens of cords we have no idea what to do with? Mystery cords are tempting to hold onto in case we one day figure out what they’re for and realize that we need them — but chances are, you’ll never end up using those cords. If you do toss one out by accident, it should be pretty easy and cheap to buy a replacement. It’s certainly not worth holding onto a bag of cords for a what-if.

Take a look at your home office or junk drawer and pull out all the pens, pencils, highlighters, and other writing utensils and supplies. If anything is dried up or out of juice, toss it directly into the trash.

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