Clutter takes up space in your home, making it look and feel smaller. It can also be stressful, so if you want to live a simpler, more minimal life, consider donating or selling these 19 unnecessary items.
Excess Kitchen Gadgets
Duplicate utensils and appliances occupy your kitchen cupboards and drawers, so consider donating them unless you regularly use them when cooking. Broken gadgets, like rarely used blenders, can be taken to a local recycling center.
Bathroom Linens and Products
Over time, your bathroom cabinet can become cluttered with rarely used or expired products. Take the products, towels, and linens you don’t use and put them into different piles, one to donate and one to toss. This will leave you with neatly stored essentials that the Spruce notes will look more attractive and be easier to use.
Paper Office Supplies
In the modern office environment, physical documents and paperwork are less needed, so shredding or recycling older, unused piles of paper will free up space on your desk and in your drawers. Important files can also be scanned and stored on your computer.
Book Collection
Having an impressive book collection behind you is a popular look when making a Teams or Zoom call. However, if your collection is getting out of hand, you can donate books you won’t read again and streamline your collection to your favorites.
Sentimental Items
Sentimental items can be emotional reminders of cherished people and times in your life, but they often accumulate over time and get out of hand. Focus on items with the most significant emotional value and keep them in a small, designated space.
Reduce Kitchenware
Extra dishes, cups, and silverware that are rarely used and taking up space in your cupboards and drawers can be donated or sold. This will free up more space for the kitchenware you regularly use.
Digital Clutter
Digital clutter, such as endless promotional emails and rarely used apps sending regular notifications, can make using your smartphone or laptop stressful. Unsubscribe from promotional emails and newsletters and gradually delete them to streamline your email and make it easier to find important messages.
Simplify Your Décor
Livspace argues, “The litmus test for determining if a space is over-decorated is if you walk in and feel overwhelmed.” If your living room or bedrooms feel cluttered, remove excessive non-functional items to reveal more floor and shelf space.
Clear Out Your Garage
Garages, like attics, often become dumping grounds for old tools, toys, and sports equipment. Take the time to separate items in your garage into “keep,” “donate,” and “toss out” piles, and gradually work through them.
Excess Hobby Supplies
Some hobbies require more supplies than others, which can build up over time as your interest deepens. Donating or selling old items from past and current hobbies and storing supplies you regularly use in a designated space will declutter your home.
Newspapers and Magazines
Reading paper newspapers and magazines offers a tactile experience that your laptop and phone can’t provide. However, they can quickly pile up in your living room as you set them aside to be read later before forgetting about them. Switch to digital subscriptions for the papers you read less often to cut down on excess waste paper.
Declutter Your Wardrobe
Good Housekeeping explains that organizing your wardrobe “will undoubtedly involve a clear out of clothes that no longer fit or you no longer love.” Selling these clothes can be a good way of decluttering while making money.
Rarely Used Pantry Items
Pantries often become cluttered with unopened cans, jars, and packs of pasta. Go through your pantry and discard any expired food items. Those that are in date but unlikely to be used can be donated to a food bank.
Tech Gadgets
Outdated and unused electronics like phones, PCs, speakers, and printers often accumulate over time and clutter attics, basements, and garages. Keep your essential and regularly used devices, and sell or donate the rest. Cords and accessories can be organized in a drawer to make them more accessible.
Children’s Toys
Parents often accumulate a large number of toys as their kids grow up. When they’re older, most of their toys that don’t have a strong sentimental value can be donated or given to families with young children.
Craft Supplies
Rarely used craft supplies often collect dust on a desk or at the bottom of a drawer. Streamline your collection by donating supplies you don’t regularly use and organizing the remainder in designated areas.
Seasonal Items
Seasonal Easter, Halloween, and Christmas items are stored away for most of the year before coming out for a short period. Cut down on the decorations you don’t use, limiting them to those with significant sentimental value.
Pet Supplies
Pets usually have a small handful of favorite toys they play with regularly. They often rarely use most of the toys their owners buy for them, so excess toys can be donated to other pet owners. Pure Earth Pets also notes that they can be donated to homeless shelters, as “many homeless people have beloved pets who also need support, and this option is often forgotten or unrealized by most.”
Travel Gear
Luggage can be bulky and take up large amounts of space in your attic, basement, or storage areas. Cutting down on rarely used luggage and travel accessories will free up space and make accessing your go-to travel gear easier.
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