Welcome to the Declutter Your Home checklist where we toss, donate, or repurpose the things that are not serving our home and focus on the things that will best serve us in the days, months, and years to come! We are going to look at the decluttering process objectively and truly declutter our homes!
Decluttering your home can feel like a daunting task, especially when you’re surrounded by random things and cluttered spaces. But don’t worry—this guide is packed with easy steps to help you tackle your entire home and reclaim your peace of mind. With a decluttering process that’s simple and actionable, you’ll have a clutter-free home before you know it!
Are you a thrower or a keeper? Personally, I’m a thrower—but even I fall into the habit of keeping sentimental items or physical items that don’t truly serve my home. This declutter your home checklist is here to help us all. It’s time to toss, donate, or repurpose the unwanted items cluttering our lives and focus on creating a clutter-free space that works for us today and in the future.
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Why Do We Keep Clutter?
Sometimes, it’s hard to let go. You might think, “This is still valuable,” or “I’ll fix it someday.” Sound familiar? The good news is that once we identify these excuses, we can move past them and make space for what really matters. Let’s ask ourselves: Are these personal items truly adding value, or are they just taking up storage space and mental health bandwidth?
I keep things because of an abundance of excuses. Here are a few of the excuses that pop up frequently: it’s too valuable, I’ll fix it someday, or the famous, we’ll use it someday. Yet are those things that pile up in our home of actual value, or is it just adding to the clutter and brain space that could be used by more important things?
What is a Decluttering Checklist?
A decluttering checklist is your roadmap to a clean home. Unlike a professional organizer’s comprehensive decluttering checklist, ours keeps it simple with three categories:
The checklist will be divided into three sections
- Things to Throw Away Today: Goodbye, trash bag!
- Items to Donate: Give to charity shops or a local animal shelter.
- Stuff to Find a Proper Place: Everything you keep needs a proper place.
This isn’t about tackling giant projects. Instead, we’re breaking it down into manageable tasks that help you tackle even a junk drawer or medicine cabinet.
Unwanted items go in the first two sections. The last section is for things that you want to keep but don’t necessarily have a spot.
Where do I Start with Decluttering my House?
Remember, the best way to start decluttering is to, well, start. Grab a trash bag and pick a spot—any spot!
As with many other things in life, you need to know where you want to end up before you can know the process. That is the first thing to do if you want less stress and less clutter! Figure out where you want your home to be once you are done. Even if you have a lot of stuff or you live in a small home, the process is the same. Where do you want to end!?
The first step is knowing your goal. Do you want less stress? More storage space? A new home for similar items? Identify your endgame and write it down—it’ll keep you motivated. Is there a specific room or area that is causing you angst? Where is ‘too much stuff’? What is your end goal?
Write those things down, or at least identify them in your head. They are going to become crucial as we move on.
To start you must know what you desire as a result. The hard work starts with knowing where you want to end.
The Home Edit is another great resource in book format for decluttering your home.
Checklist of Places and Spaces to Declutter
Creating a declutter-your-home checklist does not need to be hard! It will be a hard time if you make it into one, but before you get going clear your head (praying is also a great way to start this process) and make the decision to be decisive!
You can use this free checklist to start, but remember, this is only the beginning. There are a lot of other things that can get decluttered. Usually, one space will lead to the next as you put away things that are useful and find another area that needs attention.
Important: As you are decluttering it is essential that you FREEZE your buying! Freeze it until you get a good handle on what you are getting rid of and what you need in order to organize your home more efficiently.
Here are some places you might want to start with your decluttering tasks. This list is a great place to start. With just a little bit of time and effort you will see a great reward for throwing these things away!
- Makeup drawers
- Kitchen Cabinets
- Living Room: Clear off the coffee table and organize remote controls
- Laundry Room
- Home Office: Shred old receipts and file important documents
- Kids closets
- Toy bins
- Old drawers
- Bathroom Drawers
- Bathroom closet
- Medicine cabinet
- Cooking utensils that you don’t use
- Expired pantry items
- Expired refrigerator items
- Winter clothes
- Kids clothes
- Broken dishes
- Electronic chords and accessories
- Anything that you have 2-3 of
- Sentimental items that don’t have a place
- Storage containers: Reevaluate seasonal items and toss anything that’s beyond repair.
What is the Fastest Way to Declutter and Clean a House?
I hope you don’t hate me for saying this, but the fastest way to declutter your house is to start! I know it can seem overwhelming if you have many closets and areas that need it, but we will break down all the problem areas into manageable chunks. All you need to do is start! Grab that trash bag and start today!
One reason that many people start to declutter is that they are considering a move. If that is you, make sure that you head over to the Ultimate Moving Kit where there are ample resources for managing the most organized move you have ever had! You can use the Declutter Your Home checklist to start the process of moving.
Declutter the Space Steps
Whenever you are decluttering a space, here are the steps that you are going to want to take to ensure that you get through that section in a reasonable amount of time. Many times people declutter their homes after the holidays. The beginning of a new year is a perfect time to start or refocus your goals, but you can use this free checklist any time of the year!
Throw Away Trash
- Say goodbye to broken items, old towels, and paper clutter.
- Ask yourself: “Does this add value to my life?”
Set a Timer
- Don’t let one junk drawer take too much time. A timer keeps you focused and efficient.
Create Separate Piles
- Label your piles: “Trash,” “Donate,” and “Keep.” Use a printable declutter checklist to stay organized.
Enlist Help
- Get your family members involved! Kids can learn valuable lessons about decluttering.
Throw Things Away
Throwing things away can be hard for some people. It can feel like you are not being a good steward of what you have been given. Although I am not an advocate for throwing away everything, there is a mind shift change that might need to take place. A good starting point is with the trash list that you will find below.
Are you being a poor steward of your emotions, frustrations, and mental health by keeping the item? Or would you be a better steward to keep the item? Or maybe it’s time to simply throw it away!
You are the only one that can decide between those two questions.
Here’s a quick to-do list to get you started:
- Unmatched socks
- Paper towels
- Empty boxes
- Broken dishes
- Worn rugs and placemats
- Junk mail and old magazines
These small wins will give you a sense of accomplishment and momentum to tackle bigger areas.
Time yourself
It can sometimes be helpful to set a timer for a specific section of your house, so you don’t spend your entire day on one tiny little drawer. Give yourself a set amount of time and attempt to finish it in that allotted amount of time. If you are like me there is never enough time in my day, so setting a timer, does help people like us allow for more margins of our days!
Donate Items
Donating items just take a trip to your local thrift store! If you have items that your children or you are done with and they are still of excellent quality, make sure to bag or box them up for someone else. One easy trick for organizing your piles is to use labels!
In the download for Declutter your Home Checklist, you will get this printable PDF. You can print it out, cut around the labels, and then use them to identify your piles! Just make sure that once you fill the trunk of your car you actually remember to take the items in!
Enlist Help
Get your kids and spouse involved! They live there too, and they need to learn for their future how to declutter and their own homes.
Included in the “Declutter your Home Checklist” will be a PDF that has labels you can print and place on the things you decide belong in those three categories. Let these freebies be a game-changer in your home! Get the entire family involved!
Things to Throw Away TODAY
As you work through your declutter your-home checklist, there will be opportunities to throw things away. Here are some of the easy things that you can declutter fast as you start your decluttering journey. This is a small step you can take TODAY for quick decluttering! I have found over the years that tossing these things leads immediately to less stress!
Think of this as a to-do list. I love checking things off my to-do list and this list is a great place to start. With just a little bit of time and effort, you will see a great reward for throwing these things away!
- Old makeup
- Unmatched socks
- Old magazines
- Old calendars
- Takeout menus
- Junk mail
- Old towels
- Falling apart rags
- Old perfume
- Old nail polish
- Toys that are broken
- Broken dishes
- Scratched DVDs and CDs (or just toss them all if you are like me)
- Expired medications
- Worn purses you never use
- Old shopping bags
- Fridge magnets that you don’t use
- Worn rugs
- Placemats
- Paper plates you are not using (or will use ever)
Now What? How do you keep your home Decluttered?
Using a declutter-your-home checklist is just the beginning. How you must maintain it! Here are two tips for continuing the decluttering magic!
- Continue to declutter at regular intervals
- Declutter as you go! Do you have a few minutes each night? Do a 10-minute declutter where you tackle one small area. 10 minutes add up quickly!
You will be amazed at how fast your home becomes decluttered! Just keep taking it step-by-step and little bit by little bit, and you will do amazing!
The FREE Declutter your Home Checklist PDF
Welcome to the free printable declutter checklist! This will be a valuable resource as you navigate organizing and decluttering your home.
Each page below is a part of the FREE download bundle, however, there is an email sign-up form that will allow you to access our entire homemaking vault with lots of other resources for your home, faith, and family. You will need your email address to get into the vault.
Other Decluttering Resources
The name Marie Kondo probably is familiar to you, she became very popular a few years ago and still to this day is a best seller, but the Life Changing Way of Tidying, may just be her most popular!
If you love listening to podcasts, I highly recommend the hilarious podcast called Homemaker Chic Podcast! Toward the end of 2023, they went through The Complete Book of Home Organization by Toni Hammersley. It is a great book to go through if you need things broken down room by room! It’s a short read so it won’t take much time to read through!
3 Tips for a Summer “Slow Life”
Our Summer Morning Basket ideas
A Simple Hello Bible Box Review After Two Years
The 10 Best Homemaking Podcasts
Don’t forget to Pin for Later!
