This list of the 10 items to declutter right now in 2022, is something I am actually currently working on at my house. Remember, any time you are decluttering, you need to make sure you are getting rid of things responsibly. It is always better for it go to a new home than the dump, if possible. Ok, here we go!
1- Any Clothing That is Not Being Used
This is a big one for me, because I tend to have an attachment to clothing. I have the hardest time getting rid of clothes. Especially clothes I legitimately like, but I’m not using. Sometimes our lifestyles are not meant for certain clothes. If you are a stay a home mom who rarely dresses up, then items like dressy outfits will not suit you. I often have these things unused in my closet. Having a few for that rare occasion is great, but your wardrobe should reflect your lifestyle.
I find it so helpful to think about the tasks that I do on a regular basis. Then, to have the appropriate amount of clothing for each of those tasks. You should have the most clothes in the category that you do the most often, and so on. I stay home a lot with my kids, and need a lot of casual clothes. So for me, comfortable clothes is the largest category, and has the greatest number of clothes in it. I go out to dinner very rarely. So I have a few date night outfits. I also have a few church outfits. Our church is very casual, so I can wear a lot of my casual clothes there as well. I rarely work out, but want to have at least 1 work out outfit for the rare occasion I decide to.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Getting rid of clothes that are unused is usually the easiest first step to decluttering a wardrobe. When you do get rid of them pay attention to why. Are they too tight? Are they too itchy? Do the clothes have patterns that you are bored of? Are you getting rid of a certain color of clothing that you don’t like on yourself? How long has it been since you have worn them? Is this item from a time in my life that no longer fits my current lifestyle? These are all questions that you can ask yourself as you are going through items.
2-Books That are Not Being Read
I never really thought about decluttering books until I heard that you never really read a book twice. Which is definitely something true for me. I never read books again for the most part. There are a rare few that I do read again, so they remain in my collection. The rest of the books I donate or giveaway to friends, and family. If you think about it, if you have a great book you read then giving it to a friend is so much better than letting it sit on your shelf collecting dust. Why not allow more people to share in your love for that book.
Also, there are other options later on to keep from re-accumulating books, such as borrowing from the library. There is also audible for listening to books, and ebooks on a device such as a kindle. This keeps the physical books from sitting on your shelves.
I personally really enjoy audible, and having the physical books. But this all comes down to preference. You really have to decide how you want to handle books in your home. For instance, kids books we do keep more of, because they are reading them over and over again.
Also, one of the places you can donate books is also the local library, or the free libraries that people put up in their yards or neighborhoods. We have several of those here. You can donate to those, and take free books as well. They are a great neighborhood resource.
3-Extra Coffee Cups
Coffee cups seem to be a popular year-round gift people give. We have received so many coffee cups over the years. It is kind of crazy how many we accumulate. So a couple years ago now we donated all of the coffee cups were were not using. Including the ones that are specific for one holiday. This is unnecessary especially when we have little storage in our home to keep them. Every area in our home has to serve a valuable purpose or we have to declutter it.
We keep one coffee cup for the kids for hot chocolate or tea. Then we have 2 cups for each of us, and then we have about 4 extra for guests that stay with us. This is the perfect amount. We had a full house this previous Christmas, and did not need any extra.
Having less cups helps you not constantly dirty them, and wash them. You can only use one at a time. So if you have to wash that one cup before you can use another one, it keeps the dish pile down. This seems so counterintuitive, but it works super well.
4-Jewelry You No Longer Wear
I periodically do this, just to make sure all of the jewelry I own is being used. The pieces I own now are special, and mean a lot. They were given to me by family members, and are made of real gold or silver. I find that if I have just few pieces that is enough. The more choices you have the more overwhelmed you become. I find it actually super valuable to just own a few everyday pieces. I often wear the same ones daily. There are no decisions to make about it, and I can grab and go.
5-Excess Towels/Old Sheets
We continue to declutter old sheets and towels as time goes on. We constantly are gifted sheets, we wear out towels, or the kids want to change their bedding. The amount of towels that we have family members is the amount we use, with 2 extra for company. This amount has actually been excellent. Then we also keep 1 beach towel per person. Often people will have many extra towels they rarely use. I was kind of shocked when I took everything out of our linen closet one time, and realized how much we had.
Old sheets that are worn out or excess are obvious items that can most likely be discarded. We keep one set of sheets per bed, with one extra for company. We have 2 air mattresses for company. One mattress is a twin, and one is a queen, so if we need an extra set of sheets then we have one. We had the maximum amount of guests at our house during Christmas, and this turned out to be the perfect amount of sheets. We also recently had a power outage for a week, and so this provided a unique opportunity to realize that indeed we had enough. There was no need for extra sheets, and we had just the right amount.
You can donate these to the local animal shelter, since often times donation centers do not take old towels, sheets, or blankets.
6-Toys That Are Not Being Used
Toys is an area that we are constantly struggling with in our home. We have two children growing out of toys, and 2 that are very much still in the toy phase. One of which is just getting started with toys. With so many stages, we are often getting toys from family, and from birthdays. If we do not keep on top of decluttering the unused ones, it quickly gets out of hand.
We try to make sure the toys we purchase are open ended toys that are useful for many things. We also avoid large toys that take up tons of room. Our home is quite small, and so this limits our capacity for large toys. It becomes overwhelming to the kids, picking up their rooms when they have too much, especially if they have no where to put them.
7-Old Nail Polish
I made the decision to quit wearing nail polish. My daughter occasionally still uses some of the ones I had, but I no longer use any. She only has a couple that she uses every time she paints her nails. I think because I do not paint my nails, she is slowly not wearing it as much as well. It is not good for your nails at all, and I have found it so much nicer to not have chipped nail polish all of the time. Often nail polish gets old and does not work as well. So it is important to get rid of the ones you have had for awhile and keep the go-to ones.
8-Subscriptions that Are Not Being Used
We have to check subscriptions regularly or they sneak up on us. We had a hallmark subscription during Christmas, a PBS one only because the kids wanted to watch Wild Kratt’s, we also had a Netflix subscription that we canceled. I also just cancelled our love every subscription, because they were sending way too much. It was also super expensive. I recently decided to cancel my audible subscription, since I have been reading real books more than listening to them.
All of these things are surprisingly expensive per year once you add them all up. We often forget to get rid of the ones we are not using very much. I ask myself if I am using it enough to justify how much it costs per year. Often times the answer is no. This can save so much money.
9-Old Electronics That Just Sit in a Drawer
Old iPhones, chargers, or video games that are just sitting in a drawer can be sold or donated. The local Best Buy will take old electronics, and cords and recycle them. This is so much better than them piling up and taking up space in your drawers. Imagine all of the space that you could use for something else. We never go back and use them.
10-Purses Or Handbags That You No Longer Use
Often times we get a new purse or handbag, and we never use the old ones again. I know for myself I maybe switch between 2 or 3 bags, but that is it. I recommend getting neutral bags that can go with everything. That way you can have less. They also last longer if you buy quality ones rather than something from Walmart. A good leather bag will last many many years. I keep 1 bag now in each size that I use. This makes the decision super easy. I just decide how much stuff I need to carry that day, and the bag I need Is decided, since I already have only one in that size.
There You Have it, 10 Items to Declutter Right Now in 2022!
I hope this was helpful to you. I am going through my own house this week getting rid of items. So far we are getting rid of clothes that are too small for one of our boys, some unused books, and some toys. Happy decluttering!
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