10 Items To Declutter Now
Guest blog by Eliza.
If you’ve got a spare afternoon this weekend or wish to tackle a space in your home this evening, then read on to find out 10 items you can easily declutter right now. We are also sharing our reasons why you shouldn’t overstock these spaces and tips for how to organise and stay on top of them in the future.
1. The Junk Drawer
Let’s be honest, there is one in every home. The junk drawer is usually found in one of the kitchen drawers or in your entryway console table. This drawer serves its purpose of being functional as it is the area items such as rubber bands, batteries, pens, hand sanitisers, invitations and more are stored. To declutter, we suggest pulling everything out of the drawer, throwing away any unnecessary items and sorting into categories. From there we recommend purchasing a drawer organiser and sorting each category into its own dedicated section.
2. Books
Books not only hold sentimental value but can be nostalgic and flood your brain with feel-good chemicals upon picking them up. When it comes to books the questions we need to ask ourselves are “Am I going to read this again?”, “Does this hold sentimental value?” or “Can it be used to style a certain space in my home?” If the answer is no to all of the above, then it is time to donate or pass on to a friend who will find joy in reading it.
3. Stationery
Pens, pencils, highlighters, notepads and kid’s colouring in supplies is an area of the home that can build up before our eyes and spread across multiple zones. We suggest gathering all stationery items from each area of the house together and going through each one to work out what no longer functions, will no longer be used and what you would like to keep. This will allow you to store only the essentials and also help in impulse purchasing next time you see a cute notepad or pen at Kmart.
4. Backstock Basket
The backstock basket is the perfect place to store the overflow of your pantry staples such as bulkier items, large packets and double ups. We love a backstock basket but do realise that they can also become forgotten if not used effectively. Be sure to go through and declutter this to ensure there are no expired foods or items that can be stored in your everyday pantry containers.
5. Clothes
Clothes may be the obvious item that comes to mind when we discuss decluttering, so it would be remiss of us to not include them in this post. As the old saying goes, if you haven’t worn the item in over a year, it is usually time for it to go. This is a great rule to keep in mind if you are undertaking a quick declutter of your wardrobe as you can ask yourself this question as you flick through each item. We recommend doing this exercise seasonally to ensure you maintain an organised and functional wardrobe.
6. Gift Giving Station
Weather it’s a cupboard, a box or a bag stored under a bed, we all have an area where we store items such as gift wrap, ribbons, cards, stickers and gift bags. We love having a backstock of gift-wrapping items to ensure you can quickly grab a card or wrap a present as you are running out the door to a party. But when was the last time you sorted through your stock? We suggest going through each item and asking yourself if you will actually use it. There are bound to be a few dated gift bags, crumpled wrapping paper rolls and fraying ribbons that can be thrown away.
7. Children’s Toys
Toys would be one of our client’s most troublesome areas that we assist with when decluttering a home. Children’s toys build up easily over time through birthday gifts, hand-me downs and generous friends and relatives, so without regularly decluttering they can become overwhelming. As with other items we’ve mentioned already the best way to declutter toys is to get everything out and sort into categories first. From there you can work out what items are broken and what hasn’t been played with in months so you can donate or throw away accordingly.
8. Bed linen
If you are anything like the Organised Simplicity staff, you have a weakness for beautiful bed linen. But how many pretty sheet sets and quilt covers does one actually need? If your linen cupboard is bursting at the seams, it is time to go through each category and donate sheets, quilt covers and blankets that no longer match your décor, are looking worn or you haven’t reached for in months.
9. Reusable Bags
Most homes that we enter into on a decluttering job here at Organised Simplicity have an overflow and an abundance of reusable bags. Although these are essential in 2023 and every home must have a supply, we often find the amount stored is excessive and is usually taking up valuable space. A suitable amount for a family home should be approximately one bag filled with folded reusable bags in the car for convenience and one inside the home (preferably the garage) for backup. Anything above this is an oversupply.
10. Bathroom Products
How often have you bought a new skincare item, tried a new shampoo or body moisturiser and put it in the back of the cupboard because it didn’t work for you? If you have a backstock of bathroom products in the back of your cupboard that you know you will not use, we suggest donating them to a shelter or asking friends or family if they might work for them (just remember to check the best before date first).