It has taken us three years of consistently going through our things to clear out most of the clutter in our home. It’s been a slow and steady process, and so worth it! I’ve come up with a list of things we’ve let go of from our home if you are wanting some inspiration or a place to start clearing things out.

Here are 15 things you can declutter right now to jumpstart your minimalism journey!

01. | Old Manuals

There is so much information available online. You can look up nearly anything about an appliance or gadget - I’ve kept my sewing machine manual, and thats it.

02. | Formal Wear & Special Occasion Outfits

Bridesmaids dresses, prom/homecoming dresses, maybe a suit you don’t care for anymore. Lets be honest, you never really wear them again.

03. | Special China

Sets that only come out at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas (maybe!). They take up a lot of space for something that is used only one or two days out of the year. If you’re super attached, why not use them everyday and get rid of your cheap set of dishes?

We had a set of expensive wine glasses given to us for our wedding that I had stashed up in our top cupboards for months for “special occasions” since I was worried they’d break. I decided that it would be fun drinking water out of a fancy glass everyday - so I ditched our cheap IKEA glassware and we now use them as our regular cups everyday. It’s the best!

04. | Writing Tools & Pens

We all have a ton. And they all don’t work. I’ve found the magic number for us be 3-4 nice pens, always ready to go in a specific spot that’s easy to find.

05. | Socks

Mismatched and ones with holes. I don’t know about you, but I never find the matches.

06. | DVDS, CDs & VHS Tapes

Spotify, iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Redbox. Yay for the internet storing everything for you!

07. | Old Electronics

Old remotes, charging cables, dvd/cd players, iPods, phones. This was a tough one! We had so many cables with no idea what they belonged to. We realized that we hadn’t touched or needed any of it in so long, so we let it all go.

08. | Receipts

Scan/digitize them!

09. | Novelty Kitchen Appliances

Ice cream maker, popcorn machine, donut pop maker, etc. They take up a lot of space, and how often do you really use it? Keep what’s special to your family and what you actually use - we love our waffle maker, so we kept it!

10. | Pretty Jars and Boxes

From products that you’ve bought that are totally pretty (like perfumes and candles) but never use. I found I stored random stuff in them that I didn’t need.

11. | Magazines

I used to keep a pile of them for inspiration, but now I just skim through Pinterest or snap a pic of something that inspires me before passing it on.

12. | Beauty Products

Lotions, shampoos, expired makeup, old razors, travel samples, etc. I’ve let so many of these products overflow in my bathroom.

13. | Coffee Mugs

We are huge coffee people and love a good coffee mug. In the past its left us with cupboards that barely close, while we always just grabbed our favorites towards the front of the pile. We decluttered most of them, and have kept our favorites.

14. | Books

Before you get mad at me, let me clarify that we still own books - just a whole lot less of them. We’ve only kept our absolute favorites, and Jude’s got a huge pile that we read to him daily. Our rule is to keep books we would reread throughout our life - or if its really that good, pass it on to a family member or a friend so they can be inspired too. We try to use our Kindle for books with more informational content (less clutter) and buy a physical copy of a book if its has pretty photographs or art content.

15 | Art Supplies

Our drawer of art supplies is cut down to the minimum. I was constantly keeping any little magazine clipping, old paint, or brushes/pens/markers that I randomly picked up somewhere, that just the process of getting my supplies out overwhelmed me. I’ve found I’m more creative with less to draw from and create more often because of it. 

Hope this list was helpful! I really enjoy reading new perspectives and getting inspired by others’ decluttering journeys. Every family and home is different, so obviously take everything I say with a grain of salt. I just love the space and freedom clearing everything out has given us, and I hope you do too!

Chloe