200 Things to Get Rid of in 2020 | Ultimate Decluttering Guide | + Free PDF Checklist

hey everyone and welcome back today I want to share with you 200 things that you should declutter in 2020 and there are so many great decluttering ideas that I'm excited to share with you but obviously 200 ideas is a lot to pack into one video so instead I'm going to be splitting it into two in this video today we're going to be covering the first 100 ideas for things that you can do from your life and in the next video we'll look at the other 100 and whether you're looking to declutter your life or become more minimalist my hope is that these ideas motivate and inspire you on how you might be able to live with us before we get into this if you're here for the first time hi my name is ashlynn and I make videos every week on this channel about simple and intentional living so if you're looking for decluttering inspiration or minimalist lifestyle content be sure to hit that subscribe button below alright well I hope you're excited to dive into this I know I am here are two hundred things to declutter in 20 COAG okay let's start off by talking about the living room item number one is bulky media units and not only do media units tend to be quite oversized and take up a lot of space but they're also often what I like to call it clutter catchers meaning that they store a lot of clutter that we should perhaps focus on reducing my challenge for you would be to declutter everything that's on it and then maybe at that point you can reduce the size of or get rid of your media unit completely number two is word signs and this is often one of the biggest sources of visual clutter in our home they are often counterproductive to creating a visually clean and relaxing environment so if you have word signs I would at least reduce if not get rid of them altogether this can go a long way to helping your space look clean and clutter-free number three is magazines and if you have a large collection of Vogue your National Geographic magazines or simply if you have a number of magazines that you've been waiting to read but have never gotten around to I recommend recycling a lot of those magazines and of course the same thing goes for newspapers as well number four is ultra motes and often will hold on to remotes long after we stopped using or perhaps even owning the electronics that they belong to so if you have any old or unused remotes you can just get rid of them number five is excess coast and I will often visit people to almost have eight or more coasters for only two people what I would suggest is to keep one coaster for each person who lives in the house plus maybe two extra for company keep in mind if you're worried about damaging furniture that things like napkins can always be used as coasters in opinion okay number six is threadbare or stained rugs and rugs can often be not only functional but beautiful however if they're threadbare or stained they aren't able to serve that incredible purpose for you and it's best just to get rid of them number seven is unused video games and if there are any games that you've either played through or never fully plan on playing you can either sell or donate these next number eight is DVDs and if you have a large DVD collection what I would do is go through each one you have and ask yourself will I ever watch this again if the answer is no it's simply adding clutter number nine is CDs and with these you can digitize them I did this several years ago with my CD collection and now they're all housed on an external hard drive and I have several of them download it's my phone as well number ten is decor pieces with no meaning and while I'm definitely a big proponent of decor that brings you joy or has a great memory associated with it if you have decor pieces that were maybe buy at a box store that don't necessarily have any specific meaning attached to them I would ask yourself do I truly love this item does it spark joy for me if it doesn't I would consider to cluttering it because after all isn't the entire purpose of decor to bring us joy eleven is unused couches and chairs furniture is meant to serve a practical purpose so if it isn't being used I would consider selling number 12 is TVs and while a TV can be a great source of entertainment and enjoyment having multiple TVs often serves as a distraction from our desire to live an intentional life so if you have multiple TVs scattered throughout the house try going down to just one number 13 is unused for games if you love and regularly use board games that's fantastic keep them but if you have any of that you're probably never going to play or maybe and once and haven't touched since consider if it might be time to get rid of them along the same lines number 14 is games with missing pieces if a game is missing crucial pieces making it so that you can't play it's probably time to let go of that game and then number 15 is often housed in the same place as board games but if you have puzzles that either you're never going to do again you're never going to complete in the first place or they're missing too many pieces for you to really get the satisfaction of completing a puzzle you might want to get rid of those keep in mind the fact that you simply may not be a puzzle person if you don't get enjoyment from completing puzzles you might not want to hold on to 16 is knickknacks from travel and I would ask yourself does that Florida Dolphin sculpture actually remind you of a memory or did you simply buy it because you felt like you had to come back with a souvenir while you were on vacation if you don't love the souvenirs you have and they're just collecting dust those might be great candidates for declaring number 17 is old posters that are being used I'd recommend taking a picture of each of those posters and then getting rid of the physical items if they aren't hung up now they probably never will be and so there's no point keeping them around number 18 is TD clutter dead plants of course if it's just drooping a little and something that water can revive by all means go ahead and nurse that plant back to life but sometimes they're just a little bit too far gone and if that's the case for any plants in your life tactimon fine I love this one number 19 is ugly plastic plants if you have a hard time taking care of live plants or you just prefer plastic plants there's nothing wrong with that but if you have any that are past their prime Michelle Lee say you might not need those number 20 is coffee tables or side tables that have no practical purpose and having some kind of table in your living area can be helpful as a place to rest hot drinks or to put a book down when you're finished reading but the problem comes when we end up having a coffee table and multiple side tables just because when we're not necessarily using all of this number 21 is uncomfortable throw blankets and I really enjoy using blankets too up in at night they're cozy they're warm there's something very few yet about them but if you have uncomfortable throw blankets in your living room chances are you are not going to be using those to snuggle up and given that's the case I would just declutter any uncomfortable throw blankets you might have number 22 is burned-out candles and I don't know about you but I have a tendency to hold on to candles thinking that I can get just five extra minutes of burn out of them when realistically they're definitely burned out yes they might be beautiful but if the candle has burned out it ceases to be practical and on a similar note number 23 is candles that you don't like the smell of obviously our relative enjoyment of scents is highly individual and so if you have a perfectly good candle that you simply don't like the smell of I consider giving it to a friend I'm sure they'd appreciate it 24 is a great one and that is non-functional throw pillows throw pillows should ideally serve a purpose in providing us back or lumbar support so if you have way more throw pillows than you actually need or perhaps you use them for purely decorative purposes I would consider whether or not they might simply be adding to the visual clutter in your home let's talk about books number 25 is books that you have read and do not plan on rereading this one's pretty straightforward if you don't plan on using it again it's just adding clutter number 26 is books that you've never read and don't plan to read it was this one I asked you to be critical with yourself is there a book that maybe you've been putting off for your three or five or more years saying I'll get around to reading it someday if it's been waiting that long someday they never actually come and so you might want to get rid of those books number 27 is bookshelves that aren't practical bookshelves are designed to store books but oftentimes I'll see bookshelves that can hold maybe ten books on them so I would start off by getting rid of any bookshelves that aren't practical but then once you've done that ask yourself if you might be able to reduce the number of bookshelves that you have once you've gone through and decluttered some of those books that you're never planning on reading or reading okay let's move on now and talk about that room number 28 is flat pillows and old pillows that have gone flat and lost their poofiness our recipe for back and neck pain if you often feel a lot of pain when you first wake up in the morning it might actually be your pillow that's the problem and it's time to replace 29 is unused or bulky dressers and not only do these pieces of furniture tend to take up a lot of space in our bedrooms often they're not the most efficient way of storing our clothing and if you have one of those big dressers I would see if you can reduce the amount of clothing you have to the point where either you don't need it or there might be a smaller and more compact solution that might work better for you in trying to store your clothing number 30 is vanities you don't use and I feel like these often come in sets with those larger dressers but if you have a vanity that you don't actively use it's simply adding clutter and taking up valuable space number 31 is extra sheets and I know several people who have 3 plus pairs of sheets for every bed that they have in their home in my opinion you really don't need that many what I would do is keep one pair of sheets for every bed that you have in the home Plus maybe an extra in case you're washing the laundry or anything like number 32 is to declutter your alarm clock if you use your alarm clock to tell when you need to get up every single day that's fantastic keep it but if you don't consider whether or not you actually need it I feel like so many of us have made guilty of this at one point or another but number 33 is to declutter that accent chair that just collects clothing if you have a chair that just tends to accumulate clothing that can be a huge source of visual clutter and it's best just to get rid of it okay I have a few for those of you who have children number 34 is to get rid of outgrown or unused toys the average kid today has way more toys than they actually need or realistically can play with and so as you identify toys that either your child who doesn't play with regularly or maybe they've outgrown you can just put these aside and declutter and then the same goes for number 35 which is books but your children have either outgrown or don't particularly like rather than accumulating them and causing clutter just go through them and declutter whatever ones they're no longer using and then will lump number 36 and 37 together and that is clothing and furniture that your children have outgrown especially in those first few years kids are growing rapidly and they never seem to stay in clothing for longer than a couple of months so just make sure that you develop a regular habit of going through and identifying is there any clothing furniture or just other general possessions related to your children that might no longer be relevant to them as they age number 38 is used up coloring books or art supplies and a simple way about thinking about this one is that if it's used up it isn't useful number 39 is artwork and I know that children's artwork can be really meaningful to parents but rather than keep every single drawing or painting your child does my recommendation is to keep only the best of the best you can display and even frame some of those items but don't feel the need to hold on to all okay let's move on now and talk about the kitchen numbers 40 and 41 are unused blenders and juicers and if you regularly make juices or smoothies by all means hold onto these items but if you can't remember the last time you got out your juicer or got out your blender they aren't actually helping you and so I would either donate them or give them to someone who actually can use them number 42 is weird kitchen gadgets and if you have a device that's meant specifically to take the heads off of strawberries are the pits off of avocados consider whether or not you actually need those items often a simple knife does the trick just as well and getting rid of these weird kitchen gadgets can really go a long way towards reducing clutter in this area in the same vein 43 is duplicate kitchen utensils and if you have two potato mashers or three pairs of salad tongs I would just go through the kitchen utensils you have and remove any duplicates that you don't need number 44 is excess fridge magnets and if you have a lot of fridge magnets that aren't actually being used what they're doing is creating visual clutter and making your kitchen look more messy than it actually might be 45 is nice some day types of appliances this might be a panini press waffle maker an airfryer there are certain kitchen appliances that aren't very versatile in the sense that there's really only one or two things that you can really use them for if you have any such punching appliances that you aren't using regularly ask yourself whether or not it's worth holding on 46 is awkward sized pots and pans most of us tend to have a select number of pots and pans that we enjoy and use regularly those ones are easy keeps but if you have any of that our awkward sizes or that are just a little bit difficult to use you probably aren't using them and thus don't actually need them 47 is extra baking sheets and if you've accumulated several of these over the years keep only those that are the most practical and most used by you 48 it's cookbooks and if you have some cookbook that you use regularly and reference often definitely keep those but if you have any that are collecting dust or that you don't reach for regularly donate them or give them to a friend 49 is excess jars and containers with this one keep what you actually need and will use and get rid of the rest and the number 50 we are halfway through is extra bases consider how many of these you use regularly maybe it's one maybe it's multiple maybe it's none and then just keep the appropriate amount that's in relation to how much you actually use them number 51 is cheap or dull knives and these are really just a pain to work with it so if you have any old cheap or dull knives I would definitely get rid of these and if needed consider buying one high quality knife that you can use for years number 52 is too many or broken reusable bottles I love reusable bottles and use my Klean Kanteen all the time but if you have most poles or perhaps you have old ones that are no longer working they're broken you don't need to hold on to more than you need 53 is matches and if you have matches that you don't use you don't actually need them 54 is cracked or broken dishes and I'm not saying that if you get a small chip on a plate that you need to immediately declutter it you have dishes with groin cracks or glassware of any kind that has chips and it you'll definitely want to get rid of these number 55 is ice cube trays you don't use and if you don't have an ice maker built into your fridge then obviously these serve a practical purpose but if you have an ice cube maker built into your fridge most likely you're not actually using that ice cube trays that you own and you can let go of them 56 is single-use plastic straws and not only can these be harmful to the environment realistically they're unnecessary if you have them I would use up what you currently have and then just refrain from repurchasing them and then on the other side of the coin number 57 is excess reusable straws keep the number that you realistically are going to use and get value from but then don't hold on to any excess reusable straws just because they're sustainable 58 is discolored or too many old mugs yes many of them might be sentimental but I would encourage you just to keep the best of the best fifty-nine is excess or mismatched cutlery and with this one I always think of that random fork that everyone want to own that matches none of the rest of their cutlery that somebody left behind at their home one day and they've held on to for far too long so if you have any mismatched cutlery I would go ahead and donate those items and the same thing goes for if you have too much cutlery as well number 60 is your China collection and if you have one of these and don't regularly or at least semi regularly use the China you own it might be time either to donate it or to pass it along to someone who actually will use it next number 61 is past their prime sponges and if like me you have a tendency to hold on to dishwashing sponges far past their prime use this video as your encouragement to replace that old sponge okay number 62 is mismatched storage container storage containers can be a great way of saving food so that you can then eat it later but if you have lids that don't match the containers or vice versa those items aren't actually useful to you and so I would just to clutter those items number 63 is take out food paraphernalia so this might include chopsticks little sauce packets plastic cutlery throw out or recycle any takeout food paraffin you might have in your home and number 64 is a very closely related one a nice takeout menus nowadays you can look up restaurants view their menus and order all online which really makes these menus irrelevant 65 is stained or worn out tea towels if an item is worn out it's important that we recognize that and learn to move on 66 is placemats and I have a simple question for you do you actually use your place - if you do great keep them but if you don't I would strongly consider decluttering your placemats okay that covers the kitchen let's look at the pantry next number 67 is to declutter unused spices sometimes we'll hold on to these spices just in case but chances are you're never actually going to need these spices and if you don't like the flavor of them why would you want to hold on to them anyways 68 is expired foods and this one is extremely straightforward if something has gone bad you're not going to eat it and it's just adding clutter number 69 is foods that you've tried but don't like and it can feel wasteful of getting rid of food that we don't like but if we don't enjoy something we're not actually going to eat it most of the time which means that what often happens is that we just wait for it to go bad and then get rid of it at that point instead of loving that happen I would see if there's a friend or family member who likes that I know that you might be able to give it number 70 is condiments or sauces that you only used once it can be easy to accumulate way more condiments then we actually need I would keep the ones that you used regularly or at least semi regularly but if there is any that you bought for one specific dish and haven't used in months or years I would get rid of those items 71 is old candy and although candy does tend to have a longer shelf life than other foods after a while it does go stale and at that point you're not going to enjoy eating it 72 is freezer-burned foods and I don't know if you've ever tried eating freezer-burned ice cream but it isn't good don't let it stay in your freezer waiting for the magical day when you suddenly feel like you can freeze or burn food you're not going to enjoy it it's kind of wrecked at this point and it's time to just talk about this little off and then number 73 and 74 really go together and that is excess or expired medication after a while medications tend to lose their potency so if either you have too many of a specific type of medication ones that you don't use or that don't really work well for you or perhaps any that have expired and gone bad I would get rid of those okay we're getting to the end of this one let's move on now and talk about the bathroom number 75 is makeup that's the wrong shade if you have tinted moisturizers or foundations that are too dark or too light for your skin tone it isn't going to look natural but likewise if you have any eyes shadows blushes or bronzers that don't match your skin or that your complexion in general I wouldn't hold on to those either number 76 is expired makeup there is no point in keeping gloopy or clumpy makeup that's gone past it's expiration date number 77 is empty products and I think when we get to that last little bit of makeup or skincare products we tend to hold on to it because it's not technically emptied so my suggestion is to just use up the rest of that bottle that last little bit and then at that point declutter guide number 78 is makeup brushes that are worn out in the same way that you need to replace your toothbrush every once in a while because the bristles get frayed and no longer as effective at brushing your teeth same thing goes for makeup brushes if you have any that are frayed and that aren't working the way that they're designed to work anymore you can declutter those items 79 is any makeup items that you haven't worn in the past month makeup is great only so long as you're actually using the products that you have alright number 80 is expired or unused sunscreen once again sunscreen like many other items loses its potency once it's expired and when it comes to protecting our skin we really don't want that to happen so just double check those expiration dates on your sunscreen number 81 is skin care products that don't work for your skin type if you try something thinking that it might work for you but it happens not to there's no point in keeping something that's going to break you out make you oily or otherwise just not work for your skin number 82 is exfoliator scrubs and serums I'm a big believer in less is more when it comes to skin care find which products work for you and work well for you but once you find something that you like stick to it 83 is broken bobby pins or hair ties and this is pretty straightforward if it's broken it's unusable and so you shouldn't necessarily have these lying around 84 it is duplicate or broken hair tools and if you have multiple curling irons maybe a blow dryer that doesn't work or too many straightener and figure out what you actually use and what you need and you can keep those items and declutter the rest number 85 is hair products that don't work for your hair type if you bought maybe a hair spray or a gel or mousse thinking that it would work for your hair but in reality it didn't don't let that item continue to cause clutter in your home number 86 is gloopy or dried-up nail polish trust me on this one holding onto old nail polish is far more effort than it's actually worth 87 is funky nail polish colors and if you have any lime greens or bright blues chances are you're probably never going to use those if there are a few nail polish shades that you like and use regularly stick to those but don't hold on to too many of those adventurous nail polish colors number 88 is soaps or moisturizers that you don't like the scent of these are most likely collecting dust somewhere in your bathroom cabinet and so rather than letting them continue to stay there and act as clutter in your bathroom I'd recommend passing them on to someone who can actually use and enjoy them number 89 is travel-sized toiletries or samples many of us hold on to far more of these than we realistically can ever use No how much we travel figure out if there are any of those items that you're actually going to use when traveling but then for the rest either use them up or get rid of them number 90 is old toothbrushes and I love the piece of advice someone gave me once and it's that you only need two toothbrushes one for your teeth and one for cleaning number 91 is old air fresheners and after a while the scent and air fresheners tends to go a little bit funky at which point it's no longer you're actually going to be freshening your air and it's more of a distraction and a hindrance than anything else number 92 is a shower caddy especially if you tend to bathe in a tub or shower with built-in ledges consider the fact that if you reduce the number of products you use when you shower you might not actually need to keep your shower caddy number 93 is threadbare towels and towels are purely practical item once they become threadbare they're no longer able to be effectively used for the purpose that they were designed for consider donating them to your local animal shelter as they're often on the look out for items like blankets towels and old sheets that they can use for the animals along the same lines number 94 is excess towels and washcloths a great ratio that I found to work well personally is to have one towel and washcloth for each family member and possible guests in the house so for example my husband Christopher and I live in our house and we can accommodate up to four guests and so we have six towels in our home number 95 is duplicate brushes or combs and if you're looking to cut down on clutter in the bathroom getting rid of any duplicates you have it can be a great place to start number 96 those old tweezers and trimmers once tweezers become dull it gets really painful to actually remove the hair that you're attempting to remove and if that's something you're running into I would either try sharpening the tweezers that you have or replacing them number 97 is old perfume perfume is designed to smell good but if your perfume has lost its scent or if that smell has gone a little bit funny it's probably time to get rid of it and the number 98 is perfume or cologne cents but either don't match your body's chemistry or simply that you don't like the smell of at the if the de perfume is a luxury and it really isn't necessary so if you're going to be wearing perfume better be one that you enjoy and like okay just two more left here number 99 is body mist or body sprays although the initial scent of body mists can often be pleasant my issue with them is that it tends to wear off after 15 maybe 30 minutes but it doesn't last and finally number 100 is unused bathroom cleaning supplies and maybe you have too many old rags or toothbrushes or far more liquids or sprays than you actually need like I've shared so many times in this video keep what you need and you use but get rid of the rest all right well we made it to the end of part 1 can you believe that there's another 100 ideas for things to declutter that we have left to talk about we haven't even touched on your closet pets your office and so many other areas yet so I'm excited to dive into all of those topics with you in the next video but before we wrap up today I did just want to make you aware of a couple of resources I've put together for you first off if you're coming away from this video thinking that's great but how on earth am I supposed to remember all of those ideas I've put together a free PDF checklist for you that walks through every single one of the 200 ideas that I'm sharing in these videos I'll leave that linked up in the description box below as well as in the comments so definitely be sure to check that out and then second if you're in the process of decluttering your home right now I definitely recommend checking out my book the simple guide to declutter in your home it will help you to learn some of the top decluttering mistakes to avoid how to decide what to keep versus what to get rid of as well as gives you some of my best tips on how to accelerate your decluttering journey so you can transform your space from chaos to calm and again I'll have the e-book linked up for you in the description box below all right well that is everything I have for you for today's video I know this is a longer one and the next one probably will be as well but I hope you enjoyed it and then it gave you some valuable inspiration that you can use to declutter your life and simplify your home like I mentioned at the beginning if you're here for the first time and you haven't already be sure to hit that subscribe button below for my simple and intentional living content at you twice finally be sure to follow me on Instagram I am at Ashland Eaton on there but that's everything for today's video stay tuned for part two where we'll be discussing the other 100 ideas for things you can do clutter I hope you guys enjoyed this one though thank you so much for watching and I'll see you in the next one

Channel: Ashlynne Eaton

Views: 400,332

Rating: 4.8408298 out of 5

Keywords: 200 things to declutter in 2020, things to declutter in 2020, guide to declutter your home, guide to declutter, declutter your home guide, things to get rid of, 200 things to get rid of, 200 things to declutter, things to get rid of right now, things to get rid of today, things to declutter, things to declutter right now, minimalism, to get rid of, right now, today, minimalist, simple living, slow living, declutter, decluttering, ashlynne eaton, charlotte nc

Id: K2QFcxZuUGc

Length: 27min 35sec (1655 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 01 2020