Declutter for a Move: A Room by Room Guide
Decluttering for a move can be challenging but sometimes making a game of it by hitting the low hanging fruit first can really get you in the mood.
Check out our top 80 things you can toss now whether you are moving or not! You officially have permission to let every one of these things go with this stress free guide to decluttering. And why 80? Because we found 10 things from 8 of the most cluttered spots in your home and it’s definitely not because I lived through the 80’s with big hair.
Sometimes getting started in the decluttering process can be daunting so picking a room and a category can give you a jump start on the process! It can also be helpful to have a plan to get rid of things – my personal favorite is my local Buy Nothing group on Facebook plus I have a few specialty donation sites I use like our local animal shelter and the thrift store that only takes arts & crafts supplies.
Declutter for a Move
Kitchen & Pantry
Kitchens become the clutter catcher of the house because it’s the gathering spot for family and where so much happens.
- expired food (food pantries will typically take non-perishable items that less than a year old)
- aspirational foods or kitchen tools like the weird specialty condiments or the sourdough starter kit
- sauce packets and take out cutlery
- never used small appliances (like that fondue pot...)
- scraped up cookware
- coffee mugs - if we had a zombie apocalypse, we'd have coffee cups til the end of time
- mismatched plastic containers and lids
- water bottles from various kids sports
- old cookbooks
- all that junk from your junk drawer
Declutter for a Move
Living Spaces
Lots of stuff to let go of here as technology moves forward at a rapid pace and as our family grows.
- books - keep the favorites, let go of the rest or those your kids have outgrown (tip-your local library will love these for their book sales!)
- DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes, and cassettes (old media)
- DVD and VHS players
- game consoles, gear, and extra controllers - yes - some may be valuable but are they worth cluttering up your space?
- kids’ toys - one of the harder categories but be realistic with what is actually being used
- magazines & catalogs
- tired blankets, pillows, and throws
- outdated or sad decor
- puzzles & games that no one uses anymore
- half used candles
Declutter for a Move
Primary Suite
It’s really hard to go through our personal items like clothes and makeup but it’s a key spot for clutter so let’s get going!
- hangers - this is a great time to swap out your hangers to all the same kind
- clothes that are too small - even if you lose weight, you know you'll want new stuff anyway
- shoes that hurt your feet
- special occasion dresses that you'll never wear again
- expired meds
- old socks, bras & undies
- costume jewelry that never gets worn
- expired or half used because you didn't like it bathroom products
- tired linens: towels, bathmats, sheets, pillows
- unused or broken hair tools
Declutter for a Move
Kids Spaces (rooms & playrooms)
As kids grow up, their needs change and they outgrow things so fast you wonder what happened.
- toys they've grown out of
- clothes they've grown out of (if they need to be handed down - create a labeled bin for these)
- crap from birthday parties
- shoes & socks missing their mates
- stained or damaged clothes
- too small furniture
- old hair bows & accessories
- outdated sports gear
- books that are too young for them
- decor that doesn't reflect their current interests
Declutter for a Move
Garage
Where everything you don’t know what to do with goes to die.
- broken or rusty tools and hardware
- car parts and accessories
- sports gear for sports no one in the house does
- aspirational gear from past interests
- camping gear or exercise equipment that never gets used
- parts to appliances you no longer use
- excess yard tools (and even more if you have a lawn company)
- old holiday decor you know you won't use this year
- old paint or construction materials
- empty totes or boxes that got left in here
Declutter for a Move
Home Office
Whether you work from home or your office is for home management (or both like me), there’s always junk in here that needs to go.
- junk mail
- old and outdated electronics - no one needs that many cords and cables
- instruction manuals - everything is available online
- old taxes - depends on your preference but generally over 10 years isn't necessary to keep unless you are in certain professions or required by your industry
- business cards and materials from prior jobs
- expired coupons
- business books you haven't read (or did read and didn't like or won't read again)
- pens with no ink or pencils with no eraser or dry markers
- half used notebooks
- office 'gifts' you'll never use
Declutter for a Move
Laundry Room
Laundry rooms do so much for us but they can’t if they are full of clutter.
- half used cleaning products you don't like
- linens that are even past the rag stage
- dead batteries and light bulbs
- old electronics, cords, and cables
- expired pet meds
- parts to the washer & dryer you'll never use
- appliance manuals
- random tools that ended up in here
- plastic or paper bags unless you truly do re-use them (I keep plastic bags for cat litter and paper for giving things to people in my Buy Nothing group)
- old mops or brooms that just don't actually clean anything anymore
Declutter for a Move
Attic
Another spot things are out of sight, out of mind. Based on our experience, there’s usually a lot up here no one needs.
- old holiday decor
- broken furniture
- random building materials
- luggage that has seen better days
- old toys
- outdoor apparel or gear no one uses anymore
- inherited items you really don't want but put there because you weren't ready to let it go
- bins of old kids memories - these can be edited through, not necessarily just tossed
- out of season clothing that hasn't been worn in years
- decor you stuck up here thinking you'd use it again someday even though your style has completely changed
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