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Hate all your clutter?
Utterly bamboozled by how it keeps creeping back?
However hard you try to chuck it out?
Me too! Me too!
It’s seriously depressing, isn’t it?
But FINALLY I have found an amazing declutter trick that truly is life changing!
(Despite all the hype Marie Kondo’s sock folding just didn’t do it for me!)
My whole family said goodbye to more stuff this year than I ever believed possible.
AND it was crazily easy. Taking just 5 minutes a day!!
Hmmm … you’re sceptical aren’t you?
I was too! But it really does work.
BECAUSE it’s based on the deep down human psychology of why we all have so much stuff.
And why we find it so hard to let all that stuff go.
The Psychology Of Clutter
It turns out, to conquer our clutter we need to turn letting stuff go into a habit.
Which means we need to practise it every day.
Now. That might sound dull.
But it’s seriously easy. All you have to do is this …
The Amazing Daily Declutter Trick
Every single day …
-
- Empty your bins
- Put three or four things you notice that have been lying around for ages …
- in a charity bag
- and three things in the recycling
- and three things in the trash bin
And every week take your charity bag to a charity shop.
Now if you want to, you can put more things in each.
The important thing is, consciously to let go of small things every single day.
And to get that charity bag to the charity shop every single week.
How Does That Help?
OK.
But you’re wondering how that will tackle your mountain of clutter, aren’t you?
Well.
Letting go of 10 things every day for a year will be over three thousand less things!
Which is a start.
BUT the BIG BIG BIG benefit is you become an ace at letting stuff go.
Every single day you will beat the hidden anxiety that makes us cling onto stuff.
And experience that little happy rush of triumph from saying goodbye to stuff you don’t need.
Which means it will become easier and easier to tackle the big stuff.
Tackling The Big Stuff
Whenever I decluttered in the past, I focused on the big stuff.
Within months, we were overwhelmed again.
Starting with the small stuff … all those little out of date, out grown, unmendable, unwanted things we all have … has transformed our house.
We still have lots of clutter to say our farewells to.
BUT we have let go of more big major stuff than ever before.
AND we’re keeping the clutter out.
Want To Give It A Go?
If you’re drowning in clutter.
And depressed by it.
I can’t recommend this declutter trick enough.
And it’s super easy to get started.
Just keep your eyes peeled for all the little stuff you’ll be happier without.
It’s all the stuff in plain sight.
The stuff you notice when you open a drawer.
When you can’t fit the mugs back in the cupboard.
When you’re looking for a pen that actually works!
When you realise the flour’s past it’s best by.
Whilst your waiting for the kettle to boil.
Or cleaning your teeth.
Or putting the laundry away.
Right there, right then, put it in your charity bag or the recycling or the trash.
It won’t take a minute.
But every time you do it, you will be that bit better at letting stuff go.
And fighting clutter.
250 Things You Will Be Happier Without
To help you on your way, I’ve got a humungous list of 250 little things my family are happier without.
I so, so, so hope it helps.
Do give me a shout and let me know.
1. Purse and Handbag
- Old unneeded receipts
- Ticket stubs
- Old planners
- Expired credit cards
- Expired membership cards
- Expired discount cards and vouchers
- Store reward cards you don’t use
- Unknown keys
- Keys for old locks
2. Makeup
- Dried up nail polish
- Nail polish you haven’t worn in 2 years
- Foundation bottles you’ve been trying to get last bit out of for last 6 months
- Multiple half used emery boards you’ve had on the go for god knows how long
- Lipstick you never did like the colour of – what was I thinking?
- Multiple hairbrushes
- Multiple tweezers
- Perfume open for over 5 years – I’ve had this bottle on the go for ages. It was lovely – but years later, not so much!
- Perfume that just smells bad!
- Gunged up mascara
- Make up samples you’ve been meaning to try since whenever – and haven’t!
- Some fancy concealer you got suckered into spending a fortune on but never use – in fact truth be told you’re not quite sure what you’re meant to do with it!
- Make up brushes you never even used when you actually had more than 6 seconds every morning to slap your war paint on
- Old eye shadow you’ve had on the go since college
- Blusher that is great if you want to look like a circus clown but otherwise not so good!
3. Paper
- Old bus, train & plane tickets
- Old theatre & cinema tickets
- Blurred out of focus photos
- Junk mail
- Old birthday cards
- Old calendars
- Old diaries
- Magazines
- Newspapers
- Finished notebooks
- Out of date letters
- Take away menus
- Product guarantees for stuff you no longer have
- Electronics manuals – they’re all online
- Manuals for putting furniture together
- Paper bags
- Expired contracts (older than 7 years)
- Old party invitations
- Old wedding invitations
- Old sponsor forms
- Theatre programmes
- Sports programmes
- Save the date cards
- Parcel collect cards
4. Books
- Cookery books you haven’t opened in 5 years – however good they may be, you can always copy out the one or two favourites you don’t want to lose
- Old guide books
- Books you never finished you hated so much
- Books you wouldn’t read even if it was the only book in the house!
- Books that have totally fallen to pieces
- Out of date reference books
- Books for hobbies you no longer follow
- Finished puzzle books
- Out of date maps
- Out of date timetables
- Telephone directories
- Old brochures
- Old catalogues
5. Clothes
- Gloves missing their pair
- Gloves with holes in
- Shrunken jumpers
- T-shirts the moths have eaten
- Woolies the moths have eaten
- Jeans so torn they cannot be patched
- Horrid promo t-shirts
- Horrid promo caps
- Bags with holes in
- Multiple caps
- Old spectacles
- Scratched sun glasses
- Broken umbrellas
- Clothes with stains you cannot shift
- Waterproofs no longer waterproof
- Hand me downs you never really wanted
- Clothes with broken zips you cannot mend
- Broken belts
- Stretch clothes that have lost their stretch
- Old rags
6. Underwear
- Odd socks
- Bras with underwire poking through
- Knickers you would not wear on a bad day
- Socks with holes in – unless you can darn well
- Tights with ladders in
- Underwear you sent grey and cannot rescue
- Your fave knickers you have had so long they have got holes in!
- Old torn pyjamas
- Old bras with no lift
7. Shoes
- Shoes best cobbler in world cannot mend
- Shoes you will never squeeze into again – who knew your feet grew when you’re pregnant!?
- Sneakers/trainers with holes in
- Multiple flip flops
- Odd shoes
- Snapped shoes laces
8. Bathroom
- 50 different miracle foot scrubbers used for precisely 3 days each to no effect!!
- Old toothbrushes
- Expired medicines … you can just drop them off at your local pharmacy or chemist …
- Soap, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner you have had for ages and NEVER use
- Body lotions you have had on the go for years – however expensive!
- Fancy face creams you spent a fortune on that bring you out in a rash
- Grotty bathroom sponges
- Mouldy bath toys
- Hand creams you hate the smell of
- Tatty hair bobbles
- Product samples
- Worn stained towels
- Gungy wash bags you cannot get clean
- Aftershave open more than 3 years
- Bubble bath open more than 12 months
- Broken hair clips
- Blunt razors and razor blades
- Ancient sun cream that you can’t even remember when you bought
- Stinky bath mats that still smell after a wash
- Bottles of stuff long since finished with one drop of stuff in you’ve been meaning to get out
9. Cleaning
- All those cleaning products under your kitchen and bathroom sinks you bought ages ago and never opened or barely used in years
- Vacuum cleaner fittings that don’t fit your cleaner
- Old air sprays
- Old mops
- Old dusters in holes
- Dried up shoe polish
- Fancy shoe polish you got suckered into buying and never used
- Shoe polish in colours you don’t have shoes in
10. Food
- Expired packets & cans of food … I convinced myself I would cook with these supposed super foods and just don’t …
- Soon to expire, unopened packets & cans that can go to a food bank
- Expired spices
- Expired flour and baking ingredients
- Expired sweets and chocolates – yep it does happen!
- Expired sauces lurking in the fridge
- Bottles with a tiny bit left you haven’t used up in 12 months
- Old cooking oil
- Stuff in freezer you know you will never eat
- Fancy teas you never drink
- Bottles of fancy oils you are NEVER going to cook with
- Fancy spirits and liquers you’ve had for years and are never going to drink
11. Kids
- Kids artwork and crafts – I find this one hard but you can’t keep it all!
- Old school work
- Out of date school letters and forms
- I’m all for making clothes last but when they really, really, really don’t fit!
- Rain boots and wellies 5 sizes smaller than the feet of anyone in your home
- Old school shoes from 3 years back
- Fancy dress clothes they can’t fit an arm in
- Old swim stuff and swim aids kids no longer need
12. Toys & Sports
- Electronic toys that don’t work even with new batteries
- Broken plastic tat from party bags
- Packs of cards with cards missing
- Games with essential pieces missing
- Finished colouring books
- Finished sticker books
- Video games for consoles that don’t work
- Old party balloons
- Mouldy soft toys
- Broken buckets
- Broken spades
- Broken sports racquets
- Balls with punctures
- Inflatables with unmendable punctures
- Broken inflatable pumps
13. Kitchen
- Broken gadgets you haven’t used in 5 years
- Cracked crockery you haven’t mended in 5 years … I love this old china but it’s been sitting in this basket waiting to be mended for too long …
- Food mixer fittings for food mixers you no longer own
- Match boxes: if – like me – you’ve got 10 on the go, consolidate & ditch empty boxes
- Multiple aprons
- Multiple corkscrews
- Multiple teatowels
- Pan lids you never use
- Pans with missing handles
- Saucers with missing cups
- Coffee mugs you hate
- Empty jars you are never going to use
- Tub lids minus their tubs
- Cracked mixing bowls
- Broken pegs
- Teapots missing their lid
- Cracked glasses
- Odd cutlery
- Mouldy lunch bags
- Can openers etc that don’t work
- Fancy peelers, crushers and slicers you never use
- Old chopsticks from takeaways
- Water bottles missing their tops
- Left over party stuff
- Rusty seives
- Damaged non-stick ware
14. Stationary
- Finished glue sticks
- Run out biros
- Run out felt tips and markers
- Scrumpled up bits of wrapping paper
- Old washi tape reels
- Old sellotape reels
- Broken staplers
- Broken hole punchers
- Really rubbish pencil sharpeners that break the pencil points
- Grubby old ends of crayons
- Stickers that don’t stick to anything
- Old bubble wrap
- Old used envelopes
- Broken ring binders
- Broken document boxes
- Leaking pens
15. Electronics
- Dead batteries
- Broken watches – sadly most now not mendable
- Bulbs that don’t fit any lights you have
- Camera fittings for cameras long since gone
- Multiple torches
- Old broken cameras
- Old bulbs
- Old mobile phones
- Tapes, videos and vinyl you can no longer play
- Old phone chargers
- Old back up devices
- Scratched DVDs
- CDs you never listen to
- Old cables for broken electronics
- Old cables for electronics you no longer have
- Cracked phone cases
- Old software CDs
16. Bedroom
- Bed linen with tears you cannot mend
- Duvet covers that don’t fit any duvet you own
- Hair drier fittings for hair driers you no longer own
- Pillow slips that don’t fit any pillows you own
- Sheets you never use with stains that just won’t budge
- Smelly candles you haven’t lit in 5 years
- Old dusty pot pouri that doesn’t smell of anything good
- Old shoe boxes
- Old jewellery boxes
- Broken alarm clocks
- Grotty pillows under your bed that aren’t worth a trip to the laundrette
- Grotty duvets under your bed that aren’t worth a trip to the laundrette
- Nasty plastic shop coat hangers jamming up your wardrobe
17. Christmas
- Broken Christmas lights
- Broken Christmas baubles
- Tatty decorations you never put up – I love our home made Christmas decorations but these are just scruffy …
- Christmas cracker contents
- Old gift tags
- Tatty gift bows and ribbons
- Old Christmas cards
18. DIY
- Dried up paint
- Paint you won’t use again
- Left over DIY stuff you will never use
- Broken tools
19. Jewellery
- Odd earrings
- Snapped chains you can’t mend
- Tarnished jewellery you can’t clean
- Rusty jewellery
- Necklaces and bracelets with broken clasps you can’t mend
20. Living Room
- Dead plants
- Dusty dried flowers
- Broken vases
- Unused picture frames
- Broken light fittings you can’t mend
- Ornaments you’ve always hated
- Broken ornaments you are never going to mend
- Cushion pads you’re not using
- Cushion covers with stains you can’t shift
21. Garden
- Broken plant pots
- Old seed packets
- Rusty tools you can’t clean
- Broken tools you can’t mend
- Broken deck chairs
- Old pet toys
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Jacqueline says
I’m so grateful for these decluttering ideas, I just don’t know what’s going on with me. I’ll declutter the main room that causes me a the most panic. After I’m done. The feeling is so great. But after 2or3 days, its worse than ever
What am I doing wrong? Please Help me
Alice says
I know the feeling Jacqueline! I’ve really switched from big purges to little and often – doing 5 minutes every single day, including religiously emptying all the bins in the house. Then one or two small 30 minute projects a week. I’ve managed to let go of so much more stuff this way and it really transformed decluttering into a way of living rather than a short term fix.
Christine says
Thank you so much for this article. I was recently told that I have obsessive personality disorder- which is actually helping me understand that my perfectionism, is related to how much ‘stuff’ I have; and since I can’t get out from underneath the clutter to manage everyday items – clothes, shoes, dishes. I am frequently hunting for something.
But your concrete format appeals to my need for g vexactness while allowing me to purge at the same time. Thanks so much.
Jackie says
We are moving across the country in a couple of months. We don’t want to pay to move stuff that has been sitting in our crawl space for 12 years. Most of the items listed I have recently purged in the last month but that was from a very concentrated huge effort. I like this small systematic approach and agree that it makes the process easier and sustainable. This will be my new mantra. And keeping my husband from buying new “stuff” will ensure that we don’t end up with a new house “full of stuff that will sit in a crawl space for 12 years”.
I also think that doing small amounts on a regular basis will keep his accumulation at bay. Oh boys and their toys!
Bonnie says
I’ve found it easy to declutter most of what is on your list. My problem is getting rid if things that are sentimental, whether I use them or not! My Mom left me 3 sets of antique dishes, added to my 3 sets. Who needs six sets of dishes? Her jewelry and watches I’ll never wear, but can’t part with. Every piece of artwork my daughter made and she’s 19! How can I get past the sentimental value and see it for what it is?
Alice says
I really hear you Bonnie – I’m a dreadful sentimental hoarder. I had all my letters and bits and bobs going back for ever plus loads of stuff passed all the way down from my great granny! And yep ALL my daughter’s art work. The thing that has really helped me is a memory journal – it’s not a diary but like a bullet journal in which I can capture memories of people and places and years. I haven’t had a chance yet to share how it works but it is really helping me edit sentimental stuff down to a lovely small collection I can enjoy and pass on.
Sharon says
Hi. I am also in process of de cluttering. I started by getting an expansion hard drive for the laptop. I am scanning papers then shredding them. I have also scanned my daughters art work. I have them safe on pc hard drive so if they got damaged I won’t worry. I am slowly clearing bags of shredded aper every month.. MYbe this idea will help you keep a scanned copy of your draughts work when the original is not needed anymore.
Jan says
These are really good ideas. I look forward to trying them myself. I appreciate the list of things to get rid of. I’ve noticed several that I can get rid of today.
Alice says
So glad you liked them Jan – it’s amazing how many little things sneak in but also how easy it is to let them once we get started. Good luck with the decluttering.
Karen says
Hi Alice,
I enjoyed your post on 250 Things You’ll Be Happier Without. I ran across your blog on Pinterest. One thing I might add for those of your readers that are sentimental about children’s art work, is to snap a picture of the pieces and then condense the pictures into a photo book. Many sites will even offer this service for free! Check out Free Prints.com
I’m working on several different albums now and even clearing storage space on my phone in the process!Win! Win!
Nancy Dillow says
Your whole message is about decluttering as you see something that need to go away right now. Well, I wish I had had the courage to do that a long time ago. I am downsizing from a 2-story 2094sf house to a 1375sf 1-story. What an eye opener that is! As I box stuff up, I am appalled to see the stuff (use any other appropriate word for junk) that was just “there” As I got into it, I found that I had to make an almost daily run to Good Will, the Salvation Army and another thrift shop near my subdivision. Let us not even mention how many full trash cans there were!! I am now researching on Pinterest for all of the ways I can use or recycle what I have chosen to keep. I had almost convinced myself that I could that that old armoire that I really didn’t like and repurpose it for my craft room. Nope, Good Will got it! Thanks for all the hints that we can all take advantage of.
Emily Aagaard says
Amazing list! Now I just need to find time to clean and declutter all of my things! Thanks for sharing!
Emily Aagaard // https://www.emilyaagaard.com
Jean Arthur says
I came across your website whilst Googling. I like your format. It seems easier to use than others that tell you to take everything out of each room, and put back only what you think you need. Your easy to follow list made me smile as I strolled through it. It is something I can tackle and follow do a bit everyday as I come across the items or to spend 5 or 10 minutes in one area. Thank you!
Alice says
I do hope it helps Jean – it definitely helped to stop me feeling so overwhelmed. And after clearing lots of little things this way I found it much easier to let go of some really big stuff.
Elizabeth says
This is wonderful! Practical, informative and easy to follow- Thank you!
Alice says
So glad it helped Elizabeth – do let me know how you get on with your decluttering, Alice