For some reason – unknown – I had in my house, amongst other stuff :
- 9 torches
- 6 hairbrushes
- 5 pairs of tweezers
- 3 corkscrews
- 5 rolling pins
- AND 3 sewing machines!!
Crazy huh? But I bet it sounds familiar?
Because we all do it, don’t we?
Cluttering our houses full of 10 different versions of the same thing and barely using any of them because we can never find even one in all the clutter!
SO if we are desperate to declutter and reclaim our home, duplicates are an easy place to start.
And I’ve got for you below a big list of duplicates you can easily let go. If you are short on time whiz straight down to section 4 for my declutter checklist.
But if you’ve got a moment over your coffee then let’s talk quickly about why we all have clutter in the first place and a big myth doing the rounds about decluttering.
And that’s the idea that decluttering has to be hard work else it won’t work.
1. ISN’T DECLUTTERING MEANT TO BE HARD WORK?
You have probably heard from Marie Kondo and her fans that decluttering is hard.
And that you have to …
- Put aside loads of time
- Follow a strict plan
- Pull everything out of the cupboards
- Sort into strict categories
- Purge everything brutally, all in one go, keeping only the few things that spark joy
Do not believe it!
The method does work for some people and has genuinely made their lives happier but for many of us with houses full of clutter this method is a recipe for disaster.
And it’s not necessary!
Because there are much simpler alternatives that get to the bottom of why we all clutter our houses full of duplicates in the first place!
2. Why Do We Have Clutter?
Most of us have clutter because deep down we are anxious about life in general. But crazily the clutter itself makes us even more anxious.
And then we become anxious about letting go of the clutter, in case we lose something – we’re not quite sure what – terribly valuable.
The truth is – the thing lost in all our clutter is ourselves. It literally overwhelms us.
And the problem for lots of us with Marie Kondo is, she overwhelms us more. We need declutter methods that actually ease our anxiety not make it worse.
I have discovered two different declutter methods I love, that do just that:
3. Two Incredibly Easy Declutter Methods
Just 10 Things
The Just 10 Things method is wonderful when you’re tired and drowning and depressed. You can read about it here, but basically it’s a very gentle declutter method in which you:
- Let go of 10 things every day
- Until decluttering becomes an easy habit
- Use the power of a small daily habit to declutter 3,000 things in a year
It is as easy as that. And the ritual of letting a few things go every day truly eases anxiety. You can use the declutter checklist below to purge 10 of your duplicates every day.
I used the gentle Just 10 Things method to clear most of my clutter but I also use the Power Purge approach.
The Power Purge
The Power Purge is brilliant when you’re hopping mad with your family’s clutter and ready to yell at everyone in sight.
Very simply you:
- Set a timer for 15 minutes
- Focus on one area
- And without yanking stuff out everywhere, grab the stuff you’re ready to let go
Again, you can use my declutter checklist below to focus your power purge.
It’s a fast and furious method but it channels our anger positively so we see results instantly.
And we see those results without making a huge mess, which is super important because it sets up a positive feedback loop to our brain, telling us decluttering is easy.
And because we believe it’s easy, we do it again, and again and again and power through our clutter. Cool, huh?
4. Declutter Checklist
So here we go, a massive checklist of duplicates we can easily purge.
It’s divided into simple categories – where I found lots of crazy duplicates lurking – so it won’t overwhelm.
You can use either the Just 10 Things or the Power Purge methods – or whatever works best for you – to work through them and before you know you it, you’ll have loads more lovely space to enjoy.
I really this declutter checklist helps. Do let me know how it goes on.
For more decluttering support check out my FREE step-by-step Declutter Guide which has got more declutter checklists, challenges and motivational support that will help you declutter your home and critically keep clutter out.
Baking
- Rolling pins – I had 5
- Cookie cutters – different shapes OK but not identikits
- Whisks
- Jelly moulds
- Measuring cups
- Mixing bowls
Bathroom
- Hairbrushes
- Tweezers
- Hair bobbles
- Toothbrush chargers
- Nail scissors
- Nail brushes
- Bath hats
- Towels – yes of course we need more than 2 but 20 really?
- First aid kits
Bedroom
- Duvets – I had 5 spares!
- Duvet covers – one on and one in the wash is fine
- Sheets – as above
- Pillow slips – ditto
- Blankets – yes a good way to keep heating bills down but not as home to moths!
Cooking
- Wooden spoons
- Sauce pans – how can I need more than there are rings on the hob?
- Frying pans
- Blender jugs – I love my Nutribullet but I DO NOT need 5 jugs!
- Sieves
- Colanders
- Graters
- Ladles
- Salt & pepper cellars
- Spatulas
- Vegetable peelers
- Can openers
General Kitchen Stuff
- Tea towels
- Oven gloves
- Aprons
- Floor mops
- Dust pans & brushes
- Cleaning products
Drinks
- Corkscrews
- Bottle openers
- Coffee mugs
- Wine glasses
- Tea pots
- Tumblers
- Champagne glasses
- Mug mats
- Coffee pots
Crafty Stuff
- Felt tips – I’m all for variety but 100s, really?
- Crayons – as above
- Coloured pencils – ditto
- Loom bands – would love to throw the lot but getting down to one jar is progress!
- Craft beads – lovely but so many?
Electronics
- Multi-sockets
- USB drives
- Torches
- Phone chargers
- Extension leads
Storage
- Cake tins
- Plastic tubs
- Jam jars
- Water bottles
- Lunch & picnic bags
- Ice boxes
Shoes & Bags
- Flip flops
- Kids wellingtons
- Swimming bags
- Suitcases
- School bags
- Pencil cases
- Wallets & purses
- Shoe polish brushes
Toys
- Lego – you can have too much lego, way too much!
- Packs of cards
- 50 different varieties of Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly etc
- Jigsaws
- Buckets & spades
- Beach games
- Bricks
- Kids train pieces
Wardobe
- Classic Ts in the same colour
- White shirts
- Jeans
- Black trousers
- Little black dresses
- Handkerchiefs
- Socks
- Scarves
- Clothes brushes
- Swimming costumes
- Dressing gowns
- Coat hangers
Tools
- Screw drivers
- Hammers
- Spare screws
- Garden trowels
- Garden brushes
- Tape measures
I do hope this list helps you declutter your duplicates – it really helped me.
I have lots more FREE easy decluttering resources for you including daily declutter prompts and step by step guides to clearing clutter hot spots. Do check them out:
- Step By Step Declutter Guide
- How To Declutter Your Garage
- How To Clear Your Paper Clutter
- Empty Boxes Of Forgotten Stuff
Original image source: rawpixel
Kristen M. says
Great post! You’re understanding approach is just what I needed. When I saw things like tweezers, I thought “THERE IS NO WAY I’M GIVING UP MY NINE TWEEZERS! (FOUR IDENTICAL & FIVE RANDOM-thanks to my three monthly makeup/beauty subscriptions, I have amassed not only an additional five tweezers, but ONE HUNDRED & EIGHTY beauty items, mostly sample sizes, per year. (I’ve never done that math. WOW! Just what a clutter prone person needs. However, I do use some of the items religiously. About 10%. And I keep them organized in a hanging pocket organizer. (Well, THREE hanging pocket organizers. But I have a hard time throwing things away, even if they’re of no use to me. Even if they make me hurt. Like that glittery eyeshadow that gets in my eyes and makes me itch like crazy. That gorgeous gold does not look very gorgeous when I’ve rubbed my eyes like a sleepy toddler w a cold. The whole eye area becomes bright red & purple. But do I still have that shadow? Yes. It’s so pretty! (I’ll throw it out now.). Not to mention, glitter isn’t encouraged if you have even a slight wrinkle! Don’t want to decorate the wrinkles!
Back to the tweezers—-if I only have one, what will I do if I can’t find it? What if I lose it? What if it breaks? What if I have a friend over and we BOTH need to pluck our eyebrows at the exact same time?!?! This is how far fetched I get w the reasons to keep stuff. Anxiety, just like you said. I have never once in 43 years needed two tweezers at the same time. & def not to simultaneously pluck hairs w a gf. I have a brand that is my favorite. I’ll keep one in my bathroom and one in my purse. The rest can go bye-bye.
Reading your post has helped me realize, if I didn’t have four, or 14 or 40 of something, it wd be a lot easier to FIND the thing I need, when I need it! Aha! It is no longer an issue of “what if”. It’s simply in its spot. Thank you for helping me figure that out.
Sincerely, Kristen M. In California
.
**more on my subscriptions**
In addition to paying $360 a year (HOLY COW! Is that right?! Three @ $10 each) for 180 beauty samples a year, they come in a cute &handy box or an adorable very useable makeup bag. That’s 24 boxes and 12 makeup bags a year. I’m up to 216 items that are being delivered to me. This month was the first time I threw away the two decorative boxes. Immediately. I poured something greasy on top so there was no way I’d fish them out of the trash. I haven’t missed those boxes at all. However I do still have a few years of them stacked in “ROOM 2” (the spare room of doom). I use some to keep drawers organized and for small item storage. But I need to toss the rest. I keep them because, they’re just to cute to toss…what if I need to use them to organize another drawer? What if I decide to make a Pinterest craft w them? There’s a very cool little set of drawers I’m going to make. In fact, I only pinned that TWO YEARS AGO. I’m all over it. Time to let go. Thank you again!
Alice says
Great to hear from you Kristen! You really made me laugh – so glad not just me struggling with the glittery eyeshadow 🙂 It is crazy isn’t once we actually stop and look at all those duplicates isn’t it? As you say, when do we ever need two pairs of tweezers at the same time!
Camellia says
Thank you for posting this. I can relate to everything that you have listed. Mostly everything will be applied to our house when I get started this weekend except for a few things in the kitchen utensils drawer that I have to double as hubby is right handed and I am left. Otherwise, we will be saying goodbye to approximately 22 towels, 4 bedding sheet sets, unspecified amount of socks that are unworn or have holes and a whole lot more. Lol.
I’m going to write up a list for each location with a few additions, print it out and stick it to the doors. Hopefully the rest of the household will notice.
Thank you again.
Alice says
22 towels wow! I thought we had a lot 😉 So glad the post helped, do let me know how you get on