“Clutter is not just the stuff on your floor—it is anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living.” -Peter Walsh.

Clutter has been widely regarded as the physical manifestation of unmade decisions fueled by procrastination—well, at least according to Christina Scalise.

If anything, clutter is anything you have not used and is taking up space in your home. In essence, these are the things you should be getting rid of as you would not be missing them. Over time, it is inevitable to accumulate personal belongings, and while it is good to have them, there are items in our homes that no longer serve their purpose and have no other use to them other than just taking up space. If you have been living in your home for a while, there is a very likely chance that you have been keeping household items you no longer need. In other scenarios, you might find yourself overwhelmed and frustrated by the perpetual disarray of your household insomuch that you are considering moving out and looking for a new house and lot for sale in Laguna.

However, your solution need not be that drastic. Sometimes, all it requires is a sweep through the home, a little cleaning, and a lot of organization and decluttering. At first glance, it may seem like you have an organized home, but it may be that you are just concealing clutter behind cabinet doors. Unfortunately, cluttered storage spaces can quickly become overwhelming, and while you are technically hiding eyesores, you are not exactly addressing the root of the problem. Isolating utensils, unused toys, and almost-empty products in cabinets in drawers to give off the illusion of a clutter-free and organized environment may be tempting. However, it is worth noting that out of sight is not always out of mind. Neither is it the best option when it comes to decluttering and organizing your house.

In any case, if you have decided to take a more head-on approach to clear the clutter, you might want to read through this article. Take this as an opportunity to make use of unused household objects by donating them to someone who may need them more and recycle what you can to reduce the clutter in your home. The most ideal time to completely declutter your home may be rather challenging to come by, but over time, you can pare down what you have by letting the checklist below assist you in slowly but surely reorganizing your home.

1.) Mismatched Utensils

You have a dedicated drawer for your kitchen utensils at home. If you find that it is overflowing with forks, spoons, knives, and all other utensils going in all different directions, it might be time to reevaluate what you need and organize your cutlery drawer. One common culprit among overflowing cutlery drawers is mismatched utensils. This happens because multiple sets of dissimilar silverware do not stack nicely and get piled in the same drawer. Also, it is worth noting that you only ever need 8-12 of each cutlery, depending on the size of your household and how often you entertain. One thing to consider, however, is how often you wish to wash your silverware and pay attention to how many utensils you actually use on a regular basis. After that, collect and donate any cutlery you no longer use.

2.) Books

One thing about books is that they are nice to have. You display them and pepper your bookshelves with them. It only becomes an issue when your bookshelf is already seemingly overflowing with them. In fact, avid readers and nonreaders alike seem to have this problem. That said, peruse your bookshelves and take a moment to go through them. Keep your favorite titles and books and some that you are considering reading one day. The rest of the books can be donated or brought to your local library or thrift store. Alternatively, you can also check if your school district accepts donations as well.

3.) Plastic Food Containers

Having spare plastic food containers is great as you can easily store meal leftovers. However, you should have only enough of these to find the suitable lid for the container you want to use. Unfortunately, having way too many food containers means that there are instances wherein you will be having difficulty matching up your reusable food containers. If that is the case, you probably have one too many. So, organize your entire cabinet by clearing it up. Match the lids with their corresponding bottoms. Any items without a pair should be recycled. Similarly, stained containers and deformed ones should be tossed out.

4.) Glassware

Pitchers, vases, mismatched cups, and glassware can take up a lot of space. Sure, keeping different glasses for every type of drink and different occasions may seem important, but if you are hardly using them, they are only collecting dust. Clear your glassware collection and keep the coordinating sets together while donating the random standoffs. Stemware and any vases that have not been used in years should be donated or taken to the thrift store. Also, think of which glassware you actually use consistently and which duplicates are just taking up space in your home.

5.) Nearly Empty Products

Although they may be easy to miss, a lot of us actually end up with a collection of almost-empty products. These products range from cleaning supplies to cosmetics and can be found in several areas around our homes. With that in mind, take a look at the bottom of your kitchen sinks, your bathroom drawers, and cabinets for any items you may have shoved to the back of a cabinet or piled up in a basket and accidentally forgotten. Be sure to check for the expiration dates and throw out any expired products. Supplies that can still be used should be placed front and center of the cabinet so that they can be used first. If you have any unopened items that you have not touched in years or have multiples of, consider donating them.

6.) Old Clothes

One of the heavily cluttered areas in your home is your closet. You have old clothes and attires kept with the initial intention of being worn again. Unfortunately, many of these no longer fit or never get worn, which can easily overwhelm your small space. You may also have duplicates of the same garment which you have never worn or no longer wear. That said, you need to dedicate time to sorting through piles of clothing and eliminate those that you no longer need and wear. Sort through your stack, keep the ones you use, and donate the rest in good condition to make space.

7.) Toys

Children are quite notorious for playing with a toy, only for them to forget it one day. If your child’s room is overflowing with various toys such as action figures, stuffed animals, and other sorts of children’s toys, you need to downsize and get rid of those that they no longer need. Sort through their toys and donate functional toys that they no longer play with to daycares, thrift stores, shelters, or other organizations that might need them. Also, keep their rooms organized by setting up a system to store their remaining toys in dressers and shelves to keep their rooms manageable and clutter-free.

8.) Mail and Paper Items

You likely have that infamous mail paper pile that sits on your kitchen counter or hallway table that has become an eyesore over the years. To control this cluttered mail mountain, be sure to only keep the mail you need in the stack. Do not put any read mail back into the stack and immediately shred items as necessary. Also, recycle junk mail so it does not contribute to the growing pile. Be sure to have a dedicated labeled storage container or basket for important mail, which will be helpful for staying organized. Be sure to regularly sift through expired coupons and letters that are no longer needed for any records you have. To avoid the heap from growing, be sure to check it and sort it out every now and then.

9.) Condiments

Condiments may seem like items you can easily dismiss and overlook. However, they can easily clutter your fridge quickly when left unmanaged. Sure, having a range of options may seem appealing, but you likely have condiments that do not get touched for months—or even years. In fact, there is a likely chance you are keeping expired condiments in your fridge. So, when it comes to decluttering your fridge, keep only one of each condiment. Having multiple flavors and brands of the same type of sauce can cause these to pile up. Dispose of expired items and use the rest of any duplicate sauces and condiments you have. To ensure you never have to contend with a cluttered condiment fridge shelf ever again, evaluate your grocery list and choose dressings smartly to prevent buying multiples.