Surprising list of the most commonly overlooked things in your home that should be decluttered ASAP! Which do you have?
It’s all too easy to accumulate items without realising it, and before you know it, your home and life has been filled with stuff that’s no longer needed or wanted.
A lot of these things look useful at first glance, but on closer inspection can be a waste of valuable space and time for you.
Some are physical things hiding in plain sight, and others are more subtle.
While some items may seem insignificant when looked at individually, they can add up and take up valuable space.
Letting go of each of them will make all the difference!
How many of them do you have?…
19 Overlooked Things In Your Home That You’re Probably Forgetting To Declutter
#1 – Kitchen Gadgets At The Back Of The Cupboard
Aaah – the kitchen cabinets. Where ice cream makers / pasta makers / insert gadget of choice go to retire….
All too often these items are bulky and a complete waste of space.
In a room that needs to be streamlined to work efficiently, this has to stop!
Time to look for all those gadgets and appliances that you never use (and never really needed…) and let them go.
TIP: You could sell a lot of these as people like to grab a bargain!
#2 – Unused Memberships / Subscriptions
They see like a great idea at the time, and I’m sure you have the very best intentions of using them.
But….
It’s just too easy to sign up for subscriptions and memberships that we never use and then keep paying for month after month.
Things like:
- Gym memberships
- Magazine subscriptions
- App subscriptions on our phone
Take a look through your bank statements to find all of these unwanted expenses and cancel them.
You’ll be surprised how much money you could save each month!
TIP: Go through the past 12 months statements so you don’t miss anything that’s only taken once a year. This is really frustrating when it goes out for another year again and you have to wait 12 months to stop paying…
#3 – Out Of Date Food
You’re probably thinking – ‘well duh, of course I get rid of out of date food’. But the truth is, it’s easy for items to get pushed to the back of the fridge or cupboard and forgotten about.
My spices always seem to have an out of date jar every time I go through them. Weird but true (and I use them often!).
Take some time to go through your pantry and fridge, throwing away anything that’s past its use by date.
Not only will this declutter your space, it’ll also make meal planning easier as you can see exactly what you have available.
#4 – Freezer Burned Food
This is similar to out of date food, but it’s easy for items in the freezer to get freezer burned and become inedible.
Especially that which has been pushed to the back of the drawer or bottom of the chest freezer…
Take some time to go through your freezer and throw away anything that’s been affected by freezer burn.
This will make more space for fresh, delicious food!
#5 – Receipts And Bills You No Longer Need
Both digital and physical items should be looked at here.
Yes, you need to keep receipts until you’re sure that the item is being kept / out of warranty / used for business and work expenses – but after that, it needs to go!
Also, with the advancement of technology, a lot of us receive our bills and receipts electronically and forget to delete them after they’ve been paid because we can’t see the clutter at all.
Take some time to go through your email account and delete any old receipts or bills that you no longer need. This will not only declutter your inbox, but also help you keep track of your finances.
Then go through your filing cabinet, purse, and anywhere else the paper receipts may be lurking, and declutter the unnecessary ones of these as well.
TIP: Create a folder in your email account, and a physical folder in your home where ALL receipts and bills go. That way you can easily find them if needed, and also easily declutter as you go.
#6 – Clothes That You Never Wear
We’ve all been guilty of holding onto clothes that we never wear, thinking that one day we might.
But let’s be real – if you haven’t worn it in the past year (or two… or three), chances are you won’t ever wear it again.
Take some time to go through your wardrobe and donate or sell any items that you no longer wear.
This will not only declutter your wardrobe, but also give new life to those clothes with someone who will actually wear them.
#7 – Old Makeup And Skincare Products
Makeup and skincare products have expiration dates, and using them past that date can be harmful to your skin.
Take some time to go through your makeup bag and bathroom cabinets, throw out any old or expired products, and organize the ones you use on a regular basis.
This will not only declutter your space, but also ensure that you’re using products that are safe for your skin.
TIP: There is a little symbol on most products that looks like a small pot with a number on it. This is the number of months the item can be used after opening (i.e. 12 means you can use it for a year without an issue). When you open a product, you could add a date in a marker pen, so you know exactly when to let it go.
#8 – Unused Cables / Chargers
How many different types of cables and chargers do you have lying around that you no longer use?
With technology constantly evolving, it’s easy to accumulate a pile of old cords and chargers that are no longer compatible with your current devices.
Take some time to go through them and get rid of any that are no longer needed. This will free up space in your drawers and reduce clutter in your home.
TIP: When you go through everything, you’ll automatically see what you DO use. Label each cord and then you’ll know exactly what it’s for and when it becomes obsolete.
#9 – Expired Medications and First Aid Supplies
Just like food, medicines also have expiration dates.
Holding onto expired medicines can be dangerous as they may not work effectively or could cause harm to you.
Take some time to go through your medicine cabinet and dispose of any expired medications or first aid supplies.
This will not only declutter your space, but also ensure that you have safe and effective remedies when needed.
TIP: Always dispose carefully of medications. Never flush down the toilet or sink, or throw away in your regular rubbish. Most chemists will take your unused meds and safely get rid of them for you.
#10 – Expired Coupons And Vouchers
We all have that one drawer or part of our purse where we keep coupons and vouchers, thinking we’ll use them before they expire.
But let’s be honest, how often do we actually remember to use them?
Take some time to go through your stash and get rid of any expired coupons or vouchers.
TIP: My advice would be to use them immediately where possible so you don’t let this happen again. If you can spend on things that you know you’ll need in the future, then you can simply stash them away until that time. For instance – you can buy Christmas presents months in advance and put them in your present box ready. Make a note of what you spent and that it was a voucher, and then you can treat yourself from your own money for the same value when you want to – guilt free!
#11 – Old Greetings Cards
We all have a stash of old birthday and Christmas cards that we’ve received over the years.
While it’s nice to keep them as memories, they can quickly pile up and take up unnecessary space.
Take some time to go through your collection and do the following:
- Cards that you don’t want or need can be recycled – or you can upclcle them by cutting the picture off the front and making into a tag for a future gift.
- Any cards you want to keep for sentimental reasons could be photographed, and then you have a digital copy that will last and not fade – that you can use in a photo book for the memories.
#12 – Abandoned Projects
We’ve all started a project with good intentions, only to abandon it halfway through.
Whether it’s a DIY home renovation or a craft project, these abandoned projects can take up valuable space in our homes.
Take some time to go through your unfinished projects and either finish them or get rid of them.
This will not only declutter your space but also give you a sense of accomplishment for finishing them, or relieve you of the guilt of not finishing them when you see them around all the time.
#13 – Excessive Hangers
It’s easy to accumulate a mountain of hangers in our closets, especially if we shop often for clothes and they give you the hanger for each item. But do you really need all those extra hangers taking up space?
Take some time to go through your wardrobe and donate any extra hangers that you don’t need. This will make it easier to organise it and find the clothes you want to wear.
#14 – Unused Apps On Your Phone
How many times have you downloaded an app on your phone with good intentions of using it, but never opening them again?.
Yup, me too!
Trouble is, these unused apps take up space on our devices and can also slow down their performance.
Take some time to declutter your phone and delete them. This will not only make your device run faster, but also free up space for more important things like photos and videos.
#15 – The Junk Drawer
Ideally I would say remove your junk drawer completely by having a proper place for everything.
But in reality, we all have that drawer where those little bits and bobs end up!
If you declutter this periodically it honestly becomes so much more useful, because you end up knowing roughly what’s in there (and so you can find what you need when you need it), and you also don’t just overlook it as a space that’s ‘allowed’ to be cluttered…
#16 – Out Of Date Filing
If you have a filing cabinet or folder for important paperwork, then chances are it’s getting pretty full and difficult to use.
This is usually because a lot of the paperwork is out of date – but you’re just adding the latest copies on top of the old ones.
Take some time to go through it and get rid of any outdated or unnecessary papers. This will make it so much easier to find important documents in the future.
#17 – Old Manuals And Warranties
With technology readily available, most manuals can be found online and warranties are often stored digitally as well.
Go through your collection and only keep the ones that are absolutely necessary.
#18 – Unneeded Direct Debits
A few years ago I was looking through my bank statement and realised that there was a Direct Debit that seemed to be going out twice each month.
I hadn’t spotted it before because I knew that company was something I was paying for, and I just hadn’t caught that I had two payments a month.
It turned out that it was insurance for my white goods. And I was still paying for the ones in my old home (we’d moved a year prior).
What a waste of money!
But it taught me a lesson.
It’s always worth looking through your bank statements and really paying attention – so no excess is being taken out…
#19 – DRIED UP / OLD PENS
In our house there’s a few places where we keep pens.
It’s always handy to have one to hand for writing a cheque, filling out a form, sending a card etc….
But I have to admit that more often than not when I grab one out of the pot or drawer – I find it doesn’t work anymore.
Then I have to spend a while going through them all to find one that does work.
When I scan over the area to check we have pens there – I forget to check whether those pens are actually in good condition.
So, my advice to you is to save yourself the annoyance of working out that most of them are no good, and test them as part of your decluttering efforts going forward.
Your future self really will thank you for it!
Are you guilty of usually looking past these things when you declutter?
Whether you’ve become ‘clutter-blind’ to them, or they’re just so out of sight and mind that you’ve genuinely forgotten about them – they’re definitely overlooked things in your home right now.
So don’t waste any more energy on them – get them all out of your home and life once and for all.
Which will you start with first?
I’m glad they helped, Audrey!
Great tips!
Thank you~