Expert reveals what to keep (and toss) when decluttering your home
By Thumbtack Staff•Last updated Aug 17, 2023
Last updated Aug 17, 2023
So you’ve committed to decluttering your home — good for you! Step one of any home organizing project is to make the commitment. But once you start decluttering, you may find yourself wondering, “What should I keep, and what should I get rid of?”
Beth Blacker is the founder of It's Just Stuff, a home organizing and move management business in Boulder, Colorado. After years of helping people declutter and reclaim their homes, she knows what items are worth keeping — and which ones aren’t. In this guide, Beth explains what you should do with 8 common household items that you may not know what to do with.
Toss: Duplicates
“It’s OK to have two or three spatulas, but you do not need 12 unless you’re running a catering business out of your home,” says Beth. “The same goes for any kitchen item, especially pots and pans. Even for those special occasions when you have to cook a lot, you don’t need four frying pans of the same size.”
You may also have duplicate sets of linens and towels. “I don’t think you need more than two sets of sheets per bed and two towels per person living in a home,” says Beth. “I personally only own one set of sheets for my bed, one bath towel, two hand towels, and a few beach towels. I keep one extra set for when I have company staying with me, but that’s it.”
Keep: Original essential documents
Even if you store everything on your computer hard drive or in the cloud, it’s worth keeping some documents — especially the originals. These include:
- birth certificate
- marriage certificate
- divorce decree
- wills or any other estate planning documents
- anything related to the purchase or sale of a property
“I keep a ‘go box’ of these types of documents so that if I ever have to leave my home quickly or I become incapacitated, my family or I can quickly get to whatever we need,” says Beth.
Toss: Other documents
It’s good to keep some original documents, but there are other important documents you don’t need to physically keep.
“We live in a digital world, and there is just no reason to keep bills, statements, letters, and similar papers,” says Beth. “File cabinets take up too much space.”
But what if the internet goes down one day and you won’t be able to access something when you really need it?
“I promise you, if the internet ever disappears completely, it won’t matter where you stored anything — our world as we know it can no longer function without the internet,” says Beth. “I’m not saying that to freak you out. The world keeps turning on its axis, and we have no control over some things in life. So just breathe through the fear, and believe it is a waste of energy.”
Keep: Sentimental items
“Some people attach a lot of emotion to everything they own, and I never want to tell them they have to get rid of anything that apparently means a lot to them,” says Beth. “So I always recommend dividing sentimental items into categories like:
- I must see this every day.
- I only need this for certain occasions.
- I never use it or look at it, but I still want to remember it.”
After you decide what is and isn’t sentimental, you may be able to find creative ways to keep the memories while letting go of the items. For example, you can take photos of the items.
“I often suggest creating a collage or some type of memory book with the photos, which are really easy to make online now through various websites,” says Beth. “For all of those ‘I can never get rid of these T-shirts’ situations, I highly recommend making a T-shirt quilt.”
Toss: Magazines and newspapers
“Again, everything is online. So if you’re keeping a bunch of cooking magazines from the 1980s, it really is time to toss them,” says Beth.
But maybe there’s a recipe or other exclusive content in several magazines that you want to keep. If so, you need a system that isn’t just shoving them into a drawer. If the magazines are unorganized, then what’s the point of keeping them? You’ll probably have a hard time finding the recipe you saved.
“And if you happen to be someone who has saved newspapers as historical memories, I would say scan the articles or pages that are important to you and either give them to a library (some will still take them) or recycle them,” said Beth. “The actual paper will start to disintegrate, collect dust, possibly get moldy from sitting in a basement or garage, etc. So bottom line: it is not healthy to have those items lying around.”
Keep: Baby and children’s items
“If you are still deciding whether you are going to have more children, you are probably wanting to keep all of the paraphernalia you bought for the first one,” says Beth. “But storing it for more than a few years may become problematic, so consider lending all of it to friends or family having babies, with the promise that they will return it should you need it again.”
But what if you’re done having children and want to keep your kids’ clothes to use as hand-me-downs for younger children? After all, it’s a smart way to save money. “Be sure that you don’t save things that are stained, torn, or otherwise unsightly,” says Beth.
You should also consider whether your younger children can fit into the used clothing and whether it suits their taste and personal style.
Toss: Cords
“Oh, those cords we all collect whenever we get a new electronic device or appliance. And when we get rid of the device or appliance, somehow the cords don’t leave with them — and they end up in a box or bin, multiplying like rabbits,” says Beth.
You might try to convince yourself that you need to hold onto those electrical cords, cables, and wires just in case you really need them someday. But if you haven’t found a use for those cords, what are the odds you eventually will?
Get rid of them by dropping them off at an appliance store or recycling them.
Keep: Anything that brings you joy
“Yes, it has become a bit of a cliche to say that, but it really is true,” says Beth. “You should always feel like you are surrounded by things that give you a sense of calm and happiness.”
There’s a caveat, though: you shouldn’t save so much stuff that you can’t see your counters or floors.
“That is clutter. And clutter, by definition, brings chaos to one’s life,” explains Beth. If you hold on to many items that bring you joy, “just try to remember that external clutter will eventually create internal clutter and vice versa. So maintaining the right balance of stuff in your life is important — or you will feel the burden eventually.”
A pro can help you take control of your home
Decluttering your home, or even just one room, is no small task. Some people can do it on their own, and others can’t. It’s OK to ask for help.
You can find home organizing professionals and top-rated decluttering services on Thumbtack. If you need help discarding items, especially large items like furniture and major appliances, you can also find junk removal services.
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