The Ultimate Declutter Your Home Checklist for Moms

Does decluttering your entire house often feel like this scary, impossible-to-navigate task? Or are you looking for an easy-to-follow decluttering checklist to help you do the perfect job?

Whichever your situation is, welcome to the ultimate declutter your home checklist to guide you in your decluttering journey!

This free printable declutter checklist contains a list of 60+ items to target as you declutter, and I’ve broken down everything by room. I’ll also share the best decluttering tips to help you get your home decluttered effectively without feeling overwhelmed.

By the way, do you know cluttered spaces can have a negative impact on one’s life — specifically your mental health? Yup! There are many research studies proving this.

So if your house feels too busy courtesy of overflowing clutter, this declutter your home checklist will help you get it back in shape and make your life better.

Ready to, as Elsa would say, let it go? Great — let’s begin.

*This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure here.

Where Do I Start Decluttering My House?

The short answer is — start anywhere.

By “anywhere”, I mean you can start decluttering whichever room you prefer, provided you follow the golden decluttering rule: declutter one room fully before going to the next one.

However, it’s a good idea to start with a room that’s easy to handle (like the bathroom) so you can gain momentum to work on other areas that may take a lot of time and effort to declutter (like your closet, for instance).

Maintaining some form of order — that is, tackling one area at a time using this ultimate decluttering checklist as your guide — will help you to not feel overwhelmed as you declutter

Get Our FREE Decluttering Checklist

5 Helpful Decluttering Tips (for a Quick and Fun Decluttering Process)

Decluttering your entire home is worth the effort.

It makes home organizing easier since you’ll no longer clean or organize unwanted items. Less clutter also means your home will feel spacious, warm and inviting, and much less cluttered!.

To add to that, clutter attracts excess dust and critters that like to hide in crowded spaces. So when you rid your home of more things, you’ll have less dust and pests to worry about.

And less to clean!

But before you confront the cluttered chaos with this declutter your home checklist, here are a few helpful tips that will make a huge difference in your decluttering efforts:

Tip # 1 Get Motivated

I know how it feels to want to make your house free from a gazillion unnecessary things but lack the motivation to get started.

If you need a little push to declutter and keep your home clean, consider these motivation tricks:

Watch “Declutter with me” and other similar videos on Youtube before you start decluttering. Binge watching shows like “The Hoarders” and “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” is also a good place to start if you lose motivation to declutter.

Such videos will inspire you to get up and organize your cluttered home, just like what other households on the internet seem to be doing.

Read my popular post on decluttering quotes and if you find a particular quote that speaks to you, print it out and use it when you need some extra motivation to help when you are decluttering. These quotes will inspire you to work towards a clutter-free home.
Look for “before and after decluttering” photos on the internet. Seeing the transformation of a space that had piles of clutter will motivate you to organize and get rid of stuff your home no longer needs.
Crank up your favorite playlist as you declutter. Playing music will help you get things done faster and psych you up to keep going once you’ve started decluttering.
Listen to your favorite podcast or an audiobook as you declutter for some extra motivation to keep going.
Reward yourself. Before you start decluttering, decide what you’ll treat yourself to once you’re done working on the cluttered space. You’ll be motivated to complete the task knowing there’s a reward awaiting you.

I always reward myself with a glass of wine in a bubble bath!

Tip #2 Set Decluttering Goals

Setting realistic decluttering goals from the get-go is important.

These goals will help you stay on track as you declutter so that you don’t get distracted or abandon the task midway.

And I insist on “realistic goals” because you don’t have to check off all the items in this checklist in a single day. Only handle what you can manage as per your schedule.

What do you want to achieve by decluttering?
Do you want to create more space in your home?
Do you want to get rid of items you no longer need or use?
Do you want to organize your belongings better?

Once you have set your goals, break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. For example, if your goal is to create more space in your home, you could start by decluttering one room at a time.

One of the biggest tips I can give you is don’t plan to declutter for 90 minutes, or even 60 minutes! That is just way too much time. You will overwhelm yourself FAST!

Setting decluttering goals is pretty simple:

Decide when you’ll declutter and which you’ll room you’ll start with
Allocate a specific amount of time for the first decluttering session — it can be 15, 20 or 30 minutes…….. whichever time frame you prefer.
Set a timer and declutter all you can within the set time frame. I like to say, pretend you’re on a decluttering game show on TV, and the audience is cheering you on to gather as much junk as possible.
When the timer goes off, you can take a small break and return to the second round of decluttering.

Tip #3 Think Critically About What Items You Have

“Someday” may never come.

I’m saying this because most of us struggle with letting go of certain stuff with the hopes of using or wearing them “someday.”

If you’re confused about whether or not to get rid of that space-hogging item you hope to use “soon,” the six-month rule of decluttering will help. It allows you to think critically about the usefulness of an item instead of imagining its future use.

The six-month clutter rule is pretty straightforward — if you haven’t used an item or clothing for six months straight, get rid of it.

You can also look at this rule from another angle — ask yourself if you’ll use that item in the next six months. If the answer is no, then there’s no need to let it continue taking up valuable space in your home.

Along with the six-month declutter rule, here are other critical questions to ponder on if you’re wondering whether to part with or keep a particular item:

Do I have enough of this item, and are the rest just extras?
If I had to do this again, would I honestly buy this item at this moment
Does this item have a practical use?
Does this item have sentimental value?
Do I like this item, would I miss it if I didn’t have it any longer?

One of the things RVing taught me is that I don’t need 17 pairs of shoes, nor do I need 8 pairs of jeans that all look the same. Unless you are going to a job every day, most of us end up wearing the same thing! I also don’t need 4 spatula’s just in case, or 8 mixing bowls!

I used to have several spatula’s (just in case), and every type of kitchen cooking utensil you could think of. Moving into a tiny home helped me figure out what I really use in my kitchen. I downsized my cooking utensils by half, and now when I open my drawer, I can easily find what I need, before that was not the case! Buy something like this, and only keep what fits in it, a drawer organizer works well too.

Tip #4 Sort Items As You Go

To ensure your decluttering process doesn’t drag on for too long, plan in advance.

Select the bins or cardboard boxes you’ll use to toss the different items beforehand so that when decluttering day arrives, you’ll simply declutter as you go. You won’t waste time trying to figure out where to place all the unwanted items you’ve gathered.

Here are the different storage containers to have as you declutter your home:

Trash bin (for stuff you’ll throw away)
Donate bin (for items you’ll donate)
Sell bin (for items you intend to sell)
Gift out bin (for things you’ll gift others)
Recycling bin (for things you’d want to recycle)
Rehome bin (for misplaced items that are in the wrong location)

Tip #5 Know When to Get Rid of Stuff

Imagine clearing all that junk only to have storage containers full of unneeded items sitting in your car’s trunk or entryway for weeks!

If this happens, you may be tempted to give some items a second chance, and you already know what that means — restarting the clutter cycle in your home.

So, before you declutter anything, think about when and how you’ll get rid of all the items from your home for good.

Room by Room Decluttering

Now that you have all the handy tips to help you declutter your home faster and with ease, let’s get into the actual decluttering checklist.

Remember, clearing out one room at a time makes the process less overwhelming.

Decluttering the Bathroom

It still amazes me how one of the smallest spaces in our homes can get so cluttered up that your head spins just by looking at it.

Focus on these stuff as you declutter your bathroom:

Expired medicines and first-aid supplies in your medicine cabinet
Old worn-out bath towels and linens that you no longer use
Excess bobby pins, expired/old makeup, and old makeup brushes.
Expired, unused, or old perfumes
Empty bottles of finished perfume
Expired or old cleaning supplies that you don’t use
Empty bottles of finished hair products
Old nail polish or new ones that you haven’t used in ages
Beauty appliances that are no longer functional
Old sunscreen and lip balm containers
Old travel-sized toiletries
Stretched-out hair bands that you no longer use
Old toothbrushes
Broken or missing jewelry

One of the most important aspects of decluttering is having the right storage solutions in place. Consider investing in storage solutions that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Please note, I am NOT asking you to invest lots of money in pretty storage containers. You can also find cute storage organizers at your local dollar store, Here are some storage ideas that can help to declutter your bathroom.

I use these shower soap dispensers in my shower, and fill them up as needed, but I don’t have half empty soap containers laying around. These would work well to keep your make up off the bathroom counters, leaving things less decluttered. I use these to keep our toilet paper stocked and our extra toilet paper off the floor.

Decluttering the Living Room (and Family Rooms)

The living room is a much-cherished, much-used space by the family, but it can quickly become a clutter dump zone.

Here are the items to focus on as you declutter this area (and other family rooms)

Old DVDs that are scratched or you no longer watch
Stained throw pillows or pillows that have completely lost their plumpness
Old magazines and catalogs
Old greeting cards
Extra throw blankets and pillows
Worn-out living room area rugs
Unused or old tea light candles
Old or chipped knick-knacks
Faded artwork (or artwork you don’t like)
Old junk mail and receipts
Seasonal coats and boots
Dead plants and flowers
Broken or damaged décor pieces
Puzzles with missing pieces
Old or damaged cables and chargers
Tv remotes that no longer work and old batteries
Any item that doesn’t belong in the living room

If you find that you end up with lots of storage in your living room or hallway area, check out some of these storage ideas. An ottoman is brilliant for hiding items like throw blankets, a coffee table with storage can hide magazines, reading glasses, books etc.

Decluttering the kitchen

Take a moment and picture your dream kitchen. I may not have an idea of what you have in mind, but I’m sure of one thing — your dream kitchen isn’t filled with unnecessary items.

If your kitchen is in a cluttered mess, here are the items to focus on as you declutter:

Single-purpose kitchen gadgets that you don’t use
Duplicates of various tools and utensils
Expired foods in your fridge and freezer
Discolored, lidless, or old plastic containers
Countertop appliances that you don’t use
Extra cups and mugs
Old or dysfunctional pot holders and cutting boards
Plastic cutlery from take out
Extra kitchen scissors
Excess, old, or lidless travel mugs
Spoilt or outdated baking supplies
Unused cookie cutters and cake pans
Junk drawers
Empty food packaging boxes
Empty boxes of purchased appliances
Chipped or cracked dishes
Bent silverware
Worn-out rubber spatulas
Cookbooks you don’t use
Expired kitchen cleaning supplies
Cookware that’s past its prime

Decluttering the Pantry

A well-organized pantry makes life easier. You’ll be able to find the item or product you need faster and have a clear view of what you have to avoid rebuying.

If you have a cluttered pantry, here are the items to target as you declutter:

Old or expired canned foods. I use this to store cans and it makes life much easier.
Old or expired spices.
Storage containers with missing lids.
Foods you and your family members don’t enjoy anymore.
Empty food packaging boxes.
Extra items that you never reach for.

Storage Decluttering Tips for Storage:

These are my best decluttering tips for keeping things organized and tidy in a pantry. I don’t have a huge pantry so I needed to get a little crative, and these organizers have been a huge help.

Can organizers to keep your cans stacked and out of the way. I have two and LOVE THEM. I was nervous that too many cans might bend my wire shelves, so this solved a huge problem for me.
I needed extra space to storage breakfast and snack bars for the kids, and these not only work well, they look uber cute and I love them.
I used these containers for cereal in the RV and still use them, and they work great.

Decluttering the Closet

The closest has got to be the most difficult area to clean out.

Many of us have an emotional attachment to most things in our closet and drawer, and parting ways with items we’ve spent money on isn’t always easy.

But as hard as it may be, you have to ditch the piles of space-hogging things in there if at all you want your closet to look and feel functional.

Here are the items to target as you declutter your closet:

Old gift wraps
Clothes and undergarments that are stretched out, stained, or torn
Clothes you don’t love or aren’t your size
Socks and gloves with missing partners
Broken jewelry or those missing a partner
Past special occasion clothes like a bridesmaid dress
Bags and purses you no longer use
Worn out hats, scarves, and gloves
Broken or excess hangers
Old and damaged shoes that are beyond repair

Keeping things organized helps to declutter your home. So, if you find you have a lot of shoes in your closet, get a shoe organizer that works for your closet. Do the same for belts and jewelry. We used these in the RV, and they helped prevent everything in your underwear drawer ending up in a giant mess!

Woman in hat sitting in closet decluttering

Decluttering the Bedroom

A clutter-free bedroom will help you relax, rest, and recharge peacefully. Here are the items to target as you declutter your bedroom:

Old pillows that have completely lost their plump
Lamp shades that don’t work or you don’t use
Paper clutter and excess books on your side tables
Artwork that you don’t enjoy
Items that don’t belong in your bedroom
Used-up journals, old magazines, and old newspapers

The decluttering process isn’t always easy, but I hope these decluttering tips and storage ideas are helping to declutter your home.

My husband has a tendancy to drop things around the house – coins, keys, glasses wallet etc, so I bought this to help him keep everything in one spot! It not only works, but it looks good too.

Decluttering the Laundry Room

Laundry rooms can quickly become decluttered as it’s easy to stash items or let unnecessary things pile up in this secluded space.

Here are some of the items to pay attention to as you declutter your laundry area:

Excess rags
Torn or stained sheets
Sheets that no longer fit your bed
Extra bed linens
Empty detergent containers and hardened laundry detergent
Laundry care supplies and cleaning products you never use.
Socks that have not found their better half in over six months!
Items in good condition that belong in other rooms

The laundry room can easily declutter your home fast. I love these containers to store washing machine pacs in. These would work well for that purpose too. If you find your laundry room getting too cluttered, something like this might work well for you to keep things organized.

These are suggestions to help you declutter your home, I am not telling you to fill up your home with more clutter. Organization is key to a tidy home!

Decluttering the Office Area

Keeping your home office clutter-free will boost your productivity as you’ll fully focus on your work-related tasks without the distraction of surrounding clutter.

Pay attention to these items as you declutter your home office:

Empty pens, markers, and broken pencils
Old receipts and paychecks
Old newspapers and boxes
Take out menus
Old or finished glue sticks
Old calendars and outdated planners
Used-up journals and extra notebooks
Expired coupons tickets
Junk mail
Torn business cards
Old sales flyers
Old and broken electronic devices
Dead batteries
Unneeded paper clutter
Extra buttons, ribbons, or strings in your office desk drawer
Excess stationery organizers
Old material samples
Keyholders you don’t use

We have a bonus room upstairs for the kids, here I have an office, and the kids keep their craft supplies, games, books etc.

We found a table at Home Depot that worked perfectly for storing papers, craft supplies etc, but I also needed to store crayons, coloring pencils etc. So far, this has worked out really well, and it looks nice, I have some of these for excess pens, sharpies etc, and to keep paper organized.

Decluttering the Garage

For most of us, the garage is often that “catch-all” store where we stash anything that seems “unfit” to be in the main house.

But there’s nothing eye-catching or sanitary about a cluttered garage, so keeping this area super organized is important.

Here’s what to target as you declutter your garage:

Old manuals you no longer use
Dried out paint
Old paint cans and cleaners
Old or expired lawn and garden supplies
Broken, dysfunctional tools
Old sports equipment you never use
Holiday decorations you’ve not used in ages
Excess watering cans
Hang the bikes, ladders, and bulky tools properly
Old party supplies
Broken flower pots
Furniture pieces you never use
Empty boxes and bags that you never use
Too many duplicate or extra items
Loose screws, nuts, and bolts

Here are some more home organizing solutions that have worked really well for me. This is perfect for keeping sports items in one place, my husband bought this to keep his outdoor gear organized, instead of all over the place.

We keep our shoes in the garage, this is what we use for our family of four!

Decluttering Kids Stuff

We all like to pamper our kids with different things, which can result in their environment being overpowered with clutter.

Here are the items to target as you declutter your kids’ environment:

Puzzles with missing pieces
Outdated video games and board games
Used up stationery and craft supplies
Damaged toys and worn-out stuffed animals
Duplicate or unknown power cords
Extra earbuds
Old phone covers and screen protectors
Toys they’ve outgrown
Clothes and shoes they’ve outgrown

Teaching your kids how to clean up after themselves isn’t going to go well if they don’t have a place to put things. I have always used a cube organizer for toys and things, it works great. Baskets work well too, just figure out what you need to stay organized. We used this when the kids were little for their books, now I have this.

How to Use This Decluttering Checklist

If the thought of ridding your entire house of clutter makes you break out into a cold sweat, this declutter your home checklist will make your life easier as it takes the guesswork out of where and what to declutter.

All you need to do is print it out and refer to it when you’re ready to declutter any room in your home. When you rely on a checklist, you won’t feel overwhelmed as you declutter.

Just print out the declutter your home checklist and get to work. Put it on the fridge so you have it when you need it.

And since this declutter your home checklist covers various rooms in your house, it’s entirely up to you to decide which room to start with as you declutter.

Just be sure to pull out the printed decluttering checklist for that particular room beforehand to help you figure out things to declutter.

Download the FREE Printable Declutter Your Home Checklist

I hope my declutter your home checklist is super helpful to you, and that together with the decluttering tips I’ve shared, will guide you in creating a tidy, clutter-free home that you’ll feel happy and relaxed being in.

It’s easy-breezy — simply sign up above for instant access to my ultimate decluttering checklist.

I wish you all the best in your decluttering efforts!

Start Decluttering General Tips

Always remember to start somewhere if you’re not entirely sure where to start

Stop trying to find the best time, that will never happen. When you have some extra time, get started.

Remember to have your donate/keep/trash/sell boxes ready when you start decluttering.

Make sure you have all the cleaning supplies you will need for this decluttering process.

Get motivated

Set your decluttering goals, what exactly do you want to get out of decluttering your home.

Think critically about items you have

Sort items as you go.

Know when to get rid of stuff!

Let’s face it, you may not get rid of as many thingas as you think you will, but any clutter that you get rid of will make a huge difference in yoru home!

Good luck, you’ve got this.

The Ultimate Declutter Your Home Checklist for Moms