23 Things You Should Declutter in 2023

Once the holidays hit, my home tends to start feeling a little full and takes a little longer to keep up. By the end of the holiday, I am ready to do a good decluttering and this year is no different. 

Since I am feeling a little more overwhelmed than usual with the holiday influx of stuff, I thought now would be the perfect time to put together a list of things you should declutter in 2023.

It’s a short list of just 23 things. Anyone can do that! These are the things that are most bothering me right now.

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23 Things You Should Declutter This Year

Will you join me in starting the year off right and commit to decluttering these 23 things?

1. Broken Items

I have an older vacuum cleaner and it was rather expensive at the time we purchased it. However, it just has not been working great lately. In fact, it is swirling the dust around the room more than it picks up.

I finally bit the bullet and bought a new vacuum. Now it’s time to toss out the older one.

If you have things you’ve been holding on to that are not working, or working poorly, it’s time to get rid of them.

Go through your home and declutter all broken items, I promise you will not miss them! 

2. Overstuffed areas

Okay, I’m going to blame the kids on this one. My hall closet has become completely non-functional. Recently I discovered that anytime my kids were done with an item they decided the hall closet was the ideal place to toss it – NOT.

When I opened the hall closet the other day to find something, it was a whole project. Enough was enough. It was time for all that stuff to go. 

So if you find you have a space in your home that is overflowing with stuff, you know it’s one of the things you should declutter this year!

3. Anything not used in the past year

In cleaning out the hall closet I discovered several items we just don’t use anymore. This included a number of well-loved but no longer used board games. It’s time to pass them on.

If you have things you have not used in the past year this is the time to let them go.

Honestly, this is a good thing to do each year. Go through all the things you know you have not used and get them out of your home!

You and your home will feel so much lighter.

4. Anything outgrown

Whether it’s clothing, toys no longer played with or hobbies no longer loved, these are things you should declutter in 2023.

We tend to hold on to things we once loved but are no longer useful because they are sentimental. But really they are just cluttering up your home.

Try passing them on to someone who could use and love those items, and I promise it will feel great. Your home will be rid of the clutter and you’ll be blessing someone else. That’s a win, win.

5. Unwanted gifts

During the Christmas season, it’s likely you ended up with a few unwanted gifts. If you don’t love it, won’t use it or it’s just creating clutter, you are under no obligation to keep it!

There are lots of things to do with unwanted gifts. The one thing you should not do is keep a gift out of obligation. After all, the person gave you the gift because they want to bless you not make you feel guilty.

6. Plastic Shopping Bags

The year usually ends with more running around than normal. I know for me this includes more trips to target and more plastic shopping bags as the result.

I’m not sure why I feel guilty about getting rid of them, but somehow I do. However, I discovered I could donate them to our local thrift store.

So when you drop off some of the other things you should declutter in 2023 add in those plastic shopping bags. Your local donation center will put them to good use.

7. Extra linens

My bathroom towels were in need of replacement so I put a new set of towels on my Christmas wishlist. Santa was kind enough to grant my wish.

This means getting the older worn-out ones out of the house. I will be dropping them off at our local animal shelter next time I’m out running errands.

In addition to decluttering extra towels, consider how many other linen items you have. There really is no reason to keep more than two sets of bedding for each bed in your home. You will never need more than that.

Storing extra linens actually takes up a lot of space. By decluttering the excess you will free up so much space in your home.

8. Toiletry items

It’s easy for toiletry items to build up. Whether it is a build-up from products you tried but just didn’t work for whatever reason, or items that were given as gifts you should declutter what you don’t use.

Toss out any partially used products you didn’t like. Also, consider passing on or donating any items that are still new. 

Decluttering these toiletry items is an excellent way to give your bathroom a fresh start in the new year.

9. Expired medications

Going through your medicine cabinet annually is a good idea. Most medications expire after a year. Every time I do this I always find a number of products that have reached their expiration date.

Just recently I discovered that out of 3 thermometers not one of them worked.

We are very blessed in that we are all pretty healthy and don’t have a lot of medications, so this is a fairly quick job in my house.

Nevertheless, I set aside 30 minutes to go through and toss all expired items (including sunscreens). This makes it easy to organize what’s left and make a note of what needs replacing.

If you have expired prescription medication, make sure to dispose of it correctly. Many police and fire stations have drop-off locations for these items. Just don’t forget to remove the labels first.

10. Clothing not worn all season

If you haven’t worn it all season long you’re not suddenly going to start wearing it now. After all, there is a reason you’ve chosen not to wear it.

Whether it’s because it doesn’t fit or flatter you there is no good reason to keep it. Plus, if you didn’t want to wear it all season long, it is very unlikely that you’ll ever choose to wear it. This is especially true with how quickly fashion styles change these days.

I promise you’ll feel so much better getting rid of these items than you will by keeping them in your closet.

11. Books

When it comes to things you should declutter in 2023 books can be a hard one. There is a lot of emotional attachment to books. But you need to be honest with yourself, are you really going to read those books again?

Here’s something to keep in mind if you’re a book lover, decluttering the excess allows you to make room for more.

So spend some time going through your books. Consider donating the books you want to declutter to a local free library Many teachers have a classroom library they fill themselves. Those teachers would be happy to receive donations for their classrooms.

Just think, you’ll be clearing space in your home and blessing someone else at the same time.

While you are clearing out the books you may also want to clear out any CDs or DVDs. Almost all of these can be streamed online these days.

12. Craft supplies you didn’t use

If you’re a regular crafter or like to craft at certain times of the year it’s always a good idea to regularly clean out your craft supplies. 

We just got over the biggest craft season of the year and if you have supplies you did not use, it is likely you are not going to use them later.

Also, you may have extra scraps and leftover pieces here and there. Go through those items and declutter the things you don’t have a plan for using in the foreseeable future. This should include any craft supplies the kids have.

This will make organizing what you have left much easier! 

13. Outdated and extra cords and chargers

Did you get any new tech items for Christmas? If so now is the perfect time to clear out the extras and the outdated cords and chargers.

These items can collect all over the house, so make sure to check drawers, closets, and cabinets for miscellaneous tech items you no longer need.

Old tech that no longer works should be taken to your local recycling center and older working items can be donated.

14. Extra throw blankets

During the cooler months, nothing beats cuddling up on the couch with a cozy throw blanket, a warm cup of tea, and a good book. Because this is definitely my happy place, I have a tendency to collect cozy throw blankets.

People like to give them to me as gifts because they know I enjoy them. While I do rotate some of them out, I also regularly purge ones that are no longer as soft and cozy.

This is another thing you should declutter in 2023 if you have more than you need or use. My favorite place to donate extra throw blankets is the animal shelter.

At the same time, I am sure there are many places where this type of donation would be most welcome. Places like homeless and woman’s shelters are also great options.

15. Food you won’t eat or that’s expired

By the time the new year arrives, we tend to have extra food on hand from all of the holiday festivities. In addition, sometimes we buy things that turn out not to be our favorites and we prefer not to eat them again. Of course, expired food may also be added to the mix.

I think we all agree that wasting food is never a good thing, especially with the prices of food these days.

This is why I always do a food pantry cleanout. Basically, I limit grocery shopping and try to come up with as many meals as I can from what we have on hand.

For those items that do not get used during the pantry clean out, they get donated, unless of course they are expired. All expired items get tossed straight into the trash.

16. Extra kitchen tools

Because I don’t really love to cook, collecting extra cooking tools and gadgets is not a big struggle. However, I do occasionally find really cool tools I love or get something gifted.

I recently found a beautiful olive wooden spoon set and had a Le Creuset dutch oven gifted to me that had been on my wish list forever.

These new items coming into my home meant I passed on the other pot I had and got rid of my older wooden spoons to make room for the new ones.

If it’s been a little while since you did a Kitchen declutter or received a few new items now is the time to declutter the extras. I promise your kitchen will feel amazing when you’re done.

17. Coffee cups and mugs

To say I am a big fan of coffee is an extreme understatement. As a result someone almost always gets me a new coffee mug or two. While I very much appreciate the thought and love behind the gift, my cupboard does start getting crowded.

You very well may be relating to this. If so coffee cups are definitely one of the things you should declutter in 2023.

I will be going through and picking my favorites and donating the rest. If you have extra dishes go ahead and add them in as well!

18. Food storage containers

I have a confession to make on this one, this is one area I am not struggling with this time. And let me tell you it feels good.

There was a time I had way too many plastic food storage containers and a ton of mismatched lids. Having this area of my kitchen clean and organized was a huge blessing.

Investing in some stackable glass containers was so worth it. They completely stopped the frustration of having to rummage through mismatched food containers.

Let me tell you it was so nice when it came to putting away Christmas leftovers. I did not have to dig around searching for the right size or matching lids. It was easy to grab what I needed and get the job done.

If your kitchen has too many food containers and mismatched lids, 2023 is the time to let them go!

19. Your junk drawer

We all have one. And most of them are filled with random miscellaneous things we don’t know what else to do with.

The next thing you know that junk drawer is overflowing. If that sounds like your junk drawer it’s something you know you should declutter in 2023.

20. Extra pens and pencils

The other day I was trying to jot down a note and grabbed a pen that didn’t work. Okay, that’s only partially true. I grabbed at least 5 pens from the pencil holder before I found one that did actually work.

Clearly, pens and pencils are something I will be decluttering in 2023.

If you have a collection of extra pens and pencils or other school or office supplies consider donating them to a school district or after-school program. They are always in need of supplies like this.

21. Furniture

As you begin to downsize you may find yourself with a few extra furniture pieces stored in the garage or basement. An extra dresser, nightstands, or end tables are things that tend to get stored away because we tend to feel they are still useful.

But let me ask you this — if you are not using them how useful are they really? What they are doing is taking up valuable space in your home.

Now is the time to donate or pass on any furniture items you are not currently using. If the items are valuable enough to make the effort to sell them worth it, you might make a few extra dollars.

22. Home Decor

If you knew how much I love home decor, it wouldn’t surprise you that this is an area I struggle with every now and again.

Truthfully I am pretty good about following the one in one out rule when it comes to decor.

However, I’m not perfect so it does accumulate. Plus it’s sometimes hard to let go of some items. This is when I remind myself that one thing I don’t like is living in a messy cluttered home or all the dust and things I have to move to clean.

So in 2023 I will be picking my favorites and letting go of the rest.

23. Paper Clutter

I was going to put decluttering papers first as I am dealing with this one big time right now. But I didn’t want to scare you off.

Even though I have some really good tips and tricks for conquering paper clutter, every now and again the piles just kind of sneak back up on you.

Paper clutter is one of those things that the longer you put it off, the harder it becomes. Do what you can to make the move to paperless in 2023 and the year will feel much lighter.

Making the choice to declutter these things in 2023 will start your year off right. It will also make your home and life easier to manage.

If you want some quick wins to get you started, here are 45 things that you can throw out quickly!