A Life In Review

It’s spring again, which means that it’s time for a deep spring cleaning. I know that it can be super overwhelming to look at your home and try to figure out where to start. I am going to give you 50 easy things to declutter that will not only make a difference, but help you feel like you’ve accomplished something. Once you get going you’ll find that it becomes easier.

I’ve got ADD (attention deficit disorder) so these are not in any sort of order. Also note that I am not expecting you to do these all in one day. These are just random ideas for you to use when you’re ready to start your spring cleaning. For those of you who can’t deal with randomness, I pulled together a simple (FREE) checklist that you can print and add to as you’re working.

1. Mail: go to that mail pile and clean it up. Open the letters, organize them into “file” or “trash” (and actually file the papers you are keeping).
2. Pens: find all the pens in your house and test them. If they don’t work, throw them out. Save 10 that work and donate the rest.
3. Toiletries: You know the ones you don’t even use? Get rid of them
4. Free Samples: Seriously, if you haven’t used them yet, you aren’t going to. This include those hotel shampoos you’ll never use
5. Old Towels: The ones that are falling apart and faded.
6. Old T-shirts: you don’t need 50 t-shirts (I whisper to myself every year).
7. Pencils: you can do these with the pens but if you’re like me, this is a big task because they are all over the house so I split them for my own sanity.
8. Blankets: If you’re like me, you’ve collected a LOT of blankets. You don’t need them all. Donate those to a shelter or someone who will actually use them.
9. Expired Food: This one might take a while, but go through the fridge and the pantry and take out old cheese and open boxes of pancake mix ect.
10. Expired Condiments: While you’re at it, check the fridge and the pantry for expired condiments too! I found 2 year old mustard in my pantry. I guess we didn’t need 2 backups.
11. DVD’s: We still have them, even though we don’t watch them because everything is on a streaming service now.
12. Clothes that don’t fit: it’s 2022 go get clothes that make you feel pretty. Stop trying to wear things that don’t fit and make you feel uncomfortable.
13. Broken/ Used Art Supplies: anything that the ids have used or broken can go into the trash now.
14. Shoes: get rid of any shoes that you haven’t worn in over a year.
15. Old Batteries: Do yourself a favor and get one of those battery testers. Take the time to make sure that the batteries you are hanging onto, actually work.
16. Old Cosmetics: Check the nail polish, the lipstick and the eyeshadows and probably the lotion.
17. Containers Without Lids: you know the drill. Just throw them all out and get some new containers, it’s really not worth the hassle.
18. Hair brushes: throw out all the extra brushes and get a new one.
19. Backpacks: if you’re not using them, you don’t need them.
20. Expired Coupons: You may laugh but for some reason I hoard old coupons.
21. Business cards: does anyone even hand those out anymore? Somehow I still find them in my old bags.
22. Coffee Mugs: I think part of becoming an adult is collecting a horde of coffee mugs. I don’t even drink coffee and I have a ton.
23. Spices: I found that I have 3 of the same spice sometimes. Just combine them and save some space and please get rid of the expired ones.
24. Cookbooks: unless your great grammy passed the book down to you, you don’t need the physical book. The recipes are online now. Just screenshot it. It’s 2022 for goodness sakes.
25. Socks: I collect socks for some reason, and my drawer is always too full. It’s time to pass them on and thin the drawer out.
26. Bathing Suits: much like the other clothes I said to get rid of, only keep a bathing suit if it fits and makes you feel confident. You deserve to wear something that makes you feel confident this season.
27. Old Reusable Water Bottles: for every coffee cup that we have, we have an equivalent water bottle.
28. Receipts: I don’t know where they come from but I always find receipts laying around. It’s time to part ways with them.
29. Old Chargers: if they don’t charge your devices, throw them out.
30. Books: get rid of any books that you never plan to finish or just didn’t enjoy.
31. Old Purses: You don’t need 20, you’re never going to use them all, I promise.
32. Cracked Belts: looking at my husband on this one, just go get a new one, please.
33. Single Socks: you’ve done your best to match them, it’s not going to happen.
34. Expired Medicine: just clean the whole medicine cabinet while you’re at it.
35. Your Purse: open your purse and empty out all the trash. It feels so good to have a clean bag.
36. Old Calendars: I don’t know why I save my old calendars but I need to get rid of them and so do you.
37. Empty Boxes: if you’re like me, you’ve got a garage full of empty amazon boxes (seriously, I just throw them in there after I open them).
38. Broken Jewelry: If it’s broken and you can’t fix it, or won’t, just toss it.
39. Old Sheets: You really only need 2-3 decent sets of sheets per bed. Toss out the old worn out ones and maybe get a nice set to replace those.
40. Hangers: If they are broken, or you have more than 20 extra hangers, get rid of them please (seriously, donate those).
41. Old lunchboxes: this is especially true if you have school aged kids. You seem to collect lunchboxes.
42. Plastic Water bottles: my house is covered in plastic water bottles. I’m pretty sure they are just part of my decor now (ps. we don’t have filtered water here hence the need for plastic water bottles).
43. Expired Alcohol: it does go back so check your liquor cabinet and check your beer fridge (if you have one of those like we do).
44. Last Years Sunscreen: Um…. did you know that expired? because I didn’t and I was so annoyed when I learned that it did because we NEVER finish sunscreen.
45. Old Decor: you know, the stuff you hold onto for sentimental value, but are never going to display in your home again.
46. Cleaning Supplies: Make sure that you only have one of each thing open. You don’t need 3 open bottles of windex.
47. Underwear: If it’s got holes, it HAS to go. I periodically go through both my drawer and my husbands, to get rid of anything with holes. Please don’t wait until Christmas to get rid of them.
48. CD’s: I still have some that I won’t get rid of, but with all the streaming services, you just don’t need to save every single CD from your teenage years.
49. Your Email: Go through and take a quick inventory of what emails you actually care about, then unsubscribe from companies that you don’t care to keep receiving emails from.
50. Your Phone: it seems silly, but take a minute and clear space on your phone. Get rid of duplicate pictures, clear out unused apps and delete messages you don’t need saved.

** I feel like it shouldn’t need to be said, but if you are decluttering and find things that are in decent shape, find a local shelter, or families who do foster care who might need things on hand. If it’s truly trash though, just throw it out, no one wants your trash! **

I truly hope this brings a little space into your homes and gives you some ideas of where to start. One of the biggest struggles for those of us with ADD/ADHD is that we get so overwhelmed about where to start cleaning. This list is as much for you as it is for me! Happy Cleaning!

Decluttering Check List: