Clutter Awareness Week is the perfect time to identify the most common categories of clutter that invade our homes. With a better understanding of the nature of each type of clutter and actionable tips to tackle them, you’ll be better prepared to create a more organized, peaceful space. So, let’s get to it!

#1 Garbage & Recycling:

Broken or expired items and empty boxes you keep because they’re “good” boxes.

Tip: If it’s trash, toss it immediately. If you haven’t repaired it by now, toss it. Only keep the number of boxes you’ll reasonably repurpose AND designate a place to keep them is large enough to properly store the amount you choose to keep. Break down any other boxes as they come into your home and immediately put them in the recycling bin.

#2 Other People’s Clutter:

Belongings of adult children or other family members and friends who do not live with you.

Tip: Set clear boundaries, communicate openly, and give them a deadline to claim their items. Ensure they know anything not retrieved within that timeframe will be donated or disposed of.

#3 Everyday Clutter:

Daily-use items left out instead of being put away (e.g., keys, bags, shoes, sunglasses, sunscreen, hats, mitts, lunchboxes, medications, jewelry, lotions, personal care products etc.).

Tip: Use trays or baskets near where you use these items to corral everything. The “containment” makes the placement look stylish and intentional rather than cluttered.  It also gives the items a specific home to return to, which helps prevent their migration and spread across surfaces.

#4 Back Stock: 

Items such as food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies bought in bulk or in multiple quantities. 

Tip: REALISTICALLY assess your available space and only buy what it can reasonably store. When backstock clutters your space, making it difficult to see and access what you have and things expire before you use them, the “savings” aren’t worth the stress and frustration housing it adds to your daily life.

#5 “Homeless” Items: 

Things that don’t have a proper “home” when not in use or that require special disposal.

Tip: Designate homes for EVERYTHING! Use ALL available space, including the vertical space on the back of closet, room, and cabinet doors. Use bins, baskets, shelves, risers, trays, drawers, carts, cabinets, hooks, etc., to create accessible storage solutions.

Tip: Read this for everyday household items that are often overlooked and become clutter in your space and how to deal with them.

#6 Freebies & Gifts:

Items you’ve received but don’t use or like, such as promotional items or well-meaning gifts.

Tip: Just because it’s free doesn’t mean you must take it! Take a second and ask yourself whether you really need it/have a use for it AND whether you have space for it. If the answer is no, simply say, “No thank you,” or “It’s very nice, but I don’t have room for that,” or “Thank you, but I don’t have a need for that”.

Tip: True gifts have no strings attached, and gratitude doesn’t require keeping a gift for any amount of time. Remember, the value was in the act of giving, not the item itself.  So, let go of the guilt and the gifts you don’t want or need.

#7 Expensive or Perfectly Good Items You Don’t Use: 

Items you don’t use but keep because they were costly or are in good condition.

Tip: Keeping something you don’t use in a closet, basement, or cupboard will NOT bring the money back. Letting it go will NOT cost you a penny more. But it WILL free up valuable physical and mental space. Learn from it and make more informed purchasing decisions going forward.

Tip: Click here for more detailed information and tips on decluttering gifts and expensive items.

#8 Aspirational Clutter:

Unlike items being returned to a specific store or person, these are items in good condition that you no longer need, use, or love. Having a dedicated donation box or basket in your home where you put these items right when you decide to let them go stops them from cluttering your house and your mind (“Didn’t I already decide to donate that?”).

Tip: Be honest with yourself about your interests, your available time and energy, and embrace who you are! There’s nothing wrong with skipping decanting spices or not hand-making cards. It’s very freeing to let go of these items and make space for the things that support the type of person you truly are.

#9 Unfinished Projects:

Items tied to the person you think you want to be rather than who you are (e.g., fitness equipment, small cooking appliances and gadgets, dry-clean only clothes, jars to decant food in, unused hobby supplies etc.).

Tip: Make a prioritized list of all unfinished projects and set deadlines to complete them. For example, set a deadline to sell items you’ve put aside for resale, take a jacket in for repair, hang the shelf, complete the craft. Let go of anything related to projects you no longer care about, don’t have the time or energy to complete, and whose deadline you miss.

#10 Papers & To-Do’s

Papers and tasks such as mail, bills, membership renewals, RSVPs, record management etc).

Tip: Just like everything else, papers need a home.  Create a paper management system and place it in a convenient location you will use daily. 

Tip: For a detailed dive into dealing with paper clutter and setting up the right system for you, check out this series of posts:

How To Quickly Sort Through Paper Clutter

How To Create Filing Categories That Work

How To Create A Lasting Household Paper System

6 Tips For Easy Paper Organization Maintenance

#11 “Someday” Items:

Items you don’t use but keep because some day in the future you might have a use for them.  

Tip: Ask yourself whether it’s probable or simply possible you’ll use an item.  Possible means something could happen, probable means it’s likely to happen.  For example, when you buy a lottery ticket, it’s possible you could win, but not probable. A “someday” scenario that’s theoretically possible, is not enough.  If it requires more than moderate changes to your current situation, it’s not probable and you should really consider letting the item go.

Tip: Click here for more tips on dealing with “someday” clutter.

#12 Sentimental, Inherited & Past Life Items:

Items that hold emotional value and memories or are from a previous phase of life.

Tip: Separate memories from objects and reflect on whether there is a way to appreciate these items in alignment with the life and space you have now. If an item from your past still makes you happy and you have the space to honour it properly, keep it. But if something that once brought you joy doesn’t speak to you in the same way now, let it go. It won’t erase the memories or experiences associated with it; those live in you. What it does do is make room for the person you are today, and the person you’ll become in the future.

Tip: To keep the memories without keeping the objects, you can take photos, keep a small sampling from a collection, or repurpose an item to align with your current life (i.e. make a blanket from the clothes of a loved one). 

Tip: For more tips on decluttering sentimental items, click here.

Conclusion

Knowledge is power!  By identifying the different types of clutter and following these actionable tips, you’ll be better equipped to break free from clutter once and for all!  For help determining how to properly donate, dispose or sell your items, check out this Guide.

What clutter category is your Achilles heel?  Let me know in the comments below.  And if you liked this post, please share it!

Happy organizing!