In this blog post, you will find a list of 70 things to get rid of for a minimalist home. It will help you declutter your home and embrace minimalist living!
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Minimalist living involves decluttering and getting rid of excess things so that you can live more simply and intentionally.
Of course, you can practice minimalism in every aspect of your life.
This includes your relationships, your schedule, your digital life, your diet, and many more.
But physically getting rid of stuff also plays a major role.
It helps you gain clarity, eases the cleaning process, and has plenty of other benefits.
However, we sometimes may not know where to begin when it comes to decluttering.
The book Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki has been of huge help on my decluttering journey.
Since I decluttered a lot lately, I came up with a list of 70 things to get rid of for a minimalist home in the hope to inspire you in the process.
I’m sure that you won’t regret letting go of the majority of these items and that you won’t miss them!
But by no means do you have to declutter all of them, these are only suggestions.
Just adapt the list to your lifestyle and take what you want from it.
This checklist will help you simplify your life, minimize the excess and declutter your home.
70 things to get rid of for a minimalist home
The living room
- VHS tapes
- CDs
- DVDs
- Outdated magazines
- Board games that you never play
- Home decor that has no meaning to you
- Extra furniture
- Used-up candles
- Books that you’ll never read
- Books that you’ve read but don’t plan on reading again
- Textbooks from college
The kitchen
- Expired food
- Food that you don’t like and won’t eat
- Old spices
- Tupperware containers with no lid
- Spare measuring spoons
- Chipped mugs or plates
- Broken appliances
- Recipe books you never use
- Extra table cloths
- Aprons you never wear
The bedroom
- Flat pillows that hurt your neck
- Excessive decorative pillows
- Extra linens
- Television
- Things in your nightstand drawer
- Chairs you only use to put your clothes on
- Word signs
- Dead plants
- Old and uncomfortable slippers
- Spare picture frames
The bathroom
- Excess towels
- Expired toiletries
- Old perfumes
- Expired medication
- Old make-up
- Samples you’ll never use
- Broken hair styling accessories
- Old toothbrushes
- Dried-out nail polish
- Stretched-out hair ties
The closet
- Itchy sweaters
- Worn-out clothing
- Clothing that doesn’t fit
- Clothing that you don’t like anymore or that is not your style
- Special occasion clothing
- Old underwear
- Socks with holes in them or without a match
- Tights with runs
- Shoes that hurt your feet
- Worn-out shoes
- Tarnished jewelry
- Wire hangers
Miscellaneous items
- Empty products
- Manuals for appliances
- Seasonal decorations that you never take out
- Electronic cords you don’t know where they go to
- Toys your kids never play with
- Broken toys
- Junk mail
- Planners from several years ago
- Knick-knacks in your junk drawer
- Old cell phones
- Sports equipment for sports you never play
- Old receipts
- Wrapping paper scraps
- Cardboard boxes from online shopping
- Store rewards cards for stores you never go to
- Things you don’t know the purpose of
- Pens that don’t work
Final thoughts on this list of 70 things to get rid of for a minimalist home
You’ve made it through this entire list of things to get rid of for a minimalist home!
Your space should look a lot less cluttered now!
I hope you could find some ideas for what to declutter in your home.
Remember that this list only included suggestions and you may probably want to keep some of these items in your life.
By no means you should declutter something that brings value to you.
Also, please try to responsibly get rid of these things, either by selling, donating, or recycling them.
When we throw things away, there is no such thing as “away”.
They are still somewhere on the planet.
Tell me in the comments, what have you managed to get rid of from this list today?
And which items have you decided to keep?
Appliance manuals are good to keep for a variety of reasons. One: If you ever need to repair the appliance. 2. If you ever sell an appliance. Worth more with manual.
I haven’t noticed any difference in price with or without manual when attempting to sell appliances, but I guess it depends on the product you want to sell.
If you can sell it for a higher price with a manual, that’s definitely a good idea to keep it! 😉
Most manuals can be found online.
Yes, totally agree!
The buzz word here is “most”…. It is easier to go to my file and pull out the manual that to sit in front of my computer and go hunting for it. Navigating some of these sites do not go smoothly.
You can find nearly every owners manuals easily online.
Generally, most products have the manual on the manufacturer’s website.
Terry, and I managed to get rid of the following items in my apartment so far:
Old clothing, shoes, boots, fabrics, sewing supplies, sneakers, old pens, books, hand bags, knap sacks, paper, old nail polish, just to name a few. I’m still at it on a daily basis.
That’s amazing, keep up the great work!! 🙂
I agree with this list, I would also say go digital with music and photos.
I was focusing more on material things in this post but you’re so right! Digital clutter accumulates quickly and it is so annoying!
I actually have a full post about digital minimalism: https://greenwithless.com/digital-minimalism-tips/
I got rid of bows, ribbon and colored tissue paper. I just use white.
That’s an amazing idea, I love it! And it saves a lot of waste not to use them anymore 🙂
I have being a minimalism for years, declustered many many items. I can assure this way is very mindful activity in the life. Being minimalist helps you saving more money, you will pay less for any stuff. your home will be clean!
Yes! I cannot agree with you more!! 🙂
What I struggle with is what to do with certain things, as I don’t want them to go to landfill. Things like part used moisturiser and other toiletries, as charity shops won’t take them if opened. Also I struggle getting rid of things that have been in the family a long time, such as my grandfather’s wallet from the 30’s, or paintings (half finished) my late father-in-law painted. But I have only one child who is a minimalist and will not want them, and I feel like they are burdening me.
Thanks for your perspective Amber!
Oh, I can relate so much to what you said about not wanting to declutter something because you don’t want it to end up in a landfill. It is probably one of my biggest struggles as well! But you know, sometimes, things are just trash and throwing them away is the only option we have, so we need to let go of our guilt.
For half-used beauty or skincare products, I always ask close family members or friends if they want them because they don’t mind getting something that has already been opened or used.
Family heirlooms are another category that’s hard to declutter as most of them are of sentimental value! For those, trying to sell them really helps me let them go. I tell myself that the family member it belonged to would not want me to feel burdened by their stuff.
Plus, getting some money out of them and knowing someone will use them helps me to get rid of them. Of course, you don’t have to let anything go if you truly love or want it; don’t feel pressured to declutter something when you actually do not want to.
That’s my same problem!!
I always offer family/sentimental items to other family first but I no longer keep anything “sentimental” that is to big to hold in my hands. Also minimal mom on you tube has a wonderful video that helped so much in that area. She suggests keeping photos of items rather than the item itself
I love this tip, thank you, Rebecca! It’s great if you want to get rid of a sentimental item but want it to go to a good home, to someone who will cherish it. I also find it inspiring that you only keep small sentimental items, it means they are not a burden and do not take up to much space in your home. This would not work for everyone though, but it is fantastic that it works for you! 🙂
I too like Dawn from The Minimal Mom on Youtube, her advice is always very helpful and helps me a lot when I’m struggling with making decisions and getting rid of things! Glad you found her too! 😉
Do you have any tips for those of us in rented accommodation that was already furnished when we moved in? I’m really struggling with the sheer quantity, size and mismatched nature of the furniture (many of the drawers and cabinets are empty as I don’t have much stuff myself anyway). The landlady is unable to take any of it off us and we have already dismantled what we can and hidden it in the shed and loft.
I’ve even started hiding furniture inside furniture (we don’t need a wardrobe so there’s a table and chair and blanket box in there instead!)
Short of renting a storage unit (which would be a bit too expensive really!), is there anything that you can suggest?
Your question is really tricky, because yes, it would be very expensive to rent a storage unit for all this furniture! But at the same time, I understand that you’d prefer to free up the space in your home if you are not using it.
Honestly, if your landlady cannot take back the furniture in your apartment, I think the best thing to do is what you’ve already done. It is great that you could hide some of it in the loft and shed as well as in the bigger furniture pieces. Maybe you could fit a bit more in the loft, or ask a family member if they have some spare space in their basement or attic? I’m sorry, I can’t think of anything else, but I would really try to ask the landlady to do something about it if that is possible.
Hi. I’m so glad I found your site. The decluttering suggestions for various areas of the house are just what I needed. The comments from others are helpful too. Thankyou to all.
Thanks so much for your kind message, it means a lot to me!! <3
If I find myself struggling with the decision to keep or not, I take a picture of the item to save as a memory. It makes it easier to part with.
I love it! I do this as well with some things, and it makes the whole process so much easier because we do not entirely let go of the memory.
It does not work for everything though (at least for me), but it’s such a great suggestion, thank you! 🙂
Thank you! I’m gonna try this!
My pleasure! 🙂 I’m happy the list was helpful!
This list is perfect. Especially when I get overwhelmed at how much crap has accumulated, this is a great place to start.
Thank you for your kind comment, I’m glad the list inspired you! 😀 If you feel overwhelmed with clutter, my blog post about how to start decluttering when overwhelmed will definitely help you!