1. Tidy Sock Drawer

A simple declutter tip is to go through the sock drawer and toss all the socks that don’t have a matching sock any longer. Odds that you’ll find the missing sock someday are quite slim and not worth the extra clutter (unless you have a superduper llama wool sock that is sentimental/expensive).

Bonus: Toss also socks that have holes in them and are not easily mendable.

2. Clean up the Medicine Cupboard

Although we all know you shouldn’t use medicine that’s past it’s expiration date, they still manage to clog up the medicine cupboard. I recommend tossing everything that’s past it’s use by date and group the rest by category, i.e pain killers and ointments in one corner, flu/cold medication in the second and vitamins in the middle.

3. Toss Old Markers and Pens

Take a piece of paper and scribble with every pen/marker that you can find. Toss everything that doesn’t leave a consistently colored line.

Note: Some pens, if not used for a long time, require a bit of shaking and warming up before use.

4. Toy Storage

Go through all the toys around the house and toss everything that’s broken and can’t be easily fixed. Put the rest into toy boxes.

Bonus: Check out our Pinterest board for some toy storage ideas 🙂

5. Old Magazines and Newspapers

Toss all old magazines and newspapers. If you think some of them might still be handy at one point, flip through them and clip out all the interesting and important bits and put them in a binder or scrapbook for keeping. In most cases, only a few pages will be keepsakes as nowadays at least half the magazine is full of ads.

6. Manuals

There’s no need to keep user manuals for appliances or any other device. In most cases you can view them online. For peace of mind, you can Google the product name plus manual just to be sure if there is a manual for it online. For quick reference, you can also make spreadsheet with a link to all the manuals, so they’d be all in one place.

Note: Make sure not to toss away warranties by accident together with the manuals!

7.  Daily Decluttering

For a tidy looking home, you should make it habit to tidy up each day before bed. If it’s done daily, in most cases it won’t take longer than 5 minutes. Keep an eye out for any misplaced items, such as toys on the floor and coffee mugs in the living room.

 

Have any other quick decluttering tips? Let us know in the comments below!