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Most of us don’t think we’re hoarders. And yet? “The average person has far more clutter than they think,” says professional organiser Rachel Burditt, better known to her 100,000 followers as The Declutter Darling. “The funny thing with clutter is that after a while, you stop seeing it because you’re so used to it being there. But it still affects you. It makes it harder to find things, cleaning takes longer and your home can end up feeling stressful without you really knowing why.”
“It’s not usually because you’re untidy, it’s just how we live now,” she continues. “It has never been easier to buy things. You can order something in a couple of minutes and have it at your door the very same day. One or two purchases here and there don’t seem like much, but over time they really add up.”
Then there’s the temptation to keep things “just in case”. “We tell ourselves we will use that kitchen gadget one day, wear that dress again, need that random cable or finally get round to that hobby,” she says. “But if we’re honest, that day often never comes.”
The good news is you don’t need to embrace minimalism or empty half your house into a skip.
“Decluttering isn’t about getting rid of everything or having a picture-perfect home,” she says. “It’s about making your home work for you, instead of against you.”
For anyone who feels like they don’t know where to start, Burditt recommends avoiding trying to tackle the whole house in one weekend. “You’ll probably end up giving up,” she says. “Just pick one drawer, one shelf or one category and spend 10 or 15 minutes on it. Those small jobs soon add up and before you know it, you’ve made a real difference without it feeling like a massive task.”
In fact, if you start with throwing away these 10 items, and you will notice your home – and mental state – feeling better already…
1. Expired sun cream and old toiletries
Bathroom cupboards are one of the easiest places for clutter to build up, particularly at this time of year, when old bottles of sun cream, half-used moisturisers and forgotten toiletries tend to resurface.
“This is always one of the first things I would check in summer,” Burditt says. “Sun cream doesn’t last forever and neither do old skincare products or make-up. If it is out of date or you haven’t touched it in ages, it’s probably time for it to go.”
Her tip is to take everything out of the cupboard first. “You don’t realise how many half-used bottles and duplicates you’ve got until you see them all together.”
2. Reusable shopping bags
Reusable bags are useful, but most of us have far more than we need. A few live by the door, several more end up in the boot of the car, and the rest are shoved into cupboards and drawers.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been into a house where someone only has a few,” Burditt says. “They seem to multiply on their own. Keep enough for your weekly shop and donate the rest if they are still in good condition.”
3. Plastic tubs with no matching lids
Every kitchen harbours them: tubs with no lids, lids with no tubs, and the vague belief that the missing half might still turn up one day.
“We’ve all got them,” she says. “If you’ve been keeping a tub hoping the lid will turn up, it probably isn’t going to happen now. Match everything up and get rid of the odd ones.”
4. Old chargers and random cables
The mystery cable drawer is one of the great clutter traps of modern life. Because chargers and leads feel useful, many of us are reluctant to get rid of them, even when we no longer know what they belong to.
“Most people have a drawer full of cables they don’t even recognise anymore,” Burditt says. “If you don’t own the device it belongs to, you really don’t need to keep it.
“If you are nervous about getting rid of them, put them in a box with today’s date. If you haven’t needed them in six months, they’re safe to let go.”
5. Clothes you haven’t worn for over a year
A full wardrobe does not necessarily mean lots of outfit options. Often, we wear just a small fraction of what we own.
“This one comes up a lot because wardrobes are often packed with clothes we don’t actually wear,” she says. “Maybe they don’t fit, maybe they’re not your style anymore or maybe you’re just keeping them because they were expensive.
“If you wouldn’t choose to wear it today, ask yourself why you still have it.” Bag them up and take them to a local charity shop.
6. Freebies
Freebies feel harmless because we did not pay for them. But branded pens, tote bags, mugs and notebooks can quickly take over drawers and cupboards.
“We collect them without even thinking about it,” says Burditt. “Pick your favourites and let the rest go to someone who will actually use them.”
7. Instruction manuals
Many people still keep entire folders or drawers of instruction manuals, long after the appliance has become familiar. And we do this despite the Internet having been invented 40 years ago.
“Most of these instruction manuals are online now,” she says. “Unless it’s for something you use all the time and genuinely need, there’s no reason to keep drawers full of manuals.”
8. Kitchen gadgets you bought with good intentions
The kitchen is full of aspirational clutter: gadgets bought for the person we thought we might become. The enthusiastic juicer. The homemade soup-eater. The slow-cooked meal host.
“We’ve all been there,” says Burditt. “You buy something because you are convinced you’re going to use it every week and then it ends up at the back of the cupboard gathering dust. If you haven’t used it in the past year, chances are it is time to pass it on.”
9. Mugs and glasses
Mugs and glasses are another category that tends to grow unnoticed.
“Somehow they just keep appearing,” she says. “Count how many you have and just keep enough for your family and when guests come round. You really don’t need 20 different mugs sitting in the cupboard.”
10. Old paperwork
“Leaflets, takeaway menus, old warranties, receipts you don’t need anymore – paper has a habit of building up really quickly,” says Burditt. And most of it can be thrown away. “I always tell people to have three piles. Keep, recycle and shred. It makes the job feel much less overwhelming.”
