The Room-by-Room Decluttering Checklist (Printable)

A room-by-room decluttering checklist turns “declutter the house” into small jobs you can finish in 10 to 15 minutes each. Work through the rooms below in order, tick one box per session, and you’ll get through a whole family home without a single exhausting weekend.

Print it, stick it on the fridge, and let everyone see the boxes getting ticked. If you’re not sure how to begin at all, read where to start decluttering when you feel overwhelmed first. It explains why this order works and how to stay motivated.

How to use this checklist

• One box = one session. Each item is sized for about 10 to 15 minutes. Bigger jobs are split into several boxes.
• Keep three containers with you: a trash bag, a donate box, and a “put away” basket for things that belong in another room.
• Use the same questions for every item: Do I use this? Have I already replaced it? Would I buy it again today? If you haven’t used it in six months (a year for seasonal things), it can probably go.
• Finish before you move on. Put back what stays, take out what goes.
• Work in this order. It goes from easier, low-emotion rooms to harder ones. Sentimental items come last.
• Get the stuff out of the house every week. A donation box that sits by the door will slowly be unpacked again.

Entryway

The entry is the first thing you see coming home and the last thing you see leaving. A clear one makes the whole house feel calmer.

• ☐ Clear the shoe pile: one or two pairs per person out, the rest back in closets
• ☐ Coats and jackets: donate ones that don’t fit or nobody wears
• ☐ Hats, gloves and scarves: match pairs, pass on the extras
• ☐ Empty bags, backpacks and purses hanging by the door
• ☐ Sort the mail pile: recycle junk, file or act on the rest
• ☐ Keys, sunglasses, loose change: give each a single dish or hook
• ☐ Wipe the entry table and keep it clear

Kitchen

Kitchens collect duplicates and “just in case” gadgets. Take this room one cupboard at a time.

• ☐ Clear the counters: only daily-use appliances stay out
• ☐ Junk drawer: toss dead batteries (to battery recycling), dried pens, mystery keys
• ☐ Food storage containers: match lids to bases, recycle orphans
• ☐ Utensil drawer: keep your favorite of each, donate duplicates
• ☐ Pots, pans and baking dishes: keep what fits your family’s cooking
• ☐ Mugs and cups: keep enough for a normal week plus a few guests
• ☐ Small appliances: donate anything unused in a year
• ☐ Pantry: toss expired food, donate unexpired non-perishables you won’t eat
• ☐ Fridge and freezer: clear out expired and freezer-burned food
• ☐ Spices: check dates and combine duplicates
• ☐ Under the sink: take old cleaners to household hazardous waste if your city requires it
• ☐ Cookbooks and recipe papers: keep the ones you actually cook from
• ☐ Reusable bags: keep a set that fits in one bag

Living room and family room

This is shared space, so involve everyone. Aim for surfaces that can be cleared in two minutes at bedtime.

• ☐ Coffee table and side tables: clear completely, return only what’s used daily
• ☐ Books: donate books nobody will read again
• ☐ DVDs, CDs and games: pass on what hasn’t been played in a year
• ☐ Remotes, chargers and cables: keep only what works with what you own
• ☐ Décor and knickknacks: keep the pieces you love, donate the rest
• ☐ Throw blankets and cushions: keep enough for the people who use the room
• ☐ Toys that live in the living room: limit to one basket or bin
• ☐ Magazines and catalogs: recycle
• ☐ The “drop zone” basket or chair: empty it and put things where they belong

Bedrooms (adults)

Start with the nightstand, then the surfaces. Clothes get their own section below.

• ☐ Nightstand top: only what you use every night
• ☐ Nightstand drawer: toss old receipts, dead pens, empty packets
• ☐ Dresser top: clear and wipe
• ☐ Under the bed: pull everything out and decide on each item
• ☐ Bedding: keep two sets per bed, donate the extras
• ☐ Books and papers by the bed: return, recycle or file
• ☐ Anything that belongs to another room: into the put-away basket

Kids’ bedrooms and playroom

Declutter with your kids when you can. Kids who choose what goes rarely rescue it from the donation bag. Our family uses Yes, No, Maybe for this: Yes means it adds value to my life and stays; Maybe means it might add value to someone else, so pass it on; No means it adds no value to anyone in the house, so give it away or sell it if it’s still good.

• ☐ Broken toys and toys with missing pieces: fix this week or let go
• ☐ Puzzles and games: count pieces on the ones you suspect are incomplete
• ☐ Stuffed animals: let your child pick favorites to fit one bin or shelf
• ☐ Toys they’ve outgrown: donate or save for a younger sibling (label the box)
• ☐ Books: pass on board books and early readers they’ve outgrown
• ☐ Art supplies: toss dried markers and glue, keep one caddy’s worth
• ☐ Schoolwork and artwork: keep a few favorites, photograph the rest
• ☐ Clothes that don’t fit: into a labeled box for a sibling or donation
• ☐ Party favors, happy-meal toys, small trinkets: let go
• ☐ Under the bed and closet floor

For older baby gear, check safety rules before you pass it on. Only donate a car seat that’s within its expiration date (printed on the label) and has never been in a crash. In the US, don’t donate or sell a crib that doesn’t meet the 2011 federal crib standard; in Canada, it’s illegal to sell or give away a crib that doesn’t meet current requirements.

Bathrooms

Small space, few feelings, fast results. A great room to do early.

• ☐ Medicine cabinet: take expired medicines to a pharmacy take-back or medication drop-off
• ☐ Makeup and skincare: toss old, separated or unused products
• ☐ Hair tools and accessories: keep what you use
• ☐ Hotel samples and freebies: use this week or donate to a shelter that accepts them
• ☐ Towels: keep a reasonable number per person, offer old ones to an animal shelter
• ☐ Under the sink: combine half-used bottles, clear the clutter
• ☐ Shower and tub: recycle empty bottles, drop the bath toys nobody uses
• ☐ First-aid kit: restock and check dates

Closets and clothes

Do your own clothes before the kids’ clothes. It’s easier when you’re the only one deciding.

• ☐ Pull out anything that doesn’t fit right now
• ☐ Pull out anything you haven’t worn in a year
• ☐ Items that need repair: fix this week or let go
• ☐ Shoes: donate pairs that hurt or never get worn
• ☐ Socks and underwear: toss holes and singles
• ☐ Bags, belts and accessories
• ☐ Out-of-season clothes: declutter before you store them
• ☐ Hall and linen closet: sheets, towels, blankets, spare pillows
• ☐ Coat closet: one coat per person per season, plus rain gear

Paperwork

Paper is dull but not emotional once you have a system. Set up three folders: Act on, File, and Shred.

• ☐ Gather every loose paper in the house into one box
• ☐ Sort into act on, file, shred and recycle
• ☐ Recycle junk mail, old flyers and outdated manuals (most manuals are online)
• ☐ Shred anything with account numbers or personal details that you no longer need
• ☐ Keep important documents (IDs, deeds, insurance, tax records) together in one safe place
• ☐ Check with your tax authority or an accountant on how long to keep tax records
• ☐ Unsubscribe from catalogs and junk mail lists
• ☐ Kids’ school papers: keep a small folder per child per year

Garage, basement and storage

Big, heavy, and full of “someday.” Tackle these once your decision-making is quick. Split into zones and book a donation drop-off or dump trip before you start.

• ☐ Sports equipment: donate outgrown gear, look for a local bike charity for old bikes
• ☐ Tools: keep one of each, pass on duplicates
• ☐ Paint cans, solvents, pesticides, motor oil, old batteries: take to your city or county’s household hazardous waste drop-off (never the regular trash)
• ☐ Holiday decorations: keep your favorites, donate the rest before the season starts
• ☐ Camping and outdoor gear: check it still works
• ☐ Boxes you haven’t opened since your last move: open, decide, empty
• ☐ Old electronics: electronics recycling (wipe your data first)
• ☐ Furniture you’re storing “just in case”: sell, donate or schedule a bulk pickup
• ☐ Baby gear: see the car seat and crib notes above before donating

Digital clutter

Screens count too. These take minutes and make daily life lighter.

• ☐ Delete apps you haven’t opened in a month
• ☐ Clear your phone’s home screen to one page
• ☐ Unsubscribe from 10 marketing emails
• ☐ Delete blurry photos and screenshots
• ☐ Back up family photos in two places
• ☐ Turn off notifications you don’t need
• ☐ Cancel subscriptions nobody uses
• ☐ Tidy the computer desktop and downloads folder

Sentimental items (last)

Leave these until the end, once you’ve built up the habit of letting go. Andrea found this worked as a teenager: start with things that mean nothing to you, and save the things you are attached to for later.

• ☐ Set a limit: for example, one memory box per person
• ☐ Photos: keep the best, digitize or pass on duplicates
• ☐ Cards and letters: keep the ones with handwritten messages that matter
• ☐ Kids’ artwork: keep a few favorites per year
• ☐ Inherited items: keep what you use or love, offer the rest to family

Our full guide to decluttering sentimental items goes through each of these gently.

Where everything goes

Pile	Where it goes
Donate	Donation center or thrift store. Call ahead for furniture, mattresses and electronics.
Sell	Local online marketplace or yard sale, with a deadline. Unsold items get donated.
Recycle	Curbside recycling, electronics recycling, battery drop-off.
Hazardous	Your city or county’s household hazardous waste drop-off or collection day.
Trash	Broken, stained or unsafe items. Book a dump trip for big loads.

If you’re decluttering because a move is coming, see our declutter before moving guide for a week-by-week timeline.

Why it’s worth it: our whole house in an hour

Once we had worked through our rooms, we tested it. We skipped cleaning our 3,000 sq ft house for an entire week, then set a timer for one hour to see how far we’d get. Owning less made that possible. We also found a couple of spots of “clutter blindness”, places we’d stopped seeing the mess. Walking through a checklist like this one is how you catch those.

Common questions

Free printable

Declutter in a Weekend

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Keep reading

• Where to Start Decluttering When You Feel Overwhelmed
• How to Declutter with Kids: Yes, No, Maybe

See all our Decluttering guides