I must admit that I do like a good declutter at any time of the year, but what better time than at the start of a fresh year. Its good to re-evaluate what you have and if you still need it and, more importantly if you still use it. As time goes by things we want and like change along with fashion and what’s in and out. In this blog I’m sharing with you ideas of 24 things to declutter in 2024.
1 Old Technology
As the years go by, we often upgrade phones, tablet and laptops. If you are like us then you will still keep the old unused technology, but why? You have got a nice new shiny phone so why keep the old one! Remove all your data from your old technology get rid. It is only taking up space that can be better used for other stuff. If your old technology is in good condition why not consider selling it to CEX or other places such as Envirophone and Money 4 my tech. Its worth trading it in to get rid of it and turn it back into a bit of cash.
2 Notes and Emails in your phone
Declutter all the old notes that are stored in your notes app on your phone or laptop that are old and no longer relevant. I also like to have a clear out of old irrelevant emails that I no longer need. I’m talking about the shopping confirmation emails, spam emails and sales emails. It’s amazing how quickly emails add up so having a good declutter of them can create so much more space. Even if it is for more irrelevant emails.
3 Subscriptions
We all get suckered into subscribing for stuff. Over time though our preferences change so some of the subscriptions may no longer be needed. This could be due to a change in job, habits and interests. Evaluating all your subscriptions can be interesting, especially if you are paying for the subscription. I think we are all guilty of paying for subscriptions that we no longer use. Take a look at your subscriptions, be honest with yourself and cancel any subscriptions that you are no longer using.
4 Make up

We are all guilty of buying make up and not using it. This could be because we don’t get on with, it doesn’t agree with our skin or we have found another product that is better. Get rid of all your old, unused make up and free up space for new make up.
5 Perfume
If you are a perfume lover you may find that you have multiple bottles of different perfumes. Some may be full, others may be well used. Have a good luck at what you have and what you actually wear. Some scents may no longer appeal to you, in which case just get rid of them. Just stick to your trusty favourites.
6 Jewellery
Why would you keep 1 earring if you have lost its partner? I bet some people do, just in case they ever find it. Realistically though, if you haven’t found it after a couple of months maybe you never will. Have a good sort out of all your jewellery and get rid of any jewellery that is unworn, broken or like with earrings you have an earring missing. There are online services such as post gold for cash or buy my jewellery, that buy jewellery, or you could try your local jewellers too.
7 Kitchen containers
Hands up if you save the containers that your Chinese gets delivered in! The containers are really handy but you don’t need to keep them all. Especially if you don’t have the tub and the lid to match. It’s amazing where all the lids disappear to at times. So have a good sort out of all the tubs that you have hidden in the back of the cupboard and get rid of any that you won’t use.
8 Stacker Boxes
I have a garage full of empty stacker boxes that I save just in case I need one. At one point all the stacker boxes were full of stuff. But I have decluttered and got rid of all that stuff, but kept the box. If the stacker boxes are good quality and not broken then maybe keep a coupe just in case. Throw out any broken boxes or boxes that don’t have a lid. If you find you have a large amount of good quality stacker boxes you no longer need, stick them on Facebook market place and make yourself a bit of money selling them.
9 Cookery Books
I have to be the first to admit that I have bought a cookery book because I saw a recipe in it that looked nice. Did I ever cook it? No. Did I cook any recipe from that book? No. So, on that basis that cookery book needs to go. Have a look through all your cookery books and try and remember the last time you cooked a recipe from that book. If its been longer than a year or you cant see yourself cooking recipes from that book, get rid.
10 Books

As a family we love books, and we have lots of books. Occasionally, some books are no longer needed. For us recently, we sorted through all the children’s books. As the boys are getting old they are reading different types of books. This meant that I could get rid of all the younger Children’s books like the big colourful picture books we used to read together. It has certainly made way for the books they are reading now. I like to keep information books that we have bought throughout the years, they still come in handy for school work.
I am a big reader of rom com books and I now have quite a collection. Recently i sorted through the books that I had read that I knew I would not read again and I cleared them out. I like to take my books to the local charity shop or pop them in the phone box that has been converted into a cute book exchange.
11 Candles
How do we end up with so many candles? I am not a massive candle fan, but I still manage to end up with a ton of candles. When I last decluttered all my candles I had a whole bag for life full of different candles and holders. I managed to sell the whole bag full on Facebook market place. Have a sort through all your candles and holders, keep your favourites and get rid of the rest.
12 Gift Bags

I have a box with left over Christmas cards, gift tags and gift bags. The same gift bags have been in that box for years. So this year they are going. My gift bags are Christmas gift bags and I don’t really use gift bags at Christmas so why am I keeping them?. If I want a gift bag for a birthday present then I just pop down to Home Bargains and buy one. If you have a collection of gift bags that you have had for a while and not used get rid of them.
13 Old Cards
I used to be guilty of keeping all the cards we received each birthday, anniversary, Christmas and all the other occasions. It wasn’t until my sister and I were clearing out our mums house and we came across a whole sideboard full of cards. My Sister and i sat together sorting through them all wondering why she kept them all for all these years. We then realised that we too were guilty of the same. Both of us had boxes full of cards that we had kept, either for us or that had been sent to the kids. We realised that we were setting our own kids up for the same task many years down the line.
I set about sorting through all the cards I had saved over the years and made the decision to throw them all out. Non of the the kids wanted to save any old cards either. So out they all went. Now after each special occasion I ask the kids and my husband if they want to save any cards. If the answer is No, out they go straight away.
14 Puzzles

I have a love hate relationship with puzzles. I like to help the kids do puzzles but I would not chose to sit and complete a puzzle myself just for something to do. Puzzles are great straight out the box when all the pieces are together. I hate it when pieces get lost or separated from the puzzle, its then that I find them a real pain. If you have puzzles that you know have missing pieces clear them out. There is no point keeping an incomplete puzzle. If you have kids that have puzzles that they have grown out of, clear those out as well.
15 Playdoh
Playdoh is great for making things and being imaginative, kids love it. It is great fun, whilst it’s soft. As soon as the playdoh goes hard it is useless. So have a sort through all the playdoh and any that you find that is no longer soft, throw it out.
16 Receipts
I am a classic at saving receipts. Especially whilst the item is within a warranty or return period, just in case I need to take the item back for any reason. Supermarket receipts can be kept for a couple of days until you are satisfied the food is ok and will not need returning. After that point you can throw away your supermarket receipts. Once a year I like to have a good sort out of receipts that I have kept and get rid of any that a re no longer needed. If you have a business be mindful that you have to keep business receipts for 7 years.
17 Manuals
If you still have a manual for your kettle, why? By now I am sure you can use it proficiently. Have a good sort through any old manuals that you have lying about. I recently sorted through all our old manuals and found I had manuals for items I no longer owned. How crazy is that! Have a good sort out and throw out any that you know you no longer need.
18 Unwanted Gifts
We are sometimes given gifts that we don’t want or know we will not use. Now is the perfect time to start finding those gifts and getting rid of them. You can either take them to a charity shop or re gift them to somebody that you feel would use them. Just make sure its not the person that gave you the gift in the first place.
19 Charity Donations
If you have been having a clear out and have bags of stuff ready to go to charity shop, take them. Don’t leave these bags sitting in your house or garage taking up space, clear them out. Someone else might get some benefit from what you no longer need. Alternatively if you have stuff in good condition try and sell the items on your local Facebook market place site.
20 Clothes

We all out grow clothes, especially kids. Our style changes or we just fancy a change sometimes. Have a good sort out of all your clothes. You really don’t need to be keeping t-shirts with holes in or jumpers with marks on. Make sure you sort through your socks and pants too. Throw out all your trusty old pants with holes in and minimum elastic holding them up. Check socks for holes and bra’s that have wire sticking through the material. We all have these items lurking in the back of our drawers, as surely I’m not the only one!
21 Glasses and Glasses cases
If you have a collection of old glasses and or glasses cases, get rid of them. Each time you get a new pair of glasses you get a new case for them anyway. Also have a sort through sun glasses. Don’t keep old sunglasses that are scratched or are a bit wonky as you sat on them last summer. Have a good sort through and create some space.
22 Batteries
Batteries don’t seem to last long in our house thanks to games console controllers. The kids are pretty good and they do tend to throw the dead batteries in the bin. From time to time dead batteries do get thrown back in the box. So have a sort through all your batteries and throw out any that are dead or that have corroded.
23 Items that need returning
If you have been shopping online you might have items that have been tried on and are ready to be sent back. Send back those items before you run out of time. For some items you only have 14 to 28 days to return them so don’t delay!
24 School letters and school pictures
School admin is a nightmare and I could write a whole blog post on that alone (which I might do actually). Have a sort through any out of date school letters you have received and get them straight in the bin. If you have younger children then you will have a high amount of pictures from your little one. We all love to receive a picture or drawing but we don’t need to keep them all. Have a sort through them all. Keep the best ones or your favourites and get rid of the rest. If you feel guilty getting rid of the pictures you could always take a picture of it so you still have a lasting memory of your little ones creations.
Thank you for reading to the end. Please take a look at some of my other blogs: