The Best Way to Get Rid of Clutter? Use It.

I’ve decluttered a lot of spaces, and one thing I’ve seen consistently, among any socioeconomic class and culture, is people trying to avoid waste by holding onto garbage. Paper napkins, takeout containers, product samples, ketchup packets.

The intention is all well and good–you have this thing, you’d reasonably use this thing, and you don’t want to waste it for no reason.

Well the issue is: Leaving it in a drawer for three years IS wasting it. And it’s adding to the clutter in your home and in your mind.

Here’s the happy medium between throwing away everything and saving everything–a truly sustainable way to declutter: USE IT UP!

Let’s talk about real strategies for decluttering by using things.

Tips for “use it up” decluttering.

Here are simple ways you can access the mindset of USE IT instead of HOARD IT.

1. Put things where you’ll actually use them.

If you take any tip from this list, I recommend it’s this one. Do you have a drawer of fast food napkins that you don’t want to just throw out, but they’re piling up in the drawer?

When you bring in that handful with dinner or after cleaning out your car, put them on your paper towel holder! Next time you need a napkin or something to wipe up a mess, use the fast food napkins. This ensures they’re used quickly, they’re not taking up storage space, and you don’t have to waste them.

Another example is to keep those samples of soaps and lotions and tiny hotel shampoo bottles IN the shower so you can use them. Use up the tiny ones before you go back to your regular products. OR, collect them up and drop them off at your local community pantry–let someone else make use of them instead of them expiring and taking up precious drawer space.

2. Turn excess into convenience.

If you have extra phone chargers, what if you kept one in the living room, one in the car, etc., so they’re neat and out of the way but still able to be USED. Instead of “storing” them somewhere out of sight, you can actually utilize them to make your life a little easier.

Extra mugs and spare pens could be extras you keep at the office. You can have a bottle of hand sanitizer in every bag, etc.

I’m not saying go out and buy extras of everything, but if you HAVE them, it’s much better to get use out of them instead of letting them clutter up your storage areas.

3. Ditch the idea of “saving it for later”.

Use the lotion. Light the candle. Drop the bath bomb in tonight.

“Later” never comes. You deserve to use the good stuff and the pretty stuff and the fancy stuff right now. And it stops you from accumulating clutter.

Try to believe that using something is honoring it. It’s not wasteful to use something for its intended purpose. You’re worth using the “special” stuff.

4. Make using all the stuff easy.

Open up the packaging, decant items into an easy-to-grab spot, combine leftovers–put things in an accessible place so you’re more likely to use it.

If everything stays boxed up in a cabinet, it becomes a bother, so we probably just won’t use it. IF we even remember that it’s there

5. Stop buying new stuff.

Challenge yourself to use up the products you already have before buying more, especially if you’re a big Shopper for products. You know what works best–for your hair, your face, your skin… Why have 14 kinds of shampoo? Why keep all of that expensive skincare that you know you’ll never use?

If you’re not using it, re-home or trash it. If you are using it, just work your way through one thing at a time before buying another one. Your bathroom counter will thank you!

6. Realize that hoarding is waste, too.

Nothing lasts forever. If you hoard items to use for special occasions or in times of Ultimate Necessity, you’ll likely never use it at all.

Not throwing stuff away isn’t a surefire way to avoid waste. Because it can rot in the drawer just the same. Use it up!

How to use up specific household items.

Here are some area-specific tips to help you use up your clutter.

Kitchen

• Keep condiment packets in the fridge door and use them for lunches or marinades.
• Use the fancy dish-ware for everyday meals. Trust me.
• Combine half-empty bottles of vinegar, oils, or sauces (check the expiration date to make sure they vaguely line up).
• Eat down your pantry before shopping. You might even try a pantry challenge to use things up.
• Use plastic takeout containers for meal prep, freezer storage, or seed starting, then recycle when worn out. If you have a massive hoard of them that you’ll never find a use for, please try to be realistic! You’re not doing yourself or the planet any favors by treating your home like a landfill.

BONUS: My favorite tip for whittling down the plastic container pile is to cook a big soup or jambalaya, divvy it into the containers, and stock up my community fridge or pass out the meals directly. Win-win.

Bathroom

• Move hotel samples or travel-size products into your daily rotation. You can put them right in your shower to work your way through them.
• Combine multiple half-used shampoos or lotions into one bottle.
• Cut up old bath towels for cleaning rags.
• Burn through your candle stash while you shower, bathe, or read. Make it a habit. That candle stack isn’t doing you any favors. Light ’em up!

BONUS: If you’re particular about your hair products, use the tiny shampoos for bathing dogs–I haven’t bought pet shampoo in years.

Closet

• Wear the “nice” clothes. You can stop saving them for special occasions.
• Rotate accessories or shoes you haven’t worn in ages into this week’s outfits. If you don’t like wearing it, that’s okay–you know it’s time to let it go.
• Declutter duplicates: pick one black hoodie to wear out and keep the others in a use-it-up pile.

Paper / Office

• Use your notebooks. If you’re a notebook hoarder, start journaling or start donating. If you wrote a few pages in it then gave up on whatever that theme or idea was, keep writing! Tear out the pages, X them out, or just leave them there. Keep writing in it until it’s full. I say this as a recovering notebook hoarder–just write in them.
• I don’t encourage you to keep stacks of scrap paper (use or recycle ASAP, ideally), but I do have a small pile of it on my desk. I use these for ideating, list-making, doodling while on hold–then I’ll use them as fire starter or animal bedding.
• Use up old pens, markers, and highlighters before opening new packs. This category is tricky, because technically all of the items are useful–but that doesn’t mean you’ll use them. Try to reduce down to the number of pens, pads, etc., that you’ll actually reasonably use in your lifetime. That’s usually a good start. 😉 Send the extra to school with your kid or drop them off at a charity shop.

Household / Misc

• Use up cleaning supplies before buying more.
• Keep gift bags, tissue paper, or wrapping paper accessible and use them.
• Burn the “nice” candles.
• Use the pretty stationery.
• Use old T-shirts or towels as cleaning rags before tossing.

Declutter 100 items.

With your new use-it-up systems in place, you’re set for a more functional and less cluttered home!

Here’s a big head-start: 100 items to declutter today. (The checklist is totally free–don’t miss out!)