Home Decluttering Checklist: How to Get Organized

The decluttering process can be intimidating, especially if you only purge your home once or twice a year. With this decluttering checklist, you can efficiently declutter your home and learn how to keep organized moving forward. From the floors to the closets, learn how to organize your home in five easy steps.

Kitchen Checklist

Kitchens get dirty enough from cooking, so a little clutter makes the room feel like a total mess. Between the daily mess of cooking, snacks, and dishes, even a small amount of extra items can make the entire space feel overwhelming.

If you need help maintaining your kitchen and other high-traffic areas, consider hiring a local house cleaner on a weekly or monthly basis. Follow this checklist to turn the kitchen from sloppy to spotless:

• Dirty dishes

• Expired food and ingredients

• Duplicate kitchen tools like spatulas, colanders, and more

• Excess coffee mugs, cutlery, and dinnerware

• Unused cookbooks

• Tupperware or takeout containers without a matching lid

• Junk drawer overflow 

• Spices that are rarely or never used 

• Reusable bags

• Takeout menus 

• Anything on the countertop that isn’t used weekly

Dining Room Checklist

Your dining room is meant for gathering—though if you don’t declutter it on a regular basis, it can start to gather things instead of memories. When the table becomes a landing zone for homework, mail, or laundry, it’s time to reclaim it by clearing out these common sources of clutter:

• Stacks of mail, paper, or receipts 

• Unfinished projects and craft supplies 

• Extra or mismatched chairs 

• Unused table linens 

• Leftover servingware from holidays or events 

• Dusty or broken decor 

• Outdated serving dishes 

• Seasonal decor 

Bedroom Checklist

Getting a peaceful night’s sleep in a cluttered bedroom is tough. When your personal sanctuary is overwhelmed with piles of clothes, scattered accessories, or toys underfoot, it can become another source of stress. Whether you’re looking to clean up or clear things out, here are the main culprits:

• Clothes and shoes

• Children’s toys

• Sheets that could go in a linen closet  

• Old reading materials like books and magazines

• Excess throw pillows and blankets

• Jewelry, wallets, and other accessories on the nightstand

• Unmatched socks 

• Chargers, cables, and random electronics 

• Laundry baskets full of unworn or unused items 

• Empty boxes, shopping bags, and packaging

Closet Checklist

The clutter from other parts of the house often gets tossed into the closet. It’s out of sight and out of mind—until you open the closet door. Whether you’re dealing with a bedroom closet, hallway closet, or linen closet, taking some time to declutter can not only give you back your space but also your sanity. Here’s where to start: 

• Donate clothes you haven’t worn in over a year

• Toss clothes that are ripped or permanently stained

• Move out-of-season clothes to long-term storage

• Utilize bins, shelf organizers, and over-the-door racks

• Get rid of unused hangers

• Use separate spaces for clothes and linens

• Declutter shoes and accessories 

• Sort items by type and color 

• Add lighting if needed 

• Limit sentimental objects 

Bathroom Checklist

Bathrooms are the smallest rooms in the house, so they’re often cluttered with miscellaneous products and appliances. With limited storage and a constant rotation of daily routines, it’s easy for countertops, drawers, and cabinets to overflow with half-used products and expired items. Since bathrooms should be a place of cleanliness and calm—not chaos—it’s worth taking a few minutes to simplify. These items are more likely to be an excess than a necessity:

• Duplicate products like combs, razors, and makeup brushes

• Empty containers for toiletries and cosmetics

• Dirty, worn-out towels

• Non-functional decor like plants and wall art

• Cleaning supplies that can be stored elsewhere

• Expired medication, from prescriptions to over-the-counter cough syrup

• Unlabeled or mystery products 

• Old razors, loofahs, and toothbrushes 

• Unused hair tools 

• Makeup past its prime

Home Office Checklist

Tangled cords, piles of paper, and scattered supplies can easily distract you from the main focus of your home office: working. A messy space can make it harder to concentrate and even increase stress levels. Stay organized at work by decluttering these parts of your home office:

• Throw out any papers you don’t need

• Organize the papers you need in folders, binders, and drawers

• Organize cables with fasteners and multi-outlet power strips

• Find containers for small supplies like pens, paper clips, and push pins

• Purge unused supplies 

• Clear off your desk regularly 

• Put away reference books and other materials 

• Digitize whenever possible 

• Limit personal items 

• Consider rearranging furniture to improve layout

Living Room Checklist 

Your living room can be a space to relax and entertain, or it can become a magnet for clutter. If the latter is the case, you can take your room from chaotic to cozy by organizing what’s necessary for your living room to function. Here’s a checklist to jumpstart the process: 

• Clear off coffee and side tables 

• Corral remote controls in trays or baskets 

• Put away unused decor 

• Declutter bookshelves 

• Find a landing zone for kid or pet toys 

• Get rid of unused pillows or blankets 

• Tidy up electronics and game consoles 

• Limit paperwork buildup 

• Rehome items that don’t belong 

• Vacuum under cushions and furniture regularly

How to Keep Your Home Decluttered

Follow these room-by-room tips to keep your house tidy all year long.

1. Living Room

Since it’s one of the most used parts of the home, it can be tricky to keep your living room decluttered. These tips will help ensure all that initial clearing out doesn’t go to waste and your space stays free of unnecessary items:

• Create a paper drop zone 

• Declutter for 5 minutes daily 

• Use closed storage when possible 

• Give everything a home

• Set toy limits 

• Manage cords and chargers 

• Put random items away immediately 

2. Bathroom

The key to a tidy bathroom is creating easy habits and smart storage solutions that work for your routine. You can keep your bathroom clean, clutter-free, and ready for guests (or just your own peace of mind) every day by completing the below tasks:

• Store everything but essentials 

• Clean your counters off daily 

• Utilize drawer organizers 

• Avoid stockpiling extras 

• Keep cleaning supplies handy 

• Keep like items grouped together in bins 

3. Closet

Closets are easy to fill—and just as easy to forget once their doors are closed. With a few simple habits, you can make your closet a space that’s functional, not frustrating.

• Seasonal check-in to get rid of unworn or damaged clothing 

• When you buy something new, donate something old 

• Use bins for small accessories 

• Keep a donation bag and give it away once it’s full 

• Store off-season clothes somewhere else 

• Take 5 to 10 minutes weekly to re-hang or fold items

4. Kitchen

Your crisp, clean kitchen can easily spiral into a mess iif it’s not maintained on a regular basis. The good news? With a few smart systems and daily habits, you can keep your kitchen clean, functional, and clutter-free without a constant overhaul.

• Clear counters daily 

• Keep a catch-all basket for mail, keys, and other items 

• Declutter your fridge weekly 

• Limit unnecessary dishware and utensils 

• Clear out your pantry monthly 

• Sort the junk drawer every other month

5. Bedroom

Once a restful retreat, your bedroom can become a source of stress (and sleepless nights) if laundry piles and random clutter start making themselves at home. Thankfully, a clutter-free bedroom doesn’t require perfection or a full-time housekeeper—just a few simple habits that help maintain order without much effort.

• Make your bed every morning 

• Limit nightstands to a few items 

• Pick up clothing and shoes daily 

• Use baskets for odds and ends 

• Do a weekly reset to remove items that don’t belong 

• Declutter dresser tops daily

Cost to Hire a Professional Organizer 

Hiring a professional organizer costs between $55 and $140 per hour. The overall cost depends on the number of rooms, the level of organization required, and your location. The average professional organizing visit costs $525, but budget at least $1,500 if hiring someone to organize the entire house. Most professional organizers offer free consultations, even if it’s just a preliminary phone call to discuss goals and expectations.   

DIY vs. Hiring a Pro

Hiring a professional organizer offers several benefits. They not only help homeowners declutter their living space but utterly revamp it with fresh ideas on interior design. They also create a strategy and budget to facilitate organizational goals. Ideally, it’s a collaborative process where homeowners can be involved as much or as little as they want. For those who don’t mind paying for professional insight, hiring an organizer is a reliable way to transform your home and daily habits. That said, decluttering and reorganizing are easy DIY projects that any homeowner can handle on their own if they have the time and patience.