26 Things to Declutter Before 2026 for a Lighter, Cleaner Home

Feeling overwhelmed by clutter in your Chicago home or apartment? You’re not alone. Between work, family, and the hustle of city life, keeping your space clean and organized can feel like a full-time job. But what if you could start the new year with a fresh, calm home—without spending your entire weekend scrubbing? Sometimes the best way to reclaim your space is to let things go. Here’s a friendly, practical guide to decluttering 26 things that no longer serve you, so you can welcome 2026 with clarity and peace.

Decluttering isn’t a punishment—it’s a gift to yourself. It’s about creating peace, making life feel easier, and yes, feeling lighter. This isn’t about achieving perfection; it’s about putting you and your well-being first. Let’s jump in.

1. Declutter Your Calendar

Start by auditing your commitments. That coffee date you dread, the extra volunteering that drains you, the party you don’t want to attend—give yourself permission to say no. Decluttering your calendar gives you back the most precious resource: time.

2. Dead or Dying Plants

That half-dead poinsettia or the African violet that’s clearly not coming back? It’s okay to let them go. Toss them and free up that space for something that brings you joy.

3. Your Tech Graveyard

Mystery cords, old chargers, and cables that don’t work—why do we keep them? Be ruthless. Toss the unknowns. If you need a fast cleaning service to help tackle the resulting e-waste pile, that’s a great next step.

4. Negative Memory Items

Sentimental clutter is tough, but if an item brings more pain than joy, it’s time for it to leave. That scarf from a relative that you hate? Donate it. Your home should be filled with things that make you feel good.

5. Your Social Media Feed

Unfollow accounts that make you feel inadequate. Curate a feed that inspires and uplifts you, not one that fuels comparison.

Quick Check-In

How are you feeling? Lighter? More optimistic? Good. Let’s keep that momentum going.

6. Anything Broken

Chipped dishes, a mug that cuts you—if it’s broken and not worth fixing, toss it. Safety and simplicity win.

7. Outdated Labels for Yourself

Stop calling yourself “lazy” or “disorganized.” You are not your clutter. Promise to drop the negative self-talk.

8. Old, Mystery Keys

If you don’t know what they unlock, they’re just metal clutter. Recycle them and breathe easier.

9. Annoying Phone Notifications

Turn off non-essential alerts. Reclaim your focus and reduce digital stress.

10. Planners You Never Use

If you’re not a planner person, stop buying them. Recycle old, unused calendars and notebooks. Start fresh.

A Quick Reminder

We don’t organize clutter—we release it. You can’t organize excess. Letting go comes first.

11. Expired Gift & Loyalty Cards

Go through your wallet and purse. Check balances, then ditch the empties. Most loyalty cards are digital now anyway.

12. Outdated Dreams

It’s okay to let go of old aspirations that no longer fit who you are. Make room for dreams that excite your current self.

13. Junk Drawer Clutter

Set a timer and pull 10 things from the junk drawer to toss. Small wins build momentum. If the task feels too big, consider deep cleaning help to reset the whole space.

14. “Inspirational” Clothing

Clothes that are too small and make you feel bad? Donate them. You deserve to feel great in what you wear right now.

15. Other People’s Annoyances

Holding onto resentment over a comment or gift? Mentally declutter that negativity. Your peace is worth more.

16. Doom Piles

That pile of returns or “I’ll deal with it later” items? Bag it up for donation or trash. Free yourself from the visual to-do list.

17. One Expensive, Unused Item

That high-end gadget or appliance collecting dust? If you don’t use it, its value is zero. Sell it, gift it, and reclaim the space.

18. Gross Shower Curtain Liners

If it’s mildewed or stained, replace it. This is an easy win for a fresher bathroom. For a truly sparkling result, a professional home cleaning can handle the deep sanitization.

19. Old Prescription Glasses

Gather outdated glasses and drop them at an optometrist for donation. Help someone in need and clear your clutter.

20. Dusty, Half-Burnt Candles

That candle jar you swear you’ll clean? Probably not. Toss the old wax and move on.

21. Dish Towels That Don’t Absorb

Keep only the towels you love and that work. Donate the rest.

22. Ancient Condiment Packets

Those mystery sauce packets from takeout? Toss them. They’re clutter and a potential food safety risk.

23. Specialty Ingredients You Used Once

That cream of tartar from a single recipe years ago? If you won’t use it again, let it go.

24. Stained Food Containers & Orphaned Lids

Match your containers and lids. Recycle the lonely ones. An organized kitchen makes daily life smoother.

25. “Hand Wash Only” Items You Avoid

If you never use something because the care is too fussy, donate it. Simplify your routine.

26. Unused Holiday Decor

As you pack up seasonal items, donate anything you didn’t display this year. If you’re staring at bins of decor and feeling stuck, maybe it’s time to schedule a cleaning to refresh your space after the holidays.

You Did It! Now, Celebrate Your Progress

Decluttering is an act of self-respect and self-love. It’s you saying, “I am more important than this stuff.” To stay motivated, share your success! Take a photo of your 26 items and share it online to inspire others.

Remember, maintaining a clean home is an ongoing process. If after your big purge you want a truly reset, spotless space, reaching out to a cleaning service near me like Jikas can be the perfect finale. As a trusted Chicago cleaning company, we’re here to help you clean your apartment so you can enjoy the results without the work. Whether you need regular apartment cleaning or a one-time refresh, our team is ready to be the someone to clean my apartment that you can rely on.

If your home and your life feels a bit crowded, this is your reset. Are you ready for an amazing 2026? All you have to do is find these 26 things to let go of. Decluttering before the new year just sets your year up for success because decluttering isn’t a punishment. It’s peace. It’s just making life feel easier and more effortless. And you’re going to feel lighter, too. So, are you ready for 26 things that got to go? This isn’t about perfection. This is about putting you first. Let’s start with decluttering the calendar. I’m a person who is always saying yes to things. So, what if we go through and start saying no? Take a look at your calendar. Do you have a coffee date with a friend that you don’t even like? you don’t even like her. You just keep dreading and dragging yourself to go. Maybe that’s something you can let go of. Or the extra volunteering or the party you actually don’t want to attend. Or the book club that just isn’t fulfilling you anymore. It’s time to be really ruthless when decluttering our calendar because that’s how we gain back the most precious thing in the world, which is time. Next, dead or dying plants. This also includes the empty pots. I definitely have that African violet. It’s no coming back. She’s got to go. But you probably have the Christmas poinsetta with the leaves dropping. Just just write in the trash. It’s okay. And also, if it looks half dead, it’s also okay to declutter that one in the trash. What about your tech graveyard? All those cords and cables. We have so many. We have three teens. They’re like, “This cable doesn’t work. This one.” We’re like playing roulette of like which cable doesn’t charge and why so many bricks. Maybe they’re just going. We have enough. Every time we get a new device, we get new cords. Plus, we buy new cords when old ones go. But why are we holding on to them? Nope. I’m being ruthless and I’m tossing out cords. Life will be easier. This one’s a little tough, but negative memory items. Sentimental clutter is hard, but there are things that we keep that don’t make us feel good. Yes, it’s sentimental, but not in a good way. I have a scarf my mom gave me years ago, and I hate that scarf. But I feel like I’m going to disappoint my mom letting it go. That’s bonkers. She’ll never know. And every time I look at it, instead of thinking like, “Oh, my mom’s so great.” I think, “Oh, my mom doesn’t know me at all. Look at this scarf.” Negative stuff. It’s leaving. This I have to do. And that’s declutter your social media feed. I follow a lot of professional organizers and I look at their home and I think, man, if only I had a bazillion dollars. Like, it’s so gorgeous and everything’s all perfect and it just makes me feel like crap about myself. So, why is this in my feed? I am unfollowing influencers that make me feel bad about myself. And it isn’t that they’re bad people, it’s just the content isn’t positive for me. Whatever is doing the same thing for you, hopefully not me. Don’t unfollow me. But seriously, if it is making you feel bad, then you should unfollow me and other people too, but not me. Quick check-in before we go further. How are you feeling? Are you feeling like ooh, are you feeling maybe lighter? Feeling optimistic? Feeling like yay, the urge to purge? Let’s keep going. Anything broken? We have these dishes we bought and I thought they were beautiful, but they keep chipping and then I cut myself on a mug that was chipped. There’s plates. I’m just No. If it’s chipped, I’m not going to spend more on the special glue you need to fix it than the plate actually cost. It’s just going in the trash. This one I um I really need to do. Outdated labels for yourself. Like things you call yourself. I constantly call myself lazy and I just Yeah, I’m mean. I’m mean to myself. What is something that you refer to yourself that’s negative? and let’s make a promise to each other right now that we’re not going to call each other that anymore. Like, you’re not going to call yourself lazy or overweight or whatever anymore. No more bad talk. You got some old keys that you don’t know what they’re for. Just put them in the trash. It’s okay. You don’t know what it’s for. If you need it, oh well. Why do I hold on to them? I have so many. I have no idea what they’re for. Even if I was like, I need a key. I wouldn’t think to go like what am I locking? Let’s declutter the annoying notifications on our phone, Facebook, whatever. I have this squirrel box, but every 10 minutes I get this notification that there’s movement in the box and I stop what I’m doing and I look at it. I’m going to say I’m spending like 2 to 3 hours looking at squirrels. It’s cool and all, but uh no, the notifications have to go and all the other notifications that like give me PTSD like, “Oh my gosh, I missed this call or blah blah blah.” Maybe no. Maybe maybe let’s just not have all that notification anymore for 2026. If you are like me and you never use a planner, don’t you dare think that 2026 is going to be different. And also, let’s declutter all the old planners and calendars and journals and yes, even notebooks. The act of writing it down is what helps you remember. You never reference them. you are not going through your old notebooks and journals and stuff. You know what I’m saying? Let’s start fresh. And also, let’s maybe just not buy any planners if you’re not a planner person. It’s okay. Quick reminder that we don’t organize clutter, we release it. We can’t start organizing until we’ve let go of the excess. Right? I mean, right? Raise your hand if you have a bunch of gift cards that probably have no money left on them laying around or those loyalty cards to stores that they’re like free. Sure, but they’re you can’t even close your wallet. You never use them. Can we just take two seconds right now? Go through our wallet. Go through our purse. Mine is in my entrance way. And let go of things. Let go of all those cards. Like check and make sure it doesn’t have money on it if it’s a gift card. But the loyalty cards, they look up your phone number anyways. We don’t need the physical card. My young hip millennial Emily here just said that there was a card that she had to hold on to. And I was like, you can add that to your wallet on your Apple phone. And now I feel real hip and with the times because I only bring my phone everywhere. Everything, my credit cards, all my loyalty cards, they’re all added to my phone. So I don’t need the physical stuff anymore. The more you know, my kids made me do that cuz they said only old people carry their cards and I’m young. This one is my favorite is favoriteest thing to declutter and that is outdated dreams. We all change and I know that like for a long time I’m a big person who loves vision boards but I always had like big dreams like I wanted to retire and Joe and I always talked about buying a sailboat when we retired and living on it and traveling the world and then we took a oneweek trip on a sailboat. It was horrible. Okay, I am seasick, claustrophobic, and also a sailboat is so slow. My ADHD was like I could swim faster. I could I was dying living on a sailboat. I was like, “No.” But that’s okay. It’s okay to you. I used to have this dream. It’s still on my vision board that I want to be a runner because people who have their lives together run every day and I want to be that person. Guess what? I hate running. I hate it. With a passion, people say, “You’ll get used to it. You’ll get a runner’s high.” Lies didn’t happen for me. My knees hurt. My lungs are burning. And I’m just miserable. So maybe I have a new dream and I let go of the old ones. I’m decluttering them. I’m making a new vision board. You should, too. Let’s declutter things from our junk drawer. Let’s like have less junk in our trunk for 2026. Also, inspirational clothing. I mean, I feel sick. Somebody gave me clothes that were too small when I was larger and told me it was inspiration. So, you might not know what I’m talking about. Basically, it’s clothes that are too small and you are like, “Well, someday I’m going to fit into that again and it’s going to motivate me.” Except it doesn’t motivate you. It makes you feel like crap about yourself. You deserve better. You are perfect just the way you are right now. And if you do lose weight or get in shape, guess what? Treat yourself to something new. Keeping that old nasty toxic clothing is only sabotaging any type of success you could have because it’s making you feel bad about yourself. Let’s declutter all the stuff that people have done that have annoyed us. You know, like the person who gave me clothing that was too small and then told me it was inspiration. I’m still I haven’t let it go. Okay, I still it bothers me. But also the comment my sister made or that annoying thing my mom did. It like rattles around in my head and it just makes me kind of resentful and it’s poo pooing on my party for 2026. So, I’m just no, I’m I’m cool. It’s water off a duck’s back. I’m letting all that stuff go. You should, too. Honestly, one of my favorite ways to declutter is giving a specific number of things to find, especially for you perfectionists, crickets, and bees. Because giving like just saying declutter your junk drawer is fine, but find 10 things from your junk drawer. That is so much more motivating. It helps you like focus and it keeps you from having that overwhelm that comes with decluttering. So today, find 26 things. That’s the whole point of this. Your It’s a number. Even if you’re not following this list, just grab a bag and find 26 things to go. We got a couple more. Let’s go. I think you should declutter your doom piles. You know that pile of stuff that you were going to return and then you just haven’t? What if you just drop it off at Goodwill? It’s okay. Not feeling the capacity to drop it off at Goodwill. Just put it on your curb and put a free sign to it’s just gone. It’s done. All those piles of things you like the things you’re telling yourself you’re going to get to later. What if they just magically disappeared and you never had to think about them again? If that sounds amazing, make them disappear into a trash bag. You’re welcome. I would like you to find one expensive thing to declutter, something that you never use, but your brain tells you that was a lot of money. I have like four vacuum cleaners because I get gifted them by brands who are like, “Try this.” But then I hold on to them because they’re expensive. No, Emily’s going home today with a Roomba. It’s actually a Robo Rock. And I have a vacuum that I’m going to give tomorrow’s daughter because stop it, Cass. You don’t need to be a vacuum hoarder. Yes, they’re $600, but also it’s not making you any richer. It’s just collecting dust. What do you have? Let me know in the comments below. Something expensive like speakers or electronics, something that you don’t use and you’re going to make a commitment to let it go. Raise your hand if your shower curtain liner is disgusting. Sometimes decluttering is just like removing things that are kind of gross and yeah, you’re replacing it with something new, but we’re counting that. Okay. Also, if you’ve bought new shower curtains and kept the old ones, because shower curtains can be like $40, stop it. I have three. I’m going to let one go. This one is so good. Every time I go to the eye doctor, I get a little bit more blind. And yet I hold on to my previous prescription. Why? Laziness question mark. It isn’t even. See, I’m decluttering the word lazy. I’m not lazy. That’s not why. It’s because I just don’t think about it. So, right now, gather your glasses that you know are not your current prescription. Or if you’re like me and you just go to the dollar store and buy hundreds and hundreds of reading glasses because you have ADHD and you constantly forget where they are and now you have so many that it’s stressing you out and drop them off today at your eye doctors. any eye doctors while you’re driving and they’re going to donate them to people in need. So, you’re amazing. Pat on the back. And also, you have less clutter. Everyone’s winning. Dusty candles, half burnt candles, that jar that had a candle that you’re like, “That’s a good jar. I’m going to clean it out one day.” No, you’re not. Just buy to the old candles. Even if it’s got some left, you don’t have to keep it. I swear. Dish towels that don’t absorb. Why do I like I I’ll go in my dish towel and I’ll be like, “This one’s kind of crap.” And then I like dig for the one I like. What? So, we all do this. You have a favorite dish towel? I know you do. Let’s let go of the crappy ones. Sauces. Those little packets of barbecue sauce, ketchup. I have decluttered people’s homes and they had an entire drawer filled. They don’t even have expiration dates. Those could be pure poison. It’s botulism in a tiny packet. Stop it. Stop it. They’re all leaving. every single one. It’s literal trash. Specialty ingredients that you only bought for like that one recipe. Like Mara gave me a recipe for a snicker doodle cookie. I’m going to put it in the comments below, but I had to buy cream of tartar or something which I like already had but didn’t know that I had because it’s something I never used. So then I went and rebought it anyways. So that the original one is just clutter. If you wouldn’t think that you would have it and think to go look for it, why are you keeping it? I have soy sauce that is definitely bad. Go in your kitchen and just like snoop around and declutter stuff. You know, your food storage container that is always stained with spaghetti. Nobody wants to eat anything out of that stained spaghetti thing. Maybe just let it go. Also, listen, take a second and match all your bottom of your storage containers with the top, like your Tupperware. If you have extra lids or bottoms without lids and all your dishes are clean, they’re nowhere, friend. I don’t know. Whoever steals the other sock also steals Tupperware lids. So, it’s pointless to hold on to them just in case. It’s just creating friction. This is an easy thing you could do. Set a timer for 5 minutes, pair them, match them, the extras. Bye. You’re going to hate me for this one, and some of you will be like, “Ah, but um we’re not lazy. That’s a negative word.” Okay, the hand wash only items or like the clothing that can’t go in the dryer, so you never wear it. And if you’re a person who’s like good at this and you don’t mind handwashing, but if you’re avoiding using or wearing these items because the act of cleaning them is annoyingly hard, that’s okay. We have plastic cups that will melt in the dishwasher so no one uses them. But why do we even still have them? I am not about to hand wash anything and I’m certainly not going to sort through the clothes coming from the washer to the dryer. There are people who like lay their bras out and they’re delicates. That ain’t me. So, why do I have those things? I have to wear a bra or else, you know, but I’ll just put it in the dryer and if it dies eventually, I’ll get a new bra and that’s okay. It’s not lazy. It’s knowing yourself and it’s standing up against the things that make you feel lazy by just eliminating them from your home. And last but not least, as you take down your Christmas decorations, anything that’s in the tote that you didn’t like take out to decorate with, just write in the trash or donate. Like, you know what I mean? You didn’t use it to decorate, so why would you keep storing it? This is the perfect time of year to declutter your old holiday decor because it’s obvious whatever is left in the totes or your boxes going while you’re doing your cleanup. Also, don’t feel bad if you’re not packing up your Christmas decor right now. I’m not feeling kind of lazy. I might wait till like mid January. Nothing wrong with that. Did I say lazy again? I got to work on decluttering the word lazy. Anyways, my friends, I hope you’re feeling super inspired and empowered because this is my favorite thing about decluttering. It is about self-respect. It’s about self-love. It’s about finally standing up and saying, “I am more important.” Are you ready to hold each other accountable and be inspiring? I want you to take a picture of 26 things that you are letting go of before 2026. Share your wins on social media and use the hashtag26 before 26. Then we get to all see each other’s things that we’re decluttering and it’s like ah it’s empowering and inspiring and you’re going to be helping other people too while also helping yourself. We don’t need to keep everything and we are the boss of our homes and we decide what is worthy of being in it. So, put on that cape, adjust your crowns, and start decluttering just in time for the new year. Love you guys so much. I have amazing content coming in 2026. Two makeovers in January that bring all the emotions incredibly inspiring. So, if you haven’t already, hit that subscribe button. You do not want to miss these. And also, if you’re like Cass, I wish you could help me. I have a brand new course called the Clutterbug Method where I walk you through my sixstep process for organizing any space, no matter how messy and how unmotivated you are feeling. It is guaranteed or your money back. And right now there’s like an early bird bonus where you get some like lives with me. You’ll see the link to that in the description below. You don’t want to miss it. See you back here for 2026, my friends. It’s going to be our best year ever. Thank you guys so much for those of you who have stayed to the end. One of the things, you know, like the negative selft talk or the things that uh are rattling around in your brain that are just making you feel bad about yourself. We talked about that. So, I’m going to share a quick story with you and I am going to declutter this thought as soon as I say it to you. It’ll be something I’ll never think about again. Hopefully. Hopefully. I am a impulsive person and when I talk it’s my first time hearing it. I laugh at my own jokes. I have no idea what’s going to come out. I there’s it is a surprise to me as well. And I’ve always been like this. When I take my ADHD medication, it is better because I have less noise in my head. So, I feel like my thoughts aren’t as layered. So, they’re a little bit more like easy to control. If this makes sense. If it doesn’t, just bear with me. Okay. The point is, um, I say inappropriate things. People will say, “You don’t have a filter.” This is totally out of my control. My husband says I can, but I went to a Christmas party at Joe’s grandma’s nursing home. She is a lovely lady, but she wasn’t always a lovely lady. She was actually quite mean. And um we didn’t get along because she’s mean. And then she had a stroke and something in her brain got rid of the meanness. Nice. So, we’re hanging out. I’m about to leave. And she says to me, she holds my hand. She looks me in my eyes and she said, “We got off to a rough start, but now I feel like we’re really got a good relationship.” And I hear myself say, “Well, that’s because you were a mega, but now you’re nice and everybody’s jaw dropped and everybody got quiet.” And I thought, why why’ you say that? Why’ you call this 80 something year old woman a mega b word cast? But it happened. And anyways, it haunts me. I’m not I’m thinking about it at night. I’m thinking about it constantly. I’m thinking about that. God, if she dies tomorrow, the last thing she’s going to remember is that I called her a mega b word. She wasn’t even really upset about it. She kind of was like, “Says you.” Which I love. But also, ah, and if you have any ideas in the comments of how to like train your brain to hear a thought before it comes out. I mean, are you guys are you guys knowing what you’re saying before you’re saying it, or is it also the first time you’re hearing it? Sometimes I’m like, I’m a genius. Sometimes I’m like, you’re a you’re a guys. You never know. You never know. See you guys next time.