What to Declutter First: 7 Easy Wins That Make the Biggest Difference

The question everyone asks when they’re drowning in stuff is “where do I even start?”

I get it. I spent two years looking at my cluttered house thinking I needed to declutter but having absolutely no idea what to tackle first. Every room felt overwhelming. Every closet was packed. Every drawer was a mess.

So I’d start in one room, get distracted, move to another area, get overwhelmed, and give up. Nothing ever actually got done.

Then I figured out the secret. You don’t start with the hardest stuff. You start with the easy wins. The areas that take 15 to 20 minutes, make a visible difference, and give you momentum to keep going.

Here are the seven places I recommend starting. Pick one, set a timer for 15 minutes, and just do it. You’ll feel better immediately.

Why Most People Start Decluttering in the Wrong Place

The biggest mistake people make is starting with sentimental stuff or big overwhelming areas like the garage or basement.

Bad first choices:

• Photo albums and memory boxes
• Kids’ artwork and school papers
• Clothes that have emotional attachment
• The garage or attic
• Your entire bedroom closet

These areas are hard. They require decision making. They bring up feelings. And when you’re just starting out, they’ll stop you dead in your tracks.

Good first choices:

• Junk drawer
• Medicine cabinet
• Under the bathroom sink
• Expired food in pantry
• Old magazines and mail

These areas are easy. Most decisions are obvious (yes, that’s expired, toss it). They don’t have emotional attachment. And they give you a quick win that motivates you to keep going.

Easy Win #1: The Junk Drawer (15 Minutes)

Everyone has a junk drawer. Mine had batteries that were probably dead, pens that didn’t work, rubber bands, random screws, expired coupons, and a Christmas ornament hook for some reason.

Here’s how to declutter it in 15 minutes:

Dump everything out onto the counter.

Toss the obvious trash. Dried up pens, expired coupons, broken rubber bands, mystery items you can’t identify.

Group like items together. All batteries in one spot, all pens in another, all rubber bands together.

Put back only what you actually use. For me that was working pens, scissors, tape, and a few batteries. Everything else went somewhere else or got tossed.

Use a small box or container to keep things separated if you want. I used an old iPhone box cut in half. Works perfectly.

The whole thing took me 12 minutes and suddenly I had a functional drawer instead of a place where stuff went to die.

Easy Win #2: Medicine Cabinet (15 Minutes)

Medicine cabinets are full of expired stuff you forgot you had.

Pull everything out. Check expiration dates. Most over-the-counter medicine expires after a year or two. Prescription stuff usually has a date printed right on it.

Toss anything expired, anything you don’t recognize, anything half empty that you’re never going to finish.

Wipe down the shelves while they’re empty.

Put back only what you actually use. I kept basic pain reliever, allergy medicine, band-aids, and antibiotic ointment. That’s it.

Everything else (first aid stuff, extra supplies) went in a bin under the bathroom sink so the cabinet wasn’t crammed full.

This took me 15 minutes exactly and freed up so much space. Plus now I can actually find what I need instead of digging through expired Tylenol from 2022.

Easy Win #3: Under the Bathroom Sink (20 Minutes)

This area gets gross and cluttered fast. Half-empty bottles of stuff you tried once, hair products you don’t use anymore, cleaning supplies you forgot you had.

Pull everything out. Toss anything empty or nearly empty. If there’s less than a quarter left and you haven’t used it in months, you’re not going to suddenly start now.

Check for duplicates. I had three half-used bottles of the same cleaner. Consolidated them into one bottle.

Wipe down the cabinet. It’s probably dusty and possibly has leaked product residue.

Put back only what you use regularly. Everything else goes in a different storage spot or gets donated if it’s still good.

I also put a small bin under there for backup supplies (extra toilet paper, soap, cleaning spray refills) so everything stays contained and doesn’t fall over.

Easy Win #4: Expired Food in the Pantry and Fridge (20 Minutes)

You probably have expired food you don’t even know about.

Start with the pantry. Check dates on canned goods, boxed items, spices, oils, anything that’s been sitting there a while. Spices especially. If they don’t smell like anything anymore, they’re too old.

Then hit the fridge. Condiments are the worst. I had salad dressing from 2023 and soy sauce that expired in 2024. Toss anything past its date or anything that looks or smells off.

Check the freezer too. If you have mystery frozen items from 2023 that you can’t identify, throw them out. Freezer burned stuff that’s been there over a year? Also toss.

This one task freed up so much space and made meal planning way easier because I could actually see what we had.

If you struggle with food waste, check out why we were throwing $200 in the trash every month and how we fixed it.

Easy Win #5: Old Magazines, Mail, and Paper Clutter (15 Minutes)

Paper clutter piles up so fast. Old magazines you meant to read. Mail you’ve been ignoring. Random papers that somehow end up everywhere.

Grab a trash bag and just start tossing.

Magazines older than two months? Recycle them. If you haven’t read them yet, you’re not going to.

Junk mail? Straight to recycling. Don’t even open it.

Old receipts? Unless you need them for taxes or returns, toss them.

Random printed stuff? If you haven’t looked at it in a month and it’s not important, it goes.

Keep only what you actually need. Important documents, current bills, stuff you’re actively using.

I cleared three stacks of paper off my kitchen counter in about 12 minutes doing this. Instant visual difference.

Easy Win #6: Bathroom Counters and Shower (15 Minutes)

Bathroom surfaces collect so much stuff. Products you don’t use, empty bottles you’ve been meaning to throw away, random items that don’t belong there.

Clear off your bathroom counter completely. Toss empty bottles, nearly empty bottles you won’t finish, products you tried and didn’t like.

Put back only your daily essentials. Toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash, whatever you use every single day. Everything else goes in a drawer or cabinet.

Do the same with your shower. Get rid of empty bottles, old razors, expired products, that shampoo your sister left six months ago that you’re never going to use.

A clear counter and shower make your bathroom feel so much cleaner even if you didn’t scrub anything.

Easy Win #7: Junk in Your Car (15 Minutes)

If your car is full of trash, old receipts, water bottles, random stuff from six months ago, this is the easiest win.

Grab a trash bag. Go to your car. Throw away all the trash. Empty water bottles, food wrappers, receipts, random papers.

Pull out anything that doesn’t belong in the car. Jackets, shoes, bags, toys, whatever. Bring it inside and put it where it actually goes.

Wipe down surfaces if you have a few extra minutes.

This took me 10 minutes and made such a difference. Getting in a clean car every morning just feels better.

What NOT to Declutter First

These areas might seem logical to start with, but trust me, save them for later:

Your bedroom closet. This is too big and too emotional for a first project. You’ll get stuck making decisions about clothes you might wear someday. Do the junk drawer first, build momentum, then tackle the closet.

Sentimental items. Photos, kids’ artwork, memory boxes, anything with emotional attachment. These are the hardest decisions. Save them for when you’ve practiced decluttering easier stuff.

Other people’s stuff. Don’t start by decluttering your partner’s things or your kids’ things. Start with your own stuff. Once they see you making progress, they might join in.

Shared spaces that need agreement. Like the living room or family room where everyone’s stuff lives. These require negotiation. Start with areas that are just yours to control.

The garage or basement. Way too overwhelming for a first project. You need quick wins first, not a full day project.

How to Keep the Momentum Going

Once you’ve done one or two of these easy areas, you’ll feel motivated to keep going.

Here’s what I did. I kept a running list on my phone of small decluttering projects. Every time I noticed a drawer or cabinet that was messy, I added it to the list.

Then whenever I had 15 to 20 free minutes, I’d pick one thing from the list and just do it. No overthinking. Just set a timer and declutter.

Over two months, I worked through about 20 small areas this way. My house looked so much better and I never had to dedicate a whole day to it.

The 15-minute cleaning routine I use now keeps things from getting cluttered again. But these initial easy wins were what gave me the momentum to actually start.

The One Question That Makes Decluttering Easier

Here’s the question I ask myself about every single item: “Would I buy this again today?”

Not “might I use it someday.” Not “but it was expensive.” Not “someone gave it to me.”

Would I buy this again today, right now, if I saw it in a store?

If the answer is no, it goes. That simple.

This cuts through so much mental clutter. It’s not about whether the item is good or bad. It’s about whether it serves you right now, today, in your current life.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to declutter a whole house?

It depends on how much stuff you have and how much time you dedicate to it. If you do 15 to 20 minute sessions on small areas like I did, you can make significant progress in two to three months. If you dedicate whole days to it, you could finish a house in a few weeks. Start with the seven easy wins in this article first, then move to bigger areas.

What’s the fastest area to declutter for beginners?

The junk drawer. Takes 10 to 15 minutes, requires almost no emotional decision making, and gives you an immediate visible result. It’s perfect for building momentum. After that, try the medicine cabinet or bathroom counter.

How do I declutter when I’m completely overwhelmed?

Start with one small area. Just one. Don’t think about the whole house or all the work ahead. Set a timer for 15 minutes, pick one of the seven easy wins from this article, and just do that. When you’re done, you can either stop or keep going. But starting small removes the overwhelm. I wrote a whole guide on how to start decluttering when you’re overwhelmed that might help.

Should I declutter or organize first?

Always declutter first. There’s no point organizing stuff you don’t need or use. Get rid of the excess first, then organize what’s left. It’s so much easier and you’ll need way fewer organizing supplies.

What do I do with stuff I declutter?

Keep three bags or boxes going: trash, donate, and sell (if applicable). Trash goes out immediately. Donations go in your car so you can drop them off next time you’re out. Selling items only makes sense if they’re valuable enough to be worth your time. Don’t let donate or sell piles sit around forever. Get them out of the house within a week.

How do I declutter without making a bigger mess?

Work on one small area at a time. Finish it completely before moving to the next area. Don’t pull stuff out of multiple drawers or cabinets at once. One junk drawer gets completely emptied, decluttered, and put back before you touch the medicine cabinet. This keeps chaos contained.

Just Pick One Area and Start

You don’t have to declutter your whole house this week. You don’t even have to declutter a whole room.

Just pick one of these seven areas. Set a timer for 15 minutes. And go.

The junk drawer is my top recommendation because it’s quick, easy, and every single person has one. You can literally do it tonight after dinner.

Once you finish that first area, you’ll feel lighter. You’ll have proof that decluttering doesn’t have to take forever. And you’ll probably want to tackle another area tomorrow.

That’s how I went from a cluttered house I’d been avoiding for years to a home that actually feels manageable. One junk drawer at a time.

If you want a complete system for decluttering and organizing your whole house, my 30-day home reset guide walks you through every single room step by step. It’s what finally got me unstuck after years of trying and failing to declutter.

But you don’t need the whole system to start. You just need 15 minutes and one junk drawer. Go do it now. I’ll wait.