101 Physical Things That Can Be Reduced In Your Home

by joshua becker

“One can furnish a home very luxuriously by taking out furniture rather than putting it in.” – Francis Jourdain

Many people will miss the joys of minimalism because they are afraid to begin. Often, they fear if they remove an item from their home, they will regret it in the future if they need it again. While that rarely happens (you need so much less than you think), if that fear is preventing you from getting started, try this alternative method instead.

Begin by simply reducing the excess things in your home. For example, your family needs towels so you will never remove them completely… but you could simplify your life by just reducing the number of towels in your home. This step completely removes all risk.

Once you take that first step, you will start to experience the benefits of minimalism in your life. You will enjoy the refreshing feeling of a less-cluttered linen closet or bathroom drawer. Soon, you will notice countless other things that can easily be reduced in your home. Before you know it, you will have made significant progress in your journey towards a more simplified life.

To better understand the potential of this simple, risk-free step, I compiled a list of 101 Things That Can Easily Be Reduced In Your Home. This list is not meant to overwhelm or frustrate you, it’s simply meant to give you an idea of how significant a step this can be–just choosing 10 things on this list to start with would result in a noticeable difference in your home.

  1. Glassware
  2. Cookbooks
  3. Kitchen gadgets
  4. Kitchen appliances
  5. Pots / pans
  6. Mixing bowls
  7. Tupperware
  8. Water pitchers
  9. Magazines
  10. Newspapers
  11. Books
  12. Over-the-counter medicine
  13. Make-up
  14. Barretts / hair clips / ponytail holders
  15. Cleaning supplies
  16. Personal beauty appliances (hair dryer/curlers, electric razors)
  17. Bottles of shampoo/conditioner
  18. Photos
  19. Photography supplies
  20. Sewing supplies
  21. Craft supplies
  22. Scrap-booking supplies
  23. CD’s
  24. DVD’s
  25. Decorative items
  26. Candles
  27. Figurines
  28. Crystal
  29. Vases
  30. Audio/visual components
  31. Audio/visual cables
  32. Computer equipment
  33. MP3 players
  34. Furniture
  35. Video game systems
  36. Vdeo games
  37. Video game accessories
  38. Shirts / shorts
  39. Pants
  40. Coats
  41. Dresses
  42. Hats
  43. Clothes hangers
  44. Shoes
  45. Winter gear
  46. Jewelry
  47. Purses
  48. Coins
  49. Pillows
  50. Towels
  51. Linen sets
  52. Candle Holders
  53. Televisions
  54. Items on your bulletin board
  55. Magnets
  56. Artwork
  57. Mirrors
  58. Home office supplies
  59. Pens/pencils
  60. Old batteries
  61. Tools
  62. Hardware
  63. Rolls of duct tape
  64. Coolers
  65. Manuals
  66. Phone books
  67. Coupons
  68. Sporting good supplies
  69. Sports memorabilia
  70. Aluminum cans
  71. Glass bottles
  72. Automobile fluids
  73. Automobiles
  74. Scrap pieces of lumber
  75. Brooms
  76. Rakes
  77. Shovels
  78. Garden tools
  79. Plant containers
  80. Empty cardboard boxes
  81. Board games
  82. Puzzles
  83. Decks of cards
  84. Unused wedding gifts
  85. Baby clothes
  86. Baby supplies
  87. Old schoolbooks/papers
  88. Army men
  89. Bath toys
  90. Toy balls
  91. Toy cars/trucks
  92. Toy musical instruments
  93. Stuffed animals
  94. Plastic toys
  95. Childrens’ old school papers
  96. Suitcases
  97. Soda
  98. Alcohol
  99. Processed foods
  100. Christmas / seasonal decorations
  101. Cable channels

Go ahead. Give it a shot. You’ve got nothing to lose.

If you are just beginning the journey towards simplicity, I recommend our e-book: Simplify. 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life. You will find the principles of simplicity to be encouraging, uplifting, and completely within your reach.

{ 72 comments… read them below or add one }

Leslie May 30, 2013 at 4:47 am

I have been working on this for the past month. Started with all of the plastic stuff in my kitchen. I had two boxes. One for trash and another for items that the Open Door Mission for the homeless would love to have. Next, I moved to the bathroom drawers, my closet, the front hall closet, and the laundry room. As I have donated and thrown away, it has felt SO GOOD to not have to LOOK at or CLEAN AROUND so much STUFF. And to be honest, I can’t even remember half of what I have gotten rid of, so I DO NOT miss it! I just keep asking myself, “do you ABSOLUTELY LOVE this item? If the answer is “No”, then it goes!

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Denise Johnson May 30, 2013 at 5:05 am

LOL. Glass bottles? I giggled. Since my little guy started eating baby food, I’ve been hoarding empty baby food jars. This, plus my stupid obsession with Pinterest, has left me with many jars and many ideas…none of which I will most likely get around to doing. So, cute as the jars are and cute as the crafts I could make…as always, Josh, you are right.

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Julie Nicholson May 30, 2013 at 6:28 am

I’ve been slowly reducing over a number of years. Still not there yet by any means, but one thing which is going to spur me on at home is that I’ve also now got to deal with seven decades worth of stuff at my mother’s house. She has been in hospital and I need to make life easier for her. She’s had way too much stuff for a long time, and she can’t really clean things herself, so it’s a massive undertaking. Took a load away for charity and recycling today, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. I don’t want to end up in her situation and force my son to go through the same things as I’m going through. Keep going folks!

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Teddy May 30, 2013 at 7:56 am

This is a great list! I think everyone can eliminate extra stuff in some of these areas. I’ve been slowly working toward minimalism because I realized if I had the chance to get up and leave, to pack up my car and go somewhere new right now – it would be too hard. I have too much stuff. I’m slimming down everything I own and instead of getting harder, it actually becomes easier as I get rid of more things I thought I cared about.

Thank you for this list! I’ll use it to simplify my life.

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Sandra Moise May 30, 2013 at 9:59 am

I do not have one pony tail holder!!!

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Katie June 5, 2013 at 5:25 am

I wish I did!! My pony ties end up everywhere!

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Tara May 30, 2013 at 7:33 pm

I’ve been aggressively decluttering for a couple of months with a move happening in weeks. People are shocked to hear that I removed 70 boxes of ‘stuff’ from my home and brought it to goodwill. I’m not a hoarder, and I thought I’d thoroughly decluttered 3 years ago. People ask, what was in the boxes. I will refer them to your list (though there were no automobiles). Of the 70 boxes I will miss nothing. In place of the stuff I have space – space that I don’t have to clean, care for, store, organize or move! Freedom!

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Carmell May 30, 2013 at 9:01 pm

As part of a massive life change, jumping off the edge of having any plan at all, I rented out my home last year. This required me to go through and clean out 20 years of stuff. I did do it. When I had finished that phase, I had only a single storage POD with everything I owned. I thought this was significant. When I finally landed after traveling for a bit–single backpack–and then living out of a friend’s attic bedroom for a few months with only 3 boxes and my clothes, I simplified even more. I moved into 500 sf with vintage open cupboards, high ceilings, big windows, and original hardwood floors. I wanted the light more than I wanted stuff. It is phenomenal. I let things go all the time now. I am simplifying more. When I read the list, I realized how much of this list I have already done. And it feels extraordinary. There is always more I can simplify. I tell people: live small and simply, eat excellent food, know great people, and travel.

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Shelly June 1, 2013 at 10:25 am

It would help me to have some explanation with the items on the list. Why “ponytail holders”? Sometimes I need my hair kept out of my way and they take up almost no room. Are items on this list because they are examples of what we often have way too much of and you’re suggesting that they be pared or gotten rid of completely? That’s the big unknown–what is the list of items that a household like mine (adult male, adult female, and a boy? that does some cooking, some yard work, a lot of home improvement DIY actually need. And I, the female, go to work in a corporate environment where the standard is to fix your hair and wear a little make-up and to drive your car because the job is far away. I’ve freelanced and looked for work in my open neighborhood and it just ain’t happenin.) I need info in what actually is needed. And, by the way, I really appreciate your FB posts!

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kathy b good June 2, 2013 at 7:49 pm

hi Shelly, I looked up top before the list and it says 101 things we can reduce, so I think it’s just to look & see what can be pared down. I imagine someone like me who rarely wears makeup better start throwing it out or giving it away : ) The hairbands I keep – I wear them & the cats love to toss them around. I have a really hard time getting rid of anything, I have tried to tackle the big and bulky stuff first. as you said, hairbands don’t take up much space. but I do notice I have a gazillion tiny things that don’t take up a lot of space, but do make my brain crazier than it already is…

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Shelly June 2, 2013 at 8:10 pm

You are right Kathy–good to look everywhere and consider nothing too small. I guess I want to cut to the quick–tell me what I do need cause I’ve got so much to wade through to get there. Which reminds me, I shoud take these few minutes I have right now to weed my stuff! Thanks for the feedback!

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Sabrina June 3, 2013 at 3:07 am

Great list. I will share. Though being an organizer, I know many people would be intimidated by this list. Printing the list out and using it as a weekly minimize list would give people a goal for each week to complete a list. Thanks for the post.

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Pamela June 3, 2013 at 7:49 pm

I am glad I found this link I really need to purge and get rid of years of stuff I have collected over the years . That is my goal to clear all in every room . Less is more!

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sharon June 3, 2013 at 8:14 pm

What has helpped me peardown is if I haven’t used it in a year and its in a box it gpes

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Katie F June 4, 2013 at 11:30 am

Husband and I are avid readers, our book collection was monumental, we loved them, the feel of them, the smell of them etc etc. then we bought Kindles. After 3 months we realised that the books we have been hoarding for years were not going to be read again, so we took bags and I mean BAGS of them down to the charity shop. We have kept reference books, cook books, special ‘from childhood’ books and hardbacks that are in sets but OMG we have so much room and we don’t miss the books at all, I promise you. Now we need to do the est of the house and we’ll be laughing :).

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Nicole June 4, 2013 at 10:26 pm

Great list. I have been on a due cluttering kick even though we cleaned out a lot when we moved 6 months ago. I just went through my sons outgrown clothes newborn sizes to current. Yikes. We have a lot and even if we have another boy we do not need all those clothes. My office needs the most attention right now because it houses my rarely used scrap booking supplies, a huge book shelf (can’t let go of Harry potter) and my ever growing collection of homeschooling materials. It feel good to let things go. Love your articles.

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