22 Things I Plan to Declutter in 2022

If you frequent the minimalism videos on YouTube (and maybe the minimalism articles on Pinterest) you will likely have noticed an uptick of content along the lines of “22 Things You Should Declutter in 2022.” Now, I realize the irony of pointing out this trend as I am about to run through my own list, but rather that telling you what I think you should declutter, I am going to go through the process of reflecting and sharing with you what i plan to declutter in the coming year and hope that you may take some inspiration from my own list.

The following items are often the first things that we think about when we think about decluttering. These are the things that we want to properly discard and remove from our lives ASAP. We can do so by donating, selling, or throwing them away (or recycling them.) Here are my standard items (that is, items we tend to actually think about) that i plan to declutter in 2022.

1. My Wardrobe: With any minimalism kick, our wardrobes are often the first place we start. But when the black and white formula is boring or annoying, the process of curating a minimal wardrobe can be a process. I recently moved back to Minnesota, where the summers are very hot and the winters are ridiculously cold. So the clothing that I need now is quite different from the hot dessert climate I was living in for the past two years. Decluttering my wardrobe has been and ongoing, transformative process, and I plan to continue that transformation for the rest of the year.

2. Jewelry and Accessories: Rarely do I know what to do with all the extra jewelry and accessories I have. While I doubt anyone would truly want them, I don’t want to just through them away so I hold onto them. This year, I will explore my options and push come to shove, if I have to throw things away, then so be it. I have very little jewelry that I wear regularly. So I will keep those pieces and get discard the rest.

3. Books: I have already decluttered the bulk of my books, but I am going to intentionally read the books that need to be read (and only keep them if I know I will reread them) and discard the rest that won’t often reference. Some of this will require a truly “get real” moment regarding the books that I will and won’t reference… I’m looking at you TimeLife Artist Series.

4. Old Photos: I will discard duplicates and photos that don’t spark joy. The ones I keep must fit into a single photo album.

5. Old Sketchbooks: Who else has a hoard of old sketchbooks or journals? I personally have a large box of old sketchbooks. I will take my time to go through each one, scan the sketches that are meaningful then discard the hard copies. I will only keep the hard copies of a couple of my best and favorite sketchbooks, because I do love the process of flipping through physical sketches on occasion. The rest are destined to go (or rather, I will recycle them into new handmade paper.)

6. Furniture: While the only furniture that is specifically “mine” is in my room, I have a couple other pieces throughout the house that don’t quite fit. I would like to discard the unnecessary pieces so that all of my furniture may comfortably fit into my 120 square foot room.

Not everything we want to discard needs to be thrown away or donated. Oftentimes we reach a point in our decluttering where we have items that we know we will use, but just haven’t brought forth the intention required to actually use them up. Here are the items that I plan to intentionally use up in 2022.

7. Pens and Markers: I love to draw. And I draw a fair bit. But I have about five different collections of pens and markers that I have held onto thus far because “I will definitely use them.” Well now is the time. I am going to make an intentional plan to use up as many of my pens and markers as I can. I will recycle the empties with Terracycle* when they run out. I will not buy any new pens or markers this year. Any completely unused markers left at the end of the year will have to go.

8. Paper: Alongside pens and markers, I also have paper that I need to use up. Same story as the pens and markers— I will make a plan to use up as much as possible and, most importantly, not buy any more until I truly need to replace some of my paper. I will however, aim to make some of my own paper. That should keep me well stocked through the year.

9. Yarn and Fabric: I collected a lot (and I mean A LOT) of secondhand yarn and fabric after moving back home this summer. 2022 is the time to hunker down and really push myself to make a dent in my collection, boost my knitting skills, then only repurchase what I will need for a specific project.

10. Tea: Coffee, I go through. Tea, not so much. I have a sizable collection of tea that still has plenty of flavor left but definitely needs to be drunk. I have already started the process of having one cup of coffee then switching to tea when I want a hot drink. Continuing this process throughout the year SHOULD whittle down my tea stash to a reasonable and usable size.

11. Vitamins+ Supplements: I don’t like taking a massive number of vitamins each day. This year (or more accurately, in January and February) I plan to suck it up and take whatever extras I have then, after that, stick to the core few vitamins and supplements that I notice actually make me feel better.

12. Makeup: Project Pan is becoming more commonplace as people try to get through their makeup stash. Though my makeup stash is not large by any means, there are still a handful of bits that need to be used up and discarded.

We often forget, especially now, that the things we own extend beyond the physical realm. Here are the non-tangible items that I plan to pare down in 2022.

13. My Computer: Old files. Repeated files. Unnecessary files. I plan to hardcore clear out my computer this year.

14. The Cloud and Google Drive: More old and unnecessary files that need to go through as well as things that need to be consolidated.

15. Contacts and Social Media Following: We often forget to declutter our social media and phone contacts. I tend to be pretty ruthless when it comes to the people that I follow, but it does require some intentional reflection. Follow only the people and accounts whose content lifts you up. Unfollow (or at least mute) the rest. I unfollowed literally Every. Single. One. of my facebook friends. I of course unfriended some people who I don’t keep in contact with, but by simply unfollowing people I have cleared out my facebook stream while still giving myself and avenue to communicate with people when needed.

16. My To Do List/Calendar: I am generally pretty good about not taking on too much for my to do list, but I am going to practice saying “no” more often to the things that I truly don’t want to do (especially if I don’t actually have to do them.)

17. Debt: Ah yes, the dream. To simply declutter debt. Obviously getting rid of debt requires a great deal of effort and intention, but my goal for 2022 is to halve (or nearly halve) my student debt.

Our habits and thought patterns have just as big, even bigger, impact on our overall well-being as the clutter in our space. You can declutter until the cows come home, but until we address the toxic thought patterns and habits that we hold onto, true contentment with be difficult to achieve. Here are the habits and negative thought patterns I plan to discard in 2022.

18. Mindless Content Consumption: I have definitely improved in this over the last couple of year (thanks to the screen time feature on my phone) but I still get sucked into the media consumption vortex, especially with YouTube. So, while I have no plans to stop consuming media, I will direct my consumption towards things that elevate and inspire me. Rather that use media to pass time, I will use media to open my mind and my creativity.

19. Gossip: I love to know the tea. But I am slowly weaning myself off the desire to know everyone’s business. I do this by confronting then releasing the FOMO (fear of missing out) that comes from not know the latest, juiciest details.

20. Complaining: I’ll just say that I teach high school. It comes with… a specific set of struggles and since starting my new job I have noticed a definite uptick in my complaining. But this year, rather than complain, I am instead going to focus on what I can fix and allow grace and understanding for the things that I can’t.

21. Irritability: I am slowly improving on this front, a (mostly) daily gratitude practice certainly helps. But I notice that when I feel my attention pulled in different directions or I feel stressed, my fuse becomes a bit short and I become easily irritated. Time to declutter that negative response and replace it with a better habit like taking a deep breath or focusing on the things I am grateful for. I cannot control when something annoys me, but I can limit the power that my irritation has over me.

22. Scarcity Mindset: I know. I know! How do we declutter this common place mindset. My practice is and will be gratitude and generosity. When I allow myself to feel truly grateful for what I have AND give a bit as well, I can begin to truly believe (rather than simply logically work out) that i am living with abundance.

So there you have it; my 22 things that I will declutter in 2022. Some things I will be able to declutter relatively quickly, others, specifically habits, will take time to shift. The point of continuous decluttering is not necessarily to whittle down our possessions to an extremely minimal amount (though you wouldn’t hear any complaints from me if I reach that point) but rather to continuously reflect on the things and mindsets that we surround ourselves with. Decluttering is about intentionally inviting the things into our lives that bring us value while saying goodbye to the rest.

*Check out the terrycycle website for resources on recycling items that cannot be recycled through single stream recycling.