A Practical Guide to Decide What to Keep and What to Give Up

If your closets, cabinets, and shelves feel packed, it might not be an organizing problem — it might simply be too much stuff. This simple 2-step guide will help you determine how much is “too much” for you, and start simplifying your space today!

Most of us don’t wake up one day and decide to fill our homes with too much stuff. Rather, it happens slowly — one shirt here, a new kitchen gadget there, a few birthday toys, a bag of hand-me-downs.

Before long, closets are packed, drawers are overflowing, and the garage is quietly collecting items that no longer have a place inside our home.

The Solution = Get Rid of Stuff

But how do you decide how much is “too much” of any particular item?

This is a question I get almost every week… and instead of vague rules or guilt-driven decluttering, I encourage you to try my practical two-part guide to help you decide “how much is too much” for yourself!)

Remember: the goal isn’t a perfectly minimalist house. It’s a home that feels manageable. A home where you can find what you need, clean up quickly, and enjoy your space without feeling stressed about all your stuff.

Keep that in mind as you walk through this two-step approach to decluttering.

1. Evaluate how much you actually need or use.

It’s surprisingly easy to hang onto more than we realistically need (especially for those of us who are frugal and keep things “just in case we might need it someday“!)

So before worrying about storage bins, baskets, or organizing systems, start with the most important question:

How much do you actually need and use?

Clothing

If your closet could use a little help, ask yourself the following:

• How many outfits do I wear in a typical week?
• What type of climate do I live in?
• What actually fits?
• Do I need separate wardrobes for work, home, casual, church, events? Or do I wear the same things most days?
• Will I realistically gain or lose large amounts of weight in the near future?

Kitchen gadgets:

Many of us have drawers filled with single-purpose tools we rarely reach for. If this sounds like you, ask yourself:

• Do I use this often enough to justify the space it takes up?
• Is there another item I could use to do the same thing?
• Could I store this rarely -used item somewhere outside the kitchen?

Toys

If you have kids or grandkids around, toys can multiply quickly. But children often play best when they have fewer, more engaging options instead of piles of toys dumped on the floor.

Consider only offering a few toy options for a month and see if your kids ask about the missing toys. If not, sell or donate them and enjoy the extra space.

If you have the storage space, rotate toys monthly; otherwise, if space is tight, donate or sell toys that take up too much space and aren’t used regularly, then use that money to treat the family to a fun night out (we’ve done this several times and the kids love it).

RELATED READING: Our Kid-Friendly Lego Storage

If you actually need and use all the item(s) in question, you likely don’t have “too much”. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can hold onto everything forever, though (keep reading).

On the flip side, if the items are collecting dust, serving as sentimental reminders of “the good old days”, or waiting for “someday” to arrive, I encourage you to free up some space and let those items go.

2. Consider your storage space. 

Do you have a massive walk-in closet to accommodate your ever-growing collection of clothing? Or does your tiny closet realistically only hold 30 hangers?

Do you have a spacious mudroom to store all your shoes and outdoor gear? Or do you get by with a few hooks and a pile of shoes by the back door?

Do you have plenty of toy storage? Or is your toy storage limited to a bin under each child’s bed?

If you don’t have adequate storage space, it likely means you have too much and need to let something go.

This doesn’t always feel fair to those with less physical storage space — but the truth is, if you don’t have space to store your items, those items will always sit out and be constant visual clutter.

The goal here isn’t to deprive yourself, it’s to identify the number of items that actually serve your family, your home, and your life.

What if you need something but don’t have the space to store it?

I know, I know — I get this question all the time.

If you find yourself in this situation, you have a few options:

• Get rid of it anyway, and make do with what you have.
• Find a better, more efficient storage solution.

3 Ways to Find (or Make) More Storage

1. Use Vertical Space: 

You likely have more space than you realize — you just need to look up!

• Use vertical bookcases to store toys, games, books, and more.
• Hang a cabinet above your toilet to store extra bathroom items.
• Add a kitchen cabinet divider to “double stack” shorter items.
• Add a 2nd rod to your closet for more short-hang clothing
• Hang a loft in your garage for extra outdoor gear, holiday decor, or outdoor toys.
• Hang over-the-door shoe organizers on the backs of your doors — we use ours for gloves and mittens, small kids’ toys, bathroom essentials, and so much more.

RELATED READING: How we use vertical space to maximize storage. 

2. Rearrange What You Already Have: 

Sometimes, simply rearranging what you already have will magically create more storage space. For example:

• If you double-fold your pants, they will take up less vertical space and more horizontal space than if you triple-fold them.
• Slim hangers take up less space than traditional plastic hangers.
• Storing your shoes in over-the-door shoe organizers on the back of your closet door takes up much less space than storing them in boxes or on shoe shelves.
• Square and rectangular containers store more than round or oval containers
• Folding your t-shirts and tank tops as I do will save you space and make it easier to find the shirt you want to wear.

3. Use Double-Duty Storage: 

This is one of my favorite tips because it’s quick and easy. All you have to do is look for ways to store items within something that serves a useful purpose.

• Use decorative baskets (with lids) to store craft supplies, photos, DVDs, etc., and stack the baskets to make a side table next to a chair or couch.
• Use bunk beds with built-in storage shelves or beds with under-bed drawers for extra storage.
• Use a decorative cabinet to store extra linens, kids’ toys, computer equipment, gift wrap, or almost anything. We did this to create a mudroom years ago.
• Use a storage ottoman or bench instead of a coffee table and store blankets or games inside.

Remember, simplicity is not always about having less or living with bare shelves; it’s about having what you need and being able to quickly and easily access it when you need it.

When you find that balance, something wonderful happens.

• Your home feels calmer.
• Cleaning takes less time.
• The mental load of managing “too much” begins to lift.

For busy parents and grandparents, that kind of simplicity is more than nice… it’s incredibly freeing!

A Practical Way to Start Today

If you want to try this process immediately, pick one small category today.

• Your everyday shirts
• Kitchen utensils
• Kids’ books
• Coffee mugs

First, gather up the entire lot and ask: How many do I actually use and need?

Second, decide where those items will live. If they don’t comfortably fit in the space you’ve chosen, keep trimming until they do.

No complicated system. No all-day organizing project.

Just clear limits that make your home easier and more pleasant to live in!

What’s one thing you might have “too much” of?