13 Things To Declutter Before The End Of The Year To Start 2026 Fresh

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The end of December is the perfect time to do some post-holiday decluttering. While you can start using smart decluttering tricks that make sure you don't miss a thing during any time of year, there is something about the new year being just around the corner that gives most of us that little extra kick of motivation we are so often without. Yet, even with this newfound enthusiasm, looking around your house and thinking "I need to get rid of so much stuff" isn't going to get you that far.

Instead, it's much more helpful to focus your attention on items you are likely to be handling this time of year anyway. This way, you can move into January with a cleaner home and less on your to-do list. Whether you choose to use Marie Kondo's KonMari Organizing Method or come up with a system all your own, items such as old holiday decorations, duplicate gifts, and hobbies you haven't touched once in 2025 shouldn't come into 2026 with you. For a fresh start, these all really need to go.

As you take down Christmas lights or put away the menorah, take a moment to evaluate everything you're placing back into seasonal storage. Are there any decorations you just had to have from Temu that turned up looking nothing like you thought they would? Is there a strand of lights with a few broken bits you've been making do with, even though you have three other perfectly fine sets? These are the kinds of holiday decorations to declutter before the end of the year to start 2026 fresh.

Not only that, as you put things away, take a deeper look into the boxes and bins for items that didn't make the annual cut. If you didn't use it this year, do you really think you're going to display it next time the holidays come around? If it's broken, worn out, or doesn't work anymore, just get rid of it. Of course, some items are always worth repairing, such as vintage items or family heirlooms you want to keep for purely sentimental value. However, there should only be a few of these.

Christmas cards, or any other sort of year-end updates you get from family and friends (even, for some reason, ones you haven't spoken to in years) can easily become clutter. For many, it can feel strange to trash sentimental items such as these, especially so soon after receiving them. However, if you don't do anything, it's easy to be buried under piles of paper after only a few years of hanging onto them.

To avoid getting stuck, treat these holiday cards as they really are: an invitation to connect with others and spread a little temporary holiday cheer. If you receive any, take a look at the updates included, reach out to whomever you need to and offer congratulations or condolences as needed, then recycle them.

If you want to keep the cards until the end of the season, so be it, but the envelopes they came with should be recycled as soon as you confirm the return address matches the one you have on file for that person. If you ever feel guilty, don't — you're getting another card next year to take the place of the one you just got rid of.

December is beloved by many for all the social events centered around its many holidays. Because of all these office parties, family get-togethers, and lunches with friends, you're bound to end the month with way more than you started with. However, it's okay to not love every gift you receive, and it's okay to not keep them long-term due to a lack of space or interest. Some might think this is tacky, but as long as you express your gratitude to the person who gave you the gift — and don't share your eventual plans for the item — it's perfectly polite to discreetly pass things along.

So, when Hanukkah and Christmas are over and the dust has settled on the festive spirit, take a moment to consider what you received and your need for it. If you have a duplicate item, or something you simply do not like or will not use, don't hold onto it out of duty. Instead, donate the items to a local shelter or resale store, or even list them online, such as on Facebook Marketplace. However, if you do this, remember to use the feature that hides the listing from your Facebook friends to prevent any hurt feelings.

In that weird week between Christmas and New Year's, when everyone seems to be off work and no one really knows what day it is, have a look in your pantry. It might be a little bare after using up most of the ingredients you keep around just for holiday pies, latkes, or even dishes for Kwanzaa. Right now, after it's cleared out from all the cooking for the holidays, is a great time to do some deeper de-cluttering.

First, see if any canned goods or other packaged items are expired. If they expire in the next month or so, leave them out and use them this week. If you put them back into the depths of your pantry, you may not see them again until next year when you do this again. Next, look at everything that's not expired but that you still don't use often (or at least know you won't eat). In these cases, donate the food to your local food pantry. We find it's easiest to empty your pantry, wipe off the shelves, and restock it. This way, you have to physically touch all the packages, which forces yourself to do a more thorough job.

Once the holiday hosting season is over, you should know what serving dishes, pots, and pans you actually use — even when meals get fancy. If you had your entire family over for the final night of Hanukkah and still didn't use the largest platter you have, it's unlikely you need to keep it. As such, December is the perfect time of year to downsize all your hosting items so you can start 2026 with more room for the items you love and use often when entertaining.

Take the time to look through everything, from party supplies such as the mountains of paper plates and plastic forks you have in the pantry "just in case," all the way down to fine china that's never once been out of the cabinet. If you use it for decoration, that's a different story, but if it's just shoved in a drawer and you haven't gotten it out for the last 10 Christmases, it's time to part ways. If it's really, really expensive, you have our full permission to be picky about its new home — just get a good price for it.

You should only bring items with you into the new year that support the goals you have for yourself going forward. With this in mind, declutter any old to-do lists or vision boards that no longer resonate with what you have planned in the year of the horse.

The first and easiest step is erasing any goals, resolutions, or lists written on your whiteboard so you can begin thinking about what you want to put down for 2026. Next, recycle any paper calendars and planners from 2025 — after a quick look to make sure they don't have any information you need later on. From there, consider the items you have around your home that may have aligned with your 2025 goals and dreams, but won't serve you in the new year. For example, if you have a stack of fitness magazines from when you were going to go all in on Hyrox or you have food blogs bookmarked because you wanted to become a home chef, it's okay to declutter them if you now have other priorities.

Much like most folks have a chair in their room covered with laundry that's not quite dirty but isn't clean, there tends to be one "dumping surface" in most people's homes. It's often the kitchen table when walking in the back door since it can be the first surface you see, but if you use the front, it might be the table near the entrance. This space is one of the areas people with organized homes always tidy up before leaving for vacation. You should start 2026 with it decluttered.

Begin the new year by getting rid of all the junk that's accumulated there over the holiday season, such as gift receipts for gifts that have been happily accepted, registration forms for any new clubs you plan to join, and even the online returns you keep putting off. Action each item as you clear it off, then consider investing in the Weweow mail organizer wall mount to keep the clutter at bay in the long run.

Duplicates are one of the quickest and easiest items you can declutter to start 2026 feeling fresh — the moment you get home from Black Friday sales or finish unpacking from family Christmas, you already know exactly what you doubled up on. Do you have three black sweaters? Two Stanleys? Somehow six pairs of kitchen tongs? You don't need all of them. You'll survive if you cut a few.

Whether you unwittingly doubled up while shopping or were gifted a double, go ahead and pass one of the items in the pair off to a new home. You can keep the new version or pass it on; for example, you may have a much-loved black sweater you'd prefer to keep over a stiff new one. Take a page out of Marie Kondo's book for dealing with sentimental items when you're decluttering and simply ask yourself, "Which one sparks joy?"

Your bathroom is likely to look like a natural disaster hit after the chaos of the holiday season. Before 2026 begins, take a moment to declutter and reset it so you can begin the year on the right foot. Look through each cabinet and drawer for forgotten samples you always meant to try, or full-sized items you've never actually used. Check the expiration dates for each, trashing them if needed. If they are still in date and unused, consider bringing them out so you can enjoy them in 2026. You can also donate sealed, in-date toiletries to a local shelter to ensure others also have a great start to the new year.

You should also have a look through your makeup for anything that's expired – the risk of problems from bacteria on old products is very high. Plus, getting ready will be much easier come January once your skincare and makeup are streamlined and decluttered since you won't have to spend ages constantly digging around for them. For a final touch, consider the viral Five Below organizer that's perfect for decluttering bathroom countertops, the Bow Tabletop Shelf, which you can use to store the makeup and skincare you want front and center in 2026.

Digital clutter can be overwhelming because you can never find anything, but it's also one of the easiest areas to ignore since it doesn't take up any physical space. You also pay the price by shelling out more for cloud storage because your device is full of junk. You definitely shouldn't bring any into 2026 with you!

We live so much of our lives online, which is why everyone needs to start the new year with a zeroed-out inbox, no more random screenshots on your phone, and fully culled 2022 vacation photos. It can be overwhelming, but there are ways to make it easier. For emails, try bulk-deleting unopened holiday offers from stores — they're likely expired now anyway. For photos, there are apps to make sorting them easier, such as Slidebox. It lets you swipe on pictures like a dating app.

Hats, scarves, jewelry, and accessories like them tend to accumulate quickly in piles in our closets. Yet they're often the least-edited part of our wardrobes because it's so easy to think "I better hang onto this. You never know." However, this is no way to begin 2026 — if an accessory has been collecting dust all year, it's time for it to go. 

Decluttering these extras lets you pare down your accessories to only the pieces you truly love and reach for over and over again. After all, when you're getting ready in January, you don't need to choose from a massive pile of necklaces you haven't looked at since 2014 or between three pairs of leather gloves. Take the time to declutter these items now — nobody is wearing owls anymore and they aren't coming back. When planning how to finally deal with overwhelming clutter, start small with this impactful category.

Living areas can often feel cluttered after holiday gifts have been exchanged. All of a sudden, you have more knick knacks to display, new books to place on the shelf, board games to house, and small tech items to tuck away. It can be hard to let go of physical media, but if it's obsolete or if you haven't watched or listened to something in years, you don't need to take it into 2026 with you.

Before January gets here, look through all the DVDs, CDs, and even VHS tapes you own. Do you have a digital copy? Can you repurchase later or stream it if you can't get them out of your head? If your space is already cluttered with outdated physical media you don't actually consume or treasure, this leaves less space for items you really take pleasure in and want to showcase. Decluttering these (and the machines that play them if these also haven't been touched) can give your space a fresh, revived feeling for the new year.

The week between Christmas and New Year's could see you having time to pick up a knitting project or other craft, or even do some small DIYs or upcycles. If you opened your knitting bag to find it stuffed with stray bits of yarn or any UFOs (unfinished objects) you started three years ago and never continued with, now is a great time to sort through your supplies.

If you're not inspired to complete any of the unfinished projects, disassemble them and save what materials you can. Do you have a bunch of random items you had an upcycling idea for — but no time to carry it out? If the idea isn't exciting to you anymore, part ways with those items before 2026. Not only can this free up physical space for fresh projects in the new year, but it can also free up mental space. You'll likely find it refreshing to not have all of these old ideas and projects hanging over you. Instead, kill a couple of outdated darlings so new ideas and fresh inspiration can flow in.