When decluttering your home, you should keep items that are regularly used, have significant sentimental value, are important documents, provide utility in your current lifestyle, or bring you genuine joy. The goal is to surround yourself with things that serve a purpose or add meaningful value to your life.
Essential Categories to Keep When Decluttering
Decluttering your home doesn’t mean getting rid of everything. The process is about making thoughtful decisions about what deserves to stay in your living space. Understanding what to keep is just as important as knowing what to let go.
When faced with a cluttered home, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of belongings. Breaking down your possessions into categories can help make the decision-making process more manageable and ensure you don’t accidentally discard something important.
Important Documents to Preserve
Documents represent some of the most crucial items to keep when decluttering. While we’re increasingly digital, certain paper documents remain essential:
| Document Type | Keep For | Storage Recommendation |
| Birth certificates | Forever | Fireproof box or safe deposit box |
| Social Security cards | Forever | Fireproof box or safe deposit box |
| Passports | Until expired + 10 years | Fireproof box |
| Marriage/divorce records | Forever | Fireproof box or safe deposit box |
| Property deeds | As long as you own + 10 years | Fireproof box or safe deposit box |
| Car titles | As long as you own | Fireproof box |
| Insurance policies | While active + 1 year | File cabinet or digital copy |
| Tax returns & supporting documents | 7 years | File cabinet or digital copy |
| Medical records | Indefinitely for major conditions | File cabinet or digital copy |
| Wills and estate documents | Current version (update as needed) | Fireproof box and with attorney |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends keeping these documents organized and accessible, especially for elderly family members who might need assistance managing their affairs.
When decluttering, consider scanning less critical documents for digital storage while keeping originals of vital records. A designated file box or cabinet for important papers makes them easy to locate when needed.
Practical Items for Daily Living
Beyond documents, there are everyday items that serve practical purposes in your life. These functional belongings are worth keeping during your decluttering process:
- Kitchen tools you use at least monthly
- Clothing appropriate for your current lifestyle and climate
- Medication and first aid supplies (check expiration dates)
- Basic tools for home maintenance (hammer, screwdrivers, pliers)
- Technology you actively use
- Reference books or materials you consult regularly
- Emergency supplies (flashlights, batteries, candles)
- Cleaning supplies appropriate for your home’s surfaces
The key consideration for practical items is regular use. If you haven’t used something in over a year (and it’s not a seasonal item), it’s likely not essential to your daily life.
Navigating Sentimental Items
Sentimental items often present the biggest challenge when decluttering. These belongings carry emotional weight that can make decision-making difficult.
Creating a Meaningful Memory Collection
Rather than keeping every sentimental item, consider creating a curated collection of truly meaningful mementos:
- Choose items that genuinely evoke positive memories
- Prioritize quality over quantity
- Consider the story each item tells
- Ask if the memory would remain strong without the physical item
- Think about what you’d want to pass down to future generations
For many items, taking a photograph before letting go can preserve the memory while freeing up physical space. Digital photo albums can store these memory triggers without consuming valuable living space.
The “One From Each” Approach
For collections of similar sentimental items, consider keeping just one representative piece:
- One child’s drawing from each school year rather than every artwork
- A single souvenir from each significant trip
- One item from a loved one who has passed rather than all their possessions
- A favorite piece from a collection rather than the entire set
This approach honors the emotional connection while preventing sentimental items from overwhelming your space.
Financial and Valuable Items
Certain possessions have significant monetary value that should be considered during decluttering.
Investment Pieces and Valuables
Items worth keeping for their financial value include:
- Jewelry, especially precious metals and stones
- Antiques with established value
- Art with investment potential
- Collectibles that have appreciated in value
- Quality furniture that retains value
- Rare books or first editions
- Valuable coins or stamps
If uncertain about an item’s value, consider consulting an appraiser before deciding to discard it. Some seemingly ordinary items might have unexpected worth.
Financial Records to Retain
While many financial documents can be digitized or discarded after a certain period, some financial records should be kept:
- Records of major purchases (for insurance claims)
- Home improvement receipts (for capital gains tax calculations)
- Investment purchase records (for capital gains reporting)
- Retirement account statements
- Loan payoff confirmations
- Records of valuable assets
When decluttering financial papers, shred any sensitive documents you choose not to keep to protect against identity theft.
Functional Household Systems
Certain categories of items work together to create functional systems in your home. When decluttering, consider these as unified collections rather than individual pieces.
Kitchen Essentials
A functional kitchen requires a core set of tools:
- Basic cookware that covers your cooking methods (baking, sautéing, boiling)
- Food storage containers for leftovers and meal prep
- Essential knives for food preparation
- Measuring tools for cooking and baking
- Dishware and utensils appropriate for your household size
- Small appliances you use at least monthly
When deciding what kitchen items to keep, consider your actual cooking habits rather than aspirational ones. Keep tools that support how you currently cook, not how you wish you cooked.
Clothing Essentials
When decluttering your wardrobe, focus on keeping:
- Clothing that fits your current body
- Items appropriate for your climate and lifestyle
- Pieces that make you feel good when wearing them
- Versatile items that can be styled multiple ways
- Quality basics that form the foundation of outfits
- Special occasion attire you’re likely to need again
A well-curated wardrobe of items you love and actually wear is more functional than an overstuffed closet full of unworn clothes.
Decision-Making Frameworks for Decluttering
Having systematic approaches to evaluate your belongings can make decluttering decisions more consistent and less emotionally taxing.
The “Joy and Utility” Two-Question Test
When evaluating any item, ask yourself two simple questions:
- Does this item bring me joy?
- Does this item serve a useful purpose in my current life?
If the answer is “yes” to either question, the item likely deserves to stay. If “no” to both, it’s a strong candidate for removal.
This framework, inspired by organizing consultant Marie Kondo’s approach, balances emotional connection with practical considerations. It recognizes that some items aren’t joyful but are necessary (like tax documents), while others aren’t strictly necessary but bring happiness (like decorative items).
The “One Year” Rule
Another helpful framework is the one-year rule:
- If you haven’t used an item in the past year (and it’s not a seasonal item or emergency supply), you likely don’t need it
- For seasonal items, if you didn’t use it during its last relevant season, consider letting it go
- For specialty items used for specific occasions, consider whether that occasion is likely to recur
This time-based approach helps identify items that have quietly become unnecessary in your life. During your home cleanout, this rule can be particularly effective for identifying unused kitchen gadgets, hobby supplies, and clothing.
Special Considerations for Specific Spaces
Different areas of your home contain unique categories of items that require specific considerations when decluttering.
Home Office and Paperwork
A home office often accumulates papers and supplies that may or may not be necessary:
- Keep: Current project materials, functioning equipment you use regularly, reference materials relevant to current work, adequate supplies for 3-6 months of use
- Consider discarding: Outdated reference materials, broken equipment, excessive supply stockpiles, old project files that can be digitized
When decluttering a home office, remember that your goal is to create a workspace that supports productivity. Items that distract or create visual chaos often hinder rather than help your work.
Garage and Storage Areas
Storage spaces often contain the most challenging items to evaluate since they’re already somewhat hidden from daily view:
- Keep: Tools you use at least annually, seasonal equipment in good repair, emergency supplies, items actively in transition to another use
- Consider discarding: Broken items you haven’t fixed in a year, excess building supplies from completed projects, recreational equipment for activities you no longer pursue
During a major cleanout, renting a dedicated dumpster for your home clean out. This can make the process of clearing these storage areas much more efficient.
Digital Decluttering Considerations
In today’s world, digital clutter can be just as overwhelming as physical clutter. When organizing your home, don’t forget to address digital items.
Digital Files Worth Keeping
When decluttering your digital life, prioritize keeping:
- Family photos and videos
- Important legal or financial documents
- Professional work you might need to reference
- Creative work with personal significance
- Software licenses and product keys
- Passwords and access information (stored securely)
Consider organizing these digital keepers into a logical folder structure with clear naming conventions, and implement a regular backup system to prevent loss.
Digital Cleanup Strategies
Alongside physical decluttering, consider:
- Unsubscribing from email lists you don’t read
- Deleting or archiving old emails
- Removing unused apps from your devices
- Organizing remaining digital files into a logical system
- Backing up important digital content
- Clearing out old files from cloud storage
This digital decluttering complements your physical space organization and often improves daily efficiency.
Conclusion
Deciding what to keep when decluttering your home is a personal process that balances practical needs, emotional attachments, and space limitations. By focusing on items that serve a purpose or bring genuine joy, you can create a living environment that supports your current lifestyle and priorities.
Remember that decluttering isn’t about creating a minimalist space unless that’s your goal. Instead, it’s about being intentional with what occupies your home, keeping what matters and letting go of what doesn’t. The items you choose to keep should reflect who you are now and the life you want to live, not who you were in the past or who you might be in some hypothetical future.
When in doubt about what to keep, return to the simple questions: Does it serve a purpose? Does it bring joy? If yes to either, find it a proper home in your newly organized space. If no to both, thank it for its service and let it go, making room for the life you want to live now.
If you can’t let go solely because it is in good condition but doesn’t meet the other criteria, you can of course donate items. Did you know they may even get you some tax breaks? Our related article about donating home cleanout items covers this.
What to Keep When Decluttering Home FAQs
How do I decide which sentimental items to keep when decluttering?
For sentimental items, keep those that genuinely evoke strong positive emotions and memories when you see or touch them. Consider keeping one representative item from each category (like one item from a loved one rather than everything they owned) and photographing the rest before letting them go. Ask yourself if the memory would remain strong without the physical item, and prioritize items you actually display or use rather than those stored away unseen.
Should I keep items “just in case” I need them someday?
Most “just in case” items should be carefully evaluated, as they often contribute significantly to clutter. Keep emergency supplies and truly difficult-to-replace items, but for standard items, consider whether they could be borrowed or repurchased if needed. The cost of storing rarely-used items (in terms of space, mental clutter, and home maintenance) frequently exceeds the replacement cost of the few items you might actually need again.
How do I handle inherited items I feel obligated to keep but don’t actually like?
For inherited items you don’t enjoy but feel obligated to keep, consider whether keeping a photo album of these pieces might preserve the family connection without requiring physical storage. Alternatively, see if other family members might appreciate these items more, or keep only one small representative piece while letting the rest go. Remember that most loved ones would want their belongings to be used and appreciated, not stored away out of obligation.
