12 Things to Declutter in Your Bedroom Before Fall

From school to events to sports—fall is a busy time, which means that the time to tidy should be before the fall frenzy. Start the season by hitting the ground running. One of the most important places to declutter is your bedroom. After all, these rooms are our sanctuaries. A less cluttered space may even lead to a better night’s sleep. Here are 12 items likely found in your bedroom to do away with ASAP. 

Bedrooms Items to Ditch for Fall

Decluttering your bedroom can help you feel good and create physical and mental space for the new season—and the new experiences that come with it. Here are some items that you've been holding onto for too long.

Anything Under the Bed

Do you store things under your bed? Has it become a black hole of miscellany you’ve forgotten about? Commit yourself to tackling this area the next day it rains. Whether you’re stashing old clothing, keepsakes, or simply things you no longer use—it’s time to either get rid of these items, give them away, or find a more convenient storage place.

Wire Hangers 

While it can be challenging to throw out what's essentially a freebie—your large collection of wire hangers isn’t doing you any favors. A closet with a variety of hanger types never looks aesthetically pleasing. These hangers can also ruin your clothing if used long-term. So get rid of your collection and replace them with slim, non-slip velvet hangers instead.

Dry-Cleaning Garment Bags

Along the same lines, toss those dryer cleaner bags your clothing came in. They not only look unsightly, but they can also cause your clothing to yellow or have a residual odor from the dry cleaning fluid. Furthermore, they make it much harder to find what you’re looking for. 

Clothing You Don't Wear

Whether something doesn’t fit, doesn’t "spark joy," or isn’t wearable anymore because it's stained or worn out—it needs to go. Do whatever you need to do to edit your closet. If this sounds like too daunting a task, don’t fret. All you need to do is break it down. Do tops one day and bottoms the next. Give yourself a week to complete this task. 

Shoes in Disrepair

Like clothing, shoes have a finite life. But unlike clothing, old shoes can cause significant problems. Old sneakers may no longer be supportive enough for walking or other exercise. Shoes with worn-out soles and heels can cause you to slip and hurt yourself. If you have a pair of shoes you really love but can't really wear anymore, consider sending them off to a cobbler. Shoes that perhaps were never comfortable in the first place (why did you buy those six-inch stilettos?) also need to go. 

Old Bedding

Even the highest quality bedding doesn’t last forever. Sheets with holes in them, pillowcases with mascara marks, or white bedding that’s now a dull grey color should be tossed. You also may be able to donate bed sheets or towels to a local animal shelter. 

Anything in Nightstand Drawers

Nightstand drawers can become a dumping ground for miscellaneous items, including old books (or new books that didn’t quite hold your interest), bills, receipts, or other papers. This clutter takes up space that should be held for things like television remotes, books we do want to read, and things like hand cream and lip balm. Fortunately, these spaces tend to be small so it’s a quick task to tackle.

Old Hobby Supplies

If you got into a certain hobby in the summer that you don't foresee yourself continuing through the fall, it's worth decluttering some space in your bedroom. For example, if you got into scrapbooking but don't have time to continue in the fall, putting away the supplies in your bedroom junk drawer can help you prepare for the new season and make space (literally) for new hobbies. It's especially easy to throw away bits and pieces that you wouldn't use anyway, like cut-up papers and stickers that have lost their adhesive. Get rid of what you won't or can't use.

Excess Storage Containers

Often, we use storage containers to organize all of our stuff. But when you start to get rid of a lot of stuff, chances are that you won't need all of those extra storage containers. Instead of having bins and zipped-up bags sitting around, toss them, too. You can even store them somewhere else, like the attic or basement, in case you need them again in the future. But they certainly don't need to be sitting in your bedroom taking up coveted space if you're not even making use of them.

Seasonal Clothes (Not for Fall)

Get rid of the clothes you're not going to wear in the fall. While you don't need to get rid of your summer clothes, forever, you can swap some out of your bedroom closet for fall clothes instead. Keep those in another closet that you don't need to go into everyday. For example, if you have a bigger storage closer, an attic, or a basement, you can keep clothes there and only swap in what you're going to wear this season. That way, you don't have to go digging for weather-appropriate clothing every day.

Almost-Empty Skincare Products

If you're someone who wears makeup or uses skincare products, chances are that you have some drawer somewhere that contains a bunch of old makeup or products that are used but that you don't necessarily use right now. How long has that lip-plumping lipstick with so little left been sitting in that drawer? How about the dried-up makeup cleansing wipes? Get rid of old products that you haven't picked up in a long time, either because they're not the right seasonal colors or because you prefer other products these days instead. You'll feel better for it.

Old Socks

We all have old socks with holes in them. At one point or another, socks get worn down so much that they're too beat-up to wear. Or, at times, your dryer eats one of the two, and you're missing the complete pair. Toss the raggedy and solo socks—or use them as cleaning rags instead. You can certainly repurpose them if you think you'll use them to do the rest of your seasonal cleaning, but don't just hang onto them if they're just going to sit in a rag drawer instead of a sock drawer.