37 Things to Declutter Before Summer Starts
Every year around this time, I start feeling it.
The house suddenly feels heavier. The counters are more cluttered. The kids are dragging random junk in and out of the house. There are pool towels everywhere, broken sunglasses in the car doors, and somehow we suddenly own 47 water bottles with no lids.
Summer has a way of magnifying the chaos already sitting around your house.
And honestly? I’ve learned that if I don’t do a good declutter before summer break officially starts, things spiral FAST once everyone is home all day long.
I’m not talking about becoming a minimalist overnight or spending three days organizing your pantry with matching bins from Amazon. I’m talking about a realistic decluttering reset that makes your home feel lighter, calmer, and easier to manage before summer gets busy.
These are the things I personally try to tackle before summer starts every year.
Some take 30 seconds.
Some take 10 minutes.
But together, they make a HUGE difference.
Related: How I Handle Our House with 6 Kids and No Pantry!
1. Old Sunscreen Bottles
If it’s basically empty, expired, or separated into weird oily layers, throw it out.
You do not need to keep five half-used bottles rolling around in a basket all summer long.
2. Broken Pool Toys
If it won’t inflate, squirt water, float, or survive another child stepping on it, it’s time.
3. Random Water Bottles With Missing Lids
Why do these multiply overnight?
Keep your favorites and let the rest go.
4. The Junk Drawer
Not perfectly.
Just enough that you can actually open it without fighting for your life.
5. Expired Medicine
Check the bathroom cabinet before summer travel season kicks in.
6. Old School Papers
Keep the special stuff.
Recycle the math worksheet with one sticker on it.
7. Outgrown Flip Flops and Sandals
Line them all up by the door and actually check sizes.
8. Broken Sidewalk Chalk
I know this is controversial.
But the tiny dusty pieces nobody can hold anymore need to go.
9. The Car Door Pockets
Every mom knows there’s something horrifying hiding in there.
10. Dried Out Markers
Especially before summer boredom crafts begin.
11. Old Receipts
Purses.
Wallets.
Glove boxes.
Kitchen counters.
Get rid of them.
12. Lonely Tupperware Lids
If the container disappeared sometime during the Biden administration, let it go.
13. Torn Beach Towels
You know the ones that feel like sandpaper now.
14. Kids’ Fast Food Toys
Not every single tiny plastic toy needs to survive forever.
15. Expired Pantry Snacks
Especially the random granola bars shoved in the back for road trips.
16. Broken Sunglasses
If they stab your face when you wear them, they’re done.
17. The “Important Paper” Pile
You know the pile.
Go through it before it becomes a full-blown filing cabinet situation.
18. Empty Flower Pots
If you’re not using them this year, donate them or store only your favorites.
19. Mystery Cords
Be honest.
You have no idea what they belong to.
20. Bath Toys
If squeezing them releases something terrifying, throw them away immediately.
21. Old Magazines
Especially the ones you keep pretending you’ll read someday.
22. Worn Out Swimsuits
Summer is not the time to discover elastic failure in public.
23. The Freezer
Dig to the bottom.
I dare you.
24. Broken Outdoor Chairs
If everyone avoids sitting in it because it feels dangerous, that’s your sign.
25. Old Craft Supplies
Dried paint.
Bent crayons.
Glue sticks that are basically cement.
26. Unused Coffee Mugs
We all have favorites.
Nobody needs 37 mugs.
27. The Catch-All Basket
Every house has one.
Mine usually contains batteries, receipts, Legos, hair ties, and at least one Hot Wheels car.
28. Baby Clothes You’re Truly Done With
This one is emotional sometimes.
Take your time with it.
29. Dead Batteries
Why are they always still being saved somewhere?
30. Stained Kitchen Towels
If it looks questionable even after washing, retire it.
31. Old Birthday Party Supplies
Keep what you’ll realistically use again.
Toss the rest.
32. Unused Backyard Toys
If nobody touched it last summer either, you probably don’t need it.
33. The Fridge Door
Condiment graveyard.
Enough said.
34. Random Grocery Bags
Keep a reasonable amount.
Not an entire cabinet avalanche.
35. Old Phone Screenshots
This counts as decluttering too.
36. Shoes Nobody Wears
Especially the uncomfortable ones you keep hoping will magically improve.
37. Anything That Makes Your House Feel Heavier
Sometimes decluttering isn’t about the item itself.
It’s about removing visual stress.
That pile you keep staring at every day?
The basket you keep stepping around?
The shelf that annoys you every single morning?
Start there.
Final Thoughts
You do not need a perfectly organized house to enjoy summer.
You do not need labeled bins, a color-coded garage, or a magazine-worthy pantry.
You just need a home that feels manageable.
A home that lets you breathe a little easier.
Even decluttering a few things from this list can completely change how your home feels heading into summer break.
And honestly, future-you will be so glad you did it now instead of trying to tackle it in the middle of July chaos.