When it comes to closet organizing and decluttering, most people immediately think of clothing. But what else is lurking in your closet?

In weeks 5 to 12 of the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge, we decluttered and organized our clothing and accessories. This week, we’re doing a different kind of closet decluttering, focusing on all the other stuff we store in our closets. I’ve also got some tips for dealing with kids’ artwork.

This post was originally published in July 2021 and republished in July 2024.

If you’re looking for tips and ideas to declutter clothing and accessories, you’ll find the previous weeks’ posts on the main Decluttering page.

Are you ready for week 28? Let’s get decluttering!

What is the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge?

In this year-long journey, we’re tackling one task at a time with the goal of cleaning up and organizing our homes. If you’ve just joined us, no worries. You can jump right in with this week’s challenge. Just check out the first two posts in the series to download your free checklists.

• 52-Week Decluttering Challenge
• Week 1 – Easy Decluttering Checklist

You can get easy access to all previous weekly posts on the main Decluttering page.

Week 28 – Closet organizing and decluttering

Most of our clothing hangs neatly, or maybe not-so-neatly, on the rods in our closets. But, if you’re like me, you have all sorts of other stuff on the shelves, and maybe even the floor, of your closet. That’s the clutter we’re taking care of today.

After decluttering clothing, my closet wasn’t too bad. But, as we’ve learned in previous weeks, there’s always room for improvement!

This week’s decluttering and organizing tips

Before we get to what I got rid of, here are my tips and learnings from week 28.

Storage tips

As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, I don’t have the luxury of a large walk-in closet that’s the size of a small bedroom. I used to feel bad about that until I read this article on Housely. With that in mind, a lot of this week’s closet organizing tips are about making the best use of whatever space you do have.

• The closet shelf is often wasted space. If you don’t organize it, it ends up so piled up with junk you can’t find anything. We added some storage shelving to the top shelves in all our bedroom closets. It really helps to maximize the storage space.
• The floor is another spot where you can squeeze in some additional storage. I have an under-bed storage unit that sits on the floor. It doesn’t take up much space and keeps things I don’t use often organized and out of the way.
• Nest your travel totes and backpacks inside each other so they don’t take up as much space.
• Years ago, we bought some small storage drawers from IKEA. We love them for storing things like socks, underwear, and pyjamas.

Sentimental clutter – kids’ artwork

One of the things I found in my closet was a huge folder and envelope of cards and artwork my daughters have made for me over the years. Dealing with kids’ artwork is a huge challenge for many people. We love our kids and treasure everything they make for us, but we can’t keep everything. Now, I’m not one of those cold and heartless type who says, “get rid of it all”, but I also recognize there’s a limit on what we can keep. Here’s how I decided to manage it:

• For schoolwork, I created a school scrapbook where I kept a few favourite pieces of artwork and writing from every grade. It’s also a great place to store report cards, class pictures, and other memories.
• Greeting cards are more difficult—especially Mother’s Day cards. I’ll openly admit I kept most of them in an envelope that I put back on the shelf in my closet. They are just too precious to part with.
• As for other artwork and colouring sheets, because I had kept some of the greeting cards and favourite schoolwork, I had no problem letting these go. If it breaks your heart to say good-bye to them, consider taking pictures or scanning and keeping digital copies. And, if you firmly believe your son or daughter is the next Picasso, by all means hang on to their artwork. It might be valuable one day. Then again, it might not. It’s your choice.

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What I got rid of

Here’s what I got rid of this week. A total of 57 items.

• 3 ticket stubs
• 2 duplicate programs from the girls’ high school productions
• 1 wig stand
• 1 clutch purse
• 7 birthday cards
• 1 hair pick
• 40 colouring sheets, painting, pieces of kids’ artwork
• 1 t-shirt
• 1 purse organizer

Here’s a before and after shot from my closet organizing and decluttering. Not a whole lot different but at least I know what’s there!

2024 Update

It has been three years so I’m rebooting the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge to see how much I can get rid of in 2024.

This is another area I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping neat and tidy. After going through all my storage baskets and totes, I found just 8 miscellaneous items to get rid of.

So that’s week 28 done.

If you have friends or family members who could benefit from a little less clutter in their lives, please share this post and spread the word!

Do you have any tips for decluttering sentimental items like your kids’ artwork? Tell us your ideas below.