Spring Cleaning? Here's How to Declutter Responsibly—and Maybe Earn Some Cash

Spring cleaning feels like an impossible chore. Where do you start? How do you even know when you're done? Rather than feeling mentally blocked, make the process more manageable with these tips.

Start by defining “spring cleaning.” It is in fact two separate tasks: decluttering and deep cleaning. Don't try to do both at once. This article focuses mostly on decluttering, with a few deep-cleaning tips at the end.

Think of each room as an individual space. Treat every closet and storage area as a separate space as well. If you have a large room, like a big garage, you can further divide it into front and back, left and right—whatever makes sense. The idea here is to make "spring clean my home" a smaller and more specific task, such as "declutter the back half of my basement."

Pick one space to declutter or deep clean. You can add more spaces to your to-do list later, but decide where you will start. If you want to declutter and deep clean, declutter first.

Be sure to read our other guides on organizing your cables, cleaning your computer, your TV screen, your earbuds, and even your vinyl records. We have more advice on tidying up all your tech in our Spring Scrub series. If you're doing some deep cleaning, check out our guide to eco-friendly cleaning products.

Strategies for Decluttering

Decluttering means getting rid of things you don't need or want. It's different from organizing and tidying up, and it's normal to struggle with it. But there's no right and wrong way to spring clean, so you might decide to simply organize for now and declutter later. That's fine! Try some of these strategies to make it easier.

KonMari method. Marie Kondo's famous approach is not bad. (If you hadn't heard, after the arrival of her third child, Marie Kondo gave up being tidy all the time, which I absolutely applaud.) Pull out everything from one space, be it a closet or a dresser. Empty it completely. Hold up each item, ask whether it "sparks joy," and put it into one of two piles: "keep" or "not keep." If that's too hard, create a third pile—"I'm not sure"—so you can reconsider items without feeling pressure to chuck 'em.

Box up your "I'm not sure" pile. If you can't bear to get rid of anything in your "I'm not sure" pile, put it all in a box and label it with today's date. Then tuck it somewhere out of sight. See if you need anything in that box between now and next year's spring cleaning. If not, it's time to get rid of those things.

Turn your hangers the wrong way. A similar trick for deciding which clothes to eliminate is to hook all your hangers backward. When you wear a piece of clothing, switch the hanger the right way around. After six months or a year, you can see which clothes you have not been wearing, and that may give you more reason to let them go. That said, if you're trying to spring clean today, this method isn't ideal. But it's a start for next year.

Label heirlooms. In the second half of life, you have to decide what will happen to your most important possessions after you die. Who will inherit them? Do these people know? As part of your decluttering process, sticker items with people's names or write down the details in a document that you share with a trusted person. This is in effect one part of Swedish death cleaning, which is an ongoing process, unlike spring cleaning, which is usually time-limited. Either way, when you’re taking a hard look at all your possessions, it's worthwhile to ask yourself, "Why am I keeping this? And who will have to deal with it after I'm gone?"

How to Get Rid of Your Unwanted Stuff

Sorting unwanted items is one step. Next, you have to get rid of them.

Sell it. The advantage of selling is you earn cash. The disadvantage is it's a lot of work. You'll get the most cash if you sell directly to buyers. NextDoor, eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and OfferUp are popular options for all kinds of stuff. For electronics, Swappa and Gazelle are reliable.

With clothes you can sell to buyers directly or use a middleman service. PoshMark, Depop, and Curtsy let you sell directly. ThredUp and TheRealReal are intermediaries—you send them all your clothes and they take care of photographing, listing, and shipping each piece. The payout is smaller, but it's less work for you.

Donate it. When you donate unwanted stuff, you might be able to take a tax deduction. Your city or town may have a community thrift store or other charity that accepts used items. If you can't transport your donation by yourself, check online or call to see if the charity can help. Some branches of Goodwill and Salvation Army , for example, offer scheduled pickups. Ask for a receipt or tax form when you give "donated property" or "noncash property/donations" (IRS terms) to these or any other 501(c)3 charities.

Give it away. One person's trash is another's treasure. If you have stuff that could be of use to someone, ask around. Post on social media, talk to religious and community groups, or send a picture to your family or friend group chat. You never know who might need it. Art studios in particular can use all kinds of things that may look like trash to you.

Recycle it. Somehow, recycling has never been easier or harder. Who knows what gets re-fabbed and what goes to landfill?

Search online for groups that recycle the specific items you have, whether it's sneakers, socks, or cork. These groups might let you earn rewards when you contribute, though sometimes you have to pay upfront to send in your stuff, as with Trashie, which takes sheets, clothes, and Halloween costumes.

Electronics are another beast. To summarize the recycling section of WIRED's guide to disposing of electronics, go to the manufacturers first (Apple, Google, Samsung, etc.) to see what they can reclaim. Best Buy and Staples recycle general e-waste at their retail stores, including cables and charging cords.

Trash it. Anything that's no longer useful needs to be trashed. If you're like me and have a hard time throwing away anything, a trick I use is to put unwanted stuff into a clear plastic bag. That way, anyone who passes by or handles my garbage, from waste management workers to neighbors, has one final chance to take what they want. Maybe it's silly, but it makes me feel better.

Tips for Deep Cleaning

The other half of spring cleaning, deep cleaning, is in many ways a lot more straightforward than decluttering. Here are a few key things to know.

Estimate your time, then double it. Deep cleaning usually takes twice as long as you think it will.

Use what you have. Don't buy fancy products to deep clean. Dish soap diluted in water (the ratio depends on what you're cleaning) works for almost everything. Sponges, cleaning cloths, microfiber cloths, and paper towels go a long way, as does a standard vacuum cleaner.

Minimal other equipment needed. Beyond that, the some common tools that are handy are a medium bristle brush (for faucets, drains, and grout), a putty knife for scraping gunk off surfaces, a razor blade for scraping soap scum and other debris off tile and glass, and a melamine sponge or Magic Eraser for removing mysterious marks and stains.

You Can Outsource and Ask for Help

With the right budget, you can hire someone to help you declutter and outsource your deep cleaning.

A professional personal organizer works with you and your budget to prioritize what needs to be decluttered in your home. If you have boxes of disorganized paperwork, for example, they can help you sort, organize, and digitize your files. They do a lot more than closet makeovers.

Deep cleaning services typically require that your home be completely clutter-free—no dishes in the sink, no clothes in the washer or dryer, no toys on the floor. These services typically run a several thousand dollars for even a small home, but they can deep clean areas that require expertise, like air vents, drains, and lighting fix