How To Declutter Pet Supplies & Toys

Today's mission is to declutter pet supplies and pet toys from your home.


This mission is designed to be done while working through the Organize Pet Supplies Challenge here on the site, which is one of the 52 Week Organized Home Challenges.

Of course, you can do this mission at any time when you feel it is necessary in your home.

In addition, as always, when I suggest that you declutter these pet related items in your home, I'm not telling you to get rid of all of them. After all, our pets are part of our families, and we don't want (and can't) get rid of all the items we've gotten for them.

However, as with all other family members, with time our pets can accumulate a lot of stuff, and to the extent some of it isn't used anymore, and not needed, it is clutter and it should be removed from your home.

Today, as you work through the mission the first step is to gather up everything into one place for your pets, which allows you to see what you've got.

Once you see everything you've got it will be much easier for you to make decisions about what you and your pet(s) need for you to keep, and what is excess.

Types Of Pet Supplies To Consider Decluttering

Here are some of the main types of items you should at least evaluate, to decide what to keep versus to declutter.

• Old or broken toys (or those too dirty to be played with anymore)


• Pet carriers or cages which are no longer used, or broken


• Treats or pet food your pets don't like or won't eat (or are old or expired)


• Items your pet has outgrown, such as items for a puppy or kitten, but now the pet is fully grown


• Grooming items


• Pet medications (that are expired, no longer needed,
  or unable to be used)


• Leashes and collars


• Waste disposal items


• Items from pets you no longer own

This last type of item to declutter, from pets you no longer own, can often be the hardest type of pet supplies decluttering to do, and I want you to know you're not alone in struggling with that task.

If your pet recently needed to be placed in another home, or passed away, you can and should give yourself time to grieve before you take on this task.

You may find it also helpful to follow some of these tips for how to declutter sentimental items, in situations like this, to make the process easier for yourself emotionally.

Below I've added several photos from readers who've already done this mission to show you what can be accomplished, and get you excited to tackle this decluttering task for yourself.

Top photo courtesy of Amazon, and bottom photo in collage courtesy of Frank Minister

Decluttered Pet Supplies Cabinet

Above is a photo from a reader, Tina, who already did this mission, and she sent in this photo of the results she got.

She said, "AFTER was 2 shelves full of pet supplies. Definitely not needed bath stuff went out to the garage! Now I have a return item shelf so junk doesn't sit on my counters!"

Wow! What a great result Tina! When she worked on getting rid of the clutter she more than halved what she kept, and was able to create space for something else she needed inside her cabinet.

Decluttered & Organized Pet Area

Another reader, Julie, also worked on this mission and sent in several photos of how this task transformed the area in her home where her sugar gliders live.

She said, "I forgot to take a before picture, but the top photo is all the junk that was under my sugar glider cages! I pulled it all out, sorted, got rid of a bunch and bought some baskets!"

She also explained that the bottom photo of the collage is the after photo, once she'd gotten everything decluttered and organized.

Finally, she also sent in a photo of her pets, because she was happy because now they're happy! :)

Are You Ready To Get Rid Of Pet Clutter?

This photo above was sent in by another reader, Kellyann, after working on this mission. She said, "Our 'junk drawer' was actually the dogs' stuff. We have a little 'desk nook' in our kitchen that we use for the dogs' stuff. Water bowls stay in the opening underneath. We decluttered a ton and will donate items to anyone with a new puppy. Or the shelter if there are no takers."

After You Declutter Next You Should Organize!

After you get rid of any clutter, the next step is to organize.

Along with reading the challenge article mentioned at the beginning of this article, I've also created a Pet Organization Hall of Fame article which showcases reader pics from those who have finished working through the challenge.

Check it out at the link to get yourself inspired, and get more real life pet organization ideas.

Want To Do More Decluttering Missions? Get Started With Declutter 365 Today!

Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.

The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!

Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.

Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.

In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.

If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!

Get This Miscellaneous Decluttering Checklist + 32 Other Decluttering Checklists For Your Home

Right now you're decluttering your home, and there's a lot of items to declutter.

Get your 2 page miscellaneous decluttering checklist, plus 32 other decluttering checklists, to help you declutter your entire home here.

I've done the hard work of breaking down these tasks into smaller more manageable steps for you, so you don't get overwhelmed or worry you're forgetting a task, and you can go at the pace you want, whether that's fast or slow.

In addition, you can tackle these decluttering tasks in whatever order you want when you use these checklists!

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Getting Clutter Free 15 Minutes At A Time Hall Of Fame

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