Have you ever noticed that the best advice usually comes from someone a few steps ahead of you?
Not from a book. Not from an expert on TV. From a real woman who has already walked the road you’re on.
That’s how I feel about decluttering.
I’m 64, so I haven’t done this at 70 or 80 myself. But I’ve watched women I love do it.
My mother did it in her 80s, one drawer at a time. And a few women at church have done it in their 70s and 80s, quietly and well.
Every tip in this post came from one of them.
Over the past few years, I’ve been listening closely. I’ve been asking questions over coffee and taking mental notes. And now I’m starting to use what they taught me in my own home, while I’m still in my 60s.
So these aren’t my tips. They’re theirs. I’m just the one passing them along.
If you’re over 70, I hope you see yourself in these women. And if you’re younger, like me, I hope these simple decluttering tips for seniors give you a head start.
Learning From the Women a Few Steps Ahead of Me
A few years ago, I had to empty my mother’s house in 30 days. She had lived there for 40 years.
I learned a lot that month. Mostly, I learned what happens when everything waits until the end.
It wasn’t my mother’s fault. She did what she could, in her 80s, with the energy she had. But there was simply too much left for one month.
After that, I started paying attention to the older women around me.
There’s a woman at church in her late 70s whose home always feels calm. There’s another in her 80s who still hosts lunch for friends. Neither one talks about decluttering like it’s a big project.
They just live in homes that are easy to live in.
So I started asking them how they did it. I asked what they wish they’d known sooner, and what actually worked.
Their answers were simple. Nothing fancy, no special system.
Just small habits, repeated over years. And that’s what made me want to start now, in my 60s, while I still have the energy to do it slowly.
Five Tips From Women Over 70 Who’ve Done It
These are the five tips I hear most from the women I’ve learned from. Each one is simple. And each one is something I’m already using in my own home.
Start With Your Clothes
The woman from church in her late 70s told me she started with her closet. Not the attic, the photos, or the basement. Just her clothes.
She said clothes are easier to decide on than keepsakes. You can try something on and know right away if it still works.
She asked a friend to come over and sit with her while she tried things on. Her friend was honest, kind, and quick. They finished the whole closet in two afternoons (with a pot of tea in between).
The best part, she said, was seeing the progress. When you open a closet and can see every outfit, it feels like a fresh start.
I tried this last spring. I asked my sister to come over, and we went through my closet together. She told me plainly when something didn’t flatter me anymore.
I let go of two bags of clothes in one afternoon. If your closet is the hardest part, my post on how to stop hoarding clothes might help too.
Turn a Kitchen Trash Can Into Your Donation Bin
This tip came from another woman at church, and I love how simple it is.
She keeps a spare kitchen trash can just outside her bedroom closet. It has a big bag inside it. Anything she doesn’t want goes straight into that bag.
When the bag is full, she ties it up and it goes to the car. Then she puts a new bag in, and the bin is ready again.
She said the trick is that it’s always there. You don’t have to find a box or make a plan. You just drop it in and keep going.
I set one up in my laundry room a few months ago. It’s an old tall trash can I wasn’t using anymore. Now, when I pull a shirt out of the dryer and know I’ll never wear it again, it goes right in.
It fills up faster than I expected. And it never feels like a big job.
Get It Out of the House the Same Day
Both women told me the same thing. Once you decide something is leaving, get it out of the house that day if you can.
If the bag sits by the door, you’ll start to wonder. You’ll open it and pull something back out. Before long, half of it is back on the shelf.
I know this one well. Last spring, I had a good decluttering week, and my bags sat by the door much longer than they should have.
I wrote about how I finally got the clutter out when I couldn’t carry the heavy bags. The answer was smaller bags, and a little help from family.
Now, I put the bag straight into the trunk of my car as soon as it’s full. I drop it off the next time I run errands.
Once it’s in the trunk, I stop thinking about it. And that’s exactly the point.
Know Where Things Are Going Before You Start
The woman in her late 70s told me something that changed how I think about letting go.
She said, “It’s much easier to give something away when you know where it’s going.”
So before she starts a new area, she decides where things will go. Clothes go to the women’s shelter. Books go to the library sale, and kitchen things go to the church rummage sale.
When she picks up a coat she doesn’t need, she pictures a woman at the shelter staying warm in it. That makes it so much easier to let go.
I’ve started doing the same thing. Before I go through a cabinet, I already know where the extras will go. It saves me from standing there, holding something, wondering what to do with it.
If you’re not sure where to start, here are some meaningful places to send your belongings.
Keep What You Love, and Don’t Let Anyone Rush You
This last tip came from my friend at church in her 80s. And I think it might be the most important one.
She told me her children once asked her to “get rid of some of this stuff.” She smiled at them and said, “I will. On my own time.”
She did declutter, slowly, over a few years. But she kept everything she truly loved. Her china cabinet is still full, and her favorite paintings are still on the walls.
She said, “This is my home. I get to decide what stays.”
I love that so much. Decluttering doesn’t mean giving up the things that make you happy. It means clearing out what you don’t need, so the things you love have room to shine.
I’m taking that to heart. I’m keeping my mother’s Bible, her recipes, and the dishes I use on Sunday mornings. And I’m not letting anyone rush me, not even myself.
What My Mother Wished She’d Done Sooner
My mother did a lot of decluttering in her 80s. She did one drawer every morning after breakfast, with her second cup of coffee. She learned to stop while she still felt fine.
After she stood on a kitchen chair to reach a high box, she learned to leave the heavy jobs for her grandson on Sundays. I shared all of that in my post on decluttering for women over 80.
But there’s one thing she told me that I haven’t written about yet.
One afternoon, we were sitting at her kitchen table with a box from the basement. My sister had just carried it up. My mother picked up an old tablecloth, folded it, and sighed.
“I wish I’d started this in my 60s,” she said. “I had so much more energy then.”
I didn’t think much of it at the time. But I think about it now, almost every week.
She wasn’t sad about it. She was just honest. She knew that if she’d started sooner, she could have done it slowly, and enjoyed it more.
That one sentence is a big part of why I’m starting now.
How I’m Starting Early, in My 60s
I’m not doing anything big. I don’t have a plan for the whole house. I’m just using the tips these women gave me, a little at a time.
Each week, I pick one small area. It might be a drawer, one shelf in the pantry, or the cabinet under the bathroom sink. I sit down at the kitchen table if I can, because my knee and my back like that much better.
The trash can in the laundry room catches what I don’t need. When it’s full, the bag goes in my trunk. On my next errand day, it goes to the donation center.
And I don’t touch my husband’s garage (that’s his kingdom, and I’ve made peace with it).
Some weeks I do more. Some weeks I do nothing at all, and that’s okay too. I’m not in a race.
But little by little, my home feels lighter. My closets are easier to open. And I can picture my own children, someday, not having to rush through my house in 30 days the way I rushed through my mother’s.
That feels like a gift. To them, and to me.
If you’re in your 70s right now, it’s not too late. My guide for decluttering for women over 70 is a kind place to begin.
The Best Advice Comes From Women Who’ve Been There
I still think about that afternoon at my mother’s kitchen table.
The old tablecloth was folded in her lap. Her hands rested on top of it, the same hands that made banana bread every Sunday. She looked at me and said she wished she had started sooner.
I didn’t know then how much those words would stay with me.
My mother isn’t here to see me use her advice. But every time I drop a bag into my trunk, or clear one small shelf, I think of her. In a way, she’s still teaching me.
The same goes for the women at church. They never gave me a lecture or a list. They just showed me, by the way they lived, that a calm home is built one small choice at a time.
They didn’t do it because they were tired of their things. They did it because they loved their families. And they loved the life they still had to live.
I’m 64 now. I’m doing what they taught me, slowly, in my own home.
And one day, I hope my daughter sits across from me at my kitchen table. I hope I can pour her a cup of coffee (in one of my mother’s cups) and tell her, “Start a little sooner than I did.”
That’s how this kind of advice gets passed down. Not in a book, but woman to woman, over coffee, one honest sentence at a time.
If you’re over 70, you are one of these women. Someone younger is watching you, and learning from you.
And if you’re younger, like me, listen closely to the women a few steps ahead. They have so much to give.
Keep what you love. Let the rest go gently.
And begin, whenever you’re ready.
A Little Help, the Way They Would Do It
The women I learned from all started the same way. They picked one small spot, and they kept going.
My free Declutter for Self Care Checklist helps you do the same, with small, simple steps you can take at your own pace.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best decluttering tips for seniors?
Start with something easy, like your clothes, before moving to keepsakes. Keep a donation bin, like a spare trash can with a bag in it, where you’ll use it. Get things out of the house the same day you decide to let them go. And know where things are going before you start, so letting go feels easier.
Where should a senior start decluttering?
Many women start with their closet, because clothes are easier to decide on than photos or keepsakes. You can try things on and know quickly what still works. A clear closet also gives you fast, visible progress, which helps you keep going. Save the hardest areas, like the attic and photo boxes, for later.
How can I declutter without feeling rushed?
Go at your own pace, and do one small area at a time. Keep the things you truly love, and let go of what you don’t need. It’s your home, and you get to decide what stays. If family offers to help, let them carry and lift, while you make the decisions.
Is it too late to start decluttering at 70 or 80?
No, it’s never too late. Many women declutter in their 70s and 80s by doing one small job a day, sitting down if needed. Leave heavy lifting and climbing for a helper. Small, steady progress adds up over time, and every drawer you clear makes your home a little easier to live in.
How do I get things out of the house when I’m older?
Use smaller bags that are easy to carry, and put them in your car as soon as they’re full. Drop them off the next time you run errands. If you can’t lift or drive, ask family or a friend to help on a set day. Many donation centers also offer pickup, so it’s worth calling to ask.
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