August is the perfect month for a reset. With summer winding down and routines settling once again, it’s a natural time to clear space.
From the summer swimwear I didn’t use to the fall decor I’m pulling out of storage, it’s time to get intentional about what stays and what goes.
Here, I asked professional home organizers for their thoughts on the things to declutter in August 2025 to fill in the next gap in my annual decluttering calendar.
Things to declutter in August 2025
1. The entryway
Decluttering open entryway storage can reduce overwhelm when leaving the house.
My entryway always looks cluttered. Maybe it is because it is sharing space with my dining room, or maybe it is because my partner and I don’t know how to say ‘no’ to a good jacket when we see one.
Nevertheless, this is one area I always declutter (or at least try to) through mid- to late-August when the weather where we live starts to get wetter and we can rely more on our umbrellas than our sun hats.
Establishing some entryway decluttering rules in August is also a smart move if you have children at home, adds Audra George, professional home organizer and owner of Pretty Neat: An Organization Solution in Oklahoma City.
She suggests, ‘Clean out the summer clutter and get these spaces prepped for hanging bookbags, jackets, and sports gear. A streamlined mudroom means fewer bags and jackets on the floor as everyone files in after school.’
Having a slimline shoe cabinet, available on Wayfair, makes keeping clutter off the floor simple, while using sturdy wall hooks, such as the iDesign Holden Hook Rack from The Container Store, right next to the door, helps to limit the urge to leave coats on the backs of chairs, implementing the one-touch rule.
2. Hobby equipment
Clearing out old hobby items and refreshing them with new makes you more likely to use them in the coming months.
I see August as a truly transitional month in the year, bridging the gap between summer and my favorite season of all, fall. With this transition comes a change in how I spend my time, as I start to spend a little more time indoors again after a summer spent in the backyard or out on sunny hikes. When deciding what to declutter in August, my hobby storage ideas make perfect sense.
It isn’t just the outdoor hobby equipment, such as summer-specific hiking gear that I did not use or didn’t like, that sees the ruthless end of the best decluttering methods, either. Any fall-specific indoor hobby items, such as craft kits, are also on the chopping block as I pull them out of drawers and declutter cabinets towards the end of the month.
Decluttering the items my fantasy self holds onto is a quick way to make extra space for the new items I’ll inevitably pick up throughout the season. The items I'm keeping but not using go in a clear latch-lid container from Walmart to protect them from damage until next spring.
3. Swimwear
As the hottest weather peels back, it's a good time to address swimwear.
The weather has not changed enough to warrant decluttering a closet just yet, but some key summer pieces can start to leave the rotation. Most notably, this includes swimwear.
Cynthia Kennedy, a San Diego-based personal stylist, wardrobe organizer, and image consultant, says, ‘If it’s stretched out, faded, or just doesn’t feel good anymore, let it go. The end of summer is a great time to pare down to your most flattering, confidence-boosting swimwear – especially before off-season sales tempt you into buying more.
‘While you’re at it, take five minutes to check the condition of your summer shoes. Anything with worn-out soles, cracked faux leather, or mystery stains? Say goodbye. It makes storing your “keep” pairs so much easier when you rotate them out.’
Keep your seasonal clothing and linens in vacuum bags to limit their storage footprint. Wash them before storage to keep the items fresh in between uses.
Under-bed storage is a great way to expand on your existing closet space, be it for storing your off-season items or offering a place for your bulkier pieces that need folding, but take up too much space in dresser drawers. These bags on wheels make them easy to pull out quickly and access as needed.
When storing clothes both short and long term, consider adding some scented sachets to help fend off musty odors and keep them fresh between uses.
4. Toiletries
Summer toiletries can be decluttered and phased out as the pollen counts drop.
By August, we usually have several half-empty bottles of SPF lying around the bathroom and several packets of mismatched antihistamines scattered around the house. As the pollen counts drop and we spend a little more time inside, it’s a good idea to work through a bathroom decluttering checklist and organize a medicine cabinet properly.
Among the things not to store in bathroom cabinets are expired skincare, makeup, and anything that never gets used. Vicky Silverthorn, professional organizer and brand ambassador at Vintage Cash Cow, recommends taking everything out and laying them out in categories so you can take stock of everything you have and give everything a clean.
'Double-check the use-by date on old toiletries and cosmetics. You’ll find a symbol on the back that suggests how long after opening it you should keep it. Any out-of-date products should be emptied and recycled.
'Stay as minimal as you can to alleviate space issues. You only need one of each product, and potentially one spare (keep these in a ‘spares’ section, area, or basket), so avoid hoarding numerous of the same. If you've got multiple bottles with a small amount of product left, put them in your eye-line ready to be used up first.'
If you have children or pets in your home, consider picking up a medicine lockbox from Walmart to keep medications out of their reach and avoid accidental poisoning.
Make better use of vertical storage to save space on shelves by using stacking drawers in bathrooms to keep toiletries tidy and your vanity clear of clutter.
Two sizes
Baskets are perfect for keeping essentials neat on open shelving in bathrooms, including hiding towels, spare toilet rolls, and tools.
Small stacking baskets with ventilation are perfect for bathroom storage, helping to keep everything from medications to overflow toiletries neat without the risk of them going moldy in humid environments.
5. Expired food
Eating seasonally is a great way to be more sustainable at home.
It's a good idea to declutter and organize the pantry as we transition from the hot summer months to cooler and crisper weather, so that your pantry is always stocked with the supplies needed when cooking up winter warmers, and not filled with expired goods.
Francesca Verri, professional organizer and certified minimalist life coach, says, 'Fall usually means a change of temperature, and that change lends itself to changes in what you eat. Purging your food pantry now is a great way to prepare yourself for the new season and open your space up to the possibilities of creating a healthy, in-season meal plan.
'The bottom line is that when you let go of what isn't serving you, you are more available to life and the life you want to live. Creating space creates possibility and freedom to choose more easily! So if eating healthier or making dinner more often is a goal, clearing your space of food that is expired is important to make way for fresh ingredients.'
Consider using the ‘out in the open’ decluttering rule to make this task easier. Take everything out of your pantry, clean the shelves thoroughly, and replace the food, binning anything old and expired, and freezing any food that is almost at its sell-by date to prevent it from going over.
The same goes for decluttering a fridge and organizing a freezer.
6. Paperwork
As school years begin and work years end, declutter unimportant paperwork.
Although I am not in school or college anymore, my professional year ends in August, making it the perfect time to get rid of paper clutter and organize important documents.
While possibly the most tedious category of household items to declutter, organizing your home office will mean you can enter the new season with a clear desk and mind, says Meaghan Kessman, professional home organizer and founder of Meaghan Kessman Home Organization.
She urges, 'Use the new season as an opportunity to organize accumulated paperwork. Shred or recycle unnecessary documents, and file away important papers for a clutter-free workspace.'
I favor using an expanding file folder from Walmart to section up important documents into types, making them easy to organize and find without taking up too much space.
7. Seasonal decor
Clear out the summer decor you didn't vibe with ready to decorate for fall.
Although I tackled most of my summer decor when decluttering before summer started, there are a few pieces I used and didn’t like or replaced with new items that are either better quality or better suited to my home. As a result, August is a good time to start clearing it out, ready to decorate for fall at the start of September (or, realistically, when I get ahead of myself in the last week or two of August).
Barbara Brock, professional home organizer and founder of Barbara Brock Inc., adds, ‘As you prepare to redecorate, take some time to remove extra photos from shelves, home décor, and items off counters that are not being used to make your public areas ready for holiday gatherings. Especially if you are adding holiday decorations to these public areas.
'If you just add the holiday décor to existing regular decorations, then it will appear cluttered with conflicting themes.’
8. Backyard mess
Decluttering outdoors while it is still warm makes fall yard maintenance easier.
Decluttering the backyard or shed is only going to become less and less appealing as the days get shorter and the temperature drops, so I’m spending whatever time I have now editing down outdoor tools, barbecue utensils, furniture, and gardening accessories. Getting rid of anything that is broken or moldy is one of the maintenance tasks to tick off to prepare your home for fall.
Comb through all of the items in the backyard and think about what you have made use of, and whether there is anything you don't think you'll want to use by next summer.
Vicky says, 'Future you will be thankful you tackled the garden and shed mess at the end of the summer season, rather than leaving it to gather dust and face the elements until next spring.
'First, throw out or recycle anything that’s broken beyond repair. Next, declutter the dupes. Got three pairs of BBQ tongs? Four garden shovels? Donating, selling, or throwing (if old and rusty) these away is an easy way to free up valuable space in your shed,' she adds.
To upgrade my shed storage, I'm looking to invest in this corner double tool organizer from The Container Store to help keep larger tools out of the way and stop them from falling over whenever I open the door.
9. Kids’ rooms
Decluttering kids’ rooms is not a category I need to work on, but it is one that the professional organizers I spoke to were keen on as the back-to-school season ramps up.
Audra suggests, ‘Clean out and purge the closets and toys that they have outgrown and prep for the next school year. What are they lacking that you need to add to the shopping list? Do they need some new jeans, a jacket for Fall, or some new shoes?
‘This is a great time to take inventory and regroup. Also, organize with kids in mind, allowing them to pick out their own clothes and get ready for school in the morning.
Whether you homeschool or do school outside of the home, having a designated area for school supplies and completing homework is essential. Declutter the area and organize for function and keep it simple so the kids can focus without distractions.’
It isn’t just school items that need attention, either, adds Liora Seltzer, professional organizer and founder of What U Keep. She continues, 'If you think your kids can handle it, I suggest helping them declutter (or at least contain and organize) their toys and books, making their room and space more compatible with their interests and the new grade they are entering.’
Use a suitable storage solution for organizing the toys to keep, while old toys and books can be sold or donated, or consider sending them to Christmas present appeals near you in time for the holiday period.
Give your children more control over organizing and using their toys through open, accessible storage to help teach them about caring for their belongings.
When setting up children's workspaces, keep everything out in the open and easy for them to find. Not only does it make independent homework easier, but it can also help to encourage creativity in their downtime.
For a more streamlined look to children's room storage, opt for open-top bins on shelving. It keeps toys and clothes accessible but allows you to toss items away without thinking too much about perfect sorting.
Meet the experts
Audra George has over 12 years of experience working in clients' homes. Her passion is to help others and to organize and help busy families get their spaces in order.
With her unique blend of fashion expertise and organizational mastery, Cynthia is a nationally recognized wardrobe curator, personal stylist, and image consultant with over 20 years of experience helping women transform not just their closets, but the way they show up in the world.
Francesca is a holistic life coach and organizer with more than 20 years of experience using minimalist organizational habits and theories to empower clients to make lifestyle changes that produce real and lasting results.
With a background in interior design, Barbara began professionally organizing in 2001, and now impressively holds two patents for award-winning makeup organizing products. Her motto? 'Be organized. Be beautiful.'
Meaghan Kessman Home Organizing is a full-service organizing firm based in Los Angeles, dedicated to creating beautiful spaces through organization.
With decluttering out of the way, it's prime time to tackle the things to clean in August to flush out the last of the summer pollen.
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